J. L. Smith—New Wisconsin Meteoric Stone. 207 
Art. XX VIL—An account of a New Meteoric Stone that fell on 
- the 25th of March, 1865, in Wisconsin, identical with the Meno- 
Meteorite; by J. LAWRENCE Situ, Louisville, Ky. 
THE Wisconsin meteorite, which fell on the 25th of March, 
1865, and is one of much interest, attracted no attention at the 
time of its fall outside of the immediate neighborhood where it 
was observed, a fact due to the comparatively sparsely inhab- 
ited condition of the country. It was brought to my attention 
only a few months ago by one living in the region not far from 
where it fell. He sent me a small fragment that had been pre- 
sented to him, and so similar was it in its appearance to the 
Meno-Meteorite that fell in 1861, that, not having heard of any 
fall at the period when this one was said to have been found, I 
considered it at first a fragment of that rare meteorite which 
had found its way to that part of the country. But on further 
inquiry and search I was soon satisfied that it was a piece of 
an undescribed meteorite; I have designated it the Claywater 
meteorite, 
The following is the account I have been able to gather in 
relation to its fall. 
In Vernon County, State of Wisconsin, about lat. 48° 30’, 
long. 91° 10’, at nine on the morning of the 25th of March, 
1865, a body was seen by several persons passing rapidly 
through the atmosphere, accompanied with a loud rumbling 
noise. It was luminous and showed flashes of light. Its 
course was from northwest to southeast, and it exploded at a 
supposed altitude of four miles. At the time that the small 
fragments were thrown off from the main body, a noise like 
the rolling of musketry was heard. The main body seemed to 
have a rotary motion, making about one revolution in two sec- 
onds of time, 
The observer from whom the above facts were obtained, 
thinks that the main body did not fall but passed into 7 
0 fragments were found until about five days after the fall, 
when two were discovered, weighing in all fifteen hundred 
grams. The curves of the surfaces of these fragments would 
indicate that they had pertained to a mass having a diameter 
of about thirty centimeters. No data were obtained by which 
to calculate its velocity, but the observer already referred to 
Says that it was variously estimated from fifteen to twenty-five 
miles per second. Of the two fragments that fell, one has been 
lost or destroyed; the other has been placed in my possession 
by Mr. Claywater, who made the observations already recorded, 
and to whom we are indebted for the preservation, of what we 
have of this interesting meteorite; for it differs in its physical 
“spects from any yet observed in this country. 
