Wichita Meteorite

The Wichita meteorite is a 320-pound piece of iron and nickel revered by several Texas Indian tribes, including the Osage, Wichita, and Comanche. One trader reported that the Comanche rubbed their bodies against it to cure illnesses. There are also reports that Comanche leaders held their most important meetings around the meteorite in a secret cave until the cave collapsed. The Comanche spent two years digging it out and moving it to a rock ledge, where artist George Catlin may have painted a picture of it in 1834 [see also StarDate Online].

"In the Spring of 1856, Major Neighbors sent troopers from Fort Belknap, Texas, to the Red River area in what is now Wichita County .. with orders to bring back the Comanche's fabled 'Medicine Rock' .. " [Crosby].  The wagons of one James Duff were used to transport the large meteorite.  For a while it resided in San Antonio, then was moved to Austin for display in the Capitol until the fire of 1881.  It now resides in the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.