Page:The frozen North; an account of Arctic exploration for use in schools (IA frozennorthaccou00hort).pdf/161

 upon the earth. They are covered with a thin, brownish black crust, and look very different from the iron which we obtain from mines. All meteorites are carefully preserved, placed in museums, and studied.

Many Eskimos had already told Peary of the wonderful iron mountain near Cape York, but up to this time he had been too busy to search for it. Now he found an Eskimo who promised to conduct him to the spot. This Eskimo said that he would find three great pieces of iron, the smallest about the size of a dog. One was near the water, and the other two were upon the side of the mountain.

With fresh dogs Peary and the Eskimo were soon galloping over hard ice toward Cape York. After a long journey the Eskimo conducted Peary to the great brown mass.

He told Peary that his people believed that the iron mass had been an Eskimo woman, who with her dog and her tent was hurled from the sky by the Evil Spirit. One of the great piles used to look like the figure of a woman in a sitting position, but the natives had chipped off many