The Ainsa Meteoric Iron contains a large per centage of a white—almost transparent—silicious mineral, having a vitreous lustre, which may be olivine; but the amount seems larger than that in the Carleton mass. The Smithsonian Institution will undoubtedly cause a chemical investigation to be made of this superb meteoric mass, and it will be interesting to compare its composition with that of the Carleton meteorite, as the two were found so near each other that they may be supposed to have formed portions of the same body, and to have fallen at the same time.
The photograph was taken by Mr. Watkins, at my request, partly to be sent abroad as a specimen of the high degree of perfection which has been attained by this gentleman in this department of art, and partly that an exact representation might be secured of this very remarkable body, in case it should be lost or captured on its way to Washington.
In concluding this notice, the following statement is given of all that is known of the size and position of the masses of meteoric iron which have been noticed by various travelers in Arizona and the adjacent portions of Mexico and New Mexico.
In the Madera range, “Sierra de la Madera,” between Tucson and Tubac, “enormous masses of pure iron, some of which were transported to Tucson, and for many years were to be seen in the Plaza of that Presidio.” Francisco Velasco, in W. F. Nye’s Translation of his work on Sonora, p. 146, published at San Francisco in 1861.—Two of these masses have been brought to this city, the one weighing 1,600, the other 632 pounds; the question arises, how many more are left in the Sierra Madera? To this, no answer can be given at present.
“At the Hacienda de Concepcion, on the road from Chihuahua to Rio Florida,” a mass of meteoric iron estimated to weigh 3,853 lbs.—Bartlett. The exact locality of this hacienda I have not been able to ascertain.
“Ninety miles north-west of Santa Rosa,” supposed to be the Santa Rosa in the province of Coahuila, in Mexico, lat. 28°, long. 101° 30’; Ass’t A. Schott, of the Mexican Boundary Survey, reports a large number of masses of meteoric iron; see page 34, Part II, of Major Emory’s Report. This statement needs confirmation.
“Sancha Estate, some fifty or sixty miles from Santa Rosa, in the north of Coahuila.” This is the locality of the mass of meteoric iron, weighing 252 pounds, and now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, figured, described and analyzed by Professor Smith; see Smithsonian Report for 1855, p. 154, and Silliman’s Journal, (2) XIX, 160. Professor Smith says, “various accounts were given of the precise locality, but none seemed very satisfactory.” It is not unlikely that this mass is from the same locality mentioned by Mr. Schott.
“Near the South-western edge of the Balson de Mapimi, on the route to the Mines of Parral, there is a meteorite, near the road, of not less than a ton weight;” on the authority of Mr. Weidner, of the mines of Freiberg, as stated by Professor Smith (Smithsonian Report for 1855, page 155), Mapimi is in lon. 103° 30’; lat. 25° 45’ nearly.
“At the Hacienda of Venagas, there was (1827) a piece of iron that would make a cylinder, one yard in length, with a diameter of ten inches. It was said to have been brought from the mountains near the Hacienda.” Professor Smith, on the authority of Dr. Berlandier (Smithsonian Report for 1855, p. 155), makes the above statement; the exact locality of the Hacienda I have been unable to ascertain; it is probably nearly in lat. 24°, lon. 101°.