The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-04
METEORITE, SAYS PEARY.
HIS CAPE FORK SPECIMEN RE-
SPONDS TO l. TESTS.

II Has Been Analysed by several Euninent
Scientific MEN, n shows tho Characteristic
Markings Under Polish. and II Also Fits
the Ola Traditions or the Eskimo Tribe.
Mr.. Robert e. Peary's attention was called
yesterday to the statement Of a prominent 60
ologist quoted in THE SUN to the effect that
possibly tho mass of metal brought from Cape
York on tho Hope was not a nicteorite, but
was of telluric origin. The ~geologist wanted
to know Mr.. Peary's answer to four questions,
which no said were propounded in a friendly
spirit and merely to gain tho desired informa-
ton. Here arc the questions:
How does ho know he has discovered a
ncteoritci'
Has q specimen of II ever been analy zedl"
IF 80, what scientific mon examined 1t, ana.
lyzed the specimens, and pronounced upon
theml'
who says it is a meteoritei"
In answering the questions and discussing
meteoritcs generally, MIR. Pcary said:
II am more than glad that the point has been
raised in such II direct manner, and that atten.
tion has been called TO the irons which have
bccn discovered by Prot. Nordenskilod on tie
beach at Oriiak, Disko lslanri, and western
Greenland. These Nordenskil0d irons are prac-
tically the only ones ever brought from Green
land, with the exception of the two | brought
in 1891 and the one which is now on the Cob
dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
1T is an error TO state that they were discov:
cred along the shore of Davis strait. All Of
these irons were found in the same localities.
that is. on the shore of Orifak and Disko Island,
or in that part of Greenland.
Tho CAPE York mctcorites, which l have
brought TO the lnited states, were all found
fully 1000 miles from where he Nordcnskiold
iron? were collected and differ in appearance as
much as cast iron and polished steel diner: In
the museums where the Nordenskiold irons
have been placed il Is necessary to keep them
| under running water in order to preserve them.
and an analysis easily determines their tel
s larn e, formation nat every sclSniiis man IN who has
mer expedition, one of which weighs / 900 and
the other 5000 pounds, as well as FRAGMENTS
I'm addition to this, within hundreds of
miles Of where we discovered our prizes there
cannot be found basaItic rock containing the
metallic properties of the meteorites in stu.
They We're found in a sneissose region and there
from which they could have possibly eroded.
In 1925. when the two smaller meteorites
Rollin, d. Salisbury, the eminent g~eoloRist of
tho Chicago University, had an opportunity
said that there could be no question of their
meteoric origin. He not only examined the
two smaller meteorites which for the last two
years have been IN the American Museum, but
he examined specimens Of the large mass Of
steel, and his opinion as TO the origin Of them
the irons are fragments of the same meteoric
fall. Analyses were also made by Yale Col,
leke, anu ttlCkelL q bdnkS, ASSHylStS OIL IllS CITY,
both of which were the Same and showed the
ulquestionable meteoric alloy OF 81 per cent.
OF iron and 3 per cent. of nickel. Moreover, II
was shown then and can be demonstrated again
that these irons show the peculiar wavy CT.
feet on polished surfaces characteristic Of me.
%teoritcs. This is unInistakable evidence.
There is also a distinct legend among the
Eskimos, and one of the very few nurturcd by
the tribe, that years ago these three irons fell
from the sky for their particular benefit in that
they were enabled to substitute metal for stone
indictments.
authority. on meteOritcs, does not mention
Greenland irons in his work "Encycloptdic
Chimique' is not at all surprising. At the
time when he wrote Of mcteorites tho only
irons which had been brought from Greenland
were those of Prot. Nordenski0ld and scientific
men soon determined their telluric origin. As
a matter OF fact the meteorites | have brought
from Cape York are the first ever brought from
Greenland and hence 1t Is not to be wondered
at that NJ. Frenzy. Mr.. Walter Flight, DR..
Lawrence Smith and Prof. Steenstrup are
agreed that the Greenland irons are of terres.
trial origin and that DR.. Aristides Brezina and
the British Museum should have catalogued
them as telluric. IL is also very natural Il
infer. after reading what these eminent authori
ties have to say in regard to meteoritcs, that
the ape York specimens are also telluric, and
! am only too happy 10 correct this impress
sion."
Mr.. Peary left for Chicago last night. He
had not determined what disposition he would
make of the Cape York meteorite: He suggest:
the plan Of placing ii in Central Park.