[meteorite-list] SALE- Santa Rosa Iron Smaller more affordable specimens

From: robert cucchiara <r.cucchiara_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:27:16 -0800
Message-ID: <3A30567D5717466EBA33116D852F7764_at_OfficePC>

Hi List, I have cut down some of the Santa Rosa iron meteorite, do to the
high demand of smaller affordable specimens. See all that is available
below!
http://www.meteoritemadness.com/santarosa.html

First emailed, first served! Thanks Bob C.

HENRY A. WARD AND THE RECOVERY OF THE
SANTA ROSA, COLOMBIA, METEORITE
H. Plotkin, Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, London,
Ontario N6A3K7, Canada.
Email:hplotkin at uwo.ca
Henry A. Ward (1834-1906) was perhaps the shrewdest and most enthusiastic
meteorite collector of his day. He was also very knowledgeable. Word of a
massive iron meteorite in Santa Rosa, Colombia, captured his imagination.
Ward's interest can best be viewed in the context of the confusion that
existed between this meteorite and two other irons that had been found
nearby, Tocavita and Rasgata. In an effort to clear up the mess-- and also
to see if he could acquire the meteorite in whole or in part--he decided to
visit the desolate locale in 1906, a few weeks prior to his 72nd birthday.
My account of Ward's Colombian trip is primarily based on the extensive
collection of unpublished material in the Henry A. Ward papers at the
University of Rochester, including diaries, correspondence, and photographs.
Upon arrival in Colombia, it took Ward nineteen days by steamer, mule, and
carriage to reach Santa Rosa. He arrived at nightfall, but as soon as he
looked out from his hotel window the next morning, he saw the large
meteorite (612.5 kg) perched atop a fluted column in the middle of the town
square. Ward realized the meteorite was highly venerated by the townspeople,
and knew it would be extremely difficult--if not impossible--to acquire any
of it. But he had a clever plan. Calling on the Governor, Ward boldly
proposed an exchange: in return for a promise to erect a statue in the town
square of the President of the Republic (who happened to have been born in
Santa Rosa), he would be given the entire meteorite. The Governor liked this
idea, and at a stormy meeting with the Mayor and other municipal officers
forced their approval. Late that night, in the middle of a large eating and
drinking party which Ward threw at his hotel for the townspeople, the
Governor and a party of 50 soldiers quietly overturned the column, placed
the meteorite on a cart, and whisked it away. Ward left for Bogota the next
day, but shortly after reaching there heard that the Chief of the Colombian
police had sent out a party that had captured his wagon, retrieved the
meteorite, and locked up the cart driver. Although Ward insisted he had
proper authorization for the meteorite, a heated legal battle ensued. A
decision by the Minister of Public Instruction forbade him to leave the
country with the meteorite, but he was allowed to cut off a large endpiece
(147.5 kg) for his efforts. Ward took this back with him to New York, but he
died tragically a few months after his return, when struck by an automobile
while crossing a street in Buffalo. Ward's unfinished report on the Santa
Rosa meteorite will be examined, as will our present understanding of its
relationship to Tocavita and Rasgata. The main mass of the Santa Rosa
meteorite (about 460 kg) is now in the National Museum in Bogota, while
Ward's endpiece was cut up and distributed to various museums throughout the
world for study and curation.
67th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting (2004) 5038.pdf
Received on Mon 23 Nov 2009 03:27:16 PM PST