The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-26
PEARr'S METEoRITEs.
His Reply to Nnnsrn's Light aud Airy Remarks
ms 10 Their Origin.

To THE EDITOR OF TIE SuN-Sir: As all tho
papers have given considerable prominence to
tho fact that DIR. Manson before seeing my Cape
YORK metcori,cs. or knowing anything as to tho
details IN regard 10 them; before he had landed
in this country, in ct, has settled positively and
off hand that they arc Of t]olluric origin and tho
same ms the Nor cnskiold irons. feel that II
few facts as to the points Of difference between
my mcteoritcs and tho Nordcnskjuld irons may
be OF interest.
The Nordcnskjoll irons were found in 60 \.
lat, my mctror.tc, in t6'N. lat. The Nordensk.
Jold irons are rough and rusty in external ap.
re1rlncc, with no surflcc markings differing
from those Of any rusty lump Of iron, aud they
oXidiac rapidly. some OF them even to complete
disintegrntiou. some IL was found impossible
to preserve; others are kept constantly wet in
closed cases.
Tho surface Of my mrtcoritc, except where 1t
has hccn ahradcd by the Eskimos. has the pit
tings' situations, ana slightly fused appearance
Of the edges, distinctive OF all sidcritcs, and Is
of n rich, smooth, bronze color, unaffected by
exposure. \ small surface on the .Ahnighito"
mctcoritc plnncd in 1895 was this summer still
bright and unCorrOded.
The beautiful Widmanstattcn figures, the
celestial trademark, are as sharp and clear on
these Cape York mctcorites as il made by n
bt"N'' 'pO'. wv oiiN Nv 'nc5t lnhIhlhRs ehCn
on a polished surface under the action OF acid,
bit on the exterior of The mctcOr1tcs as well.
AS regards surroundings, the NordenskIold
irons my IN an extensive ignCOuS region at inc
foot OF basaItic cliffs in which arc found nodulcs
of tho same iron, and from which evary year
additional masses arc weathercd. My Cane
York mcteori'es rested upon gneissoso boulders
In the midst OF a purely gncissoso region, which
extends UNINTERRUPTED by igneous or basultiC
formations for intlos about them. Were any
further proof needed, the legends OF the Eskinos
att ibute heavenly origin TO the masses.
The only point in which the jold
irons and my nuetcorites are similar Is that botl
are an alloy OF nickel and iron. A simple exam
ination of the three masses which ] have brought
to this country has been sufficient To convinc,
any one cOnNcrslnt with tho subject md com
petcn, to form an opinion of their mctcoric orr
gin. For those who have not seen them tn,
facts as to their surroundings viii furnish proof
The fact that nickel iron has been found in sta
in the hashltiC formations in ana about Disc,
Greenland is thu same. nor does it preclude tn,
possibility OF mctr"rites, such MS these Cap
York specimens. fall ny in other portions OF tina
country several hundred miles distant.
The following are statements OF facts fOundc,
upon ample proof, and Will survive any mcr
cNpr ssiOns of o in.on:
The three great masses OF iron brought haCl
by me from the shores OF Melville bay are slider
ties lmria! ic mctcoritcsl.
One OF them ia by far the largest know
meteoritc in the world.
All three. but particularly the two smallc
ones. possess a historical and human intvrCs
such as attaches to no others.
They were never seen by, nor was their lOCa
tion known, To any white lnan before my discOS
cry of them in Hay. 1891.
Il. +. PEARY, civil Engineer. L. S. ~.
BROOKLYN, y. y. Oct. %.