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
varying in weight from half a ton to a fraction of an ounce.
There is little doubt that these masses formed part of a
meteorite shower, although no record exists as to when the fall
took place. Curiously enough, near the center, where most of the
meteoritics have been found, is a crater with raised edges three
quarters of a mile in diameter and about six hundred feet deep,
bearing exactly the appearance which would be produced had a
mighty mass of iron or falling star struck the ground, scattering
in all directions, and buried itself deep under the surface.
Altogether ten tons of this iron have been collected, and
specimens of Canyon Diablo Meteorite are in most collectors'
cabinets.
