Dr. Walter Flight — History of Meteorites. 317 



J. Guilleniin Tarayre 1 in his Notes archeologiques et ethno- 

 graphiques, while describing the Casas grandes de Chihuahua or 

 Malintzin, mentions the discovery by Muller, the Director of the 

 Mint at Chihuahua, of a meteorite in the great temple north of 

 Galeana (lat. 30° 22' N. ; long. 110° W. of Paris). While ex- 

 cavating these labyrinthine ruins a lenticular piece of iron, 50 cm. 

 in diameter, was discovered carefully enveloped in cloth similar to 

 that in which the dead of the surrounding graves were wrapped. 



Among new meteoric stones found in Mexico must be mentioned 

 the chondritic meteorite described by Wohler ; it is stated that it fell 

 in 1855 or 1856 at the Hacienda Avilez, not far from the mining 

 town of Cuencame, twenty leagues N.E. of Durango in lat. 24° 47 / N. 

 and long. 4° 8' W. of Mexico. 



The large meteoric iron, computed to weigh 19,000 kilog., which 

 lay in the neighbourhood of Durango in Humboldt's time, and of 

 which he brought fragments to Europe that were analyzed by 

 Vauquelin and Klaproth, appears since then to have been lost. 

 Burkart, however, considered some statements made by Guillemin 

 Tarayre in the Archives de la Commission scientifique du Mexique to 

 indicate that within the last few years it had again been found 

 near the Cerro Mercado. According to more recent accounts, the 

 locality of this colossal mass is known, but is kept secret, as the 

 owner intends to endeavour to transport it to Mexico. 



Burkart briefly notices : the meteoric iron from San Francisco 

 del Mezquital, in the State of Durango, weighing seven kilog., which 

 was described byDaubree; a piece of meteoric iron 2 "from Mexico," 

 the locality not being more definitely given, which J. L. Smith found 

 to exhibit very distinct figures when etched, and to be composed thus : 



Iron = 91-103; Nickel = 7557; Cobalt = 0-763; Phosphorus = 0-020; with 

 traces of Copper and Sulphur. Total = 99 443. 



a meteoric iron at Los Zapotes, four leagues from Cuquio, which 

 is reported to have been brought from Zacatecas ; and the meteoric 

 iron of Yanhuitlan (lat. 17° 35' N. ; long. 1° 45' W. of Mexico), 

 which was in the possession of the Emperor Maximilian, and possibly 

 comes from the same locality as the Misteca Alta iron preserved in 

 some collections. The last two masses contain : 



Yanhuitlan. 



Misteca Alta. 





I. II. 



Nickel 621 ... 



... 4-39 9-919 



Cobalt 0-27 ... . 



... 0-18 0-075 



Insoluble residue ... trace ... 



... 020 — 



The first two analyses are by Bammelsberg, the last by Bergemann. 3 



1 Archives de la Commission scientifique du Mexique. Paris, 1869. iii. 348. 



2 This was probably a fragment of the Charcas meteoric iron which General 

 Bazaine sent to Paris. 



3 Burkart gives the following list of localities of meteorites found in the Mexican 

 Eepublic : — Meteoric Stones. 1). Hacienda de Bocas, N. of San Louis Potosi, fell 

 1804, November 24th. 2). Cerro Cosina, near Dolores Hidalgo, District of San 

 Miguel in the State Guanajuato, fell 1844, January — ,11 a.m. 3). Hacienda 

 Avilez, near Cuencame in the State Durango, fell 1855 or 1856. — Meteoric Irons 

 (each locality lies to the north of those following it in the list). 1). The Casas 

 grandes de Malintzin, between Galeana and Corralites, District Bravos, State of 



