[meteorite-list] My Pasamonte Strewn Field Adventure

From: wahlperry at aol.com <wahlperry_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:10:12 -0500
Message-ID: <8CB59012A8F047C-584-747_at_WEBMAIL-DC10.sysops.aol.com>

Hi All,

This subject came up on the Nugget Shooter list. I thought members of
this list might enjoy this story too.

Sonny


>'m sure everyone here has read about the Pasamonte meteorite fall that
happened back in 1933 in New Mexico. They estimate the original mass
weighed anywhere from 1000 to 1,000,000 tons. It was probably the
brightest meteorite ever witnessed yet only 5-10 >pounds of it were
ever recovered. Surely there has to be more laying around. Does anyone
know about the land ownership status in that area? Is that area really
rugged to the point it would keep meteorite hunters from looking for
more pieces? How about the >composition of the meteorite itself. Would
a eucrite last long in the field since they say it's a fragile
meteorite? I see where everyone hunts for Glorieta pallisite in NM but
no one seems to hunt the Pasamonte eucrite which would be worth a
fortune if some were to >be recovered.


I had the chance to hunt the Pasamonte strewn field a couple of years
ago with a few good friends including Rob Reisener and Steve Schoner.
The strewn field is made up mostly of flat range land with low
vegetation. On the South and East sides of the strewn field are large
canyons that resemble a small version of the Grand Canyon that go on
for miles. The canyons are full of wildlife including black bears. I
know what you are thinking, Black Bears in the middle of grass lands.
The day prior to our arrival the ranch owner had a large black bear in
the front yard looking for food. I told Steve and Rob I would have bet
you a million dollars that the only bears in this area lived in a zoo
in the next city.

One of my favorite parts of our meteorite hunting trips is that you
have a chance to sit down and talk to the property owner and hear the
story of the meteorite fall and the early meteorite hunters . Nininger
was one of the first meteorite hunters to arrive at the ranch to
purchase and hunt for more pieces. Approximately one hundred fragments
were recovered. We talked for hours on the back porch overlooking the
strewn field. After getting permission to hunt the strewn we were given
a guided tour of the ranch and had a chance to look around the old
ranch house where many of the Pasamonte pieces were purchased by
Nininger. The property surrounding the old house was full of old cars
and everything they accumulated over the years. The only advice we were
given was to watch out for rattlesnakes. In our previous conversation
with the ranch owner he talked about being bitten on the back by a
rattle snake while eating lunch out herding cattle. "I damned near died
  from the snake bite he said!" They had to build a two foot fence
around the main ranch house just to keep the rattlesnakes out of the
yard. Three prairie rattlesnakes were killed by the ranch hands in
front of the main house a few days before. The old house was built over
a basement with a concrete stairway leading under the house. The upper
floor of the house was missing a door or two and full of everything!
Still the chance to find a Pasamonte meteorite was "worth the stay in a
hospital from a snake bite" I told Rob as I tried to get him to go
first down the stairway. After a few seconds of discussing this Rob,
Steve and myself decided the chance of finding a meteorite in the
basement or upper floor were not good. The three of us looked around
the property with no luck. We did find a Hognose snake along the fence.

In all reality the chance of finding a eucrite after all these years
would not be good. The condition of the strewn field during the time of
the fall was little or no vegetation due to the drought that they were
experiencing in 1933. Many of the fragments were easily spotted by the
sheep herders and ranch hands due to the rich dark black fusion crust
of a eucrite. 75 years of farming and ranching would make it almost
impossible for a Pasamonte eucrite to survive for that many years. If
you were able to come across a fragment it would have traces of a dull
black fusion crust with a dirty white to gray interior and crumble with
little or no effort .


The following morning we hunted the rolling hills wandering through the
strewn field that was now patches of tall grass with some open areas of
vegetation. Cattle and antelope also wandered the strewn field for as
far as you could see. For most of the day a young antelope followed
behind me 100' or so only stopping as I did to wait while I look at
suspected meteorites. After numerous hours of hunting I could see Rob
off in the distance walking towards my location. When we finally met up
we were a half mile or so off the edge from were the flat land dropped
into the steep ravines. Rob and I both talked about the condition of
the strewn field and the chances of finding any meteorites at all. As
we were talking I noticed off in the distance what looked like a small
   herd of antelope running from the edge of the canyon. It was still
hard to make out what they were but they were running towards us. The
little antelope that had been falling me all day was still about 200'
away looking in our direction. As the antelope got a little closer we
both could see why they were running. A large dark colored object was
chasing after the antelope . By now Rob and I both stopped talking and
put our full attention on what was chasing the antelope. It was a bear
on a full run. I turned and looked in the direction of the car that was
parked by an old windmill I could see nothing but rolling hills in all
directions. By this time the little antelope that was my new buddy was
a dust trail on the horizon. Rob and I had no other option but to out
run each other in hopes that the bear would get the weaker one! As we
started to turn and run for our lives the antelope must have spotted us
and turned the other direction and went over the hill out of sight. Rob
and I decided that we had enough of Pasamonte and should try to find
Schoner before the snakes or bears get him! If I was to plan a return
trip to Pasamonte I would try to go in the winter months, the grass
would be lower and less chance of running into a snake and hopefully it
would be hunting season!

Sonny













'm sure everyone here has read about the Pasamonte meteorite fall that
happened back in 1933 in New Mexico. They estimate the original mass
weighed anywhere from 1000 to 1,000,000 tons. It was probably the
brightest meteorite ever witnessed yet only 5-10 pounds of it were ever
recovered. Surely there has to be more laying around. Does anyone know
about the land ownership status in that area? Is that area really
rugged to the point it would keep meteorite hunters from looking for
more pieces? How about the composition of the meteorite itself. Would a
eucrite last long in the field since they say it's a fragile meteorite?
I see where everyone hunts for Glorieta pallisite in NM but no one
seems to hunt the Pasamonte eucrite which would be worth a fortune if
some were to be recovered.
Received on Mon 09 Feb 2009 02:10:12 PM PST