The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-05-29
WRITTEN roa yux RlcnMosp ptsrAreml

ren AZ distinguished Professor Of Bethany
toIege, Va. The subjee, is treated iu such a
,,anBer as 10 entertain as well as instruct the
reader
Nxssgs EpIToRs--As many OF your read
s-s no doubt. would take an interest in the
par,icniars OF the remarkable meteoYic phe-
'oaeuop, OF late occurrence in region OF
Ohlu. she following statement of facts in re-
ard thereto, with lew suggestions on the
,ueleci tu call atten ton TO several circuiu-
sanees eonaected with the fall of these Aro-
I,es raay prove OF some Interest. Tue author
Of he present articie has, however, never
gwen any requisite aulonnt Of attention 10
the general subject, and any suggestions
tnrown out, are only the results of iInperiec.
observations upon the character OF the partic-
uar phenomenon to which he has alluded. II
has been a well authenticated tact for years
that masses have fallen from the upper re-
gi0n. of the atmosphere To the ear this surface
as atieslsd not only by eye-witnesses bat also
by The discovery OF many such that have not
been seen 10 fall. but which, in their charac-
sers, are not found TO conform to the known
formations OF our own sphere. Although
there il, ia some ins iauces, q manifest dssimi-
isr.ty IL The external appearance OF these va
Fious masses which have been discovered in
different portions of the giohe, they neverthe-
less present, chem ically, striking evidence of
common nature and hence OF common ori-
gin. ltappears from the statements OF those
who have examined many specimens of me-
te0rlc bodies, THAI they may be divided into
three classes viz; Metallic; stony, con iain ing
small particles of metal; and a mixture of the
metallic and stony, IN which the metallic
character predoniEates. But upon analysis,
1T Is found that there an identity IN the com
position of the stony masses aid the smaller
stony portions of the metallic masses; and on
the other hand, the metallic masses are similar
10 the metallic portions often found in stony
Iue;eoriies. These fac Is are stated in report
20 the Smithsonian Institute for Io5j, by Prot
lawrence Smith, of Louisville, Ky. This
similarity in composition evidently indica es
common origin but leaves nothing to be in
ieTTed rs 10 the source
Dn this sublect, various opinions have been en-
iergalned, some having supposed that they were
formed from Il metallic dust issuing into the
atmosphere from volcanic action, and after
yards ireC ipit.;ed ny some electric or mag
uatic dis IN bluCe. On this subject Pro: g.
L Shepard, III Il report published IN 1915
says ANY great disturbance of the forces
maintaining these clouds OF meteor dust like
that produced by a magnetic storm, might
lead 10 precipitation OF portions OF the mat
ter thus suspended If the disturbanc was
confined 10 the magnetic dust, iron masses
would fal if To the dia-Inagne,ic dust a nom
.erruEluous stone; II 1t shot uld extend to boIn
classes simultaneously, a blending of the two
classes would cnsue III The preciptate, and "a
raIn OF ordinary me;eoric stones would take
place" Another hypothesis Is, that they
fragments thrown OF from the moon either
bv volcanic action or some other internal
fJrce, and that passing the limit Of balanced
artractI between the moon and earth, they
lake uu Il revolution around the latter body
and finally by some change il their orbits
come to enter INTO lis atmos pheIe, and by the
conseq retardaton. have their centrifugal
force 50 much di N nIshed as to be continually
uyprbaiaucei, ana 1T least entirely overcome
by he e3rth's attraction.
