[meteorite-list] 1900 era New York Times Meteor Wrong Articles

[MARK BOSTICK]

Hello listoids,

A few New York Times meteoritic articles from the same time period.

Clear Skies,
Mark


Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Sunday, November 14, 1897
Page: 1 (of 24)

MESSAGE PERHAPS FROM MARS.

Strange Characters Found in an Aerolite Which Struck the Earth Near 
Binghamton.

     BINGHAMTON, Nov. 13. - Scientists in this city are puzzling over an 
aerial visitor that dropped in this vicinity early this morning.  Prof. 
Jeremiah McDonald, who resides on Park Avenue, was returning home at an 
early hour this morning when there was a blinding flash of light and an 
object buried itself in the ground a short distance from his premises.  
Later it was dug up and found to be a mass of some foreign substance that 
had been fused by intense heat.  It was still hot, and when cooled off in 
water was broken open.  Inside was found what might have been a piece of 
metal on which were a number of curious marks that some think to be 
characters.  When opened, the stone emitted a strong sulphurous smell.
     Prof. Whitney of the High School declared it an aerolite, but different 
from anything he had ever seen.  The metal had been fused to a whitish 
substance, and is of unknown quality to the scientific men who have examined 
it.  The aerolite is now on exhibition and will be placed in the geological 
collection of the High School.  Several persons have advanced the opinion 
that this is a message from another planet, probably Mars.  The marks bear 
some resemblance to Egyptian writing, in the minds of some.  Prof. McDonald 
is among those who believe the mysterious ball was meant as a means of 
communication from another world.

(end)


Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Friday, November 17, 1899

METEORITE WRECKS DWELLING

Tears Away Part of Upper Story and Buries itself in the Ground

     Crescent, Ill. Nov. 16. - By the falling of an aerolite seven miles 
south of Crescent City the residence of John Meyers was partially wrecked 
and the neighborhood was panic-stricken.
     The meteor came from a point in the sky a little east of south and 
struck the north end of the house, tearing away at part of the upper story.  
The aerolite buried itself in the ground about three feet from the 
foundation of the house.

(end)

Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Friday, July 13, 1900
Page: 2 (of 12)

METEORITE IN MISSISSIPPI

Visitor from the Heavens Explodes and Wrecks a House.

Special to The New York Times

     NEW ORLEANS, La. July 12. - The village of Bellefontaine, in Webster 
County, Miss., thirty miles in the interior from this place, was the scene 
last night of the fall of an aerolite, or meteoric stone, which completely 
wrecked the large storehouse of Hodge & Mabry, and destroyed the stock of 
goods contained in it.
     The fall of the aerolite occurred between 9 and 10 o'clock, during a 
perfectly clear moonlight night. The destruction of the building was 
preceded by the appearance of a ball of fire passing swiftly through the 
air. It gave off during its passage enough light to greatly increase the 
light from the moon. As it came near a loud explosion was heard and a shower 
of fire burst forth from all sides of the blazing mass, having the 
appearance of hundreds of falling stars. The storehouse was wrecked 
simultaneously with the explosion.
     The explosion of the aerolite caused a report like the sound of distant 
thunder or the roll of far-away cannon. The debris of the house is being 
cleared away in search of the aerolite. It has not yet been found. Some of 
the searchers say that its velocity buried it in the ground. Others assert 
that the stone shattered into meteoric dust when the explosion occurred. 
Many cinders of a gray gritty metal appearance have been found in the 
wreckage.

(end)

Paper: The New York Times
City: New York City, New York
Date: Thursday, April 19, 1906
Page: 10

FOUND METEOR FRAGMENT

Cemetery Workman Digs Up One Buried for Twelve Years

Special to The New York Times

     RAHWAY, N.J., April 18. - John Godfray, in excavating for a monument 
today in Hazlewood Cemetery, dug up a meteor fragment weighing 25 pounds. It 
seemed to be composed of fused minerals, glass, stone and steel.  There is a 
mixture of vari-colored stones intermingled through the otherwise gray mass.
     Twelve years ago Keron Kiernan, keeper of the cemetery, while at work 
one afternoon, heard a whistle, like escaping steam, coming through the 
clouds overhead.  Then came a bright light, an odor of sulphur filled the 
air, and about fifty feet from where he stood a missile buried itself in the 
ground scorching the grass about and melting the gravel where it fell.  The 
opening showed the object to have buried twelve feet deep.  Since then it 
has gradually worked to the surface.

(end)