The first earthquake struck while the town was still asleep. Around 2:00 am on Dec. 16, 1811, New Madrid — a small frontier settlement of 400 people on land now located in Missouri — was jolted awake. Panicked townsfolk fled their homes as buildings collapsed and the smell of sulfur filled the air. The episode didn’t last long. But the worst was yet to come. Nearly two months later, after dozens of aftershocks and another massive quake, the fault line running directly under the town ruptured. Thirty-one-year-old resident Eliza Bryan watched in horror as the Mississippi River receded and swept …