[meteorite-list] NPA 09-09-1891 Diamonds in Canyon Diablo, Meteor Crater

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Reno Evening Gazette
City: Reno, Nevada
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 1891
Page: 2 (of 4)

DIAMONDS IN THE AIR

Something Unheard of Before and Not Believed Now.

     Of all the curiosities which the wise man of the Association for the 
Advancement of Science brought to Washington for exhibition to their 
fellows, the most extraordinary was a meteorite with diamonds in it.  Such a 
thing had never been seen or heard of before; in fact, it was the only 
specimen of the kind thus far discovered in the world.  The diamonds were 
little ones, but what they signified was big.  The meteorite in question was 
one of many found recently in Arizona, near the Canyon Diablo.  It was 
supposed by the discovers that they had hit upon an iron mine of enormous 
value, but investigation proved that the great chunks of metal picked up had 
been shot out of the realms of space.  The place when ce they were obtained 
is known as the "Crater," because it looks like one, being a circular hollow 
300 feet in depth, three quarters of a mile wide and surrounded by a wall of 
rock so steep that the bottom is strewn with the skeletons of animals which 
have got in and been unable to climb out again.  Nevertheless, it is not of 
volcanic origin, as is proved wit certainty by the fact that there is no 
lava, obsidian - volcanic glass - or other volcanic product in the 
neighborhood. What was it then that made the crater?  Geologists saw that 
tit was formed by the impact of a single gigantic meteor, which at some time 
in the past struck the earth and buried itself out of sight, leaving a hole 
which has since become partly filled up, surrounded by a wall of rock that 
was formed out of place.  Imagine what a big one it must have been to leave 
a cavity three-fourths of a mile in width where it hit this planet.  The 
huge mass of iron of which it was composed is there yet of course.

(end)

This is the oldest Meteor Crater NPA I have found to date.  A little over 10 
years before Barringer would hear about this place.

Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
Wichita, Kansas
http://www.meteoritearticles.com
http://www.kansasmeteoritesociety.com
http://www.imca.cc

http://stores.ebay.com/meteoritearticles

PDF copy of this article, and most I post (and about 1/2 of those on my 
website), is available upon e-mail request.

The NPA in the subject line, stands for Newspaper Article. The old list 
server allowed us a search feature the current does not, so I guess this is 
more for quick reference and shortening the subject line now.