METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 147 



CRAB ORCHARD. 



Crab Orchard Mountains, Cumberland County, Tennessee. 



Eere also Powder Mill Creek and Rockwood. 



Latitude 35° 50' N., longitude 84° 47' W. 



Iron-stone. Grahamite of Brezina; Logronite (type 31) of Meunier. 



Found 1887; described 1887. 



Weight: At least five masses weighing 85, 9, 5.75, and 3.5 pounds; total about 50 kgs. (107 lbs.). 



The first account of this meteorite seems to have been given by Howell 1 as follows: 



About the middle of March, 1887, Mr. Elihu Humbree found, on land owned by Mr. W. B. Lenoir, 8.5 miles west 

 of Rockwood Furnace, Cumberland County, Tennessee, several pieces of what has proved to be a meteorite of very 

 great interest, belonging to the rare class of siderolites, resembling in general appearance the Atacama, but differing 

 very widely in the nature of the silicate. Mr. Humbree, mistaking the bright specks of nickeliferous iron for silver, 

 detached several large pieces and many small fragments in the attempt to find a lump of native silver. 



Three or four weeks later, Mr. Lenoir, suspecting the nature of the find, secured the whole of it with the exception 

 of some small pieces which had been given to friends. Several weeks later the entire mass was secured by Ward and 

 Howell. 



The main mass is an irregular ellipsoid, with one side a little flattened and noticeable on account of the almost 

 entire absence of the usual pittings which are present elsewhere on the surface. It measures 14 J by 10 by 8 i inches. 

 The weight, which, owing to the loss of some of the fragments can not be determined accurately, is 83 pounds. Three 

 other smaller masses bring the weight of the entire find to fully 100 pounds (probably 203 pounds more), of which 96.5 

 pounds have been received. 



The analyses thus far made show it to be in the main a silicate of alumina, lime, magnesia, and ferrous oxide, 

 probably in the form of anorthite and augite, with no olivine. The iron grains contain 12 per cent of nickel, a trace 

 of copper, and seem to be distributed quite evenly through the mass. One nodule of iron, however, measures three- 

 quarters of an inch in diameter and shows the Widmannstiitten figures very characteristically on the etched surface. 

 Although the analysis shows an unusually large percentage of nickel present, decomposition has only affected the 

 surface and the seams, and to so slight a degree that the original black crust still remains over a considerable portion 

 of the surface. 



As to the length of time it has lain exposed since its fall, nothing is definitely known. In the late autumn of 1880, 

 however, between 5 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon, a meteor was seen passing to the northwest over Morgan County, 

 Georgia, which left a dense trail, not very wide, of lightrcolored smoke, which could be seen for at least half an hour, 

 and which gradually spread out thin and wooly like ordinary smoke. A loud report, thought to be about 3 minutes 

 after the passage of the meteor, was heard by persons who did not^see it, as well as by those who did. This meteor 

 may be the one from which we have this meteorite. 



A more detailed study was given by Whitfield 2 in November of the same year as follows: 



The Rockwood meteorite was found about the middle of March, 1887, by Mr. Elihu Humbree on a range of the 

 Crab Orchard Mountains. The field in which it was picked up is now owned by Mr. W. B. Lenoir, and is situated 8.5 

 miles west from Rockwood, Tennessee, in Cumberland County. The material for analysis was received from Messrs. 

 Ward and Howell, of Rochester, New York, the present owners of the meteorite, to whom we are indebted for the 

 privilege of description. 



There were three pieces found, the smallest measuring 4 by 3 by 2.5 inches and weighing 3 pounds 10.5 ounces; 

 the next larger measuring 7$ by 6J by 2£ inches and weighing 5 pounds 13.5 ounces; and the largest, an irregular egg- 

 shaped mass a little flattened on one side, measuring 14J by 10 by 8^ inches, with a weight of about 85 pounds, and a 

 specific gravity of 4.240. 



The mass is quite brittle, very hard to saw, but easily broken by hammering. Cut slices show many irregularly 

 shaped stony fragments with some nodules, the largest seen being about f by $ inches on the surface diameter. In 

 the larger slices the stony part is so broken as to give the polished surface a brecciated appearance. In analysis, the 

 metallic portion was freed from the mineral part by crushing to rather fine particles and separating by the aid of a 

 magnet. This was again treated in the same manner, and the resulting metal washed with alcohol and quickly dried; 

 by this method it was found possible to free the metal from all but the merest trace of stony substance. 



The metallic portion proved to be an alloy, rich in nickel, as is shown by the following figures: 



Fe 87. 59 



Ni 12. 09 



Co ; Trace. 



Cu Trace. 



P None. 



S None. 



99.68 



