Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-11-27
The Pennsylvania .A~eroiitc.

The people of Southwestern Penn
sylvania were startled on the 26th of
September, by the occurrence Of a very
unusual phenomenon; an immense aero
lite had descended upon them. AT first
the impression prevailed that the dis
trict had been visited by an earthquake.
or that a terrible explosion of natural
gas had taken place, while others de-
cided that a pretty large set OF boilers
had burst, or that a gigantic blast had
thrown down a large mass of rock
from some neighboring quarry. Loud
detonations We're heard throughout
that entire section, the explosions APP
parently following a straight line
across the country. and causing not a
little CONSERVATION among the people.
The meteor seems to have passed
from the northeast to tse southwest,
ana the noise of its passage, which was
~Narlously described as resembling the
rafting OF heavy artillery over Il solid
road-bed OF as u mighty peal of thun-
der, was heard over Il large area of
country in the ncighborhooi OF Pitts
burg and to the south. A number of
witnesses describe it us an immense
mass OF tire, fully us large as the larg-
est barns-and Pennsylvania barns it
will be remembered arc noted for their
size. A powerful flame of deep red
color. which tapered off into a darker
tail, seemed attached to the mass.
This, however, is stated to have disap-
peared as the meteor came nearer, and
the color of the mass changed to a
blush white, which was maintained as
long as it remained in sight.
A maii-carrier ON horseback and a
man who Was blowing at the time both
describe their animals as being so ter
rllied that they remained perfectly mo-
~tionless, and could not be persuaded to
Stir for several minutes after the fiery
visitor had disappeared. 1t finally
struck the earth on the farm of MI.
auckland, in Jefferson township. Wash
!ngton County, near the West Virginia
line. The stone broke into three pieces,
and became partly buried. The color
is gray, with streaks of red running
over it; possibly from the formation Of
sesquioxiae OF IRON. The form is irreg-
ular, and the dimensions, ii correctly
reported. are without precedent. III is
stated to be from thirty to fifty feet liz
diameter, but we doubt very much that
the statement can be verified. The
Gibbs meteorite, in the Yale College
cabinet at New Haven, is noted for its
size. but it weighs only 1875 pounds,
and has a length OF 3 feet 4 inches, q
breadth of 2 feet 4 inches, and a HEIGHT
OF / foot 4 inches, Ii came from the
Red River.
a still more noted one is the Tuscon
meteorlte, from Sonora, Mexico. which
IS now in the Smithsonian Institution.
1t is ring-shapcd, and f~orty-nine inches
in its greatest diameter. The most re-
markable masses OF which we have any
knowledge have been found in South
America. One discovered in the dis
trict OF Chaco-Gualamba was estimated
to weigh sixteen tons. These weights
and volumes would, however, be Quite
dwarteu by 4 comparison for those re-
ported for the Pennsylvania mctcorite.
But there is probably still Il little To-
nance attached 10 these accounts. and
the true dimensions VIII not be reached
until later.
IN Odd superstition clings to metcovs,
anil many WHO Witnessed this remark