It is somewhat difficult to obtain trustworthy accounts regarding the occurrence of meteorites in medieval and ancient times, as there was a strong tendency to confuse the real meteorites with flint arrow-heads and hatchets derived from the stone age. A number of interesting facts bearing on the history of certain real or supposed aerolites were given in a recent lecture delivered by Prof. Hubert A. Newton in New Haven, Conn.^[132] Some of the more striking instances are here presented.

As an illustration of the way in which meteorites may have come to be reverenced in former times, we have the modern instance of a stone that fell in the region north of Zanzibar, on the East African coast, and was seen and picked up by some shepherd boys. At first all the efforts of the German missionaries to buy this stone were fruitless, because the neighboring Wanikas looked upon it as a god, and, after securing possession of it, proceeded to anoint it with oil, clothe it with apparel and decorate it with pearls. They also built a temple wherein the stone received divine honors. This worship endured for some time, but when, three years later, the nomad tribes of the Masai swooped down on the Wanikas and burned their villages and massacred many of the inhabitants, the Wanikas lost all respect for the stone and were glad to part with it. This conduct was, after all, not entirely unreasonable, since the fetish had failed to prove its divine power.

This occurrence in the nineteenth century may well be typical of what must have happened in past times. A case from the fifteenth century, narrated by Professor Newton, is very interesting, since the treatises on precious stones of that period and somewhat later contain many notices of supposed meteorites. We are told that, on November 16, 1492, a stone weighing 300 pounds fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. Emperor Maximilian, who was then in Basel, caused the stone to be brought to the neighboring castle and summoned a state council to determine the character of the divine message associated with its fall. The council decided that the event signified some important occurrence in the approaching conflict between the French and the Turks, and the stone, with an appropriate inscription, was suspended in the church, the strictest injunctions being given that it should not be removed. Conrad Gesner, in his treatise, “De figuris lapidum,”^[133] states that a fragment of this stone was given to him by a friend and that it resembled ordinary sandstone.

We are told that nineteen years later a shower of stones fell near Crema, east of Milan; these stones fell in French territory and at that time the Pope was engaged in hostilities with the French. During the following year, the French, who had long threatened the States of the Church from their possessions in Lombardy, were forced to withdraw from Italy. In the celebrated painting by Raphael, known as the Madonna di Foligno, one of the greatest treasures of the Vatican, this Crema fire-ball is depicted.

Naturally the recitals from ancient times are not as easily controlled as the more modern accounts and it is always possible that stones other than meteorites were given a celestial origin by superstitious zeal. The black stone of the Kaabah, which is probably noted by early Greek writers and was an object of adoration for the Arabian tribes before the time of Mohammed, was believed to have dropped from heaven together with Adam, and in many Greek legends images were said to have fallen from heaven. Of course in the case of real statues this is simply a vague superstition, but the stone venerated in Phrygia as an image of Cybele may possibly have been a genuine meteorite.

The following facts in relation to this stone are presented by Professor Newton:

It was a conical mass bearing a rude resemblance to a human head, and was said to have fallen near Pessinus. It was placed in the Temple of Cybele and worshipped as her image. During the second Punic war, in 205 B.C., because of Hannibal’s prolonged invasion of Italy, the downfall of the Roman state was feared, and the Romans were terrified by a shower of stones from the sky. On consulting the Sibylline books, some verses were found to the effect that a foreign enemy could be driven from Italy if the Idæan mother (Cybele) was brought from Pessinus in Phrygia to Rome. An embassy was sent to King Attalus of Pergamos to request his consent to the transfer of the stone, and although he even refused obedience to the commands of the Delphic oracle, which required him to surrender the stone as an act of hospitality, he at last yielded when a violent earthquake shook the country, and the voice of the goddess was heard, enunciating these words: “It is my will. Rome is a worthy place for any god; delay not.”^[134]

Herodian, who relates this story, proceeds to narrate the arrival of the stone at Rome, where Scipio Africanus was chosen to bear it to the Temple of Victory. A silver image of the goddess was made, the conical stone serving as the head. For five hundred years this image, later transferred to the Temple of the Great Mother of the Gods, was an object of Roman worship. It has been described very fully by Arnobius (fl. 300 A.D.).^[135] He states that it was a small stone which could be easily and lightly carried in the hand; it was of a black hue and of rough surface, and had many irregular projecting angles. As it was naturally marked with the form of a mouth, it was inserted in the face of an image of the goddess to figure that feature.

