The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-08-12
Searching for a Diamond
Half a Mile in Thickness

the great English scientist. Sir Will
lam examined one of the fragments of
the great Arizona meteor, and found
1t to contain diamond crystals. Speak
ing of the pipes in which diamonds
are found at Kimberley, Sir William
said:
They are irresularly shaped round
or oval pipes. extending vertically
downward TO unknown depths. retain
ing about the same diameter through
! out.
How these great pipes were orig
inally formed it is hard to say. They
We're certainly not burst through in
the ordinary n Of volcanic erap-
ton. since tho surrounding and in
closing walls show no signs of igneous
action"
May Weigh a Million Tons.
1t is we'll known that the meteors
are in an i~ncandescent state when
they reach the surface of the earth.
brought to white hcat by friction with
our atmosphere. ii has been suggest
ed that the meteor thus becomes a
crucible which furnishes both the in
tense heat and the tremendous pres
sure necessary TO liquify and then
crystalize carbon.
Scientifically, therefore, there is ev-
cry reason to believe hat the Arizona
meteor is we'll worth the years of eff
fort and the hundreds of thousands Of
dollars that have been spent in trying
to locate it; the only question being
whether it is Embedded SO deeply that
all human efforts to dislodge it will
prove fruitless.
Weighing possibly 100000 tons
and falling hundreds Of thousands of
miles, the giant mass must ave been
travelling at an Uncomfortable rate of
speed when it struck the earth. yet the
engineers who have been directing
the mining operation believe that it
could not have penetrated more than
$500 feet at the almost.
If this estimate proves correct, the
recovery Of the mammoth diamond
should be a matter of only a few
months now. for there is less than L.
900 feet farther to dig before that
depth is reached.
For many years Meteor mountain
has been the subject of Indian tradi-
ton.
Some Indian Legends.
The Mokis have "A tradition of a
blazing star which fell ages AGO.. when
Old Man Coyote was a talking animal
and when the Oldest of the abandoned
cliff houses in the southwest was new
The legend tells how the Mokis had
offended h Great Spirit, and finally
~ "uI1AiiS was SeIil III tne SHAPE VI d
blazing star which lighted up the
earth for hundreds Of miles around
and whose shock was so terrific that
several Moki villages we're all but
ruined. The Mokis needed the warn
ing, and since the falling Of the blaz-
ing star they have so walked in the
paths Of rectitude that they are among
the favored people of Manitou.
Aside from mere curiosity and spec
ulation, the spot where the great me-
teor fell was OF little interest to hui
mainly until a wandering shepherd
er. who had been grazing his flocks in
the vicinity Of Meteor mountain, pick
ed up a fragment of meteorite which,
besides meteoric iron, proved to con-
tain hard. black diamonds Of great
value for mechanical purposes.
The earth in the vicinity Of Meteor
lite mountain Is strewn with fragments
evidently loosened from the main body
by the terrific impact as the heavenly
messenger struck the earth. The herd
er picked up a large fragment and
was bou to toss 1t aside when It's
great weight appealed to him as some-
thing peculiar. He took 1t to camp
and turned 1t over to a collector, who
in turn took 1t to an eminent English
scientist.
Search was made for more frag-
ments of meteorite in the vicinity Of
Meteor mountain in the hope that
other discoveries Of gems would re-
suit. The sides of the mountain and
the desert for miles on all sides were
thoroughly p%rospected and enough
gem carrying specimens were found to
indicate that tho main body Of tho