METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 457 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1885: Brezina. Wiener Samnilung, pp. 183 and 233. 



2. 1887: Bailey. On an aerolite from Rensselaer County, New York. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 34, pp. 60-62. 



(Analysis by F. A. Wilber and illustration of stone.) 



3. 1893: Newton. Lines of structure in the Winnebago County meteorites and in other meteorites. Amer. Journ. Sci., 



3d ser., vol. 35, pp. 45, 153, and 355. 



4. 1895: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, p. 251. 



5. 1895: Meunier. Revision des lithosiderites, pp. 33, 36-37. 



6. 1897: Wulfing. Die Meteoriten in Sammlungen, p. 361. 



TONGANOXIE. 



Leavenworth County, Kansas. 

 Latitude 39° 6' N., longitude 95° 10' W. 

 Iron. Medium octahedrite (Om) of Brezina. 

 Found 1886; described 1891. 

 Weight, 11.5 kgs. (26 lbs.). 



The first mention of tliis meteorite was by Snow, 1 as follows : 



The year 1890 has brought to scientific knowledge a larger number of tangible celestial visitants than all preceding 

 years combined. Up to this year the Waconda meteorite was the only representative from Kansas on the list of 

 authentic meteoric falls. In March of this year the now famous group of irons from Kiowa County was made known 

 to science; and on June 25, 1890, the Washington County aerolite was heard and seen to fall at midday by thousands 

 of Kansas citizens; and now, just at the close of the year, I have the pleasure of announcing a third fall of unknown 

 date. This may be called the Tonganoxie meteorite. So far as is now known, this fall consists of a single specimen, 

 weighing 26.5 pounds. It is an iron of ordinary character (not a pallasite). It is of an irregular shape, and is thought 

 by the owner to resemble a lion couchant. It is 9.75 inches long, 6.5 inches wide, and 3.5 inches deep. 



This meteorite is the property of Mr. H. C. Fellows. * * * Mr. Fellows bought it in the spring of 1889 of Mr. 

 Quincy Baldwin, who found it upon his farm, 1 mile west of Tonganoxie town, in 1886. Mr. Baldwin was not aware 

 of its true character, although he had manufactured a fishhook from a small fragment of the iron. He considered it 

 to be a piece of iron ore, and proposed to start an iron mine upon his farm; but this fragment proved to be the only 

 "indication," and the mining project was reluctantly abandoned. This meteorite is now deposited in the museum 

 of the University of Kansas, but is still the property of Mr. Fellows. A preliminary analysis shows the presence of 

 iron, nickel, and cobalt. Prof. E. H. S. Bailey will soon publish a complete analysis. 



A small portion of the surface has been polished, and exhibits very distinctly the Widmannstatten figures. Care- 

 ful search has recently been made for other fragments of this meteorite on the Baldwin farm and vicinity, but without 

 success. 



Bailey 2 gave a further account and analysis, as follows : 

 Dr. F. H. Snow ' published a preliminary notice in regard to the discovery of the Tonganoxie meteorite. The 

 specimen was picked up in 1886 by Mr. Quincy Baldwin, on his farm a mil e west of the town of Tonganoxie, Leaven- 

 worth County, Kansas. The true nature of the specimen was not understood by the original owner. He experimented 

 with it so far as to make a fishhook from a fragment of it, and thought its occurrence was an indication that there was 

 an iron mine on his farm. Since, however, he was unable to find any more specimens, the iron mine theory was aban- 

 doned. Mr. Baldwin disposed of the meteorite to Mr. H. C. Fellows, then principal of the Friends' Academy, in Ton- 

 ganoxie, and from him it has been purchased by Doctor Snow, and it is now in the museum of the University of Kansas. 

 The specimen originally weighed a little over 26 pounds, but a slice has been cut from the smaller end, in order 

 to obtain a plane surface that the structure might be studied, and the present weight is 23.25 pounds (10.55 kg.). Its 

 shape is that of an irregular triangular pyramid; the length being 9.5 inches, the width 6.5 inches, and the depth 4.5 

 inches. The specific gravity is 7.45, as compared with water at its greatest density. This specific gravity was taken 

 by weighing the whole meteorite. 



As can be seen by an examination of an accompanying figure, the surface of the meteorite shows numerous depres- 

 sions, some of them quite large. The entire exterior is covered with a reddish-black coating. This seems to he com- 

 posed of scales of oxide of iron. These scales are brittle and readily attracted by the magnet. After the specimen 

 had been for some time exposed to the air, after being handled, numerous droplets of chloride of iron appeared on the 

 surface. These seem to exude from minute cracks or to come from under the scales. The occurrence of chloride of 

 iron and its exuding in this way is by no means uncommon in meteorites. To the fact of its presence is probably due 

 the great tendency to scale noticed above. This iron salt gradually changes to a brown friable oxide. 

 The analysis shows the following composition: 



Iron 91. 18 



Nickel 7. 93 



Cobalt 0. 39 



Phosphorus 0. 10 



Copper trace 



99.60 