As the stone was valueless, modern explorers long hoped that it might not have been carried off from Rome by the spoilers, but the search for it has been in vain. In a rare volume describing excavations made in the Palatine hill in 1730, Professor Lanciani is stated to have found a stone that had been unearthed at that time in a chapel, lacking any inscription to indicate the divinity to whom it was dedicated. This stone was said to be “of a deep brown color, looking very much like a piece of lava, and ending in a sharp point.” The similarity of this description to that of Arnobius indicates that the Cybele stone may really have been found in 1730, but it has since disappeared. It would have been extremely interesting for mineralogists if they could have been enabled to examine this supposed meteorite, perhaps the very earliest regarding which we have such definite information.

To throw it into greater relief it was surrounded by a silver rim. When first brought to land from the ship on which it had been transported to Rome, the sacred stone was confided to the care of a company of Roman matrons who passed it on from one to another as it was solemnly borne to the Temple of Victory.^[136]

Whether this stone was really a meteorite, as tradition taught, or whether it was a fossil of the type later known as hysteriolithus, as was conjectured by M. Falconnet, in 1770,^[137] remains doubtful. Its light weight, upon which quality Arnobius lays stress, and its peculiar form seem to favor somewhat the latter supposition. A similar stone to which divine honors were paid was in a temple on Mount Ida.

In prehistoric times meteorites were quite naturally supposed to possess a special sanctity, and were indeed regarded as animated by the very essence of some divinity. The name bætylus, given to these stones by Greeks and Romans, is derived from the Hebrew בֵּית־אֵל(bethel) or “house of God,” a term indicating clearly enough the belief held by the ancient Hebrews in regard to meteorites, or supposed meteorites. However, long before this designation had reached the Greeks, certain meteorites had been accorded a peculiar reverence, and even worship. One of these was a black stone, called the Omphalos of Delphi. This was said to be the stone given by Rhea to Kronos when she substituted a stone for her offspring Zeus, to save him from being devoured by his father, Kronos. Zeus himself (or Kronos) threw it down to the Earth and the spot where it struck was supposed to be the centre of the Earth, hence the name Omphalos, or “navel-stone.” Meteorites probably played an important part in the development of civilization, for it is believed that the earliest iron tools and weapons were made from meteoric iron, apparently the only supply available before the art of treating iron ores had been evolved.^[138]

While there is admittedly but scant evidence of the existence of a Stone Age in China, and still less to indicate that Chinese civilization passed through such a period, a certain number of stone artefacts, all polished, have been found within the limits of China. However, curiously enough in view of this state of things, we find that here, as almost everywhere else, these objects were popularly regarded as “thunderbolts.” Thus Chien Tsang-Ki, the author of a Materia Medica, composed in the first half of the eighth century of our era, states that objects of this kind “have been found by people who explored a locality over which a thunder-storm had swept and dug three feet in the ground”; and he adds that some of these stone implements have two perforations. They were named pi-li-chen, “stones originating from the crash of thunder,” and a still earlier writer, Chang (232–300 A.D.) applies a similar designation to stone axes and wedges “frequently seen among the people.” Several centuries later Shen Kun (1030–1093 A.D.) testifies that the people of his time found many stone “thunder-wedges,” in all cases after a thunder-storm; these were unperforated. It is generally believed that most of these stone implements had been made by a Tungusian tribe, akin to the Manchus.^[139]

This is partly due to the fact that it was natural, after a thunder-shower, for a search to be made. Then again, as thunder-showers are usually heavy rains, they were apt to loosen the soil and leave on the surface heavy objects, more especially such materials as jade, of the density of 2.9, or jadeite, of the density of 3.3. These are much heavier than the quartz, feldspar and other ingredients of the soil, which vary from 2.6 to 2.7 and are washed away. Finally, there is the natural disinclination on the part of the Chinese to dig, from their belief that it is wrong to explore the soil, and this disinclination on their part has done much to prevent a better knowledge of the Stone Age, and our knowledge of the races which must have preceded the civilization of China; many facts of mining interest have been neglected, as well, on account of this prejudice. Perhaps within the next twenty years we may learn something about a prehistoric race in China, for as traces of the existence of such races have been found in every other country of the world, there can be little or no doubt that such a race existed in China, although as yet we have no distinct evidences of it.

