The Meteoric Iron from Bethany, Great Namaqualand. 23 



The Great Fish' Eiver was first mentioned by Captain Alexander 

 as a meteorite locahty. According to him, great masses of iron 

 were strewn over a considerable area on the east bank.* One piece 

 which he brought home was examined by John Herschel, who 

 described it as being tough, very malleable, with little tendency to 

 rust, and lighter than ordinary iron. Herschel determined the 

 amount of nickel as 4-61 per cent., and was of opinion that the mass 

 had been molten and had exploded in the air.t In a lecture to the 

 Geographical Society, London, Captain Alexander defined his 

 locality more exactly as north-east of Bethany, not far from the 

 Great Fish Eiver. .J It is therefore very probable that the iron 

 brought to Europe by Captain Alexander and the block in the 

 South African Museum, known to have lain on the mountains 

 between Bethany and Berseba, belong to the same fall. This point 

 could be easily decided by comparing the pieces in the British 

 Museum. In this connection it may be interesting to note that 

 Boguslawski considered the Great Fish Eiver and the Cape of Good 

 Hope irons as being probably identical, § a view which their radical 

 differences renders quite untenable. 



That the Lion Eiver and the Orange Eiver irons are quite 

 distinct there can be no doubt, as they differ entirely in structure : 

 the former, according to Brezina, showing fine, the latter medium, 

 octahedral lamellae, and neither has resemblance to the South African 

 Museum block from Bethany. 



As to the Springbok Eiver irons, I have not been able to find any 

 other data, but here also comparison may be able to decide whether 

 they represent independent falls or not. The two specimens in the 

 Siemaschko and Gregory Collections are certainly doubtful. The 

 piece ("5 gram) in the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle is too small to 

 be taken into consideration. Meunier states that it gives no 

 Widmanstatten figures on etching, and is too minute for further 

 examination.]! There further remains doubt also as to the Spring- 



* An expedition of discovery into the interior of Africa through the hitherto 

 undescribed countries of the Great Namaquas, Boschmans, and Hill Damaras. 

 Vol. ii. Appendix, 272-276. London, 1838. 



f Notice of a chemical examination of a specimen of native iron from the east 

 bank of the Great Fish River in South Africa. Phil. Mag., 1839, (3) xiv. 32-34. 



I Report of an expedition of discovery through the countries of the Great 

 Namaquas, Boschmans, and the Hill Damaras in South Africa. Journ. of the 

 R. Geogr. See. of London, 1838, viii. 24. 



§ Zehnter Nachtrag zu Chladnis Verzeichnisse der Feuermeteore und herab- 

 gefallenen Massen. Pogg. Ann. d. Physik. u. Chemie, 1854, Erg.-Bd. iv. 398. 



II Revision des fers meteoriques de la collection du Museum d'Histoire 

 Naturelle. Bull, de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. d'Autun, 1893, vi. 74. 



