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Page 6
It was found that the man who had attempted to do this wicked deed was
the agent of some persons in Guatemala; and thinking that there was
something strange in this, the Mexican authorities handed the prisoner
over to one of the highest police officials, with orders to keep him
under close guard until further inquiries could be made.
The man to whom the criminal was given in charge was General Velasquez,
one of the most trusted officials of the Government.
In the middle of the night after this arrest, pistol shots were heard
coming from the place where the prisoner was confined, and when the
soldiers ran out from their barracks, they were informed by General
Velasquez that a mob had broken into the prison and killed the prisoner.
A crowd had meanwhile gathered round the prison, so the soldiers
arrested every one in sight; but when these people came to be examined
they were found to be only citizens who had been attracted by the sound
of the firing, just as the soldiers had been. The men who had broken
into the jail and killed the prisoner had disappeared.
The matter had by this assumed such a suspicious character that the
authorities decided to arrest General Velasquez, and hold him until
something could be found out.
A few inquiries showed that the General and the man who had tried to
kill President Diaz were both connected with Guatemala, and members of
some society there.
This suspicion was considerably strengthened when the General was found
dead in his prison, the morning after his arrest. People then said that
both men were concerned in the great plot, and that both had died rather
than be forced to confess.
All Mexico is very much puzzled and troubled over this mysterious
occurrence.
* * * * *
The meteorite has been safely landed, and is now on the dock at the
Brooklyn Navy-Yard, where it is to remain until Lieutenant Peary decides
what he will do with it.
In appearance it is a smooth, mud-colored rock, that looks like a great
boulder. The meteorite is ten feet long, eight feet wide, and six feet
thick. It weighs over ninety tons.
It was no easy matter to get this great stone on board the _Hope_. It
lay a short distance from the shore, and the sailors had to drag it to
the water's edge.
As soon as the _Hope_ arrived in Melville Bay, where the meteorite was
found, the whole crew, armed with shovels and picks, went ashore and
began digging around it.
The job of digging it out of the frozen ground was enough to have
discouraged these men at the outset. It was half covered with snow, and
frozen solidly to the surrounding earth. The sailors had to dig through
seven feet of frozen ground before they finally reached the lower
surface of the meteorite, then more digging followed, and at last,
after five days of this hard work, it was free and ready to be moved.
By means of some strong derricks which they had brought for the purpose,
the monster was finally lifted and dragged to the shore.
Here another kind of derrick, made like those that are used for lifting
heavy guns on board ship, was brought into service, and the mass of
metal was slowly lifted and lowered into the hold.
The ship had been lightened as much as possible to make room for this
enormous weight, but for all that the vessel was sunk much too deep in
the water for safety when she finally started on her homeward journey.
Scientists say that the meteorite is a mass of metal, and is practically
composed of material similar to the steel armor used for armor-plates.
All are agreed that it is the largest meteorite ever discovered.
Lieutenant Peary also brought back with him a party of Esquimaux, who
are to spend the winter building an Arctic exhibit for the Natural
History Museum. The materials they will use have all been brought back
by Mr. Peary. They are to build a little scene which will show the
Esquimaux in their national costume, occupied in some of the typical
Arctic employments. The figures that will illustrate these pictures will
be modelled after the Esquimaux themselves.
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