238 REPORT— 1875. 



transformed were visible upwards of an hour afterwards, till they faded away 

 in the bright sunlight. 



Another correspondent, " Shikaree," states that on the left bank of the 

 Chenab, some 60 miles S.W. of Bhawalpur, the meteor displayed great bril- 

 liancy, and that a double detonation followed after an interval of six or seven 

 minutes. 



One of the meteorites fell close to a man who had gone out into the jungle, 

 and frightened him so much that he hardly knew M'hat occurred, and was 

 under the impression that the stone pursued him for two hours. He showed 

 the spot where it fell, however, and this was the first fragment unearthed and 

 forwarded by the Tuhsildar of Khairpur to Major Minchin, PoKtical Agent 

 for Bhawalpur. 



The stones fell partly in the State of Bhawalpur and partly in the Multan 

 district, on either bank of the Sutlej, over an area extending 16 miles in a 

 direction bearing 35° S. of E., with a breadth of about three miles. The 

 largest and perhaps the greater number fell to the eastward of Khairpur, and 

 penetrated the earth to the depth of about 14 foot. They are preserved in 

 the following collections in India, and weigh respectively : — 



lbs. oz. grs. 



Lahore Museum 10 12 126 



Indian Museum 9 11 219 



Indian Museum 7 1-1 236 



Geological Museum 1 2 412 



Geological Museum 3 79 



Of those stones or fragments that fell on the Multan side seven have been 

 heard of: — four at different spots near Gogewala well, E.S.E. of Mahomed 

 Moorut ; two at Khurampur, on the right bank of the Siitlej ; and one at 

 Araoli, two miles N.W. of Khurampur. Of these, one only is in known hands, 

 that from Mylsi Pergunnah, which weighs 6 oz. 70 grs. 



The account of the physical characters of the stones is very meagre. They 

 are all very irregular in form, and are more or less broken. While some of 

 the fractures have evidently been accomplished by hand, and others probably 

 took place at the moment of falling, several appear to have occurred during 

 the fall, as the glazed surface has been partially renewed. The stones are of 

 the usual steel-grey colour and exhibit compact crypto-crystaUine texture. 

 One specimen has the specific gravity =3'66. 



1873, December. — Coomassie, Kingdom of Ashantee, Africa*. 



In a letter from the War Correspondent of ' The Standard' it is stated that 

 among the poi'tents of evil which were observed at Coomassie while the 

 British Army halted on the banks of the Prah, an aerolite fell in the market- 

 place of Coomassie. In reply to an application for further details respecting 

 this event, Mr. Henty writes that he obtained his information from one of the 

 clergymen of the Basle Mission. He sa3'S : — " They mentioned these ' pro- 

 digies ' as matters of common rumour and belief at Coomassie, but they do 

 not appear to have even made any inquiries whatever as to their truth. 

 Coomassie was deserted when we got there, so there was no opportunity of 

 gaining further information." 



* G. A. Henty, ' March to Coomassie.' Londou : Tinsley Bros. 1874, p. 320. 



