Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-06-20

The Metooric Phenomenon near oaWedoi
The Oswego Palladium contains further par
toulars in regard to the falling of the immense
moteorio body in Bayleston, near that city. It
is among the most extraordinary phenomenon
Of the kind on record The following is the
statement Of Mr. James Hadley, in the vicinity
Of whose house the mass Of heated matter hurl-
cd with tremendous velocity struck the earth
and exploded No marvel the people near
thought Il "crack o doom" Mr. H. says
The atmosphere had been very oppressive
during Tuesday, and especially in the evening
something similar l have once experienced be
fore tornado which l witnessed in tho Weet
Indies, ia 1896 was awakened at about 3
o'clock on Wednesday morning, by the room in
which slept being filled with light and imme-
diately heard rushing sound like the coming
on of great wind. This did not last above q
few seconds after was awake, whenlan explo-
sion followed Of which can give no descrip-
tion--it was terrific The whole house shook
as if a hundred cannon had been fired under the
windows; quite number of panes of glass
were broken out of the windows, and the plas
tering of the room was in came tumbling
about me. The light which was so brilliant
that l could plainly see every object in the room
was at once eXtinguished. The window of my
room is on the opposite side of the house from
the place where the meteor fell, so that / can
only Judge of its direction. The light seemed
to come from some body moving very rapidly
and from south to north, and seemed TO increase
rapidly during the brief space that preceded the
explosion ] at once started in the direction Of
the explosion, but was unable to find the spot
and returned. The spot where the body fell is
about mile from my house.
A correspondent Of the Palladium adds:
This is the substance of the observations oi
all who were near the spot Many were awak'
ened by the shock at a distance of five miles
and until the truth was ascertained thought an
earthquake had occurred
The Aerolito struck the earth in some timber
land belonging to Mr.. Sanger, in a thinly in.
babitcd portion OF the town We believe Mr.
HadIeys is the nearest dwelling. Il seems to
have been an almost spherical body, as near
as we can judge from the fragments remaining,
about seventy. five feet in diameter. Its course
was from southwest TO northwest and descend
ed at an angle Of not more than thirty degrees
from the horizon, which is proved by its track
through the heavy hemlock trees before it
touched the earth. The trees are cut through
as a cannon ball would cut through a hedge,
leaving clear track The velocity must have
UtGl lllntUet- 4ut tdEbu 10 Nulu up luI htN
eral rods, and the huge trees are splintered and
piled up like brush.
The large hemock, at least four feet in diam
eter, near whose roots the meteor struck, was
thrown bodily for eighty yards-crashing the
surrounding trees like pipe stems Fragments
OF a huge sand stone boulder which lay in its
course under the surface, were thrown in all
directions, and one weighing half ton was
found in the road three fourths of mile away
The Aerolite seemed to have been formed of
a nucleus of crystalized substance, OF semi
vitreous character, but harder than quartz, and
unlike anything with which we are acquainted
This was surrounded by crust of about three
feet in thickness, which was probably the same
substance oxodized, or changed by combustion.
The crust broke off in fragments and lays about
the spot, but the nucleus penetrates the earth
to the distance of twenty feet, and at the time
we write is set upon by an excited crowd, who
are chopping away under the impression that
it consists OF precious material Of some sort.
From appearances the outer crust Of the Ae-
rolite seemed to have been in a partial state of
fusion, which is caused, according to philOso-
pliers who have written on the subject of Aero
tes, by heat generated by its rapid passage
through our atmosphere The crust, which
was broken off as pieces would be broken off
green chestnut burr by collision, some what re-
sembes iron ore, but the vitreous character Of
the interior are evident. That it was very hot
whenlit fell is proved by the grass and whatev.
er substance the fragments rested upon, being
charred by the contact send you speci
men Of the outer crust, but every specimen
which had the slightest trace of the crystalline
matter, which probably forms the nucleus, has
been seized on by the excited people, who,
from its hardness and brilliancy conceive it to
be at least as valuable as diamonds, and will
not part with it at any price. l presume they
will be mistaken sadly, but the fever was on
them and they could not be convinced