The evening times., 1899-07-01
Central African Meteorites.

(FrOm the LONDON Standard
The fine representative collection of me-
teorites in the department of minerals in
the British Museum has just been en-
riched by four stones which were seen to
fall on the morning of January 20 last in
native villages on the eastern slopes of
Mount Zomba, British Central Africa. Two
of them completely encrusted and weigh
ing fourteen ounces and seventeen ounces,
respectively are presented 10 the trustees
by Alfred Sharpe. c. B., Her Majesty S
Commissioner and Consul General; part,
weighing twenty mine ounces OF third
stone by J. F. c. ham, secretary TO the
protectorate, and part, weighing nineteen
ounces. of a fourth stone, by ]. McClounie,
acting collector of revenues. IL was about
s o'clock on the morning of January 20
that there was heard at Zomba crash like
thunder the reverberations lasting for a
few minutes afIerward. The detonation
was heard at Chiromo, situated about nine
ty miles south of Zomba, and at Fort
Johnston and beyond a distance of about
seventy miles in the opposite direction.
Zomba was thus roughly the centre of the
district over which the actual explosion OF
the meteorite took place. About 8 a. m.
news reached the Residency- that several
stones had fallen in native yiliages-on the
eastern slopes Of Zomba Mountain, which
is situated Immediately behind the Zomba
settlement and rises to a height of 5000
feet above the sea, the settlement being at
$500 feet. Ten fragments in all were
found the largest weighing five pounds
twelve and one-half ounces. At one OF the
villages the people were found squatting
round the stone in circle discussing the
miracle" as they called it. No one had
touched, or approached the stone. and 1t
was still lying where 1t fell when the
officials sent to investigate the matter ar
rived. The story of its fall was given as
follows: t.,
"A woman was pounding corn under a
tree within about ten yards of her hut
when the stone fell. The whole village
heard the detonation Immediately after
ward, and gathered TO where the woman
was standing, to view the stone. They
were afraid of it, thinking ii enchanted,
and they sat at a distance round 1t, each
giving 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, little before o'clock on
the same morning, star OF exceptional
brilliancy was seen to pass across the sky
in the direction of Lake Shirwa troughly
west to easO, leaving a trail or tail be-
hind it. Immediately followed by an 'ex-
plosion like a crash of thunder! SMr.G Nc
Clouine states that the report was nearQ
with the precision of a cannon boom, while
Mr.. Sharpe, who, at the time Of the ex-
plosion, was on the top Of Zomba Noun
tain, heard one very loud report, then
for some two minutes a long rumbling or
buzzing noise, gradually getting fainter
and fainter.
Explosions of meteorites are generally
followed by sounds which have been va
riously likened to the tapping of the
wings of wild geese, the believing of OK
en- Turkish music, the roaring of fire
in a chimney, the noise of a carriage on
the pavement, and the tearing of calico.
Mr. Fletcher, the keeper of the depart
ment of minerals, in his Introduction to
the Study of Meteorites," states that these
sounds are probably due to the whirling
of the fragments through the air in the
neighborhood of the observers. AS far
as at present known, the area over which
the Zomba stones fell represents about
nine miles long by about three wide, but,
inasmuch as the fragments collected are
only those which were seen to fall close
to people or houses, 1t appears probable
that large number Of stones may have
reached the earth.