84 Report on Meteorites. 
Dr. J. H. Kain of this city: “The large mass of meteoric iron 
found some years ago in Cocke county, (on a creek called 
Cosby’s,) fell into the hands of some persons who tried to break 
Dr. Troost. The original mass was one of rare character, and 
ought to have been preserved entire. Much of it was composed 
of large and perfect octahedral crystals. Its weight was about a 
ton. Another mass weighing one hundred and twelve pounds, 
was found near the locality of the larger one. This also was 
malleable, very white, and easily cut with a sharp instrument. 
It was picked up by a mountaineer, who supposing it to be sil- 
ver, asked fifteen hundred dollars for it. After retaining it for 
some years, he finally sold it to a friend of mine for a small sum, 
who transferred it to Dr. Troost.” : 
Extract from the letter of December, 1845, to myself: “The 
weight of the mass has been variously estimated; but I am cer 
tain it was never weighed, prior to its being broken up. It was 
probably about two thousand pounds. In figure, it was an ob- 
long, square block. I saw several very regular octahedral erys- 
tals that had been detached from the exterior angles of the mass. 
I had formerly supposed that the whole of it had been taken to 
Lary’s forge, in Sevier county, and the greater part of it there 
wrought into ‘gun-scalps;’ but very recently, I have been 1- 
formed, that part of it was taken to the forge of Peter Brown, 1D 
Green county, and there forged. I understand that a man by the 
name of McCoy, had a neat bar forged from it for making a gun- 
barrel, which, to use the expression of Brown’s son, ‘was a 
bright as silver.’ In the conversation, young Brown informed 
me that he thought a piece of the iron in its natural state still re- 
mained. On searching, it was found by a little girl of the family. 
It weighs rather more than a pound, and had been preserved by 
as a nut-cracker. 
“The great mass was found on a hill, or rather on an offset of 
an eminence, at about one hundred feet above the bed of Cosby’s 
creek. I was at the place after the mass was taken away. 
formation was a hard clay-slate, and very little impression Was 
left at the spot, except some stains of red oxyd of iron. MeCoy, 
* This specimen I owe to the kindness of Judge Pec. 
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