﻿A. 
  E. 
  Foote 
  — 
  Meteoric 
  Iron 
  of 
  Canon 
  Diablo. 
  413 
  

  

  Art. 
  XLIY. 
  — 
  A 
  New 
  Locality 
  for 
  Meteoric 
  Iron 
  with 
  a 
  

   Preliminary 
  Notice 
  of 
  the 
  Discovery 
  of 
  Diamonds 
  in 
  the 
  

   Iron*;* 
  by 
  A. 
  E. 
  Foote. 
  With 
  Plates 
  XIV, 
  XV. 
  

  

  Historical 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  discovery. 
  — 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  

   March, 
  1891, 
  the 
  mining 
  firm 
  of 
  N". 
  B. 
  Booth 
  & 
  Co., 
  of 
  Albu- 
  

   querque, 
  New 
  Mexico, 
  received 
  a 
  letter 
  from 
  a 
  prospector 
  in 
  

   Arizona 
  informing 
  them 
  he 
  had 
  found 
  a 
  vein 
  of 
  metallic 
  iron 
  

   near 
  Canon 
  Diablo, 
  sending 
  them 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  a 
  piece 
  

   with 
  the 
  request 
  for 
  an 
  assay. 
  Sometime 
  in 
  April 
  this 
  piece 
  

   was 
  examined 
  by 
  a 
  Colorado 
  assayer 
  who 
  reported 
  " 
  76*8 
  per 
  

   cent 
  of 
  iron, 
  1*8 
  per 
  cent 
  lead, 
  \ 
  oz. 
  silver, 
  and 
  a 
  trace 
  of 
  

   gold. 
  From 
  its 
  appearance 
  we 
  should 
  take 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  furnace 
  

   product."f 
  

  

  This 
  result 
  was 
  naturally 
  not 
  satisfactory 
  to 
  the 
  mining 
  firm 
  

   and 
  a 
  mass 
  weighing 
  forty 
  pounds 
  was 
  broken 
  into 
  several 
  

   fragments 
  with 
  a 
  trip 
  hammer. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  

   President 
  of 
  the 
  Santa 
  Fe 
  Railroad, 
  and 
  another 
  to 
  Gren. 
  Wil- 
  

   liamson, 
  the 
  land 
  commissioner 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Pacific 
  

   Railroad 
  Co., 
  in 
  Chicago. 
  Gen. 
  Williamson 
  consulted 
  me 
  as 
  

   to 
  the 
  probable 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  so-called 
  mine 
  of 
  "pure 
  metallic 
  

   iron," 
  stating 
  on 
  the 
  authority 
  of 
  the 
  prospector 
  that 
  the 
  vein 
  

   had 
  been 
  traced 
  for 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  about 
  two 
  miles, 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  

   forty 
  yards 
  wide 
  in 
  jDlaces, 
  finally 
  disappearing 
  into 
  a 
  mountain 
  

   and 
  that 
  a 
  car 
  load 
  could 
  be 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  surface 
  and 
  ship- 
  

   ped 
  with 
  but 
  little 
  trouble. 
  

  

  A 
  glance 
  at 
  the 
  peculiar 
  pitted 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  surface 
  

   and 
  the 
  remarkable 
  crystalline 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  fractured 
  por- 
  

   tion 
  convinced 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  fragment 
  was 
  part 
  of 
  a 
  meteoric 
  

   mass, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  stories 
  of 
  the 
  immense 
  quantity 
  were 
  such 
  

   as 
  usually 
  accompany 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  so-called 
  native 
  iron 
  

   mines, 
  or 
  even 
  meteoric 
  stones. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  possible, 
  in 
  June, 
  

   I 
  made 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  locality 
  and 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  quantity 
  had, 
  

   as 
  usual, 
  been 
  greatly 
  exaggerated. 
  

  

  There 
  were 
  some 
  remarkable 
  mineralogical 
  and 
  geological 
  

   features 
  which, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  iron 
  itself, 
  

   would 
  allow 
  of 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  self 
  deception 
  in 
  a 
  man 
  who 
  

   wanted 
  to 
  sell 
  a 
  mine. 
  

  

  Description 
  of 
  Locality. 
  — 
  Nearly 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  fragments 
  

   were 
  found 
  at 
  a 
  point 
  about 
  ten 
  miles 
  southeast 
  from 
  Canon 
  

  

  *Read 
  before 
  the 
  American 
  Association 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  of 
  Science, 
  

   August 
  20th, 
  1891. 
  

  

  f 
  This 
  assay 
  was 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  remarkable 
  character 
  that 
  I 
  took 
  the 
  trouble 
  to 
  stop 
  

   at 
  the 
  city 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  made 
  and 
  ask 
  how 
  such 
  extraordinary 
  results 
  were 
  

   obtained. 
  I 
  was 
  informed 
  that 
  the 
  lead, 
  silver 
  and 
  gold 
  were 
  probably 
  the 
  results 
  

   of 
  the 
  materials 
  used 
  in 
  making 
  the 
  assay. 
  

  

  