Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-03-29
Gifts FROM SPACE
Wonderful Meteorites That Drop
to Us Out of the Sky.
ONCE REGARDED AS SACRED.
In the Early Days They Were OBJ
jects OF Reverence and Worship,
as Ia the Famous Stone at Mecca To-
day-Their Fiery Flight to Earth.

- JoSNH N~NS' S'f~0 "HN SH'Hs
as Ia the Famous Stone at Mecca To-
day--Their Fiery Flight to Earth.
In considering the wonders Of the
universe have yoi yer realized how
conspicuous monr 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 at Washington is a
remarkably tine exhibit of meteorites.
1t includes complete meteorites rang
ing In size from the merest pebbles to
great b~owlaef-liSe masses and casts re-
producing giant forms like that of Ba.
cubirito. which has been estimated to
weigh twenty-five tons and still rests
where 1T fell in Mexico.
The National museum has issued a
handbook and descriptive catalogue of
the meteorite collections in the mu-
scum, written by Or George Z. Mer,
rill. head curator of geology, from
which the following is an abstract:
Although meteortes presumably have
fallen since time immemorial, skep-
ticism was felt at first by both the
popular and scientific minds regarding
the possibilities of stones falling from
space. In the few early recorded cases
where meteorites seer to fall We're re.
covered they were regarded as objects
of reverence and worship. A stone
which fell In ancient Phrygia, in Asia
Minor, about 200 years before Christ
was worshiped us CFbele, the mother
of the gods. Another, which dates
back to the seventh century, Is still
preserved at Mecca, where 1t is built
into the northeast corner of the Ka'a-
ba and reyered as one of the hottest or
relics. The great Casas Grandes iron,
weighing about 5000 pounds, now in
the national collection at Washington.
was found In an ancient Mexican ruin
swathed In mummy clothes in a man
more than ordinary yeneration by the
prehistoric Inhabitants.
The, earliest known %undoubted me-
teorites still preserved are those of
Elbogen, Bohemia and Ensishein1, Up
per Alsace. The first mentioned is
found somewhere about the year 400
OF u era. The Ensisheim stone. seen
to fall on Nov. 16, 1902, about the time
Columbus made his discoveries, was
accompanied with a loud crash like
thunder. Portions of this stone are to
be seen In the National museum ex-
hibit.
The fall of a metenrite is usually ac-
cOmpanied by noises yariously describ-
ed as resembling the fire of musketry,
cannonading or wen thunder, Ii the
fall takes place during the periods of
darkness ii is also accompanied by a
fash of light and followed by a lumi.
nous rocket-like trail. These phenome.
ma are due to the rapid passage of the
objects through the air and q conse-
Quent rise In temperature, sufficient to
produce fusion of the outer surface
aud even Ignition, thus giving rise to
the thin, dark, glasslike crust which
Is found to cover all stony m~eteorites
The time Of passage through the at
mosphere Is, however, too short to per-
init the heat to penetrate to great
depths, and nearly all meteorites are
quite cool, or scarcely warm, on reach,
Ing the surface of the ground. 1t is
to the sudden rise in temperature and
pressure OF the atmosphere that the
breaking up of a meteorite and its
reaching the ground as q shower of
fragments rather than a single individ-
ual are due.
We have little to guide us In estimat-
Ing the speed at which a meteorite
reaches the earth and its consequent
power Of penetration. The velocities
as given by various observers vary be.
tween two and forty2fye miles a sec
0nd, The greatest recorded depth of
penetration OF a meteoric stone is that
lof Knyahinya. Hungary. where a ego
pound stone penetrated to a depth of
eleven feet. On the other hand. still
heavier masses have been found under
such conditions as to lead one to infer
that they scarcely buried themselves.
All statements relative to the temper
atnro Of meteorites Immediately after
reaching the ground must be accepted
~guardedly, owing to their extremely
contradictory character. Some stones
which fell In Stvria IN 1850 are stated
to have remained ri q state of incan-