The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-10-03
1T. PEARY'S METE0RlTE.
ms SHIP HOIL COnfSiA DffH TnE
PEfzE SfFE ~ HER HOLD.
She Ties up Ia Brooklyn, Where tro""'
Tgke ~ OCCASIONAL Look ~ Ia hi-
Stone From Cape York.

NAMED lnlN yesterday lNVllNH-f
she was toWed 10 the Brooklyn Navy
yard, where the Cape York mtteoilie
vii. lee taken from her hold. Above
decks the Hope does net show The rough
voyage 90 Greenland and were 10 not Tor
the picturesque group OF Eskimos on
board. with their dogs. siedses. kayak
and skin tcpec. the nature az her IMP
would not bee surmiscd.
The centre OF interest in the work says
the New York san. was. or course, the
nincty-tou mctcor.tc. she largest in the
world. which could be easily seen from
the deck, although it lies in the
hold. II is Of such size, however, mat
is rises nearly 90 the level OF me nam
deck. I'm appearance 70 does not allcr
from black granite and 20 needs a close
inspection 10 see its metallic consistency,
Lieutenant Pcary. who was on board the
Hope. is enthusiastic over his scientific
treasurer. and talked at langth on the
different mcteOritcs which have been
found and arc now i'm museums. The
Cane York mcteoritc Is intrinsically
worth az least $1,000. as 10 is composed
OF the highest grade nickel steel such as
IS used in armOr plate. Sir John Ross
heard Of the mcteOrlte on his trip 90
Cape York I'm ISIS. and 20 has been known
10 Arctic explorers for years. but was
not discovered until found by Lieutenant
Peary four years ago. MeteOrOid sub
stances which have been collected, par
|ticularly those which fell On Iowa On
1873. contain "a large percentage OF iron,
but no elements. as lar as ls known,
which nave not been found ON earth. ale
though these elements are compounded
differently from terrestrial minerals.
Iron is always present. usually in metal
lie form. combined with nickel.
HWTNA Fa--. H.
gle meteor said Lieutenant Poary. care
probably coherent before entering tho
air. % in close company. Tho resist
ance Of the air and the consequent heat
ing OF the body are sufficient To- break
the meteor into fragments. Fragments
Of a. meteor which fen in Indiana in 1861
were picked mp three or four miles apart.
and were found 20 ht one another. Tho
meteor0ids may be regarded as small
solid bodies describing a long ollintic or
bit about the snn. like amy comet. riley
are entirely invisible until at % height or
less than 100 miles from the earth they
enter air dense enough 10 resist their
motion and create light. But for tho
action of the air In arrosfing ami dee
stroyins the metoo~oids We SHOULD 1e iH-
tOlerably uCitcl with them. 10 IS osti-
mated that every day millions of meteor
ODDS come within 1000 miles Of the Carth's
centre.
This particular specimen which the
Hope has i'm her hold. like most others of
its kind. is composed chiefly of iron. with
"a percentage Of nickel. probably some coz
bait, and maybe "a trace OF copper and
tin. 10 is. I'm fact. a mass of nickel steel.
As q matter Of fact. the idea of using
nickel steel for armor was obtained by
it's inventor from observation of the eX-
tram HaHHhH... al anLHa.wHH-. H. 20
course. even IL 10 were practicable 90 cut
up this great meteorite. IL would no. De
done, as its value would, TO o. great ok
tent. be- destroyed. There is n6 other
specimen I'm the world 20 compare with
II bon size.
IL do not wonder that the ignorant ma.
lives Of that hyperb0rean country looked
upon the strange object with awe. be-
lieving that there was something super
natural about &c.. They have never
thought of damaging IL. although IL has
been i'm their power 10 do so. Truth TO
tell. / first heard of the metcorite from
the Eskimos. who excited my curiosity by
telling me- of am en0rmous stone hat lay
on the coast. having been thrown there
by some god or other.
As yet. 1 DO not know what disposition
will boz made of the meteoritc. 10 Will
JIG NAh'M 0MN NN 90 AALN| W| NMN MNH
yard and then ! shall consider some of-
fers made by "a number of museums.
Getting the mete)rite into tine hold or
the Hope cntailed "a deal OF arduOus labor.
The work was lone at 20 great risk 90 the
ship. The prize is twelve feet long. eight
feet wide. and six feet high. and is este
mated 90 weigh from eighty TO 100 tons.
Beams were stretched rom the bulwark
Of the ship TO the meteorite and tracks
laid thereon. BY means Of hydraulic
jacks it was forced mp the track 90 a
point where gun tackles could bee utilized
when &c was lowered into the hold. Here
il was surrounded with sane ballast and
pr0ppcd with tWclyo-lnch beams.
Lieutenant Peary took occasion 10 de-
ny again that a greWsome n was made
at the Greeley camp. The men. however.
including the officers of the crew. say
they are not allowed TO talk OBJ they would
divulge some startling information. Ma
thew Henson. Pcary's right-hand man,
mho was with him when the old camp
was inspected. said that the only relics
which were found were a lot of discharged
cartridge-shells. old hats. pieces OF rope.
ana am incomplete SET of surgical instru-
monts.
81 could not positively state" said Mr..
Pearv. chat there are not human bone
and the Ike at the camp for we did non
search for any. but ! can Say that we
made no discoyeries which would in any
way tend 10 confirm the rumOrs ~ canni-
bllism by the members OF the Greeley
party"
Lieutenant Pcary viii take charge 81
the SIX Eskimos This winter. They viii
assist him in arranging his chronological
specimens collected on a number OF eX-
petitions. They will accompany him
next year. VIXEN be- starts for a TWO or
three-vears' effort TO reach the pcie. II
is doubtful If the Hope will be- taken on
the next "trip. as Pe1ry is anxious 20 see
cure "a larger and more serviceaDle ship.
While the Hope is az the foot of Dock
street visitors will be- admitted. an adj
mission fae Of % cents being cnarsed.