Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Beneath the Evergreens, where murder, mysteries, and mayhem lurk in the shadows of the Pacific Northwest. I'm Jess. And I'm Anna. From haunted forests and unsolved disappearances, to true crime cases buried deep in the moss and the mist, we're digging into the dark secrets hiding under the evergreens.
Speaker: Each episode will explore real cases, eerie encounters, and the legends that keep the Pacific Northwest up at night. So grab your flashlight, lock your doors, and join us...
Speaker: the
Speaker: Welcome back. I didn't do the whisper. I should have done the whisper. Oh, how dare you? i know people are listening for that. I know. on all of our two listeners. Just kidding. We're just going to turn into an ASMR podcast if you keep doing that. We should. I'll give you all of the dog sounds galore. oh my gosh. Well, real question.
Speaker: What are your thoughts on ASMR? I got to say people love it. Some people like find it really grating and irritating. i usually am. No, I hate it. Really? Really?
Speaker: But there, I stumbled across one, i think her name is like sleep, like safe sleep or sleep safety. I can't remember. i don't know what it was is about her and her voice and like whatever she's doing, but God, it is the most relaxing thing. I could watch hours of it, which is really creepy because you're like I don't know this person and I'm just like fixated oh yeah on all that they do.
Speaker: How about you? Do you like it? I love it. i love like the tapping or like when people like tap on the the microphone. um yeah there's something about it that i'm just like like i will fall asleep so fast i feel like it recreates rain a little bit yes but like the rhythm and just like the if when it's bad it's bad one's good it's like this is fantastic i had a friend in college that would love like like fake nails tapping on a phone screen that was like his favorite sound so whenever any of us had fake nails we'd just be like in front of his yeah i like it yeah
Speaker: But yes, ASMR is good. And then um it's also spooky season. So are you a connoisseur of the pumpkin patch? Yes. I have very, very strict like weather guidelines, though. like You're rarely going to catch me at a pe pumpkin patch when it's sunny outside, unless I'm with my grandmother. That's really the only way i want to go to pumpkin patch in the sun.
Speaker: She gets c cranky in the wind in the cold. yeah So you prefer downpour? Um, well, no, like rain. I prefer like, um like best case scenario. It's a yeah cloudy overcast day.
Speaker: Yeah. Would I rather have like blazing hot or pouring down rain? I'm going to be pouring down rain every time. You know, what's what's. Making me a little frustrated, quite frankly, is global warming is really messing up Washington fall.
Speaker: Yes. I'm actually getting like, it's October 4th and I haven't truly been able to just do a hoodie. Yes. For the entire day. And I don't know what's going on. And it's, I'm a little flustered. I'm a little concerned. I'm a little irritated.
Speaker: yeah i love a good hard stop to summer and it just keeps creeping and creeping yes yeah so that's why i'm because of the pumpkin patch i too like an overcast kind of fall day don't know if gonna get it we have to there has to be at least one day like oh nothing you remember i remember a couple years ago it was like really hot all the way through october there are at pumpkin patches with shorts on It's sacrilegious. It makes it's sacrilegious ah it makes me want to throw up. I can't do it.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't know what's going on, but I was looking at the forecast because we're trying to plan when we're going to and it's hot. it's It's like hot, hot for the next 10 days. And I'm like, what is is going on?
Speaker: This is horrible. It is. Well, I'm excited for your story. Tell me all. What are you telling me about today? So today i'm going to tell you about a meteorite. This meteorite. Have you ever heard of a meteorite being in the Pacific Northwest?
Speaker: I think the only story I've heard is the one that I kind of found accidentally where they thought it was a meteorite, but they weren't sure. And it took out like two miles worth of trees. Do you remember me telling you that story?
Speaker: and Vaguely, yes. And a I think that's the only one I've heard of. okay so this this is close to's called the willamette meteorite and this is like a legit meteorite that was in oregon for the longest time yeah so this the willamette meteorite it's i mean it's still still around um it do you want to hear something crazy yeah i thought it was willamette oh i remember and i remember being like hey actually think you pronounced it wrong
Speaker: Okay, sorry. Continue. So the Willamette meteorite weighs 15 and a half tons. God damn. Just like let that sink in. Yeah, like let that sink in for a second. This thing is freaking massive. It 10 feet tall, six and a half feet wide, and about four and a quarter feet deep.