The Babylonian royal astrologers taught that the mere fact of the passage of a meteor across the heavens, whether its course were from east to west, or from north to south, was a good omen, portending victory and the successful issue of the royal projects. Especially favorable was the augury when the meteor was very brilliant and left behind it a trail that might be likened to the tail of a scorpion. This not only foretold joy for the ruler and his house, but for the entire country; evil would be overcome, righteousness would reign supreme, and prosperity would prevail. A meteor of this type is recorded as having appeared at the time Nebuchadnezzar laid waste Elam about 1150 B.C. This refers to the elder Nebuchadnezzar.^[140]

A curious series of cuneiform texts treats of the prognostics to be drawn from the transformations of stars into various animals, metals, stones, etc. This is explained as referring to the apparent form or hue of the meteor itself, or of the trail it left behind. The transformations into stones concern the dushu-stone, porphyry (or some other dark red or purple stone) and lapis lazuli. This omen is invariably a favorable one.^[141]

The Old Testament offers abundant testimony of the ancient belief that certain stones were animated by a divine spirit. In regard to this, Benzinger writes:^[142] “It was not Yahweh who found Jacob at Bethel but rather Jacob who found Yahweh there. He anoints the stone; that is, he sacrifices to it, for the divinity residing in the stone has caused his dream.” According to Benzinger’s opinion the Ark of the Covenant originally served as receptacle for a stone of this type, and was hence regarded as sheltering a divinity.

One of the very earliest references to meteorites appears in the Book of Joshua (chap, x, verse 11), where we read, in the account of the battle fought by the Israelites against the Amorites and their allies, that “the Lord cast down great stones from heaven” upon the Amorites, so that more of the latter were killed by these stones than by the weapons of the Israelites. Admitting the historical character of the account, this fall of meteorites probably took place in the twelfth century B.C. In an Assyrian cuneiform inscription, there is mention of the seven black stones of the city of Urka in Chaldea. These were bætyli and were regarded as representations of the seven planets.^[143]

The fall of meteors is noted frequently in Chinese records, the first instance dating from 644 B.C. Of a meteor that fell in 213 B.C., we are told that it descended as “a star which turned to a stone as it fell.”^[144] A meteorite that fell in China in 211 B.C. is said to have been the indirect cause of many deaths. The event took place during the reign of the tyrannical emperor Chi Hoang-ti, who had incurred the resentment of all the Chinese litterati by his wholesale burning of books. Some believer in the power of sorcery caused an inscription to be cut on this stone predicting the death of the hated emperor within a year, and when news of the fact came to the monarch’s ears he gave orders to have the stone split up, and to put to death all the inhabitants of the place where it was found, this being no doubt looked upon as a most effective conjuration of the spell.^[145]

In 405 B.C., Lysander won his great victory over the Athenian fleet at Ægospotami in Thrace, and Plutarch writes, in his life of Lysander,^[146] that a stone which fell from the heavens a short time before the battle was regarded by many as a portent predicting the dreadful slaughter that was to ensue. At the time Plutarch wrote (circa 150 A.D.) this stone could still be seen at Ægospotami, where it was regarded with great veneration by the Chersonites. The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras is said to have predicted the fall of this meteorite, as he had observed certain perturbations in the movements of the heavenly bodies. As Anaxagoras died in 428 B.C., his prediction must have long antedated the fall of the meteorite.

A detail given in one of the early recitals might possibly have constituted the basis of a prediction by some contemporary physicist. In the latter part of his account of the phenomenon Plutarch quotes from a Treatise on Religion, by a certain Daimachus, to the effect that, for seventy-five days before the fall of the meteorite, a vast fiery body was seen in the heavens, in appearance “like a flaming cloud.” This well describes the appearance of a great comet, and might be regarded as significant when we consider the latest modern theory of the origin of meteors, according to which these bodies are detached particles of a cometary aggregation. Of this meteoric mass said to have fallen at Ægospotami, Pliny states that it was as large as a wagon and of a dusky hue, adding that a brilliant comet was visible at the time of its fall. Regarding the assertion that Anaxagoras predicted the occurrence, Pliny declares that this prediction, if true, was a greater miracle than the fall of the meteor. A portion of the stone was preserved as a venerated relic in the town of Potidæa.^[147]

The site of the city of Seleucia is said to have been determined by the fall of an aerolite, and this stone is figured on some of the coins of the Seleucidæ, a thunderbolt appearing in its stead on other coins.

In the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, there was a stone partly fashioned into the conventional form of the Ephesian Diana. This, it was asserted, had fallen down from the heavens. The stone is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (xix. 35), where we read that the city of the Ephesians was “a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter.” In this text the word “image” has been supplied by the translators, a more literal rendering being “that which fell down from the sky.” This clearly shows that the stone only faintly indicated the human form.

