Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/281

This page needs to be proofread.


doubt Clear Lake will be one of the most popular health resorts in the Northwest.

Willamette Meteorite. Willamette Meteorite took its name from the Willamette Valley in which it was discovered. "It is the most interesting iron meteorite as to external characteristics yet discovered, and it is the largest ever found' in the United States." The meteor is apparently solid with the exception of deep pits on the surface which it is believed are due to rust. It is 10 ft. long, 6I/2 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high; its weight is 3 1, 1 07 lbs. and it contains 9 1 .557^

iron. This meteorite was discovered in the autumn of 1902 in the woods 1 9 miles south of Portland by two prospectors who were searching for the precious metals. The finders at first supposed they had come upon a ledge of solid iron, but the meteoric character

WILLAMETTE METEORITE _£,v,^oo,«oo o««« ^«

oi the mass was soon ascertained. Later one of the prospectors removed the meteorite to his ranch nearby. But the owners of the land on which it had been found instituted suit for its recovery and the contest was carried to the supreme court before the finder relinquished his claim. In 1 906, the great specimen was presented to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, where it was given a prominent place at the entrance of the building. lEdmund Otis Hovey, American Museum of Natural History, New York.