Individual Event Report
| Event #2 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs |
| Volcanic Activity Known only from Plummer's article in the Tacoma Ledger - February 28, 1893. The story goes: "According to the story of John Hiaton (now living) it was about the year 1820 that he witnessed an eruption of Mount Tacoma, accompanied by fire, noise and earthquake. He had heard from older members of his tribe that this had happened many times. " |
| TIME |
LOCATION |
MAGNITUDE |
MAX. INTENSITY |
FELT AREA |
| YR |
MO |
DAY |
HR |
MIN |
AM/PM |
Time
Type |
LAT(N) |
LON(W) |
DEP
(km) |
MAG |
Mag
Type |
Felt
Plc. |
Felt
St. |
Inten-
sity |
Int.
Type |
Felt
Area |
Felt
Area
Int. |
Felt
Area
Units |
| 1820 |
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Mt. Rainier |
WA |
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| N-WPP - 2461 |
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N-WPP - 2461 |
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Underlying Source Material
| Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
| 2461 |
Coombs, H.A., W.G. Milne, O.W. Nuttli, and D.B. Slemmons, "Report of the Review Panel on the December 14, 1872 earthquake", |
1976 |
Appendix D: Selected Supporting Information -- Professor Plummer's Paper on "Recent Volcanic Activity" Read before the Academy of Science - Tacoma Ledger - February 28, 1893 |
Transcription: (This is part of an 8 page article - see the WPPSS table for entire text RSL 7/1995)
Hamichous legend, as recorded by Winthrop, tells of a wise old Squally-
amish hunter who lived near Nisqually, whose evil spirit, Tamanous, directed
him to ascend Tacoma in search of the precious hiaqua--money. Upon the
sumit the old hunter found the treasure in the crater of the mountain, near
a black lake, to the east of which were three stones resembling a salmon's
head, a torch and an elk's head. The time may come when some siwash Ignatius
Donnelly will affirm that an Indian had reached the summit and that he was
describing a large crater between the three peaks which judging from the
present shape of the mountain, probably existed at some early time.
Another Indian legend recites that ages ago all the Indians around
Mount Tacoma became bad, and Soch-u-le-tyee (God) concluded to dispose
of them. Wishing, however, to save some few good Indians, together with
representatives of the animal creation he directed a noted temanimus
(medicine) man to undertake their delivery. This the temanimus
accomplished by shooting an arrow up into a cloud. it stuck in the cloud.
Then he shot another arrow which stuck into the first. In this way he
fastened together a long line of arrows extending from the cloud to the
earth. The good Indians and animals climbed this rod and so were safely
lodged in the cloud. Then the floods came and fire spouted out of the
mountain and all those bad Indian's were swept from the face of the earth. --After
many days the temanimus man, thinking that the volcanic furor might have abated
enough to make it safe for them to come down, sent several animals out to explore.
The fish finding a nice brook concluded not to go back at all. The duck also
deserted, but the beaver came back with a lump of mud on ms tail, assuming
then that the volcano had ceased to spout and that they might safely venture
out. For this reason the beaver has ever since been held in high esteem while
the fish was then and there sentenced to remain all his life in the water,
and the duck was condemned to a wabbling gait forever. The good Indians and
the animals accordingly descended, the snake coming last, When the temanimus
man saw him crawling out to the rod he broke it off. Hence the snake did
not come down at all, and to that is due the fact that there are no snakes
around Mount Tacoma.
A familiar tradition is one which recites that the Columbia River formerly
flowed under a natural bridge where it crosses the axis of the Cascades range
and that during a convulsion of rature this bridge fell, and the debris choking
the canyon formed the cascades of the Columbia.
According to the story of John Hiaton (now living) it was about the year
1820 that he witnessed an eruption of Mount Tacoma, accompanied by fire, noise
and earthquake. He had heard from older members of his tribe that this had
happened many times. He had also seen fires from Mount Baker, and a tradition
of his race is to the effect that this mountain was formerly much higher and
that a tremendous explosion threw down the entire south side. The present
shape and condition of the mountain confirms this story. Hiaton also refers to
a tidal wave which washed up the Puyallup valley. This was probably the
effect of submarine volcanic action, It is possible that this was at the
same time and had the same cause as the tidal wave which swept over Santa
Barbara in 1812. |
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