W. F. CUMMINS—THE TEXAS METEORITES. 
17 
Pawnee village on Red River, a few miles below where Texarkana is 
now situated. In his notes written at that place he says: “ We are 
informed by the Indians of a remarkable piece of metal some days’ 
journey to the southward of the Pawnee village on the River Brazos,” 
and he subsequently speaks of proceeding south and west in going to 
the locality. 
Mr. L. Bringier, who had traveled in this country, and who saw the 
large mass of metal, says : “ On the head of the Trinity River, longi¬ 
tude from London 95 degrees and 10 seconds, and latitude 32 degrees 
and 7 seconds, are or were several blocks of native iron, one of which 
was taken to New York. How did these masses come into the prairie 
(for they are in a prairie) is a question worth solving. A few miles to 
the west of these blocks of native iron a belt of trees is seen extending 
itself toward the south and southeast. The hunters know this by the 
name of Cross Timbers ; they mean that it crosses the prairie, for there 
is no other wood in sight. This wood grows in a low ridge of lime¬ 
stone entending to the northwest shore of the Lake Sabine, bordering 
on the River Natchez ; but whereas ten miles above the timber spreads 
from fifteen to twenty miles in breadth. It gives rise to the waters of 
the Trinity, whose west fork runs entirely through it. The country is 
silican, and a soil of gravel and loam produces a great variety of dis¬ 
tinct qualities of grapes, etc. To the northeast are immense prairies 
which the eye cannot measure.” 
According to this description the locality would be west of either the 
Upper or Lower Cross Timbers, and in Denton, Cook or Montague 
county. The Elm Fork of the Trinity heads east of the Upper Cross 
Timbers, and the West Fork of Trinity runs through both the Upper 
and Lower Cross Timbers. I know of no place where either of these 
belts of timber is only a mile wide. So I can not locate the place by 
this description. 
Mr. John Maley traveled in these regions subsequent to the removal 
of the large mass, but visited one or more of the smaller masses. He 
says : “ Crossing the river at the Pawnee village we took a southwest 
course, over large ledges of limestone and extensive prairies. After a 
journey of three days we were conducted by the Indians to this metal. 
It lay a few miles from the mountain, which appeared to be the same 
that I have before described as running parallel to the river.” 
At another time he mentions the metal as being about two hundred 
miles a little north of west from Nachitoches, on the ridge between the 
waters of the Red River and the River Bravo. The following instruc¬ 
tions for finding the locality of the iron were given by Mr. Wm. Barby, 
a geographer of that date. He says : “If with one of Mr. Melish’s 
maps of the United States in your hand, you run your eye up Red 
River to the Pawnee village, you will perceive a small creek entering 
Red River a short distance below the village. This creek is called by 
