I regret that I had not more of this interesting meteorite at my command, in order to have determined more definitely and satisfactorily the character of the insoluble residue. I shall be glad to make a further investigation of this point if you will supply me with more material.
Very respectfully yours,
GEO. J. BRUSH.
After reading the above letter, Professor Whitney added some remarks on the form and locality of the meteoric iron analyzed by Professor Brush, stating the circumstances under which it came in possession of the city of San Francisco.
On the twenty-fourth of November, 1862, the Board of Supervisors of this city received, through Mayor Teschemacher, a letter from General George Wright, commanding the Department of the Pacific, stating that he had received a mass of meteoric iron from General Carleton, commanding the “Column from California,” and which mass he, in accordance with General Carleton’s request, placed at the disposal of the city authorities.
General Carleton’s letter is here appended:
Head Quarters Column from California,
Tucson, Arizona, June 30th, 1862.
To General George Wright, U. S. Army, Commander Dep. of the Pacific, San Francisco, Cal.
My dear General:—Soon after my arrival at this place I sent by a train to Fort Yuma, to be shipped to your address at San Francisco, a very large and beautiful Aerolite, which I found here and which I had heard and read of for many years. In Bartlett’s Explorations, vol. 2, page 297, it is described as follows: “In the afternoon,” July 18th, 1853, “I called to take leave of General Blanco, and at the same time examine a remarkable meteorite, which is used for an anvil in a blacksmith’s shop. This mass resembles native iron, and weighs about six hundred pounds. Its greatest length is five feet. Its exterior is quite smooth, while the lower part which projects from the larger leg is very jagged and rough. It was found about twenty miles distant on the road towards Tubac and about eight miles from the road.”