Arizona Sketches by J. A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk
page 91 of 134 (67%)
page 91 of 134 (67%)
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small pieces of iron which he calls "iron shale." It is
analogous to the true meteorite, but is "burnt" or "dead." He regards these bits of iron as dead sparks from a celestial forge, which fell from the meteorite as it blazed through the heavens. In experimenting with the stuff he found that it was not only highly magnetic, but also possessed polarity in a marked degree; and was entirely different from the true meteorite. Here was a curiosity, indeed; a small, insignificant and unattractive stone possessed of strong magnetic polarity, a property of electricity that is as mysterious and incomprehensible as is electricity itself. Another peculiarity of Canon Diablo meteorite is that it contains diamonds. When the meteorite was first discovered by a Mexican sheep herder he supposed that he had found a large piece of silver, because of its great weight and luster, but he was soon informed of his mistake. Not long afterwards a white prospector who heard of the discovery undertook to use it to his own advantage, by claiming that he had found a mine of pure iron, which he offered for sale. In an attempt to dispose of the property samples of the ore were sent east for investigation. Some of the stone fell into the hands of Dr. Foote, who pronounced it to be meteorite and of celestial origin. Sir William Crookes in discussing the theory of the meteoric origin of diamonds[4] says "the most striking confirmation of the meteoric theory comes from Arizona. Here, on a broad open plain, over an area about five miles in diameter, were scattered from one to two thousand masses of metallic iron, the fragments |
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