The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-10-20
GIFTS FROM SPACE
Wonderful MeteorItes That Drop
to Us Out OF the Sky.
ONCE REGARDED AS SACRED.
In the Early Days They We're Oh
Ieots of Reverence and Worship,
az 10 the Famous Stone at Mecca To
day-Their Fiery Flight TO Earth.

conspicuous among them are the me-
teorites. those wonderful messages
dropped from the sky for US to wonder
at and study They are the only ma
terial objects which come to the earth
from the vast outer world
Among the collections shown in the
National museum nt Washington Is q
remarkably tinr exhibit Of meteorites
1t includes complete meteorites rang
ing in size from the merest pebbles to
great bowlder like masses and casts re
producing ginBt forms like that Of Ba
cublrito. which his been estimated to
weigh twenty-five tons mud SILL rests
where It fell In Mexico
The National museum has issued n
handbook and descriptive catalogue OF
the meteorite collections in the mu
scum, written by Or George = Mer
rill, head curator Of geology from
which the following Is an abstract:
Although meteorites presumably have
fallen since time immcmorlal skep
ticism was felt at first by both the
popular and scientific minds regarding
tba possibilities of stones folIlno from
snoca +, me fou e,rrv ropordod casos
wbero mcteoritns scon 10 fan were re-
covered ,ho, woro reaardnd os objects
of reverence uud worship stone
which fell In ancient phrygia. in Asia
Minor obo;lt eoo yo.us before chris,
woe worsbired nc C,.I,oIa tho mother
Of tho rods Another which dntpg
bock 70 the seventh century Is sim
preserved nj Mecca where # is buili
into tbe northeast corner Of tba Kan
ba ond revarea os ono of tho holIcst OF
reIics Tho rroat Casas Graudes iron
veiab,po olnnt 3o00 pounds now In
tbo national collection at Washington
was fauud ip an auctcDt Mexican ruin
swotbod io mIImna clothes in man
ner 10 mdifa4c rhal il ua. held In
moro tban ordinary renpratlon hy Tho
prehistoric fuhanitaIfs
The carlIpst knaan undouhtcd me
tcorires stf4 preserved nre those Of
Tlhoecn. Poh.mia ami rnSishcln. Up
per Als9cn The Gr~t mentioned Is
iron. the second n stone. The iron was
found somewhere about the year 400
OF orr era The Ensfshclm stone. seen
TO fan on Nov 16. 1892 nbout the time
Columbus made his discoveries. was
accompanicd With loud crash Ike
thunder Portions of this stone nre TO
be seen I'm the National museum ex
bibit
The fall Of a meteorite fs usually ac.
compan,ed nv noises yarlouslv describ
ed as resembling fhe fro Of muslatly.
cannonoding or evon thunder If the
fall tol,es nlaco durIng tho narIods Of
darkness II IS also occomponied bv n
flash Of lIcbf ond followed nv lumI.
nous roclet-lil,e tron Those nbenoma.
nm ora dne TO tba ronfd nassare Of fhe
objects through The oir and n conse
ouent rise In tpmporature, sufficient TO
nroduco fusIon az tba outar surface
and even Ignition fins giving rise 70
the tbin dark rlossli,e ernst which
ia found 10 cover an stony mcteorites
Tho fime of MASSAGE through the at
mosnhere "a however too short "a ner.
ynIt tbo haat n nanatrote IA preat
dentbs md nearIv mi meteoritas are
nuita cool ar scarcely worm on raocb.
inc tbe surface ~ tho cround II ,s
to tbo Sudden rico IN to,onaroture md
nreeerro of tha atoosnharo that the
brooI,ipg nm of motaorita md IFS
raoch,no tha oround os shower of
FRA ao,nante rotbar tbop sfngla individ
nal ero dua
We have little to guide us I'm estimat.
Ing tbe snaed at which meteorite
reochns tho aorth ond ,+s CONSEQUENT
nouar of panotratIop Tho volocitios
90 oivan bv varioua obearvnrs vary he.
twnan two nn5 fortv-fva miles sec.
ond rrbo crnotoet rocordod 5antb ~
nnpotrotion of . notoorio stone il that
oe KnrobI,yo r1n,,,a,.v whore a eec
no,,rd s4ono aono+r.,tnd ~ . don+b ~
o1ovor Foot ~ tho otbor bond sti,
boov,or n,oseos have hoon fonpd nnda,
snob conditions % - lood ono "a ,nfor
+bo+ thor sc.rcolr burioa themselves
an s+o+o,non+s relative n tho +omner
o+uro ~ motoor,tos in,nediotalv . fter
rooob,,,o tbo oro,,nd ,,,nst no occantod
o1,ordodlv ou-,no n tbeir extremely
co,,+rod,c+orv cboroctar Sora s+onas
which FOIL IN Stvria ia 1870 ora stated
- bovo ror,,l,ad ,n a stato NJ ,ncon