THE CUERNAVACA METEORITE. 8l 



THE CUERNAVACA METEORITE. 



In Castillo's catalogue of Mexican Meteorites (1889) he 

 mentions, p. 3, " Meteorite of Cuernavaca, State of Morelos. It is a 

 fragment of meteoric iron found, so it is said, on the road from Mex- 

 ico (city) to Cuerna\aca. It is in the National Museum of Mexico." 



While in that capitol in April of the present year, and visiting 

 the Museum, I was shown by the keeper of the mineral collections, 

 Professor Manuel Villada, the specimen which lay in a lower com- 

 partment of one of their table cases. I promptly availed myself of 

 permission to photograph it, and later on I was able to obtain, 

 through the kind services of Professor Villada, permission from the 

 Director of the Museum to cut the mass in twain and to carry away 

 the smaller half. 



The mass, as shown in the accompanying plate, (Fig. i, plate 

 VII) was entire, never having had further than a minute chisel-clip- 

 ping, the common way of Mexican prospectors, who test all troven 

 metal masses in their search for silver. The length of the mass was 

 480 mm. (about 19 inches) while its other diameters were about 

 130 mm. to 150 mm. (about 5 to 6 inches) varying in different 

 parts of the mass. The form might be described as a square-sided, 

 irregular column, with some protuberances and constrictions; and one 

 of its extremities, much enlarged, projecting several inches forward of 

 the main line of the mass in a sort of sub-cylindrical turban. The 

 surface of the mass, though very uneven, with alternate elevations and 

 depressions short and sharp in contour, is still smooth in texture, and 

 is quite covered with a reddish brown crust which is of unusual thick- 

 ness and continuity. This surface is impressed over the entire mass 

 with indentations from }^ to i}4 inches long, like chisel-marks. The 

 section of the iron (Fig. 2, plate VII) shows these indented lines to 

 correspond with numerous straight, short seams of troilite, which cross 

 the mass in all parts and at all angles. There are also several small 

 troilite nodules, with one of 30 mm. in diameter. These nodules are 

 surrounded and crossed by a narrow border of schreibersite. Etching 

 brings out well marked Widmanstatten figures of the octohedral type. 

 In these the kamacite blades vary much in both breadth and length, 

 causing a coarser or finer pattern in different parts of the section. The 

 plessite patches are seen to be generally composed of alternate layers 

 of kamacite and taenite. The latter, although in fine films between the 

 kamacite blades, show prominently from their brightness. The char- 



