METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 233 



Mr. G. Holm, of Marengo, gives an account similar to the last, and in addition, says that the descending path was 

 wave-like and a not a uniform curve. Mr. Frank McClintock, of West Union, says that "at about the middle of its 

 course it appeared to give a slight dart or bound toward the east." Probably the same wave-like motion spoken of 

 by Mr. Holm, when viewed from a station not far removed from the direction in which the meteor was moving. 



At Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Professor Mansfield states that some of the observers thought that the meteor attained its 

 maximum brightness when about due west of that place. Some of the students who were familiar with the color of the 

 flames of different substances with which they had experimented in the chemical laboratory called out at the time 

 that the color of the meteor showed iron and copper. 



In computing the path pursued by the meteor, I have relied almost entirely upon observations which could be 

 verified afterwards by reason of its having passed near to or behind some recognized point on a building or object 

 whose altitude and bearing from the station of the observer have been ascertained by instrumental measurement, 

 as follows (the location of the observer is indicated by the section, township, and range numbers): 



1. At Amana (northwest corner of 26-81-9). Mr. F. Christen first saw the meteor when at an altitude of 10 or 11 

 degrees and at a bearing of S. 19° W. Soon after he saw it passing near the top of a chimney, whose bearing and alti- 

 tude were, respectively, S. 26° W. and 17.5°, and finally saw it separate and disappear at an altitude of 29° bearing 



S. 65° W. 



2. At Mount Pleasant (4-71-6) there is not a perfect agreement as to the altitude of the meteor when due west of 

 that place . Some thought that it passed very near the moon, others thought that it passed above it, and one at least gives 

 its altitude as less than that of the moon. One observer spoke of seeing it when at a bearing of about S. 14° W. 



3. At Albia, Monroe County (15-72-17), Mr. Pascal T. Lambert saw it when due east at an altitude of 40 to 45 

 degrees, and pointed out the place of its disappearance, which was found to have a bearing of N. 41° 30' E., or almost 

 exactly in the direction of South Amana, in which vicinity it fell. 



4. Mr. E. H. Warrall, of the United States Corps of Engineers, at Keokuk, Iowa (24-65-5), gave its altitude, when 

 at a bearing of about N. 60° W., at between 10 and 12 degrees. Another gave the altitude near the same place at 10° 

 30'. Both observers saw the meteor disappear behind a church steeple. 



5. Rev. E. B. Taggart, of Washington, Iowa (17-75-7), thought it passed 10 or 15 degrees west of the moon. 



6. Prof. J. K. Macomber, of the Iowa State Agricultural College (4-83-24), first saw the meteor when at an alti- 

 tude of 7 or 7.5 degrees and bearing S. 55° E. This observation is almost exactly accordant with one taken inde- 

 pendently at the same place by a student who was engaged at the time in taking meteorological observations. 



7. Mr. J. A. Donnell, of Sigourney (2-75-12), thought that the meteor passed about 110° west of the zenith of his 

 place; no means of verifying his observations, and no measures taken. 



8. Mr. Ream, telegraph operator at Oskaloosa (13-75-17), gave the zenith distance of the meteor when due east 

 as about 35°. No measures taken. 



9. C. D. Leggett, Esq., of Fairfield (25-72-10), estimated its zenith distance when northwest of him at 25°. * * * 

 (From these observations the course of the meteor can be approximately indicated by a line drawn through Agency 



City and South Amana, Iowa, at a bearing of about N. 18° E.) * * * 



The product of this meteoric fall was a large number of irregularly shaped stones, varying in weight from a few 

 ounces up to 74 pounds, and aggregating, so far as found, 500 pounds. The largest specimens were found at the north- 

 ern part of the area covered, those at the southern end being all small. A part of this area is timbered and low lying, 

 so that larger pieces hidden by forest or water may yet be found. 



These meteoric stones are many of them entirely covered with ordinary black coating, and they all present the 

 "pitted" appearance common to such bodies. In several instances there is plain evidence of a fracture having 

 taken place while the stone was as yet some distance from the earth. These surfaces of fracture are for the most part 

 covered with a secondary coating which sometimes appears to have been partially formed by the pouring over of the 

 melted surface matter from other parts. In some cases, however, the overflow is only traceable to a short distance 

 from the edge of the fracture, and the remainder is merely discolored as if by smoke. 



The want of homogeneity in the structure of the aerolites is shown in several cases by a sort of beaded circlet sur- 

 rounding the stone. These circlets are composed of molten drops of iron and seem to lie nearly in a plane, and where 

 t his plane has been broken off by the fall it may be traced over the fresh surface by the presence of unusually large 

 particles of nickeliferous iron. 



For the following chemical analysis of a fragment of the meteorite I am indebted to Prof. J. Lawrence Smith: 

 The Iowa County meteorite is of the more common variety, with a dull black coating, and having a rather light-gray 

 color in the interior. It has numerous particles of nickeliferous iron disseminated through it, also particles of troilite. 

 The specimen analyzed had a vein running through it which was much richer in iron than the mass to which it belonged. 

 This meteorite has a hardness rather above the average of its class. I have found it to be composed of — 



Stony matter 81. 64 



Troilite 5. 82 



Nickeliferous iron 12. 54 



Of the stony part there was — 



Soluble in acid 54. 15 



Insoluble 45.85 



