Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-02
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

An editorial appearing in the jack
son (Minn) Republic on the subject Of
blazing meteor which
| A Falling fell so years ago on the
w. border line between Min
Meteor. nesota and Iowa is reprint
ed In The Star Of May 81,
| 1897. as follows:
Last Saturday afternoon things
| in the air were lively and excit-
ing. Thunder, lightning, hail and rain
| are common and necessary in the
well regulated and healthy community;
whirlwinds, waterSpouts and even d..
minutive cyclones are quite common
and comparatively innocent aerial d.
versions, but when it comes to shooting
500-pound red-hot balls of iron or like
metallic kind prominently through the
air. then it partakes of the nature Of
grandeur and sublimity, and, If one
| happens to be in range. 1t approaches
mighty near what might be termed dan
ger. Such was actually the missile that
went ricocheting through space that
| afternoon, and whose track was plain
ly visible throughout this section Of the
| country, and the explosion Of which
made windows rattle and people trem-
BILE.
"a few of the unsuspecting under
took to palm the long. red, smoky.
skyward substance off as a peculiar
cloud and the explosion as peculiar
thunder, but most conceded that it was
a meteor. On Monday all doubt in this
direction ceased when Mr.. Ridley Of
Estherville brought to the Republic
ONCE a piece of the meteor itself. and
which he saw taken from the identical
spot where it fell. 1t had opened the
earth for space of 10 feet across just
over the line in the town Of Emmett,
Iowa. One piece weighing two and one
half pounds had been dug out when
he left. 1t threw sods about for Is
, rods, and other evidences went to show
that little perseverance would exhume
suddenly sought sepulture in the beau
tiful valley of the Des Moines. On
Wednesday Mr.. s. B. Weir came to our
office, and who first discovered the
terra firma destination Of the new
conner. and informed us that after dig
wonder. which had been driven that
distance into the ground. and 10 feet
of which was in solid blue clay. The
party succeeded in raising it by means
of levers and chains, and 1t weighed
431 pounds. another piece 80 pounds
and. with other pieces that were found,
made the whole meteor safely 500
pounds. Its exterior is rather ragged,
and its exact composition is a matter
Of speculation. In size it is feet in
length and IA by 81 inches. hence the
sublimity in contemplating the body, its
course, its momentum, as well as its
destination. Its starting point is a
matter not easily figured. its exact orbit
not positively known but its destina-
ton is not a matter of speculation, for
within IL rods of the schoolhouse near
John BARRIERS, about a mile east of the
residence Of our good friend Charles
Jarvis. that burning. bursting, cannon
resounding, lightning-speed missile
came in contact with the earth.
Mr.. w. r. Pingrey was in our office
yesterday and informed us that an
other piece that weighed about $50
pounds was afterward found on A. A.
Pingreys farm, about 2 miles from
the other and which was buried feet
In solid clay.
THE track Of this meteor was OBJ
served for miles around and the ex-
plosion heard in many places"