J. L. Snut'i,— Waco,,'/,! Meteoric Stone. 



fusion of what was originally a chladnitic material 

 the Bishopsville stone), am"id particles of cbamasi 

 by access of oxygen, whereby the silicate of magn< 

 converted into the more fusible double silicate of m 



Art. XXIV.— Examination of the Waconda Meteoric Stone, Bates 

 County Meteoric Iron and Roclamjham Vwmty Mdtoric Iron; 

 by J. Lawrence Smith, Louisville, Ky. 



The meteorites under consideration have been known for 

 some little time, Prof. C. TJ. Shepard having given a notice of 

 the Waconda meteoric stone in this Journal of June, 1876, he 

 having acquired the larger portion of it : the remainder lias 

 been kindly presented to me by G. W. Chapman. 



The existence of the Bates County meteoric iron was an- 

 nounced by Prof. G. C. Broadhead (this Journal, Nov., 1875) 

 to whom 1 am indebted for a large portion of the original mass. 

 Waconda Meteorite. 

 One feature to be noticed in connection with this meteoric 

 stone is that the time of its fall is not known ; it having been 

 discovered in a ravine near the village of Waconda in Kansas 

 tfat. 39° 20', long. 98° 10'). While there are three or four of 

 these softer meteoric stones, consisting almost exclusively of 

 stony matter, the exact time of whose fall is not known, there 

 is every reason to suppose that their falls were observed, and 

 that they were collected at the time; but falling in remote 

 Places, and in the lands of those not accustomed to note pre- 

 cisely the dates of natural phenomena, the exact date of the 

 f " ' -is f n-jott. n • 1 • , in iched those who were interested in 

 toeve bodies. 



In the present instance nothing was known to lead to its dis- 

 covery, and it was sin, .... n-arlu'ivd uu (>v an inhabitant of a 

 sparsely settled region . . ! ' > d is ! account of its singular 



'■. and was only recognized as a meteorite some time 

 afterward by one who had some knowledge of these bodies. 

 Although but recently brought to notice, it was discovered 

 wo years ago, and Ian, inclined M believe that its discovery 

 must have been made not verv tnanv months after its fall, as 

 otherwise it would have under- iecomposi- 



t'on; as it iS) tl]( , jnri . ,.;,„. j/ m;il .]-ei with large blotches of 

 oxide of iron arising from oxidation of the particles of iron by 

 the wa ter penetrating from without. 



