[meteorite-list] NPA, 09-10-1905 Willamette Meteorite on Display at Exposition

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
City: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Date: September 10, 1905

BIGGEST OF METEORITES

HUGE CELESTIAL VISITOR SHOWN AT PORTLAND'S EXPOSITION

Found in Woods of Oregon - Mysterious Mass of Metal Weighs From 18 to 20 
Tons and Has an Interesting History Connected With it.

      A visitor fro Mars or some other distant region or planet has just 
arrived at the Lewis and Clark exposition.  This massive meteorite of many 
tons' weight is the biggest shooting that has ever been found in the western 
hemisphere and perhaps the heaviest meteorite ever found in any land.  It 
has not yet been weighed, but its weight has been estimated at about 18 or 
20 tons. Twelve of the most powerful horses in Portland were required to 
haul this mysterious mass of metal from the steamer to the exposition 
grounds where a special platform has been erected for its reception, and a 
government official took charge of it as of some valuable prize.
     An interesting story is associated with this great shooting star.  It 
is the only substance from some other world that has ever been the subject 
of litigation.  The man who found it claimed it by right of discovery and 
the owner of the land upon which it fell claimed it rights accruing from 
ownership.
     The meteorite was found in the woods of Clackamas county, Oregon, in 
the autumn of 1902, about two miles from Oregon City, and 15 miles from the 
exposition site.  The region immediately surrounding the spot where this 
strange visitor struck the earth is a serious of rough and rugged foothills 
near the Tualitan river this great iron mass fell.  How long ago no man can 
conjecture.  It may have been centuries since some shooting star passed from 
its own sphere to the earth.  Here it lay for years in this wild region of 
primeval forests of pine and birch.  When found it was partially covered by 
a carpet of accumulated vegetable debris.

Kent Discovery Secret

     One day a prospector found what he at first supposed to be iron ore.  
Investigation proved it to be a meteorite of huge dimensions and enormous 
weigh.  For months the discovery was kept a secret, while the discoverer 
endeavored to secure possession of the land.  Failing in this after numerous 
efforts, he moved the meteorite to his own land, nearly a mile distant.  The 
task of moving such a weight was most difficult and required several months 
or toil.  Special trucks has to be constructed for the occasion, the 
greatest secrecy being observed at all times. Perseverance finally triumphed 
and the massive meteorite was at the owner's door.  The cloak of secrecy was 
then removed and people from far and near journeyed to the spot where the 
mysterious celestial wonder lay.
     The owners of the land from which the meteorite had been removed 
claimed the prize which had fallen upon their land and began litigation to 
gain possession of it.  The finder claimed that this meteorite, being but a 
shooting star which dropped from an unknown world, should not properly be 
considered a part of the land or its products.  The people owning the land 
upon which the meteorite was found claimed it as a mineral property, 
possession of which goes with the land.  The courts found for the land 
owners and established a precedent that whatever falls from the stars, the 
moon or any other distant sphere, whose occupants are not on visiting terms 
with the people of this earth , becomes a part of the heriditaments of the 
lands upon which it may fall.  No syndicate from any of the planets having 
put in a claim for the meteorite, it is now recognized as the property of 
the owners of the land upon which it was found.

An Abbreviated Cone.

     This great meteorite is in the form of an abbreviated cone, having its 
base on two sides so prolongated as to produce an oval, whose long diameter 
is one-third greater than its transverse diameter.  There are no angular 
outlines to the mass as a whole, all, whether in vertical or horizontal 
section, is bounded by broad curves.  When found partially buried in this 
ground, the base of the meteorite was uppermost and it is likely that in its 
long trip through space it held this position or doubtless the rapidity of 
its flight gave it the conical shape.
     In the lower half of this great cone are a number of round bore-holes, 
irregular as to position and more generally near the bottom or base of the 
meteorite.  these holes are nearly circular and well defined.  They are one 
to four inches in depth and three to eight inches in diameter at the at the 
outside.  Another feature of this remarkable meteorite consists in the deep 
furrows or channels cutting into the lower cone area.  There furrows extend 
vertically tot he lower edge or base of the mass, whose border they break 
with deep channeling.
     This great mass of molten iron, once a bright shooting star darting 
through space, has been named the Willamette, in honor of the river near 
which it found a resting place.  It’s dimensions are: Extreme length, 10 
feet1 4 inches; breadth across base, 7 feet; extreme vertical height from 
base to summit of dome, 4 feet; total circumference of base, 25 feet and 4 
inches.

(end)

Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor 
and meteorite articles.