FALL OF A METEORIC STONE AT LIBOUNEZ. 37 
by those present whom I questioned. The stone fell on the 15th June 1821, whilst 
the sky was clear and the wind north; the hour was half-past four in the after- 
noon. A long rolling noise was heard, then an explosion like a cannon, which 
occurred five minutes before the stone fell. It touched the ground within a few 
feet of them, perforating it to a depth of 7 palms (about 53 feet) in a vertical 
direction. Itburnt the ground to a cindery state. No lightning accompanied the 
fall. The men were frightened, but not stunned ; the noise was heard at a great 
distance ; a man present said that he had heard it at Argentiére (five French 
leagues’ distant in a straight line). The people of Libounez thought it was the 
devil which had fallen, and did not venture to dig up the stone for seven days, 
when it was sprinkled with holy water by the priest. The hole was exactly the 
size of the stone; there was no scattering of earth. The course of the stone was 
from the NW.; (this is difficult to reconcile with its having penetrated verti- 
cally, perhaps the direction in which the noise was heard is meant.) The stone 
had wedged itself between two others, and could not be removed without break- 
ing it. It weighed 220 pounds, as I was told by the man who had weighed it. It 
was sold for six francs; but the fragments have been so dispersed, that I with 
difficulty obtained one or two morsels, although I inquired for them in all the 
surrounding valleys. 
_Such was the circumstantial, and apparently authentic narrative, which I 
gathered from the spectators of this most curious occurrence; and they are en- 
tirely corroborated by a manuscript account (or procés-verbal), drawn up by the 
Maire of the Commune of Juvinas, and forwarded by him to the Prefecture of 
Privas, where I subsequently discovered and copied it. At Privas I also found, 
amongst a mass of mineral rubbish, preserved at the Prefecture, a small but 
characteristic specimen of the meteorite itself, which resembles the more ordinary 
varieties, and is coated with a superficial glossy black vitrification. The meteor 
of Juvinas is one of a very few which have fallen so near to intelligent spectators 
as actually to endanger their lives. 
. 
The following Table contains a summary of the altitudes referred to in the 
preceding paper. They were all obtained by myself by means of the barometer. 
Owing to the distance of the fundamental station, Marseilles, they have no pre- 
tension to more than a moderate approximation to the truth. ; 
VOL. XX. PART I. K 
