20 METFjnarEs 



pioneers of American science, und are the jijift of Morris K. Jesup. 

 These inchide Benjamin FrankHn. statesman and natural philosopher, 

 Ale\a!i(ler von Huml)()l(lt. ^('()<iraj;her and geologist, Louis Agassiz, 

 zoologist, Joseph Henry, jjliysicist. John James Audubon, ornithologist, 

 Si)encer Fullerton Haird, zoologist and founder of the United States 

 Fish ( 'onunission, James Dwight Dana, geologist, John Torrey, botanist, 

 Edward Drinker ( 'ojX'. ])ale()ntologist, and Joseph Leidy, anatomist. 



M< /Nitridl Hull was once the lecture hall and liere thousands have 

 listened to Professor Bickmore. 



( 'ircling this same hall is a portion of the collection of mt^teorites, 

 j^ . ])0])ularly known as "shooting stars," ranging in weight 



from a few pounds to 36 tons. The greater number of 

 meteorites are stony, but the more interesting ones are com- 

 posed chiefly of iron, wdiile certain meteorites contain both stone and 

 iron. The toughness of iron meteorites is due to the presence of nickel, 

 and the fact that they were so difficult to cut led to the adoption of an 

 alloy of nickel and iron in making the armor plate for battleships. 

 Meteorites have a very definite structure and when polished (see speci- 

 mens on the right with electric lamp) show characteristic lines which 

 together with their composition are to the expert al)solute proof that the 

 specimens are meteorites. 



'' Ahnighito " or '* The Tent " at the left is the largest know^n meteorite 

 . , . , . in the world, and was brought from Cape York, Greenland. 



Meteorite ^^X Admiral K. E. Peary. It weighs 36 tons, and its trans- 



])ortation to New York was an engineering feat. Opposite 

 it at the right is the curiously pitted "Willamette" meteo- 

 rite from Oregon which was the subject of a famous lawsuit. 



The smaller meteorites \\\\\ be found in the Hall of Geol- 

 Meteonte 



ogy, fourth floor. [The collection of meteorites is fully 

 described in Guide Leaflet No. 26.1 



SOUTH CENTRAL WING 

 Indians of the North Pacific Coast 



North of Memorial Hall, that is to the rearof the Jesup statue, is the 



Xorth PacifieHaU, where are displayed collections illustrat- 



Indians of j,^,^ ^j^^, culture of the Indians of the Northwest Coast of 



^" , . , America and also of the Eskimo. These collections are 



Columbia and 



Alaska arranged geographically so that in passing from south to 



north through the hall the visitor meets the tribes in the 



same secjuence that he would in traveling up the west coast of North 



America. 



