Account of a Fall of Meteoric Stones. 49 



Passing on, he was struck with surprize at seeing a spot 

 of ground which he knew to have been recently turfed 

 over, all torn up, and the earth looking fresh, as if from 

 recent violence. Coming to the place, he found a great 

 mass of fragments of a strange-looking stone, and im- 

 mediately called for his wife, who was second on the 

 ground. 



Here were exhibited the most striking proofs of vio- 

 lent collision. A ridge of micaceous schistus, lying 

 nearly even with the ground, and somewhat inclining, 

 like the hill, to the south-east, was shivered to pieces, 

 to a certain extent, by the impulses of the stone, which 

 thus received a still more oblique direction, and forced 

 itself into the earth, to the depth of three feet, tearing a 

 hole of 5 feet in length, and 4* feet in breadth, and 

 throwing large masses of turf and fragments of stone 

 and earth to the distance of 50 and 100 feet. Had there 

 been no meteor, no explosions, and no witnesses of the 

 light and shock, it would have been impossible for any 

 person contemplating the scene to doubt, that a large 

 and heavy body had really fallen from the skies, with 

 tremendous momentum. 



This stone was all in fragments, none of which ex- 

 ceeded the size of a man's fist, and was rapidly dis- 

 persed by numerous visitors, who carried it away at 

 pleasure. Indeed, we found it very difficult to obtain a 

 sufficient supply of specimens of the various stones; an 

 object which was at length accomplished, principally by 

 importunity and purchase. From the best information 

 which we could obtain of the quantity of fragments of 



VOL. III. PART I. G 



