Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-06-14
when A. .METEORITE FALLS
No Record Of Human Beings Harmed
by Stones From Space.
RECENT FALL In GEORGIA RECALLED


Theory Is That Meteorites Are Dis
, :. persed Matter from Shattered Plan
-. ets-Most. Meteors Fall H. May and
:: JUNE, ., ....ii..:' = - "a
":'The: fall of:a. meteorite on a negro
farm near Pitts; Ca, gives further evil
dence"o peculiar record Of these
phenomenal Several negroes were
working near the place the different
fragments lodged, but were uninjured.
So: far as lis known no human being
has ever been harmed by these stones,
though'cattle have been killed by them.
THERE'S a;record of a meteoric stone
falling through the roof Of a peasants
house in Hungary into the room where
two children were asleep. The chill
dren were covered with debris. but
were uninjured.
The Pitts meteorite fell on the morn
Ing Of April 20 and was visible over an
area of several thousand square miles.
S. W. McCallie, Georgia's state geolo-
gist. gives the following account of 1t
in the Atlanta Constitution:
The attendant phenomena witnessed
by the observers Of the Pitts meteor
lite were similar In character and sue
ceeded each other in the same order as
that noted in meteoric falls in general.
Named in order Of their occurrence,
they were: Arapidly moving body,
often referred to as fire ball; a dense
smoke in the wake Of the fire ball; oc-
casfonally luminous for several min
utes; distinct: .boomings,. generally
compared to discharge. Of distant can
non, succeeded by number of lesser
sounds; a roaring or whizzing noise
not. unlike the sound Of a falling. body
and it's impact on the surface Of the
earth.
Sounds Like Thunder.
The first sound heard was compar-
ed to that of thunder, and to many 1t
was the first warning that any unus-
ua1 occurrence was taking place in
the sky above. At Cordele, is miles
west of Pitts the sound resembled that
Of Va heavy explosion, distinctly heard
by. several. people on the street. In the
country; four, miles east of Cordele,
two terrific explosions were noted
loqder.than; thunder, which SO terrified
tGet farm Hands that they ran fright
enedLto. their homes. In the immedi-
ate Yipjniey Of Pitts the sound was de-
sotibet.:.as several J, loud explosions.
caGsing,ths earth to tremble, followed
in,Qufck Succession by a number of
lesser explosions.
: The roaring, and whlzzlhg noise and
the impact Of. the falling fragments
were heard only in the immediate vi
cinity Of the fall.
An explanation Of the different phe-
nomena above given are as follows:
The rapidly moving ball of fire was the
meteorite itself made self-luminous by
the friction produced in passing
through the upper atmosphere. The
speed OF meteorites when they first en-
counter the earth's atmosphere is said
to be seven to forty miles second
The smoke is fused particles OF the
meteorite brushed off from its surface
as it moves rapidly through the air
The sound compared to the booming OF
cannon and also the lesser sounds are
supposed to be due to the explosion OF
the meteorite and the sudden beating
OF the surrounding air. The retarda-
ton of the meteorite by the resistance
Of air exerts a powerful disruptive force
upon it. since the rear part Of the me-
teorite tends to travel with the plan
etary speed while the forward part IL
being checked. The whizzing and roar
ing noise heard some minutes after the
loud explosion was produced by the
fragments of the. meteorite passing
through the air. This sound was fol-
lowed Immediately by the impact Of
the falling fragment striking the earth
Foil Near a House.
The largest pieces, weighing s.
ounces, fell within less than Is feet o.
Nancy Brinson's house, where 1t wal
dug up a few minutes later still warm
but not red hot as first reported. Th'
fragments entered the freshly plowet
sandy soil to a depth of about II
inches, forming an inconspicuous hol'
less than IS inches in diameter ant
scarcely half so deep. The fragment Il
irregular, rhomboidal in shape. Nor
than two thirds of the surface sho"
the natural pitted characteristics OF al
iron meteorite coated with black iroi
oxide through which in places are t
be seen patches of silvery white nicKe
iron. The remaining parts of the sur
face are rough and angular with NOR
or less sharp projecting points show
ing evidence of rupture from othe
fra pments. This surface is more