Marriner. — The Mokoia Aerolite. 181 



thou.sht no more about it until I saw in the newspapers that it had been 

 heard much louder in other towns. 



The noise of the fall was heard for a distance of over a hundred miles 

 in a direct line, along the west coast of the North Island, from Mount 

 Egmont to the Rangitikei River, and as far back as Pipiriki. 



Mr. Clemance, schoolmaster at Pipiriki, states that so loud was the 

 noise there that a man who was working some distance from the settle- 

 ment hurried back, thinking that a powder-magazine had blown up. 



What was seen. 



The day, though slightly cloudy at Wanganui, was clear and cloudless 

 around Mokoia, but very little could be seen of the phenomenon, owing 

 to the bright sunshine. At Mokoia itself only a think streak of a white 

 film or vapour was seen for a few seconds after the fall. 



Mr. E. Evans, of Waingongoro, writing to the Hawera Star, says that 

 he observed the disturbance, which he says was caused by the passage of 

 two meteorites through our atmosphere, and which travelled along parallel 

 lines, from N.E. to S.W., leaving behind two streaks of smoke like rail- 

 way-lines. The smoke was observable for quite fifteen minutes after the 

 meteors had sped their way. With nearly a blue sky for a background, 

 the sight was of great interest, but Mr. Evans thinks that if the event had 

 occurred at night the brilliancy of the light as the balls flashed through 

 the air would have been a never-to-be-forgotten spectacle. 



Mr. Walter Hosken, of Bell Block, Taranaki, gives the following account 

 of what he saw : " It may interest you to know that I witnessed it from 

 the New Plymouth Racecourse. I was attending the Show, and at about 

 half-past 12 I was standing talking to two young ladies, when one of them 

 drew my attention to a curious object in the southern sky, and travelling 

 in a westerly direction. At first sight I thought it was a kite, but found 

 that I was mistaken when it burst and left a long tail of smoke behind, 

 but we did not hear any report." 



Mr. H. Chadwick states that his wife was also on the New Plymouth 

 Racecourse, and saw a similar sight, but heard no sound, owing, no doubt, 

 to the amount of traffic on the road at the time. 



Mr. A. C. S. Tebbet, of Rangitikei, describes the sight as like a big 

 shooting star, brighter than the sun, with a long tail. 



The Alarm caused by the Noise. 



The noise caused by the explosions and the mass rushing through the 

 air not only alarmed the people in the vicinity, but caused a great stampede 

 among stock. At Waingongoro the cattle and sheep were thoroughly 

 startled, and ran huddling together. At Kakaramea horses and cattle 

 were much scared, the former especially so, and were seen galloping about 

 the paddocks. At Mokoia the effect was similar, and a man who was 

 ploughing some distance from the station had all that he could do to keep 

 his team from bolting. 



What fell. 



As nothing was known in Wanganui of the phenomenon except the 

 noise, it was not taken much notice of, but on Sunday afternoon Mr. Wil- 

 liam Syme called on me at the Museum, and stated that a meteorite had 

 fallen near Mokoia. In support of this statement he produced a small 



