Algonquian Flood Myth

Native tribes of the American Northeast preserved a tribal memory of their
ancestral origins on a large island in the Atlantic Ocean. After many generations,
signs and portents warned the inhabitants of impending disaster. Some magnitude
of the evacuation that took place is suggested in the 138 boats said to have been
prepared for the emergency. According to Algonquian elder Sam D. Gill, it began
when “the Earth rocked to and fro, as a ship at sea.” The quakes became so powerful
the island “was cut loose from its fastenings, and fires of the Earth came forth in
flames and clouds and loud roarings.” As the flotilla of refugees made good their
escape, “the land sank down beneath the waters to rise no more.” The survivors
eventually landed along the eastern seaboard of North America, and married among
the indigenous peoples to become the forefathers of the Algonquian tribes. There is
no more succinct and credible version of the Atlantis catastrophe and its aftermath.