Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1899-11-02
Meteorites Astonish African Villa
gers and Are Sent to London.
Fine Collection of Celestial Visit
ants ia the British Eu-
scum Explosions of
H~eteOrites.

The fine representative collection of
meteorites in the department of min
erals in the British museum has just
been enriched by four tones which
were seen to fall on the morning OF
January 20 last in native villages III
the eastern slopes of Noun LOnDa
British Central Africa. Two Of them,
completely eucTUsted and Weighing Il
ounces and II ounces respectively, are
presented to the trustees uv MIR. Alfred
Sharpe, c. f., her maiesty's commits
sioner and consul general; part. weigh
ing 20 ounces, of a third stone by Mfr.
j. f. Cunningham, secretary to the
protectorate, and part. weighing e
ounces OF a fourth stone By Mr., j. Me
Clounie. acting collector Of revenues.
1t was about eight o'clock on the
morning Of the 25th of january that
there was heard al /u.rba q crash like
thunder, the revVrbtratiOns lasting for
a few minutes afterward. The dctuna-
tiOn was heard at Chrome. situated
about 90 miles south of ZOmba, and at
Fort Johnston and beyond, a distance
of about 70 miles in the opposite direc-
ton. ZOmba was thus roughly the
center of the district over which the
actual explosion of the meteOrite tool
place. About nine a. N. news reached
the residency that several tones had
fallen in native villages on the eastern
slopes of Zomba mountain, which is sit
uated Immediately behind the Zomba
settlement, and rises to a height of
5000 feet above the sea, the settlement
being at 1000 feet.
Ten fragments in all were found,
the largest weighing five pounds 1914
ounces. At one of the villages the peo-
pie were found squatting round the
ton in a circle discussing the mir
acle," as they called it. No one had
touched or approached the stone, and it
was still lying where it fell, when the
officials sent to investigate the matter
arrived. The story Of its fall was given
as follows:
"a woman was pounding corn under
a tree within about ten yards of her hut
when the tone fell. The whole village
heard hedetonatiOn Immediately after
ward, and gathered to where the wOm-
an was standing to view the stone
They were afraid of it, thinking it en-
chanted, and they sat at a distance
round it, each giving a version of its
probable origin and meaning"
1t fell on hard ground, but. as there
were no rocks about, no difficulty was
experienced in digging it up complete
At Blantyre a little before eight OF
the same morning 4 star of exceptional
brilliancy was seen to pass across tn,
sky in the direction of Lake Shirws
! (roughly, west to east), leaving a trai
or tail behind it, Immediately followed
by an explosion like a crash of thunder
Mr.. Melbourne states that the repOr
was heard with the precision of a can
non boom, while Mr.. Sharpe, who, a
the time of the explosion, was on to-
ofZomba mountain, heard one very lou,
report; then for some two minutes
long rumbling or buzzing noise, grad
ually getting fainter and fainter.
Explosions of meteorites are general
ly followed by sounds which have bee
variously likened to the Tapping of tn
wings Of wild geese, the believing c
oxen, Turkish music, the roaring of
Hle III d chllliley, the Holoe Vi d Cd
rage on the pavement, and the tearln
of calico. Mr.. Fletcher, the keeper {
the department Of minerals, in his III
PRODUCTION to the Study of Meteorites,
1 states that these sounds are probabl
due to the whirling of the fragmen,
through the air in the neighborhood {
the observers.
n AS far as at present known. the are
= over which the Zomba stones fell repr,
sents about nine miles long by 1hol
. three wide, but, inasmuch as the fra
40 ments collected are only those whic
were seen to fall close to people ,
houses, it appears probable that a larG
, earth.-London Times.