398 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.90 



appeared, then all the "shots'' would cross on a straight line sloping 

 down from southwest to northeast. Since all observers, under the 

 actual circumstances, are in error by gTcater or less amounts, the 

 problem is to get as good an intersection as possible from a great 

 number of "shots," none of which are exact. This was done by first 

 rejecting observations that did not fit at all, and then sighting among 

 the remaining threads till they appeared to cluster into a small bunch. 

 The photograph (pi. 56) is taken down this line of sight, which we 

 assume to be the approximate trajectory. This trajectory descends 

 at an angle of 31° to the horizontal and bears 33^^ east of true north. 

 The horizontal trace of this trajectory is shown in the figure; the 

 trajectory itself, since we are looking down on it, is a single spot 

 marked by the north end of the trace. The small circle, on the 

 trajectory trace, represents the place near Chicora where the fragments 

 were recovered. 



It will be observed that, with one exception, the threads do cluster 

 fairly well when seen from this position. However, moderate shift- 

 ing of the point of view and moderate changes of azimuth and angle 

 of descent give intersections nearly as good, so there is some sub- 

 stantial uncertainty on all these points. 



POINT OF IMPACT 



According to the map, the meteor, unless entirely frag-mented, 

 should have passed a good many miles beyond the place where the 

 two fragments were found, and should have landed within a short 

 distance of the Allegheny River, in wild wooded country with pre- 

 cipitous ravines. A canvass of every farmhouse in this district 

 indicates that very likely it did reach this region. 



It appears that in this district the sky was overcast, presumably 

 with clouds not higher than 5,000 feet above sea level or about 3,500 

 feet above the ground. A party of young baseball players (7) report 

 hearing a hissing sound and, on looking up, noticing a great swishing 

 in the clouds. Not far away two women report seeing the clouds 

 ripped to pieces. 



In a precipitous valley clothed largely with hemlock trees a flock 

 of crows is accustomed to roost, and they had already assembled that 

 evening by 6 o'clock. One woman noticed that on the arrival of the 

 meteor the crows all were protesting and flew away, and another 

 farmer's wife observed where the birds spent the night some distance 

 away. They returned to their usual haunt next evenhig and have 

 been there since. 



Beyond this point, in the main river valley, there are no reports of 

 the meteor, and there is every reason to believe it did not cross the 

 Allegheny River. 



