The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-05-31
HUNTING FOR METEORITES


Professor Henry A Ward, president
of Wards Natural Science establish
ment, has just returned from a long
trip abroad, where he has been engaged
in the unique and unusual pursuit of
hunting for meteorites. He is spending
a few days in Rochester, devoting time
to classifying and arranging his newly
acquired specimens.
response to an inquiry, entirely in the
interest of my private collection OF
meteOriteS, a collection which am
hoping to build out so that 1t Will at
least rank among the finest ten collec-
lions in the world. The meteorites L
was after were in the hands or royal
museums, universities and schools OF
mines, all under government superVls-
ion. The only way in which 1T was pos
sible for me to get the desired speci-
mems was to exchange from my own
collection gathered in America, Aus
tralia and Japan. L wanted some OF
theirs; they wanted some of mine. And
My route lay through England.
France, Germany, Austria, Hungary.
Bohemia, Holland and Switzerland
then on to Scandinavia, Copenhagen,
Christiania, Norway, across to STOCK
holm, Sweden, Finland, then to St Re
tersburg and the Baltic provinces and
down to Moscow. In all those places 1
made exchanges, giving them my spec
linens and getting theirs; hghtlng out
all the terms and details of the bargain,
which sometimes was very tiresome
and monotonous business. Some OF the
meteorites 1 obtained are very valuable
however. worth as high as two, three
and four and even 1--WE times their
weight in gold.
After I got through with Northern
Russia 1 went south into Asia Minor
II visited the capital of Persia, Te-
heran. spent two weeks there, and saw
the missionaries, the palace OF the
Shah and other interesting things. L
even got inside the palace"
Did you see the Shah himseIfE" IN
terposed the interviewer.
Yes L obtained an audience of him.
Did you find him an approachable
sort of fellow %
mot very. He seemed to have a very
magnified sense of his own importance
and the undesirability of conVerslng
with ordinary mortals, especially Chris-
tianS. However, got what went IoF,
a piece of his meteor, called the Vera
min, after a place where it was found;
1t is one of a class few in number, and
is therefore desirable, and, more than
that it is now owned by but two per
sons in the world. The shah has the
largest part of it. L got only piece
off the end. My specimen weighs near
Nv two pounds, however. Come into the
next room and / will show it to you
The scientist led the way and the
scribe followed. From a case which
evidently had just been opened Profess
sor Ward took out a dull looking chunk
of meteOrite, which he poised in MS
hand.
''There IL SdlQ me- anu WOOAeA
not exchange it for lump of gold of
the same size and weight" And the
newspaper mans mental ejaculation
was: And it weighs nearly two
poundsl"
IF ever a man went on wild goose
chase said Professor Ward, 1T was
when I went into Persia to get a piece
of the Shah's meteorite- But got 1t,
and the venerable scientists eyes
sparkled as he said it.
His journey was entirely successful,
probably beyond the fondest eXpecta-
lions of the scientist His collection Of
meteorites has been greatly augmented
until it is now one of the finest four
sor Ward himself phrased it, the end is
not yet
In addition to the portion of the
Shah's meteorite, which is perhaps the
most precious souvenir of the journey,
Professor Ward has brought back home
with him a piece of the famous Ensis-
helm meteorite, which fell in the upper
Rhine Valley about the time Columbus
sighted land in the New World, the
exact date being November rs. 1882
This meteOrite is one of the Oldest au-
thenticated and one of the most valua-
BILE in the world.
Professor Ward carried no camera,
but he brings with him several photo
graphs of his visit TO the Shah's palace
in Teheran, one showing the scientist
with his saw actually at work upon the
precious stone, assisted by a turbaned
attendant of the palace. peculiar
group in the center of the magnificent
salon, and another showing the mete-
orite upon it's accustomed place, before
the saw took off the end of 1t.