Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1893 — A WANDERER FROM SPACE. [ARTICLE]

A WANDERER FROM SPACE.

A Huge Meteoric Stone Alleged to Have Fallen in Mississippi. Brandon. Miss., special to Globe-Democrat J. K. Mattox, a well-knowq citizen of Simpson county, who owns an extensive farm on Campbell’s Creek, about eighteen miles southeast of this place, came in town this morning and told of a remarkable occurrence of a huge meteoric stone which fell near bis house on the night of July 21. Mr. Mattox says about 10 o’clock at night he went into his barnyard as he has been accustomed to do before retiring, to see that everything was right about his premises. The night wa’ somewhat cloudy, but not especially dark. He had visited his stables and barnyard and was on the point of returning to his house when he heard a peculiar hissing sound near, and at the same instant a luminous glow felt'all around hhrr as’rif the moon had suddenly emerged from the clouds. He looked up and was almost paralyzed at the sight of a brilliant ball of fire descending through the air with the speed of lightning, and having a comet-like tail extending far up into the heavens.

The descent was only visible for a second, but in that brief space he says he suffered an eternity of unspeakable terror. The ball struck the earth with a dull report 300 yards from where he was standing. It was some minutes before he could recover the use of his limbs. Then, running to his house he aroused his family and several laborers around the place, telling them a comet had struck the earth and they had only a few’ minutes to live. In a short time the whole plantation was up, and men and children were heard crying and supplicating heaven for mercy. Seeing that nothing further happened, and being a practical man, as soon as his alarm subsided Mr. Mattox prevailed on two or three men to accompany him to the spot. They could not get closer than about thirty yards on account of the heat and noxious fumes of sulphur and gas which the stone emitted. It gave out a ruddy glow’which illuminated the atmosphere for some distance around, by the light of which they could see the grass and twigs all about it in a circle of fifty feet or more in diameter, burned and singed to ashes. The stone sizzled and steamed, and shot out jets of steam or vapor from a thousand pores. Mr. Mattox and several neighbors visited it the next day, when he was able to get a closer view. Bydaylight it showed up a dull, dingy black, and was full of pores which still shot out jets of vapor of an offensive smell, which almost stifled one. The stone is evidently embedded in the ground for some distance, and shows only about a foot above the surface. Mr. Mattox estimates it to be about the size of a hogshead, and says when he left this morning and it was still throwing out a strong heat, and it would require some days to cool off sufficiently to permit its being dug out. As Mattox is well known in this community there is no doubt whatever of the truth of his statement. The stone will be put on exhibition at Jackson as soon as it can be handled. Mr. Mattox hopes to realize a handsome sum for it from some of the great societies interested in meteoric collections. It is certainly the largest wanderer from the realms of space which ever found its way to earth.