[meteorite-list] NPA 06-12-1879 Unearthing the Estherville Meteorite

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Star And Sentinel
City: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Date: Thursday Evening, June 12, 1879
Page: 4 (of 4)

Unearthing a Meteor.

     The large meteor that was reported to have fallen near Worthington last 
Saturday fell in Emmet county, Iowa, about four miles south of the State 
line and fifteen miles from Jackson. It appeared from here, to those that 
observed it, to pass from northwest to southwest , and left a track of smoke 
not unlike a fuse of shell, only a great deal more. The report was 
distinctly heard here as well as at points further east. The shock of the 
missile striking the ground could be easily felt at this distance. It tore a 
hole in the ground twelve feet across at the surface, and threw sods as 
large as a man's body a distance of ten rods. A number of men set to work 
digging after the meteor, and found it buried fifteen feet below the 
surface, ten feet of which was hard clay. The largest piece taken out 
weighed four hundred and thirty-one pounds, and enough smaller pieces were 
found to make five hundred pounds in all. Those who say it strike say it 
exploded in the ground. It consists of meteoric iron, very dense, and 
thought by some to contain silver ore. It has a ragged outside, covered with 
a whiteish substance which can be taken off, leaving the hard metal. There 
is a great chance for scientific speculation and investigation. -- (Jackson 
(Minn) letter to the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer-Press

(end)