Tacitus says of the stone sacred to the Astarte (or Aphrodite) of Paphos, that it was a symbol of the goddess, not a human effigy, since it was an obscurely formed cone.^[148] In his life of Apollonius of Tyana, Philostratus, also, mentions this stone and tells us that when Apollonius visited Paphos, he admired there “the famous symbolic figure of Aphrodite.”^[149] These “living stones” λιθοι εμψυχοι were often covered with ornaments and vestments, and it has been conjectured that these adornments were, in some cases, changed so as to accord with the garments appropriate to certain special festivals of the respective gods.^[150]

The colossal emerald of the temple of Melkarth at Tyre is designated in the fragments of Sanchoniathon as an αεροπετῆ ἀστέρα, or star fallen from heaven. It was said to have been raised up by Astarte, and this last myth is represented on the silver coins of Marium in Cyprus. Here the radiance and splendor of the object suggested a stellar or celestial origin, and we see the same tendency at work in the application of the name ceraunia (thunder-stones) to certain brilliant gems by Pliny.^[151]

Virgil^[152] seems to confound with thunder the detonation of a bolide, followed by a train of light, and he seems also to confound the bolide itself with a lightning flash, for he says that its fall diffused a sulphurous vapor far and wide. Seneca was more critical, for he regarded the fact of thunder sometimes accompanying the fall of a meteorite as merely a coincidence.

Although, in the absence of exact and trustworthy contemporaneous accounts of the fall of these sacred stones, we cannot be absolutely certain that they were meteorites, the testimony in several cases is sufficient to render this almost certain, while in many other cases there is no reason to doubt the substantial accuracy of the tradition. The choice of some of the bætyli, however, was determined by their form alone, to which was ascribed a religious significance, not exactly compatible with our religious ideas of to-day, but quite easily understood when we remember that the divine creative energy was concretely represented in ancient times by many symbols offensive to our sense of propriety.

In the treatise “On Rivers,” attributed to Plutarch, a stone is said to have been found on Mount Cronius, which bore the name of “cylinder.” When Jupiter thundered, this stone, terrified by the noise, rolled down from the top of the mountain.^[153] This passage is interesting as suggesting one of the reasons which caused the name “thunderbolt” to be given to certain stones, for stones adapted to ornamental use might easily be exposed by the weathering of the rocks, and then detached by the concussion produced by heavy thunder. Of course, the cylinder-stone here mentioned must have more especially signified one of the prehistoric celts, but it is not unlikely that the name was also given to other, unworked stones, having a similar form.

Before Galba was chosen emperor, and when he was acting as governor of the Basque provinces in Spain, a thunderbolt descended upon the shore of a lake in that region. Search was made for the stones which were supposed to have fallen, and Suetonius tells us that twelve axes were found. This was regarded as a sure augury of Galba’s elevation to the imperial dignity,^[154] but for the archaeologist the presence of the axes merely signifies that this was the site of a lake dwellers’ village.

In some cases, the stone which was held to be a dwelling-place of the divinity was also regarded as a representation, or epitome, of some sacred mountain. In the earliest stage of this belief, the god was supposed to have his abode in the mountain, and later he was thought to animate the stone which had a fancied likeness in shape to the mountain. A coin of the Roman emperor Elagabalus (204–222 A.D.)^[155] bears on its reverse a representation of one of the sacred stones of Astarte, namely, that worshipped at Sidon. This is shown resting upon a car, and it seems probable that it was transported from place to place, so that large numbers of people could have the privilege of paying reverence to it.

There seems to be fairly strong reasons for the belief that the Black Stone of the Kaaba at Mecca is an aerolite.^[156] If the conjecture be correct, this stone occupies a unique place among meteoric masses, for it was an object of worship for many centuries before the advent of Mohammed, and is to-day regarded with the highest reverence by one hundred and twenty millions of Mohammedans. One of the most solemn acts performed by the pilgrims at Mecca is the kissing of the Black Stone, and should any one doubt that true religious enthusiasm is aroused by this act, he should read the following words of Ibn Batoutah:^[157]

The eyes perceive in it a wonderful beauty, similar to that of a young bride; in kissing it one feels a pleasure that delights the mouth, and whoever kisses it wishes he might never cease to do so; for this is an inherent quality in it and a divine grace in its favor. Let us only cite the words of the Prophet in this connection: “Certainly it is the right hand of God on earth.”

