HANDBOOK OF THE METEORITE COLLECTIONS. 141 



Per cent. 



Iron (Fe) 91.958 



Nickel (Ni) 7.860 



Cobalt (Co) Trace. 



Copper (Cu) .040 



Phosphorus (P) .099 



Sulphur (S) .032 



Manganese (Mn) Trace. 



Silicon (Si) 0.011 



Carbon (C) Trace. 



100. 00 

 Specific gravity, 7,7. 

 Reference. — H. L. Preston, Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. 5, 1898, p. 269. 



SANCHEZ ESTATE, COAHUILA, MEXICO. No. 389. 



Iron, H. Original weight, 114,300 grams. Weight of main mass 

 now in Museum, 104,773 grams (see pi. 17, fig. 2) . This is one of sev- 

 eral masses of meteoric iron found in Coahuila, Mexico, and which 

 are commonly regarded as belonging to one and the same fall. These 

 irons are known as the Bonanza masses (14), the Butcher masses (8), 

 the Santa Eosa mass (1), and the Sanchez, Couch, or Smithsonian 

 mass (1). Concerning the date of fall, it can only be said that in 

 the autumn of 1835 a brilliant meteorite was seen to pass over the 

 town of Santa Eosa, in the State of Coahuila, passing in a north- 

 westerly direction and disappearing in the mountains. Immediately 

 after its disappearance a series of explosions were heard, and shortly 

 after a 12-pound piece of iron was brought into Santa Eosa, which 

 was a fragment of one of the eight masses noted above. These were 

 subsequently brought into the United States from the region some 90 

 miles northwest of the town by Dr. H. B. Butcher. This particular 

 mass (the Sanchez Estate) was secured in 1854 by Lieut. D. N. Couch ^ 

 and presented to the Smithsonian Institution. While its composition 

 and structure, as well as its source, are indicative of its being a part 

 of the fall noted above, there is no absolute proof of the same. The 

 composition of the iron, as given by J. Lawrence Smith, is as below : 



Per cent. 



Iron (Fe) 95.82 



Cobalt (Co) .35 



Nickel (Ni) 3.18 



Phosphorus (P) .24 



Copper (Cu) Trace 



99.59 



1 Erroneously spelled Cauch and Oouch by various writers. 



