An Jccount of a Shower of Meteoric Stones. 23l> 

 which we have hitherto described, fell in a field belonging 

 to Mr. Elijah Seely, and within 30 rods of his house. 



A circumstance attended the fall of this which seems to 

 have been peculiar. — Mr. Elihu Staples, a man of integrity, 

 lives on the hill at the bottom of which this body fell, and 

 witnessed the first appearance, progress, and explosion of 

 the meteor. After the last explosion, a rending noise like 

 Ihat of a whirlwind passed along to the east of his house and 

 immediately over his orchard, which is on the declivity of 

 the hill. At the SAme instant a streak of light passed over 

 the orchard in a large curve, and seemed to pierce the ground. 

 A shock was felt, and a report heard like that of a heavy 

 body falling to the earth ; but no conception being enter- 

 tained of the real cause, (for no one in this vicinity, with 

 whom we conversed, appeared to have ever heard of the fall 

 of stones from the skies,) it was supposed that lightning 

 had struck the ground. Three or four hours after the event 

 Mr. Secley went into his field to look after his cattle. — He 

 found that some of them had leaped into the adjoining en- 

 closure, and all exhibited strong indications of terror. Pass- 

 ing oUj he was struck with surprise at seeing a spot of 

 ground which he knew to have been recently turfed over, 

 all torn up, and the earth looking fresh, as if from recent 

 violence. Coming to the place, he found a great mass of 

 fragments of a strange-looking stone, and immediately called 

 for his wife, who was second on the ground. 



Here were exhibited the most striking proofs of violent 

 collision. — A ridge of njicaceous schistus lying nearly even 

 with the ground, and somewhat inclining like the hill to 

 the south-east, was shivered to pieces, to a certain extent, 

 by the impulses of the stone, which thus received a still 

 more oblique direction, and forced itself into the earth to the 

 tlepih of three feet, tearing a hole of five feet in length and 

 four feet and a half in breadth, and throwing large masses of 

 turf and fragments of stone and earth to the distance of 5Q 

 and 100 feet. Had there been no meteor, no explosions, and 

 no witnesses of the light and shc^ck, it would'have been im- 

 possible for aiiy person contemplating the scene to doubt 



that 