For centuries before Mohammed’s time the Kaaba at Mecca had been a famous sanctuary and a religious centre for the nomadic Arabs. It is stated that there were 360 idols in the temple, a number which suggests a connection with the year of 360 days in use among the Arabs. The most celebrated of these idols bore the name of Hobal, and was the figure of a man cut out of red agate. There was a tradition to the effect that this idol had been brought from Belka in Syria. As one of the hands was broken off, the Koreish, the Arab tribe having charge of the Kaaba, repaired this defect by attaching a golden hand, in which were held seven arrows, plain shafts without heads or feathers, similar to the arrows used for divination by the Arabs. For some occult reason the agate was supposed to exercise a certain control over meteorological phenomena, for in Persia it was believed to ward off tempests, while prayers for rain in time of drought were made to this agate image of the Kaaba.^[158]

Much has been written regarding the Black Stone, but perhaps the most satisfactory description is that given by Burckhardt, who writes:^[159]

At the Northeast corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the famous “Black Stone”; it forms part of the sharp angle of the building at from four to five feet above the ground. It is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly smooth; it looks as if the whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent blow, and then united again. It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality of this stone, which has been worn to its present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received. It appears to me like lava, containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its color is now a deep reddish-brown, approaching to black.

This description seems to support the conjecture that the stone is a meteorite. The injuries it has sustained are attributed to various accidental or intentional causes. In the early part of the Mohammedan era the Kaaba was damaged by fire, and the intense heat caused the stone to break into three pieces. This injury was repaired, but some years later (926 A.D.) the heretic sect of the Carmates captured and sacked Mecca. Hoping to divert to another place the tide of pilgrims, and the riches they brought with them, the leader of the sect caused the stone to be wrenched from its place and borne away to Hedjez. During the sack of Mecca, or possibly in its violent removal, the stone was broken into two pieces,—perhaps along the line of one of the old fractures. At first an offer of 50,000 dinars ($125,000) was made for the return of the stone, but before many years had passed the Carmates restored it voluntarily, having been disappointed in their hope of attracting the pilgrims. The Black Stone was destined to suffer still greater injury. In 1022 A.D., Hakem, the ruler of Egypt, who suffered from megalomania and was disposed to claim divine honors for himself, dispatched an emissary to Mecca to destroy the stone. Mixing with the crowd of pilgrims, this man approached the revered relic, and crying out “How long shall this stone be adored and kissed?” struck it a tremendous blow with a club. The story runs that only three small pieces were broken from the stone, but as it is also stated that these pieces were pulverized and the powder made into a cement to fill up the cracks, the injury was probably much greater than the pious Mohammedans were willing to admit.^[160]

Mohammedan tradition teaches that the Black Stone was sent from heaven and was once pure and brilliant; it only grew black because of the sins of men. Legend relates that Abraham stood on this stone during the construction of the Kaaba. This edifice was erected in a miraculous way, for the stones came of themselves, all cut and polished, from the Mountain of Arafat. However, no place was found for the Black Stone, and it was afflicted and said to Abraham: “Why have not I also been used for the House of God?” “Be comforted,” replied the Prophet; “for I will see that you are more honored than any other stone of the edifice. I will command all men, in the name of God, that they shall kiss you when they pass in the procession.”^[161]

A fragment of the Black Stone of Mecca was brought to Bagdad in 951 A.D. by order of the Khalif Moti Lillah, and was inserted in the threshold of the main entrance to the royal palace there. From a balcony directly above the entrance was suspended a piece of tapestry taken from that in the Kaaba, and it was so hung that its lower border was about on a level with the face of anyone entering the portal. All who passed in were strictly enjoined to touch their eyes with this tapestry and also to kiss the piece of the Black Stone, upon which no one was permitted to tread. These details are given in Khondemir’s life of Abu Jafer Al Mostasem, the last of the Khalifs, who died in 1258 A.D.^[162]

