330 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



explosion was heard was probably not less than 150 miles in diameter. At Marietta, Ohio, the sound came from a 

 point north or a little east of north. The direction of the sound varied with the locality. An examination of all the 

 different directions leads to the conclusion that the central point from which the sound emanated was near the south- 

 ern part of Noble County, Ohio. 



At New Concord, Muskingum County, where the meteoric stones fell, and in the immediate neighborhood, there 

 were many distinct and loud reports heard. At New Concord there was first heard in the sky, a little southeast of the 

 zenith, a loud detonation, which was compared to that of a cannon fired at the distance of half a mile. After an inter- 

 val of 10 seconds another similar report. After two or three seconds another, and so on with diminishing intervals. 

 Twenty-three distinct detonations were heard, after* which the sounds became blended together and were compared 

 to the rattling fire of an awkward squad of soldiers, and by others to the roar of a railway train. These sounds, with 

 their reverberations, are thought to have continued for two minutes. The last sounds seemed to have come from a 

 point in the southeast 45° below the zenith. The result of this cannonading was the falling of a large number of 

 stony meteorites upon an area of about 10 miles long by 3 wide. The sky was cloudy, but some of the stones were 

 seen first as "black specks," then as "black birds," and finally falling to the ground. A few were picked up within 

 20 or 30 minutes. The warmest was no warmer than if it had lain on the ground exposed to the sun's rays. 

 They penetrated the earth from 2 to 3 feet. The largest stone, which weighed 103 pounds, struck the earth 

 at the foot of a large oak tree, and after cutting off two roots, one 5 inches in diameter, and grazing a third root, it 

 descended 2 feet, 10 inches into hard clay. The stone was found resting under a root which was not cut off. This 

 would seemingly imply that it entered the earth obliquely. It is said that other stones which fell in soft ground 

 entered the earth at a similar angle. They must have been flying in a northwest direction. This fact, aftded to 

 the other facts that the detonations heard at New Concord came lower and lower from the zenith toward the south- 

 east, and that the area upon which the stones fell extends with its longer axis in a southeast and northwest direction, 

 would imply that the orbit of the meteor, of which these stones are fragments, extended from southeast to northwest. 

 This conclusion is confirmed by many witnesses who saw, at the time, a luminous body moving in the same direc- 

 tion. It is a fact of some interest that the large stones were carried by the orbital force further than the small ones, 

 and were found scattered upon the northwest end of the area referred to. This fact is readily explained by the larger 

 proportional surface presented to the atmospheric resistance in the smaller stones. The stones thus far found vary in 

 weight from a few ounces to over a hundred pounds. They show a decided family resemblance. All are coated with 

 a black crust and show a bluish gray feldspathic interior with numerous brilliant points of nickeliferous iron. 

 Although in some instances the edges remain quite sharply defined, generally they show that they have been rounded 

 by fusion. A figure shows the appearance of the larger stone now in the cabinet of Marietta College. Viewed from 

 most positions this stone is angular and appears to have been recently broken from a larger body. On one side it is 

 much rounder and smoother, and this (the outer surface in the figure) appears to be a part of the original surface of 

 the main meteor. Two of its edges extend more than a foot in length, and two of its diameters are 14 inches. In 

 the small stones the edges are more rounded than in the larger ones. A figure represents the appearance of a small 

 stone, one side of which shows a surface only partially glazed. There was evidently a flaw in this little meteorite, 

 and the heat entering the crack was only sufficient to fuse the surface in a very slight degree. The heat apparently 

 penetrated the crack in straight lines, as if driven backward by the high velocity. The edge of the stone surround- 

 ing this peculiar surface is a feather edge made by the melting of the metallic crust in an unusual manner. 



In the examination of this interesting meteoric phenomenon I am led to believe that the people of New Con- 

 cord and in the immediate vicinity of the district where the stones fell heard different sounds, and consequently of 

 different origin, from those heard by people living at a greater distance. The former heard many distinct detonations 

 followed by a rumbling roar like that of thunder. The latter heard but a single explosion followed by a somewhat 

 similar rumbling noise but less distinct. This explosion seemed to take place at a point in the air over the southern 

 part of Noble County. The people of the northern part of the same county heard it in a southern or southeastern 

 direction, and not in a northwestern direction toward New Concord. This fact would indicate that the great explosion 

 which was heard more than 75 miles away, took place in Noble County, and that the several distinct detonations heard 

 at and near New Concord were directly connected with the falling of the several stones in that district. 



professor evans's computations. 



Owing to the cloudy state of the atmosphere the time was unfavorable for observing such facts as are necessary 

 for the accurate determination of the height of the meteor, the direction of its path, its size, and its velocity. After 

 careful investigation, however, the following results have been obtained: 



1. Direction of its path. — The district along which the meteorites are known to have fallen is about 10 miles long 

 and from 2 to 3 miles wide, extending in a northwesterly direction from a little west of the village of Point Pleasant, 

 in Guernsey County, to within a mile of New Concord, in Muskingum County. The fragments fell with a northwest- 

 erly inclination. This is proved both by the testimony of those who saw them descend and by the direction in which 

 they were subsequently found to have penetrated the earth. As the sky along this district was overcast with clouds, the 

 main body of the meteor was not seen by those who witnessed the fall of the fragments; but the sounds, as heard by 

 them, first proceeded from the zenith and gradually receded toward the southeast. This seemingly contradictory 

 fact agrees perfectly with the hypothesis that the course of the meteor was northwesterly; for if it approached with 

 a velocity greatly exceeding the velocity of the sound, the explosions which occurred last must have been the first 

 heard. At some distant stations toward the south and west the view was not wholly obstructed by clouds; and there 



