from MaznpiL Mexico. 411 



tlioj^e amateur star-gazers saw the meteors liowever, but I'endered 

 me no other report, 



" On the second day of December I received, to my gi-eat de- 

 light, from Eiik)gio Mijares; living on the Conception Ranch 

 (thirteen kilometeis to the east of Mazapil), a stone which he 

 saw fall from the heavens, at nine o'clock on the evening of the 

 27th of November, 1885, The fall, simply related, he tells as 

 follows, in his own words : 



" 'It was about nine in the evening, when I went to feed cer- 

 tain horses in the coi-ral, when suddenly I heard a loud hissing 

 noise — exactly as though something red-hot had been suddenly 

 plunged into cold \v;iter, — and almost instantly there followed a 

 somewhat loud thud. At once I saw the corral covered with a 

 phosphorescent light, and suspended in the air small luminous 

 sparks as though from a rocket, I had not recovered from my 

 surprise, when I saw this luminous air disappear, and there re- 

 mained on the ground only a faint phosphorescence such as when 

 a match is j'ubbed, I saw a numbei- of people from neighboring- 

 houses running towards me, and they assisted me to quiet the 

 horses, which had become \ery much excited. We all asked 

 each other what could be the matter, and we were afraid to walk 

 in the corral for fear of being burned. When in a few moments 

 we had recovered from our surprise, we saw the phosphorescent 

 light disap})ear little by little, and when we had brought lamps 

 to look for the cause, we found a hole in the ground and in it a 

 hall of light . We letired to a distance, fearing it would explode 

 and harm us. Looking up at the sky we saw from time to time 

 exhalations or stais, which soon went out, but without noise. 

 We returned after a little and found in the hole a hot stone, 

 which we could barely handle ; on the next day we saw that it 

 looked like a piece of iron. All night it rained stars, but we 

 saw none fall to the ground, as they were extinguished Avhile 

 still very high up.' 



" This is the simple recital of the ranchman ; and the Ui'ano- 

 lite which fell is the one I send to you." 



" Krom the numerous questions I have asked Si'. Mijares, I am 

 convinced there was no explosion or breaking-up on falling. 

 - ^'Others who saw the phosphorescence, etc., were: Luz Sifuen- 