The Kaaba at Mecca offers to the adoration of faithful Mohammedan pilgrims to the shrine, not only the famous Black Stone, which is set in the eastern corner of the building, but also another sacred stone inserted in the southern corner at a height of five feet from the ground. This is designated as the “Southern Stone.” The Kaaba itself is a small rectangular structure, built of stone from the surrounding hills, and having a length of 12 metres (39.4 feet), a width of 10 metres (32.8 feet) and a height of 15 metres (49.2 feet). One of the few Europeans who have been permitted to enter the sacred enclosure, Dr. Snouck-Hurgronje, does not believe that the Kaaba owes its origin and sanctity to the Black Stone, but that its foundation was rather due to the presence of the well Zemzem, whose waters were already reported to have a therapeutic quality in the early days of Islam, and which may have earned its repute on this account. If, however, we admit that the medical properties (of a purgative nature) are due to contamination or percolation posterior to the primitive time when the well Zemzem first attracted the reverence of the Arabs of this region, then the purity of the water may account for its high place in the esteem of the Arabs. Of the Black Stone, a native of Mecca who saw the stone when it had been taken out of the wall of the building, in the course of the latest restoration of the structure, states that its inner surface is of a grayish hue.^[163]

The Kaaba also contained the Maquam Ibrahim, a sacred stone preserved from pre-Islamite times, and brought into connection with the history of Abraham by the Mohammedan legends. This stone, enclosed in a receptacle of like material, was at one time buried in the ground underneath the building, but receptacle and enclosed stone are now set within the iron gratings which partition off a part of the space inside the cupola over the pulpit of the Mosque of Mecca.^[164]

An Oriental poem by Assmai detailing the wonderful exploits of the hero Antar, describes the way in which he became possessed of a matchless sword. One day he came upon two knights in desperate encounter; on seeing him they paused in their strife and to his question as to its cause one of the combatants told him that they were brothers, sons of a great Arab emir, recently deceased. Their father had once found a black stone, in appearance like a common pebble, but possessed of such penetrative power that when a herdsman threw it at a camel it traversed the animal’s body, inflicting a gaping wound. The emir immediately recognized that the stone must be a “thunder-stone,” as meteorites were called; he therefore secured possession of it and commanded his most skilful smiths to forge a sword from it. When this task had been successfully performed the emir clothed the smith in a robe of honor, and then, drawing the new sword from its sheath, cut off his head with a single stroke. This served at once as a test of the weapon’s quality and as an assurance that it would not soon be duplicated. On his death-bed the emir called to him his youngest son and said to him: “My son, take the sword and hide it from your brother, and when you shall see that he has seized my goods and is squandering them in riotous living, and sends you away, without reverence for the Lord of Heaven and Earth, take the sword away with you. If you bring it to the court of the Persian King, Khusrau Nushirwan, he will heap gifts and honors upon you, or if you elect to go instead to the court of the Byzantine Cæsar, monarch of the Servants of the Cross, he will give you as much gold and silver as you may ask for.” This was the tale told by the younger knight, who added that when, after the father’s death, the brother had sought in vain for the famous sword, he had resorted to torture to extract from the favored son the secret of its hiding-place, and had brought the latter to this spot commanding him to find it and give it up, and when he refused so to do, had attacked him. The hero Antar, like a veritable knight-errant, took up the quarrel of the oppressed brother and slew his opponent, securing as a free-will offering of gratitude the magic sword.^[165]

The forging of swords from meteoric iron was, in the opinion of the Orientalist Hammer-Purgstall, the origin of the characteristic surface given to the famous Damascus blades. A most interesting modern example of a meteoric-iron weapon is a dagger made by Von Widmanstädt for Emperor Francis I of Austria, out of the famous Bohemian siderite long preserved in the Rathaus at Elbogen and known as the “Verwünschte Burggraf.” On the surface of this blade, however, the lines were angular, while on the true Damascus blade the lines are wavy.^[166] An unsuccessful attempt to forge a sword from a piece of meteoric iron is reported by Avicenna in the case of a siderite that fell at Jurgan in 1009 A.D., from which swords that were ordered to be made by the Sultan of Khorassan could not be executed.^[167]

In an Arabic work bearing the name of Avicenna and entitled “The Cure,” the writer mentions a meteorite which fell in the Jordan, and of which Sultan Mohammed Ghazni wished to have a sword made for him, thus proving that the Sultan believed that meteorites possessed marvellous properties.^[168]

A number of Greek and Roman coins bearing representations of these sacred meteorites have come down to us, and more than two hundred specimens may be seen in the section of meteorites in the Natural History Museum (Königlich-kaiserliches naturhistoriches Hofmuseum) in Vienna. These coins are of great value in determining the history of those aerolites which were preserved in the temples of certain divinities.

The Viennese collection of meteorites is the finest in the world, and this is largely due to the zeal and intelligence of the late Dr. Aristides Brezina, while superintendent of the department of mineralogy and meteorites in the Museum. In regard to the impression made upon the mind of man in ancient times by the fall of meteorites, Dr. Brezina writes:^[169]

The ancients supposed the stars to be the domiciles of the gods; falling stars and falling meteorites signified the descending of a god or the sending of its image to the earth. These envoys were received with divine honor, embalmed and draped, and worshipped in temples built for them.

