﻿il2 
  II. 
  L. 
  Ward 
  — 
  Notice 
  of 
  an 
  Aerolite. 
  

  

  Art. 
  XLYI. 
  — 
  Notice 
  of 
  an 
  Aerolite 
  that 
  recently 
  fell 
  at 
  

   Allegan, 
  Michigan 
  ; 
  by 
  Henky 
  L. 
  Ward. 
  

  

  [Announced 
  before 
  the 
  Rochester 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences, 
  Oct. 
  10th.] 
  

  

  At 
  eight 
  a. 
  m. 
  on 
  Monday, 
  July 
  10th, 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  year 
  

   there 
  fell 
  at 
  Allegan, 
  Michigan 
  (about 
  32 
  miles 
  S.S.W. 
  of 
  

   Grand 
  Kapids), 
  the 
  aerolite 
  herein 
  noticed. 
  An 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  

   fall 
  was 
  published 
  by 
  the 
  Allegan 
  Gazette 
  in 
  its 
  issue 
  of 
  July 
  

   15th 
  ; 
  but 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  a 
  report 
  of 
  this 
  phenomenon 
  directly 
  from 
  

   an 
  eye-witness, 
  who 
  was 
  very 
  near 
  where 
  the 
  stone 
  struck, 
  who 
  

   assisted 
  in 
  its 
  excavation, 
  and 
  who 
  was 
  a 
  part 
  owner 
  of 
  it, 
  the 
  

   information 
  furnished 
  by 
  him 
  has 
  been 
  used 
  rather 
  than 
  that 
  

   of 
  the 
  newspaper. 
  Both 
  agree, 
  however, 
  in 
  their 
  essential 
  

   features. 
  

  

  The 
  newspaper 
  account 
  states 
  that 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  the 
  meteorite 
  

   was 
  reported 
  to 
  have 
  fallen 
  at 
  Dunningville 
  [about 
  eight 
  miles 
  

   N.W. 
  of 
  Allegan] 
  and 
  another 
  on 
  the 
  lake 
  shore 
  [the 
  nearest 
  

   point 
  of 
  which 
  lies 
  about 
  20 
  miles 
  west 
  of 
  Allegan]. 
  A 
  resi- 
  

   dent 
  of 
  Dunningville 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  this 
  report 
  is 
  erroneous 
  

   as 
  far 
  as 
  that 
  village 
  is 
  concerned 
  ; 
  as 
  no 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  village 
  

   knew 
  anything 
  about 
  it 
  except 
  from 
  the 
  published 
  report. 
  To 
  

   the 
  best 
  of 
  my 
  knowledge 
  nothing 
  further 
  has 
  been 
  heard 
  of 
  

   the 
  piece 
  reported 
  to 
  have 
  fallen 
  on 
  the 
  lake 
  shore 
  ; 
  so 
  it 
  is 
  

   presumable 
  that 
  this 
  assertion 
  also 
  is 
  erroneous. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Walter 
  Price, 
  of 
  Allegan, 
  writes 
  in 
  answer 
  to 
  my 
  

   inquiries: 
  "I 
  was 
  working 
  on 
  the 
  road 
  when 
  the 
  meteorite 
  

   struck 
  ; 
  it 
  fell 
  inside 
  the 
  village 
  limits 
  in 
  nearly 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  

   the 
  street." 
  The 
  exact 
  locality 
  is 
  the 
  Thomas 
  hill 
  on 
  the 
  Sauga- 
  

   tuck 
  road. 
  Mr. 
  Price 
  continues 
  : 
  " 
  It 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  north- 
  

   west, 
  and 
  passed 
  within 
  about 
  forty 
  feet 
  from 
  where 
  we 
  were 
  

   working 
  and 
  struck 
  about 
  ten 
  rods 
  beyond 
  in 
  the 
  sand 
  (the 
  

   road 
  was 
  a 
  little 
  sandy). 
  The 
  first 
  we 
  noticed 
  we 
  heard 
  a 
  

   report 
  in 
  the 
  sky 
  as 
  if 
  a 
  large 
  cannon 
  had 
  been 
  iired, 
  and 
  after 
  

   that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  rambling 
  noise 
  which 
  lasted 
  about 
  five 
  minutes 
  

   (this 
  is 
  as 
  near 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  guess). 
  When 
  we 
  heard 
  this 
  rum- 
  

   bling 
  sound 
  we 
  began 
  to 
  look 
  up, 
  and 
  saw 
  a 
  black 
  ball, 
  about 
  

   the 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  man's 
  fist, 
  coming 
  our 
  way. 
  By 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  

   sound 
  had 
  changed 
  to 
  a 
  noise 
  very 
  much 
  like 
  one 
  caused 
  by 
  

   throwing 
  a 
  red-hot 
  iron 
  into 
  a 
  tub 
  of 
  water, 
  and 
  when 
  it 
  passed 
  

   by 
  it 
  sounded 
  like 
  an 
  engine 
  blowing 
  off 
  steam. 
  There 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  be, 
  also, 
  a 
  blue 
  streak 
  behind 
  it 
  about 
  six 
  feet 
  long 
  which 
  

   tapered 
  back 
  to 
  a 
  sharp 
  point. 
  When 
  the 
  meteorite 
  struck 
  we 
  

   saw 
  the 
  sand 
  iiy, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  probably 
  live 
  minutes 
  before 
  we 
  

   went 
  to 
  dig 
  it 
  up. 
  The 
  soil 
  was 
  sandy 
  and 
  it 
  buried 
  itself 
  a 
  

   foot 
  and 
  a 
  half. 
  When 
  we 
  had 
  thrown 
  the 
  loose 
  sand 
  from 
  

   over 
  it, 
  it 
  was 
  too 
  hot 
  for 
  us 
  to 
  handle 
  with 
  our 
  hands, 
  and 
  we 
  

  

  