Speaker: So it's like obviously kind of circular, right? But like 10 feet tall and 15 and a half tons. That's huge. That's insane. That's 33,000 pounds.
Speaker: And what I'm going to tell you later gets even more impressive about this. Does it have Sasquatch inside of it? um Well, ah so it's called the the largest meteorite ever found in the United States and the sixth largest in the world, actually.
Speaker: um they just stumbled ah across this meteorite oh well kind of yes so it's made out of like nickel and iron so that's what that's why it's so dense heavy yeah so essentially it is like it's relatively smooth there are some like kind of holes in it but that's essentially from the rainwater so it sounds like when it kissed coming through the atmosphere it was pretty smooth and then when it landed and then it i mean it existed on the earth for that like ridiculous amount of time there was like pull from like the rain water and like air and damage to things like that yeah oxidation yeah the idea is that it was probably a part of like the core of an early planet that was shattered billions of years ago and this fragment was hit a couple more times and then it was rotating around the sun and then something pushed it off of its orbit and then it came towards earth at like 64 000 kilometers per hour like thousands of years ago yeah
Speaker: crazy is what killed the dinosaurs damn think this thing is big enough to kill the dinosaurs but like this is why i want like this is just like the core like this is like maybe half a core of a planet just think about how cow and big that is and how heavy that is no thank you So that's crazy.
Speaker: And this was found in Oregon. So let let me talk about a little bit about how it was found in Oregon and the history of it there. It sounds like there's no one really knows because it did come here thousands of years ago, but it was, so it was found in the woods of Oregon, but kind of the general idea is that it was actually, actually landed up in Canada.
Speaker: And then during the Missoula floods and the ice, like basically the ending of the ice age that moved it all the way down to Oregon. That's crazy. Yeah. Have you heard about the Missoula floods much?
Speaker: No. So it was these massive, massive floods that essentially created a lot of the waterways that we know now. Like, you know, like the the Columbia River basin, like the gorge.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, that was carved out with the Missoula floods and just like the ice caps melting and melting and flowing into the Pacific. I'm trying to just imagine how much water and yeah current would be needed to move that much weight. Right? Yeah.
Speaker: No, it's from Canada. Cause that's, that's a significant. Oh yeah. Yeah. And I don't know how, like, we don't know the, how long it took, right? Like, did it happen in in like a really bad year or did it happen? Like, did it like move down a little bit and then keep moving, keep moving. And then over the span of a hundred years, it eventually like settled in Oregon.
Speaker: I don't know. Yeah, no, that totally makes sense. But just, that's a lot of weight to move. Just period. Yes. Yeah, no, it really speaks to like how massive these floods were. And like, don't know, whenever I drive through the gorge and I just like kind of, you know, I'm crossing the bridge and vantage. Yeah. I just like think of looking around like, it's just, it's nuts in my mind. Can't even bog, like can't even understand just how like that at one point was filled with water.
Speaker: Like carving all those ridges out. And like we're left with this like... it's ah The Columbia is still like a very big river, right? But like it looks yeah puny in comparison. That's not even the Columbia. 1000%. That's the snake. Is that the Columbia or the snake?
Speaker: It's both. Whatever river it is. i Speak like I know what I'm talking about. Clearly I have no idea what even river I'm crossing when I go there. But... I know that that once was filled and it is now very small. No, but I'm also just thinking like that is not going to float very easily. I mean, iron. earn Yeah. I don't know. My brain is just still stuck on like how incredible money like nature is to be able to just do some shit like that. That's crazy. Part of me is wondering if like, cause I imagine it's going like, it's going Bob, right It's going to like drag certain points. Like yeah what landmarks do we see today that were, are there because this big ass meteorite, like,
Speaker: dragged through the earth at certain points dragged through theirs or like crushed through something so that something can be there that's crazy yeah so the this meteorite it did eventually end up in oregon and that is where the native population of the area found it okay so it was the i'm gonna butcher the name of it but the grand ron the grand ronda i'm not sure how to pronounce it community um they found the meteorite And gave it the name, which I'm – this is the accent is not going to be correct, but Tomanoas. And that was the name of this meteorite. And it kind of translates to Heavenly Visitor. So they understood at the time that it was something otherworldly, that this was not something that they were just going to run across again, you know, in a different part. Like yes this is something that is bigger than us.
