The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-01
pEARY'S METEORITE HERE.
HIS HIP HOPE COMES IN WITH TIE
PRIZE SAFE IN HER HOLD.

~ AAe NuAo ~ OCNa-
sionnlLookn t the BiG stone rrou Cape York.
Lieut.. r. Il. Peary's steam bark Hope came
down the East River yesterday afternoon and
dockod at the foot Of Dock street in Brooklyn,
where abe will remain until Saturday morning,
when she will DO lowed to the Brooklyn Navy
Yard, swhere the Cape York meteorite will DO
taken from her hold. Above decks the Hope
does not show tho rough voyage to Greenland
and were 1t not for the picturesque group OF
Eskimos on board, with their dogs, sledges,
kayak, and skin tepeo. the nature Of her trip
would not be gurmised. Both the starboard and
port bows, however, show the effects Of crunch
ing through the leo, and the bands Of heavy
metal which were riveted on the timbers arc
badly bent and twisted In places.
On board the ship were the entire party that
mado the trip, with tho exception Of Mr. and
Mrs. Hugh Leo. who spent their honeymoon In
Greenland, and Prof. Robert Stein of wash-
ington. Albert oportl, the artist; J. O. Higgins,
the texidcrmist; DIFF. Sohm, and Mathew Hen
son, Peary's "all-Rround" man. who has accom-
panied him on every expedition, had not left
the ship. Most important Of the party to the
crowd OF curious callers were the six Eskimos,
Members OF the Arctic Highlanders, the most
northern tribe Of their race. Nooktah. the son
OF the Chief Koolootoonah OF Netuluni. who in
1858 plotted TO murder DR.. HAYES and his party,
Is the head Of the little band brought BY Peary
from the north. Nooktah is 8 feet 4 inches In
height. His round. ruddy cheeks are deeply
furrowed by the wrinkles resultant from forty
seven years Of life In the ice country. but his
small. tead-like eyes twinklod with a merry
curiosity as no nodded and smiled 10 the visit
ors, who felt OF his hair, pinched his checks. and
pulled ut his garments. With Nooktah are his
wife, Ahtungahnaksaah; his l0-year-old daugh-
ter. Ahweah; kessuh, q young man who is q
leader of his tribe; his 9-year.old son. Meesney,
and a comrade, Weestakupsi.
When the Hope tied to the wharf the natives
were dressed in their furs, but the excessive
heat, from an Arctic point of feeling, proved too
much for them. The sealskin coats, which ex-
tend from the neck to below the waist. with
their hoods. were thrown aside, and sweaters
substituted. The trousers Of polar bear skin.
which extend from the waist TO the knee, and
are worn by both men and women, could not be
exchanged for cooler apparel. neither could the
moccasins. made from tanned sealskin. The
visitors, with the usual delicacy OF curiosity
seekers, crowded about the six very hot and
very uncomfortable Eskimos, feeling OF their
clothing, hair. and skin, and poking them in the
face, all OF which the natives bore good natured-
ly, with the exception OF Ahweah and Meesney,
the two children. Neither Of them cared TO be
disturbed, but Mcc-ney. after much coaxing by
Mr.. Henson, cCnuesCcudcd to render u North
ern solo on Il harn.Uniua given him by ono OF the
crew, and Ahwtah experienced q now scnsa-
ton by making the acquaintance OF tho civillz-
ing influence of peanuts and popcorn.
On the forward deck was an Eskimo tepee, q
skin tent, which is the form of dwelling used by
the tribe in summer, and fastened near to 1t
were four dogs. which. by snarling, barking,
and Violently painting, indicated their dislike OF
deck u complete kayak, and the visitors found
much TO admire IN its remarkably strong yet
ia which The kins OF which it was made were
sewed and Tapped and flied with oil 30 that the
little craft was as tight as a drum. Amidships
were the crews quarters, and the men were do.
Ing a rushing business in fur rugs, shoes, and
Eskimo implements and that they
had brought, home with them. All the leather
goods rocked OF fish oil, with which they were
tanned, but they found a good market at fair
prices, simply as relics OF the expedition.
The centre OF interest was, OF course. the
ninety-ton meteorite, the largest in the world,
which could DO easily seen from the deck, al.
though II lies in the lower hold. II Is Of such
size, however, that it rises nearly to the level Of
the main deck. In appearance 1t does not
Inspection to see its metallic consistency. Lieut..
fcary, who was on board the Hope, is cnthusi.
length on the different meteoritcs which have
been found and are now in museums. The
least $4,000. as 1t is composed Of the highest
grade nickel steel such Ms is used in armor
plate. Sir John Ross heard Of the meteorite
on bis trip to Cape York in ISIS, and it has been
known 10 Arctic explorers for years, but was
not discovered untll found by Lieut., rcs-y, four
been collected, particularly those which fell in
Iowa in 1879. contain a large percentage OF iron,
but no elements. as far as is known. which
have not been found on earth. although these
elements are compounded differently from ter
]restrial mineral; Iron is always present,
usually in metallic form, combined with nickel.
The meteorolitcs coming from a single
meteor" said Lieut.. Peary. ARE probably CO.
pary. The resistance of the Dir and the conse-
Quent heating Of the body are sufficient TO break
the meteor into fragments. Fragments Of q
meteor which fell in Indiana in 1861 were
licked UP three or four miles apart, and were
found d to ut one an9theT, The msteoToids may be
comet, They are entirely invisible until at a
height OF less than 100 miles from the earth
they enter air dense enough to resist their mo-
ton and create light. But for the action OF the
we should DO intolerably pelted with them. 1t
Is estimate that every day millions of meteor
ODDS come within 1000 miles of tho carth's
This particular specimen which the Hope has
In hor hold, like most others OF its kind. IL
COMPOSED chiefly of iron. with a percentage of
nickel. probably some cobalt, and maybe a trace
Of copper and tin. 1t is, in fact, a mass Of
using nickel steel for armor was obtained by
It's inventor. from observation OF the extreme
tPufh, Mers OF pr metGSslIsS' to nG aSt OF un eo this S eTeh
Imeteorite, 1t would not be done. as its value
would 10 a great extent be destroyed. There 10
no other specimen in the world to compare with
81 do not wonder that tho ignorant natives
OF that hyperborean country looked upon tho
strange objects with awe, believing that there
was something supernatural about 1t. They
have never thought OF damaging II, although
it has been in their power to do SO. Truth to
tell, ! first heard of the mcteorite from tho Es-
kimos, who excited my curiosity by telling mo
of an enormous stone that lay on the coast
I having been thrown there by some god or other.
As yet do not know what disposition will be
made Of the meteorite. II will be taken out Of
the Hone Mt the navy yard and then ] shall con-
slider some offers made by a number of
museums,
Getting the metcorito. into the hold OF the
Hope cntailcd n deal OF arduous labor. Tho
work WAS done AT n great risk to the ship. Tho
prize is twelve feet long, eight feet wide and
six feet high, and is estimated to weigh from
eighty to 100 tons. Beams were stretched
from the hulwark OF the ship to the meteorito
and tracks laid thereon. BY means OF hydraulic
Jacks it was forced up, The track to a, point
where gun tackles could be utilized. when 1t
was lowered into tho hold. Hero it was sur
rounded with sand ballast and propped with
twclve-inch beams.
Lieut.. Poary took occasion to deny again
that a grewsome find was made at the Greeley
camp. The men, however, including the otii-
GERS OF tho crew, say they are not allowed 10
talk or they, would diyulge some startling in
formation. Mathew Henson, PeRry's right.
hand man, who 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 and an
| inCDmplete set OF surgical Instruments.