14S An Account of a Meteor, 



III. At the third explosion a mass of stone far ex- 

 ceeding the united weight of all we have hitherto descri- 

 bed, fell in a field belonging to Mr. Elijah Seeley, and 

 within thirty rods of his house. Mr. Seeley's is at the 

 distance of about four miles from Mr. Prince's. Mr. 

 Elihu Staples lives on the hill, at the bottom of which 

 this body fell, and carefully observed the whole pheno- 

 menon. 



After the last explosion, he says, a rending noise like 

 that of a whirlwind passed along to the east of his house 

 and immediately over his orchard, which is on the decli- 

 vity of the hill. At the samfe instant a streak of light 

 passed over the orchard in a large curve, and seemed to 

 pierce the ground. A shock was felt, and a report heard 

 like that of a heavy body falling to the earth ; but no 

 conception being entertained of the real cause, (for no 

 one in this vicinity, with whom we conversed, appeared 

 to ha:ve ever heard of the fall of stones from the skies) it 

 was supposed that lightning had struck the ground. Three 

 or four hours after the event, Mr. Seely went into his field 

 to look after his cattle. He found that some of them had 

 leaped into the adjoining enclosure, and all exhibited 

 strong indications of terror. Passing on, he was struck 

 with surprize at seeing a spot of ground which he knew 

 to have been recently turfed over, all torn up, and the 

 earth looking fresh, as if from recent violence. Coming 

 to the place, he found a great mass of fragm.ents of a 

 strange looking stone, and immediately called for his 

 wife, who was second on the gi'ound. 



Here were exhibited the most striking proofs of vio- 

 lent collision. A ridge of micaceous schistus lying near- 

 ly even with the ground, and somewhat inclining like the 

 hill to the south-east, was shivered to pieces, to a cer- 

 tain extent, by the impulse of the stone, which thus re- 

 ceived a still more oblique direction, and forced itself 

 into the earth to the depth of three feet, tearing a hole 

 of five feet in length and four and a half feet in breadth, 

 and throwing large masses of turf and fragments of stone 

 and earth to the distance of 50 and 100 feet. Had there 

 been no meteor, no explosions, and no witnesses of the 

 light and shock, it would have been impossible for any ' 

 person contemplating the scene to doubt, that a large 



