The evening times., 1899-05-10
A COLLECTOR OF METEoRITEs.
Prof. Henry \. Ward Gathers Some
Famous Specimens.
From the Rochester Herald.D


Prof Henry A. Ward President o,
Wards Natural Science estab ishment. has
jus, returned from long trip abroad,
where he has been engaged in the unique
and unusual pursuit of hunting for me
teorites lie is spending few days in
Rochester, devoting time to classifying
and arranging mis- newly acquired spec
mems.
Il went abroad" said the professor IN
response 10 an inquiry. entirely in the in
terest OF my private collection of meteor
ties. collection which ! am hoping to
build out so that it will at least rack
among the finest ten collections in the
world The meteorites ! was after were IL
the hands OF royal museums, universities,
and schools OF mines, all under government
supervision. The only way in which il was
possible for me to get the desired speci-
mems was to exchange from my own col
lection gathered in America. Australia. and
Japan wanted some of theirs; they
wanted some of mine. And so went.
MY route lay through England France.
Germany. Austria. Hungary. Bohemia,
Holland, and Switzerland: then on 10
Scandinavia. Copenhagen. Sweden, Chris
tiana, Norway, across to Stockholm.
Sweden. Finland then TO St Petersburg
and the Baltic provinces and down 10 Mos
COW. In all those places | made ex-
changes giving them my specimens and
getting theirs; fighting out all the terms
and details of the bargain. which some
times was very tiresome and monotonods
business Some of the me;eorites l OBJ
tanned are very valuable. however. worth
as high as two. three. and four and even
five times their weight in gold
After ] got through with Northern
Russia | went south into Asia Minor
Il visited the capital of Persia. Teheran.
spent two weeks there. and saw the mis-
sionaries. the palace Of the Shah and other
interesting things. | even got inside the
palace
..Did you see the Shah HIMSELF" inter
posed the interviewer
Yes | obtained an audience Of him
Did you find him an approachable sort
of fellow"
Not very. He seemed to have a very
magnified sense of his own Importance
and the undesirability CT conversing with
ordinary mortals, especially Christians
However. l get what went for. piece
of his meteor. called the Veramir, after
the place where it was found. 1t is one
of a class few in number. and is there
fore desirable. and more than that. it is
now owned by but two persons in the
world. The Shah has the largest part of it.
| got only piece off the end. My speci-
men weighs nearly two pounds, however.
Come into the next room and l will show
ii to you
The scientist led the way and the scribe
followed. From case which evidently
had Just been opened Professor Ward took
out dull ll-looking chunk of meteorite,
which he poised in his hand.
There 1t is said he. land ] would not
exchange il for lump of gold Of the same
size and weight" And the newspaper
mans mental ejaculation was: And il
weighs nearly two pounds.'
IF ever a man went on a wild goose
chase" said Prof. Ward, lit was when
went into Persia to get a piece of the
Shah's meteorite. But l got it, and the
venerable scientists eyes sparkled as he
said it,
HIS journey was entirely successful
probably beyond the fondest expectations
of the scientist. = His collection Of met or
ties has been greatly augmented until it
is now one Of the finest four collections in
America. and. as Prof. Ward himself
phrased it. 1.-The end is not yet"
In addition to the portion of the Shah S
meteorite, which is perhaps the most prec-
ious souvenir OF the journey. Prof. Ward
has brought back home with him piece
of the famous Ensisheim meteorite, which
fell in the upper Rhine Valley about the
time Columbus sighted land in the New
World. the exact date being November 26.
1892. This meteorite is one of the Oldest
authenticated and one of the most valuable
in the world
Prof Ward carried no comera. but he
brings with him several photographs 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 turbaned attendant of the palace. a
peculiar group in the centre of the mag
nificent salon, and another showing the
meteorite upon its accustomed place, be-
fore the saw took of the end of it.