Speaker: Well, literally and metaphysically. and So – It sounds like in the Clackamas tradition, um they understood that this came from the moon, came from the sky. And it really, it was a lot of like legends and stories that referenced it and talked about the connection between the land and the sky. And this was like a key piece of that.
Speaker: Which is kind of crazy because if I just stumbled across a weird looking rock, I'd be like, oh, this is a weird looking rock. To make that connection. Right.
Speaker: Wow. that's That's cool. Exactly. so that It stayed in the native community for a very, very long time. But then in the early 1900s, that is when white settlers started to come into the area. And that is where we have more like a documented history of the meteorite as well.
Speaker: So starting in 1902, Ellis Hughes, he was a miner. He found the meteorite on some land belonging to Oregon Iron and Steel Company. So his property was right next to the Oregon Iron and Steel. And he said... a really large meteorite that you guys have there. And it sounds like Oregon Steel didn't really know that it was there.
Speaker: Yeah, it sounds like they like did they had no knowledge of it. So he – know if it was like in some like remote part of the property and he just hung up on it. But anyways, over the next several months, he used a wagon, horse, cables, and a capstan to move this meteorite from Oregon Iron and Steel to his property so that he could claim that he found it.
Speaker: which That's insane. Right? Why? Why?
Speaker: Why? You know who found it first? The Native Americans. Yes. And how did they end up on iron and ore? Let's go back to them, actually. oh my God. To... This guy, he moved this. and then he started, like, talking about publicizing it.
Speaker: So the Oregonian reported on it in October 24th of 1903. And then a crowd started coming from all over the place to look at meteorite, see it, take photos with it you know, all that good stuff. yeah But then an Oregon Iron and Steel came to look at it. good attorney for the company came to look at it.
Speaker: and Of course. And noticed that there was a ah trail... where the meteorite Just happened to be a trail. Yes. It seems a little suspicious. I feel like he maybe didn't find this here.
Speaker: I think they're the drag marks that are deep, deep into the ground. Maybe point to something else. Is that not the funniest thing you've ever seen? Like you've heard though? Like you can't. That is some crazy. That's wild. That's wild that he thought he was going to get away with it. That's so fucking funny. I'm just like imagining this like really intense line in the dirt.
Speaker: I mean, yeah, to drag that with like cables and horses. There's going to be like ah there's goingnna be a secondary mountain on your property from all of the dirt that you're pushing onto. like What are you thinking? And like not even waiting a little bit. like Okay, let me give it three years. I'll replant everything. We'll get this trail. No, I must immediately tell. the ferns grow back?
Speaker: Oh my god. so me go um The company sued him said, you stole our property. As they should, quite honestly. Yes. Yes. um they and They then won possession of the meteorite.
Speaker: So the meteorite. Also a crazy sentence to say. Right. They won possession of the meteorite. It honestly only gets worse from here, if I'm being honest. Oh, cool. so the meteorite in 1905 was on display at the World's Fair in Portland.
Speaker: So they're like ah now they're transporting this thing, which is kind of nuts to me in 1905. They're able to move a 15 and a half ton meteorite just like kind of casually. And then it was essentially people were like, what should we do with it? Where should it go?
Speaker: And it was ended up being sold to a Mrs. William Dodge. She bought it. And then she donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. So then this meteorite. Women in STEM.
Speaker: Right. was then transported like all the way across country to New York. And that's actually That's not where that belongs. No. And that's where most of it actually is today. So. It has been the centerpiece in two major exhibits. And estimate and you can actually you could touch it when you're there. So like 50 million people will have touched this meteorite now.
Speaker: which I feel like that shouldn't be allowed. Right? That's what I'm saying. I feel like it like, well, like okay. I'm going to keep going because it's a little bit worse. Yeah. 1990, tens of thousands of Oregon school children actually signed a petition asking for the return of the meteorite.
