470 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1876: SMITH. An account of a new meteoric stone that fell on the 25th of March, 1865, in Wisconsin, identical 



with the Meno-Meteorite. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 12, pp. 207-209 (analysis). 



2. 1885: BREZINA. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 191 and 233. 



3. 1895: BREZINA. Wiener Sammlung, p. 261. 



Victoria. See Iron Creek. 



WACONDA. 



Mitchell County, Kansas. 



Latitude 39 28' N., longitude 98 3<X W. 



Stone. Brecciated crystalline chondrite (Ccb) of Brezina; Aumalite (type 37) of Meunier. 



Found 1874; described 1876. 



Weight, 45 kgs. (901bs.). 



This stone is described by Shepard * as having been found in 1870, lying above ground in 

 the grass, upon the slope of a ravine, at the distance of 2 miles from the village of Waconda, 

 Mitchell County, Kansas. He goes on to say: 



Many pieces were then broken off from the mass, leaving about one-half, whose present weight is 58 pounds, half 

 of which is still covered by the original crust. The freshness of the specimens was equal to that of any newly fallen 

 stone, indicating a recent fall. 



Its cohesion is about that of the average among meteoric stones. In this respect, as well as shade of color, it cor- 

 responds very nearly to the Searsport, Maine, stone of May 21, 1871; but in structure it differs in being less oolitic. 

 Indeed, it is only obscurely so at all, the individuals that are distinct being rather granular, often with well-marked 

 angles, some of which suggest the species augite; others, those of forsterite (variety boltonite). There is considerable 

 amorphous whitish, matter interposed among the grains (in which they may be said to be embedded), which is doubt- 

 less a mixture of minerals, and may consist of chladnite with some one or more of the feldspars. The chamasite 

 (nickelic iron) is present in thickly scattered, very minute, rounded, lustrous grains, requiring for the most part the 

 use of a lens for their discovery; while the troilite (magnetic pyrites) is now and then seen in considerable grains, or 

 ovoidal aggregations of imperfect crystals. The crust is rather thicker than usual, of a dull iron-black color, with a 

 slight tinge of brown, and much crumpled or reticulated. The specific gravity of a fragment weighing 4.35 grams (of 

 which two-fifths were covered by crust) is 3.810; that of a fragment without crust, weighing 3.57 grams, is 3.58. 



By mechanical analysis the stone gave 5.66 per cent of chamasite and 1.34 per cent of troilite. The earthy por- 

 tion was rather more than one-half decomposed by aqua regia, the soluble portion, after the separation of the silica, 

 giving magnesia and protoxide of iron (with a little lime) in the usual proportions of chrysolite. The matter not 

 attacked by acids probably belongs to augite, some feldspathic species, and chladnite. 



There exists a rumor that a second stone has been found 12 miles distant from the first, but it lacks confirmation. 



Smith 2 gave the following account of this meteorite : 



The meteorites under consideration have been known for some little time, Prof. C. U. Shepard having given a 

 notice of the Waconda meteoric stone in the American Journal of June, 1876, he having acquired the larger portion of 

 it; the remainder has been kindly presented to me by G. W. Chapman. One feature to be noticed in connection with 

 this meteoric stone is that the time of its fall is not known, it having been discovered in a ravine near the village of 

 Waconda, in Kansas (latitude 39 20' N., longitude 98 10 7 W.). While there are three or four of these softer meteoric 

 stones, consisting almost exclusively of stony matter, the exact time of whose fall is not known, there is every reason 

 to suppose that their falls were observed and that they were collected at the time; but falling in remote places, and 

 on lands of those not accustomed to note precisely the dates of natural phenomena, the exact date of the fall was 

 forgotten when it reached those who were interested in these bodies. In the present instance nothing was known to 

 lead to its discovery, and it was simply gathered up by an inhabitant of a sparsely settled region and laid aside on 

 account of its singular appearance, and was only recognized as a meteorite some time afterwards by one who had some 

 knowledge of these bodies. Although but recently brought to notice, it was discovered two years ago, and I am 

 inclined to believe that its discovery must have been made not very many months after its fall, as otherwise it would 

 have undergone more thorough decomposition; as it is, the interior is marked with large blotches of oxide of iron aris- 

 ing from oxidation of the particles of iron by the water penetrating from without. This exposure has doubtless had 

 something to do with its friability as a whole, for many parts of it are quite firm where the iron is not oxidized, and, 

 as Professor Shepard says, it has the average cohesion of this class of meteoric stones. As he has already given a gen- 

 eral description of it, I will not repeat it here, but proceed at once to give my chemical and mineral analyses. The 

 specific gravity of pieces from the interior varied from 3.4 to 3.6, and when separated mechanically consisted of 



Stony matter 90. 81 



Nickel-iron 5. 34 



Troilite.. 3.85 