A third hypothesis is, that instead of being
eected from the volcanoes OF the moon, they
are small coSmical bodies revolving about the
sun is common centre, and whose orbits by
ssme disturbing forces are made to approach
50 near the earth as TO fall within its atmos-
phere, causing a descent Of the bodies TO its
surface
Before considering either of these theories,
T. Will. perhaps, be better TO mention the facts
ccnneeed with the particular phenomenon
10 whlth we have already alluded. The tail
Of ;Aese HTolites took place in Ohio, about sixty
niles west Of w Wheeling, near the Central OHIO
Railroad, and about seven miles from Cam
bridge. On visiting the spot We found. in the
possession Of several individuals, various
specimens, though the largest, weighing some
A!y-dVe pounds, hid been secured 10y Prof
Smith. In exieruai appearance they We're us
irregular III shape As stones blown from a
quarry, ahG, when broken Were of !, light
gtey color, and OF gr:.nuiaLed or crXS Stalline
Structure, and when struck, gave out a me-
tali!c ring resembling that of cast metal. II
Is fact worthy OF notice. that the surfaces Of
these bodies are entirely smooth, and OF dark
brown, almost black color, which is stated,
however, 10 be 4 charac teriStlc OF meieoIic
stones. This dark coating was thin layer,
resembling, eAcep. III color, The icing of a cake,
though perhaps not quite SO much as half
smooth indentations at various points, resem-
bing the impressions that would be pro
duced by pressing the fingers upon plastic
material; and, what appeared rather singu-
lar they We're generally, ii not always, III
close contact, bearing likeness ~ many IN
stances TO the tracks of Il dog. AdIsunguished A
friend suggests that this affords ample EVIL
d-nce that they came from the Dog-slari To
which argument we u. present, with due
deterence 10 his opinion, demur. The number
Vt these bodies which had been found, up TO
the lime we visited The region, was perhaps
thirty or forty though II Is generally beiieved
and Of Course highly probable, that several
hunda taes scattered over the area upon
whicA5Y fell. The descent took place about
moon my ne first of May, and was attended
VII Sas laions followed by rumbiing, and
then blkP;ng sound, before they reached the
groun1UpThe gentleman on whose premises
the largest mass fell, represented the sound
after the explosion, similar To- that pro-
duced by a "threshing- machine" to use his
own phrase, '.lust as the machine Starts and
before ii is muiiled by The feeding. We pre-
sumo he alluded - this TO the whizZlng
sound of the drum. As is generally The
case, many of these stones were found 10
be stil warm, though they We're not OBJ
served TO give forth light iii their fall, as
often happens, owing, probably, in part,
10 their conductibility, or probably to the
bright sunlight, which would render any
emission OF hight from the bodies themselves
invisible. II might at first be supposed that
tie dark coating nth which these bodies were
covered could be satisfactorily accounted fof
on The suppositlon OF their having been sub
lected, in assing through the atmosphere. 10
high degree of heat from its condensatIoni but
When the fragmentary portions are placed
under the action Of the blow-pipe they do not
assume an appearance at all like the natural
coating These are some OF the circumstances
attending their fall, and it remains now TO
speak OF the angle at which they seemed TO
reach the earth, and the reIati We positions they
assumed upon It's surface. We think acareiui
observation OF some OF these facts Will lead 10
some conclusions which seem to be Weli
founded. First, IL may be observed that the
area over which the bodies weie distributed
sx x'ended IN Il belt of some width III 4 dlrectioh
from southeast to northwest over distance
ol Ten or twelve miles, and consequently those
occupying the mos. uthefn position Wereaiso
soine seven or eight miles farther east ihah
ahose found at the extreme northern limit
lucy approached the earth in an obll4ue dl-
iecuon, as is fully indicated by the impress
SONS made In its surface, at an angie OF ABOUT
sixty degrees dip from the north point OF the
Aorizon, and a. an approximation, we may
say al an angie OF about twenty-five degrees
70 70 The west of meridian plane, passing
'hrouKh the point at which they entered Inc
ground. AT least, this was the conclusion ar
tt'eo al In reference To the impression OF Inc
.aisest mass, though under circumstances not
.eIy favorable for accurate observation.
sehueinan OF intelligence, however, who had
seen the directions in which other bodies Of the
group entered the ground, seemed to be OF
opiaion tha. the above conclusion approxi-
mate mated 10 the truth. They Of course entered TO
.he!eht depths, owing, III some measure, 10
ane Size and shape of the mass, and also 10 the
eharaeter Of the surface with which they came
~ collision. We think il may be fairly as
numeo, however, that the average deptn was
Ar more than from one TO one and q haiI iee'.
ttanother TACT worthy Of attention Il, thai the
"a "a t&sr bodies of the collection were found Ia
o MVst northern positions, and rs they gre"
esepuons. 1onad IN regular order distributed
""afd the 8oQth