[meteorite-list] Weston

[Monty Robson]

Dear List,

      I am happy to see this discussion, since I have considered asking 
Mr. Blood for his Weston reference for some time.
      Dr. Isaac Bronson and Rev. Horace Holley conducted the first 
expedition to the Weston fall area on 19 December 1807. They described 
three stones. Professors Silliman and Kingsley beginning on 21 December 
1807 conducted the next. Their first report described six stones 
(including the three above). Their subsequent reports described seven, 
after the Tashua Hill stone had been found and reported to them by Dr. 
Bronson. Both expeditions also mentioned the stone that fell into the 
swamp just south of the Burr homestead. None of these stones impacted 
any sort of human artifact.
     I am quite sure there were other stones that were not found. The 
strewn field is centered on the rugged Mill River valley, now the Easton 
Reservoir. I have found tantalizing references to a few other stones, 
but at this point they must remain unproven. But none of them hit 
artifacts either.
      There is more than enough misinformation on this historic fall 
already. Unless documentation can be produced that proves an artifact 
impact, I suggest referring to Weston as a “hammer” only serves to 
discredit an author.
      The total fall mass of Weston is likely to have been on the order 
of 150 kg, but the Catalogue of Meteorites is in error when describing 
this figure as the recovered weight. Many of the described stones 
impacted rock and were reduced to powder or otherwise unrecoverable 
fragments. Most recoverable Weston was very quickly dispersed by the 
local inhabitants and lost to science and collectors. This is why, to my 
knowledge, no published accounting of Weston shows as much 25 kg.

Best regards,

Monty Robson



On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 10:55 AM, peterscherff at rcn.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> When I have any doubt about a sample I ask about its provenance. If 
> they are are unwilling to give me the info I requested I don't do 
> business with them. Better safe than sorry.
>
> Peter
> ______________________________________________
>
> Visit the Archives at 
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list