'420 An Account of the Discovery 



shallow, but the others much deeper. They all contahi the saift'fe 

 substance as is attaciicd to the great cavity underneath, and 

 some of tlieni also fragments ot" qnartzous stones, which I was 

 obliged to l)reak in the holes in order to get them out. 



The brown colour oF the surface of the block is merely a very 

 thin coat of rust, for the slightest scratch with a knife produces 

 a bright wliite metallic streak ; and yet, wherever the mass is 

 struck witli a steel, it gives out sparks aiiundantly. 



When rubbed with a quartzons pebble in the dark, it becomes 

 btautirullv luminous. 



The block is magnetic, and even possesses well marked poles. 

 In the outline I have indicated their position. The N. pole is 

 not so v.'eil characterized at the shorter point of the same end. 



The N. pole of the block lies at present nearly E.N.E.; be- 

 fore it was removed it lay about N.N.E. I ought to tell vou that 

 La Mota Botelho, who first noticed this object, accompanied 

 me, and, as he was present at its removal, he was able to give 

 me much information, being a very intelligent man. 



The N. pole is by much the most massive end, and lay deepet 

 in the ground than the other. 



No part of tlie mass has the power of attracting iron filings, 

 whether the spot have been filed to brightness or not. 



1 had provided myself with a sledge hammer and tools for 

 cutting off some specimens of the iron, but it was with the ut- 

 most difficulty that I could detach the few small pieces which 

 you have seen, one of which I gave to you on my arrival in Eng- 

 land. The largest I presented to my Lord Dundas, to whom, I 

 am under many obligations, and who promised to place it in 

 the collection of the Geological Society. I also jjrescnted frag- 

 ments to our lamented friend Mr. Tennant, and to Dr. Marcet. 

 Another specimen, beautifully crystallized, I disposed of to Mr. 

 Heuland, and I have only some small pieces left. As soon as 

 the first piece was detached, I was struck with the appearance 

 of internal crystallization not hitherto noticed in meteoric iron ; 

 but as your sjjecimen shows this circumstance very well, I need 

 not describe it. 



None of the fragments possess magnetic poles. 



No vitreous substance appears about tlie mass, as in many of 

 the known blocks of meteoric iron. 



Having taken a few reagents with me, for the examination of 

 the thermal springs which had been pointed out to me, I tried 

 the malleable part of the mass on the spot, for nickel, and I 

 thought at the time that its presence was indicated ; but I am 

 now satisfied that the ph;enomena which I noticed, might have 

 arisen from iron alone. 



I have found my specimens more liable to rust, I think, tlvan 



wrougli* 



