Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-06-06


momentary shower, when the fire-bali which we
are going to describe was discovered. 1t was mo-
wing WIN immense velocity, involved in mass of
smoke that marked its flight, like an enormous shell
rom mortar, emitting audible Kissing sound, re-
senonhg the ignition of rosn, and, i'll few seconds,
cNP'oueo, IKE shock OF thunder, and fell 20 the
earth, about one mile from Forsyth, in Mr.. Uriah
Dunns Held, where his ovcrsccr anG servants wero
at work. Though considerably alarmed at first,
hcy Vcntured to the spot denoted by the breach it
nou maze through the surface and after turning up
tho earth about two feet in depth. they came upon
tue stone that had fallen, about the size OF chids
neau ana weighing thirty-siX pounds! The exte-
rior OF the stone was covered with black and fer
ushous lncrustation, run equally ever the whole
as showed tn 1t must have been in n state of
!s'o' I'm breaking the its internal structure
closciy rcscnbcd almost every other meteoric stone
mat we have scen having the usual characteristics
OF color and grain, except that 1t slightly spec
kcu with ycliowish substance with larger pro-
portion OF nickel perhaps in the composition than is
usual. The fragment which we have examined (now
IN our office, abounds with brilliant metallic points,
ana Is about ~ per cent heavier than the celebrated
Mctcori,c which tell III Weston, Conn. IN 1907, and
now in the cabinet of Minerals at Yule College.
Tvs specific gravity Is 4. IL, allowing that of water
| 10 DC l. The medium specific gravity of meteori-
ties that have fallen the last century is about J. CO.
The conclusion produced III the atmosphere by the
great explosion which preceded the descent of this
stonc was felt for some distance round, insomuch
that the crockery and windows sensibiy aficc-
ted IL is quite probable thar several other portions
ct this stone fell in the same neghbohood for there
were several successive and lesser explosions before
the mass reached the earth. We learn that 4 frar-
mcnt struck on a rock at a mill ncsr there and was
dashed into thousand atoms.
There are doubtless lnnny of readers who have
regarded as fabulous The idea Of cast iron unleroit
and "hn:lstoncs iron globes, the more harmless
irrigation of stony showers and metallic SHOWS vet
we assure them that all these things are strictly
real. But how these metcorlc concretions are
m or ~, hn ,t.rn h,.,
tanned IN motion, how they came there ut all, are
unsettled questions even among the best theories of
the terrestrial phenomena. The French Acadenri-
clans OF the last century maintained that the stones
IN question resulted from stroke of ghtn ming on the
spot in which they found; others that they were
belched from some terrestrial, and some from lunar
VOLCANOES. The latter notion derived some countc-
nance from the speculations of those celebrated mah
en1uticians La Place, Poisson, Hutton g. others who
have demonstr rated the abstract position, that heavy
body, projected with velocity of about 900 feet in
second, may be beyond the sphere of the moons
attraction into that of the earth. But we are apt 10
think that an emec to produce this effect would burst
the sides OF the old lady. Others again think, or
profess TO think, these are merely the chjps
OF the universe, that got n going hen he "who put
these wheeling globes in motion wound I'D the vast
machne," and that they have continued since that
time to float through the nfnity of space but being
drawn of their proper by some force of al
traction, they AT last mpinged upon this planet as
they have upon others. One of the more modern
ana prevailing theories connects itself with the origin
of the four small new planets, viz: Ceres Pallas
Juno, and Vesta, that first seen coursnp around
the sun between Mars and Jur,cr. since 1901. The
theory that these four little planets arc the far-
ments ofanother world occupying similar distance
from the sun, but which has been driven into quar-
ters by great convulson, and that out of this
by its explosive force there were proJec
ted with very greut velocity, number of little frag-
mcnts. and being thrown beyond the attraction of |
the larger fragments, thus might fall towards the |
earth when Mars happened TO be in the remote part
Of his orbit The central part of the original plan
ct being kept in state Of high compression by the
superintendent weight, and iis COMPRISING force |
being removed by the destruction ofthc body num-
Der Of lesser fragments might be detached from the
anger masses by force similar to the first. The
fragments will evidently be thrown of with the great
st velocity; and will always be separated from those
PARTS which formed the central portions of the prirni-
I'VE planet. When the portions which arc thus de- ,
achcd arrive within the sphere of the carths attrac-
ion. they may rcvove round that body at different
distances and may fall upon its surface in consequence
If dninu'ion of their centrifugal force or being
struck by the electric fluid they may nc prccipitatcd
IN the earth, and exhibit all those phenomena which |
Usually accompany the descent Of ncteoric stones.
These theories, which are, indeed. but problcmat-
= comprise about all that Is known TO the origin
Il rnctcOrc stones; and we should have been more
readily excused for not snypg any thing than for ha
'ing omitted TO account, III manDer, for their
phenomena.