Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1907-02-26
.0N A WARM TRAIL
AFTER THt METEOR
Progress of the Novel Operations of
the Standard Iron Co. in Northern
Arizona,

s. ]. Holsinger, superintendent of the
Standard Iron company. was inter-
viewed yesterday concerning the opera
tions Of the company which as many
people know is engaged in a novel oc-
cupation having two important objects
in view. one is he development of the
most unique iron mine in the world
and the other a scientific study of the
! largest meteor known to man. The
scene OF operations is in northern Ari-
IONA no great distance from the rail-
road and about three and a half miles
from Canyon Diablo. An immense de-
presssion or crater-like formation is
found there, its greatest depth being
about 600 feet. Opinion differed i'm the
| past concerning il. Some believed il
was a volcanic crater and some thought
it was the hole left by q monstrous me-
teOr which had struck the earth some
time in past ages. Mr.. Holsinger so
reported it to the land office when he
was i'm its service. and later a company
of capitalists was formed for its ex-
ploitation, Mr.. Holsinger being made
the superintendent. Explorations have
been going on now FOR two or three
years. and Mr.. Holsinger says the re-
suits have been most satisfactory. al
though final success has not been
achieved. The gentlemen furnishing
the money are interested in scientific
things and have published a number
Of works on this meteor of one kind
and another They hoped first to de-
monstrate that il was the work Of a
meteor. and second. it was believed
that il the meteor itself could be found
ii would be a most valuable deposit Of
iron. Operations were suspended last
September ON account Of a deficient
water supply. but since then a dam has
been put in Canyon Diablo and water
is pumped 10 Meteor. Work will be re-
sumed about April 1st
Four holes have been drilled in the
bottom Of the crater 20 the depth Of
1000 feet. making a total depth OF 1909
feet below the surrounding country.
At this depth the cores OF the diamond
drills have shown the penetration of
the original unaltered sandstone Sci
entific men saw this proves conclusive
" that the crater was made by a me-
teor. or at least was not Of volcanic
origin, for il Il were the formation be-
low would have been disturbed. Drill
ing will be continued. not to greater
depth but in other directions. for the
location OF the immense meteor that
it is believed is somewhere fmbedded
on one side or another Of the crater.
And it must have been a monster TO
have torn a hole approximately 1900
teat deD through the solid lime and
sandstone Of that immediate section.
The theory is that the meteor struck
the earth ut something Of an angle and
therefore did not go straight down. It
naturally follows that It would he
found on one side Of the crater. Some
contend that when found it will prove
to be a solid mass OF iron. Others be-
lieve it IS considerably shattered
or broken up. The last hole sunk was
the nearest to the outside of the crater
and the results We're more encouraging
than previously. that il more iron spe-
cimens were recovered. This leads to
the belief that they are prospecting I'm
the right direction. Altogether. since
the beginning OF operations. about 4GaO
fragments OF meteoric iron have beer
found. varying in weight from a few
pennyweights to 300 pounds
Professor Fairchild Of Rochester.
secretary of the Geological Society Of
the world. who recently visited the
place said it was undoubtedly the |
eighth wonder Of the world i'm point of |
discovery. but was the first in point !
Of interest. scientifically and other !
wise. Many other scientific men have |
visited the crater. in fact they are |
coming and going all the time. and |
they all agree 10 the sentiment of 4
Prof Fairchild.
It is fortunate indeed for Arizona. |
that this wonder came into the possess
sion of the men who became deeply /
interested i'm il and who at the same 1
time had money and pluck enough to
exploit ii. They will feel repaid even
If they never get their money back
but it is sincerely hoped they will also
make financial success of their in
vestment