OKLAHOMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 79 



In tliis way it may be possible for a stream to appear to be 

 aggrading its bed and yet the sum total of its work to result in 

 the degrading of its bed while the entire area of the water shed is 

 being worn down gradually and evenly. 



XXXV. AN OKLAHOMA METEORITE 

 A. C. Shead 



From the Oklahoma Geological Survey. 



In snr'.ng of 1921 a few fragm.ents of a meteorite were sent to 

 the chemistry department of the Oklahoma Geological Survey by 

 John Harpending of Smithville, Oklahoma. The meteorite as found 

 is said to have weighed 16 pounds and was picked up in sec. 1, T. 

 IS., R 26E. The fragment of the meteorite sent to the Survey 

 was rough, jagged, and deeply pitted on the surface. It was very 

 irregular in outline, dull rusty red in color, of a high specific 

 gravity, of great tenacity and hardness, strongly magnetic, and dis- 

 tinctly malleable. These physical properties place the meteorite in 

 the class of m.etalHc iron. 



After the m.etcorite had been around the laboratory sometime, 

 some blood red drops appeared scattered over its surface. These, 

 when tested chemically, gave strong reactions for chlorine and iron. 

 In the preliminary chemical tests it was found that no single acid 

 attacked the meteorite rapidly. However, after certain acids had 

 been used for a short time the surface oxide was dissolved, exposing 

 a beautiful silver-w^hite metallic surface. 



The following is an analysis of the meteorite made by the 

 writer in the laboratory of the Oklahoma Geological Survey: 



Analysis of Meteorite 



Per Cent 



Silicon Trace 



Carbon (present as graphite) Not determined 



Free metal iron 91.60 



Free metallic nickel 7.23 



Free metallic cobalt Trace 



Phosphorus 0.234 



Chlorine 0.220 



Total 99.285 



The minerals present besides the five metals are most probably 



Schreibersite, the phosphide of iron, Lawrencite, ferrous chloride, 



and graphite. 



The presence of Schreibersite is merely conjectural, but the two 



other minerals are pretty definitely proved present by their sensible 



properties. 