The coins to which we have alluded were usually struck in honor of the sanctuaries wherein the aerolites were objects of adoration, and the temple is often rudely figured with the stone set up in the centre. In many cases the meteorite was preserved in its original form, which, if conical, was regarded as a phallic symbol; in other cases, the mass was rudely shaped into the conventional form of some divinity.

It is stated in Spangenberg’s Chron. Saxon. that in 998 A.D. two immense stones fell at Magdeburg during a thunder-storm. One of these is said to have fallen in the town itself and the other in the open country, near the river Elbe. The description of a meteoric fall given in an eighteenth century treatise on meteors, presents a vivid picture of the phenomena attending—or believed to have attended—such a fall. We are told that on June 16, 1794, at about seven o’clock in the evening a thunder cloud was seen in Tuscany, near the city of Siena and the town of Radacofani. This cloud came from the north, and shot forth sparks like rockets, smoke rising from it like a furnace; at the same time a series of explosions was heard, not so much resembling the sound of thunder as that produced by the firing of cannon or the discharge of many muskets. The cloud remained suspended in the air for some time, during which many stones fell to the earth, some of which were found. One of them is described as being of irregular form, with a point like a diamond; it weighed about five pounds and gave out a “vitriolic smell.” Another weighed three and a half pounds, was very hard, of the color of iron, and “smelled like brimstone.”^[170]

The following passage written in the fourteenth, or perhaps in the thirteenth century, shows considerable accuracy of observation:^[171]

There are some who fancy that the thunder is a stone, for the reason that a stone often falls when it thunders in stormy weather. This is not true, for if the thunder were a stone, it would wound the people and animals it strikes, just as any other falling stone does. However, this is not the case, for we see that the people who have been struck by thunder (sic) show no wounds, but they are black from the stroke, and this is because the hot vapor burns the blood in their hearts. Therefore, they perish without wounds.

The fall of a siderite twenty miles east of Lahore in India, on April 17, 1621, is reported in contemporary records. From this iron, which weighed about 3¼ pounds, the Mogul Emperor Jehangir ordered two sabres to be made, as well as a knife and a dagger, and commanded that the fact should be properly registered. Here, as in other similar cases, the weapons were believed to possess a quasi-magic power because of the celestial origin of the material employed.^[172]

Michele Mercato^[173] (d. 1593) gives a vivid description of the fall of a meteor which was observed near Castrovilarii, in Calabria, January 10, 1583. Some men in a meadow observed a black, whirling cloud rushing through the air, and saw it descend to the earth not far from where they were standing. The noise accompanying the descent of the meteorite was so deafening that it was heard far and wide, and the poor men fell to the ground almost unconscious from terror. People from the neighborhood hastened to the spot and, after restoring the terrified witnesses of the phenomena, discovered a mass of iron weighing thirty-three pounds at the spot where the black cloud had touched the earth.

The startling phenomenon of a rain of stones from the sky which took place under rather queer circumstances is reported by the Jesuit priest Alvarus as having occurred in China in 1622. The Taoist priests of that land enjoyed the repute of being able to bring down rain from the sky by their magic or religious rites, and when, during the year mentioned, China was visited by a drought of unexampled severity, the aid of these rain-makers was invoked. Yielding, perhaps not unwillingly, to the popular entreaty, a group of priests ascended a hill and proceeded to pronounce their invocations. To the joy of the onlookers the sky became darkened and a rushing sound was heard, at first mistaken for an oncoming rainstorm, but to the dismay of all an immense shower of stones of all sizes fell upon the earth, destroying what remained of the parched fruits and grain crops, and killing or maiming many persons. So terrifying was the sight that the Jesuits who were watching the result of the affair half-believed that the Last Day had come. When the panic had finally subsided, the people fell upon the unlucky Taoist priests and beat them soundly.^[174]

In the “Annals of the Ottoman Empire,” by Subhi Mohammed Effendi, there is an account of the fall of a meteor at Hasergrad, on the banks of the Danube, on the fourth of Saban, A. H. 1153 (October 25, 1740). The weather was fine, not a cloud was to be seen in the sky, and not a breath of air was stirring. Suddenly there arose a whirlwind, the air became obscured with clouds of dust, rain fell in torrents, and it became dark as night. While all who were out of doors were hastening to seek shelter from the storm, three terrific peals of thunder were heard, as loud as the sound of many cannon. After the storm had passed several strange masses partly of stone and partly of iron were discovered in a nearby field. The Vizier bore two of these as great rarities to the Sultan in Constantinople.^[175]

The influence exerted by popular beliefs, even upon the learned, is well illustrated by the opinion given by some of the leading French physicists of the eighteenth century as to the character of meteorites. When a meteoric stone fell at Luce, Dept. Marne, France, September 13, 1768, three French scientists, among them the celebrated Lavoisier, were sent to investigate the matter. In their report to the Academy of Sciences, they state that there must have been some error in the accounts given of the event, for it was an assured fact that no such things as pierres de foudre, or thunder-stones, existed. This was, of course, perfectly true, but Lavoisier and his companions did not stop to think that stones might fall to the earth in some other way. The result of the investigation was summed up as follows:

If the existence of thunder-stones was regarded as doubtful at a time when physicists had scarcely any idea of the nature of thunder, it is even less admissible to-day, when modern physicists have discovered the effects of this natural phenomenon are the same as those of electricity. There is no record that the fulgarite, the fused sand or rock struck by the lightning, has ever been used.

The opinion which seems the most probable to us, and that which is most in accord with the accepted principles of physics as well as with the facts reported by Abbé Bacheley, and our own investigation, is that the stone was originally covered with a slight crust of earth and turf, and was struck by lightning and so made visible.

Chladni reports in a pamphlet published in 1794 that the mass of meteoric iron discovered by Dr. Pallas in Siberia, and known as the Pallas or Krasnojarsk iron meteorite, was regarded by the Tartars as a sacred object which had fallen from heaven.^[176] As it is somewhat unlikely that this belief could be accounted for by an ancient tradition, we must seek an explanation in the conviction among primitive peoples that any mass of rock or metal of unusual appearance and differing notably from the surrounding formations must have come from the sky. In this way primitive instinct often anticipates the results of modern scientific investigation. This siderite, of irregular form and weighing some 1500 pounds, was seen by Dr. Pallas in 1772, and deposited by him in 1776; he learned that it had been found in 1749 at the summit of a mountain situated between Krasnojarsk and Abakansk, by a Cossack. Most of this famous siderite is preserved in the St. Petersburg Museum.

A singular circumstance in regard to the fall of a meteor, and one that in ancient times would have been explained in a miraculous way, is that during the desperate and bloody battle of Borodino, won by Napoleon over the Russians, September 6, 1812, a meteorite is said to have fallen near the headquarters of the Russian general. This would certainly have been regarded—after the event—as a manifestation of divine wrath, and hence a prognostic of the Russian defeat. However, had the French been defeated, the meteorite would have been looked upon as a sign of divine favor, and it would have been honored and reverenced. In modern times the natural phenomenon is taken for what it is worth, and the only interest excited is a purely scientific one.

Of all the meteorites that have been discovered, the most remarkable are undoubtedly those found at Melville Bay, about 35 miles east of Cape York, West Greenland, in 1894, by Admiral, then Lieutenant, Robert E. Peary, and brought by him to the United States in 1895 and 1897.^[177] They are now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The first report of the existence of meteoric iron in the vicinity came from Captain Ross, who in 1818 was given two iron knives, or lance-heads, by some Eskimo of Regent’s Bay. An analysis of the metal revealed the presence of nickel and immediately suggested a meteoric origin of the material; nothing more definite could be learned at the time from the Eskimo than that the metal had been taken from an “iron mountain” not far away. In 1840, the King of Denmark, whose interest had been aroused in the matter, authorized the sending out of an expedition to seek for the suspected siderites, but the search proved unsuccessful; a later attempt made by the officers of the North Star, a Franklin relief ship, in 1849–50, also failed. For a time the determination of the telluric origin of the supposed siderites discovered at Ovifak, Disko Island, West Greenland, by Baron N. A. E. Nordenskiold in 1870, cast some doubt upon the true meteoric character of the iron of which the Cape York knives had been made, and rather discouraged further searches. It was not until 1894 that these extraordinary masses of meteoric iron were at last seen and located by a European, one of the hunters of the Tellikontinah tribe of Smith Sound Eskimos serving as Lieutenant Peary’s guide. The siderites were three in number, the two smaller having been named by the Eskimo “The Dog” and “The Woman,” respectively, while the largest was known as “The Tent.” It now bears the name of Ahnighito, that of the daughter of the explorer.