Speaker: oh Yeah, a Senate bill was proposed and an an Oregon congressman floated withholding museum funding until they could could get the meteorite back. eyes And it sounds like eventually the the petition was dropped, the campaign was dropped. It sounds like people were they were pressured. The mentors of the kids, the teachers were ah pressured to stop it.
Speaker: Of course. Right. But then in 1997, section of the meteorite was actually cut off. It was cut off and exchanged. And so basically there was an exchange with what's called the Makevich collection. Okay. This is the largest collection of meteorites. Like they have different parts, different like meteorites, different like pieces of like, I want to planets, but like different pieces of like outer space mass. So a section of the meteorite was cut off in return for a piece of Mars from the ah from the Makevich collection. and this piece that's crazy right and this piece of mars was actually like it was blasted off of the surface after an asteroid yeah so it wasn't like something got to mars and came back with it and it was like blast yeah and we discovered that was from mars after the fact how did we how do we know that it's from mars i imagine like chemical testing like something about the chemicals used in it are close to what we've seen on mars but i don't know i'm not a scientist i don't
Speaker: I'm just yeah throwing humans are crazy yeah but it makes me so sad that they cut off a piece of it like you had this fully fledged meteorite and they shouldn't have done that I feel like and quite honestly I feel like if it started with Native American I feel like it should just go back to where you found it absolutely absolutely that's crazy um So that section that was cut off was actually ah later offered for, it was on sale in like 2007. Okay. And I think from there, it actually went on to be studied at like UCLA um doing, because when it's in the museum, it's kind of just like just there for display use and safekeeping. Yeah. But no testing was ever done on it.
Speaker: so ah What would happen if we you know thought this thing was a meteorite and then it's been in the museum forever and millions of people have touched it and it just comes back to being like fossilized dinosaur poop?
Speaker: I was like, what if it's like an alien? if there's an alien in there? that we've just That's what I'm... Look, heavenly visitor. Exactly, exactly. um I'm just saying. So anyways, like 1999 frame... the native american tribe that once you know housed the meteorite and it was very important to them they filed claim and they were essentially what they were trying to do is argue that they should get possession of the meteorite yeah it belonged to them way before it belonged to will mrs dodge the oregon iron and steel company and the museum yeah and They were arguing back forth like nope we legally bought it or all this good stuff.
Speaker: It sounds like the dispute was settled out out of court out of court so I don't know what the outcome was. However the meteorite is staying at the museum in natural history but there's not a bunch now a bunch of signage around it talking about its history with the native tribes and like going into a lot more detail on how they viewed it.
Speaker: um okay It also sounds like this ruling declared that it can never be cut again. So it's like that one piece that was cut off. That's it. ah Interesting. And so it's still in New York, except for the piece that's, is that still at UCLA or it's now? And I'm not sure where it's at. um Okay. Part of me is imagining they cut it up in a bunch of smaller pieces. So it could be, frankly, could be all over the place now.
Speaker: Yeah. That's wild. Right. Right. In 2007, the meteorite was also in the news because there was controversy, the claim that the meteorite had been defaced while at the museum in natural history.
Speaker: But it sounds like that was unfounded and um they were arguing back that the meteorite was fine. The last kind of key detail that i want to I want to give everyone is that the price of the sale. so So at the time, the last piece of it was sold, which I believe is 2007 when it was sold to basically out of the Makevich collection. It was nearly three times its weight in gold.
Speaker: So this meteorite was more expensive than gold was, which is so, I mean, yeah, it's it's kind of cool. Like, I think from a scientific for perspective, it's cool how much we value you something like this.
Speaker: But from like a also from like an economic mindset, right? There's very low supply. The demands be very high. Yeah. And it sounds like the specimen, the it's called the crown, the piece that was cut off. It wasn't very big. It was like maybe a 30 pound piece of meteorite.
Speaker: wow Yeah. Yeah. of them and that costs pounds of it that cost you a piece of mars and a pretty penny yeah wow yeah i had no idea that that came from around these here parts yeah yeah all they're just down in oregon which is pretty cool that is very cool interesting so i still think it houses um an alien or a sasquatch i think it's a sasquatch like it's got to be an alien.
Speaker: Yeah. Got to be. Bacteria, for sure. Could you imagine if you got an outer space disease from touching it? Well, that's the other, like, interesting. Like, I feel there should be some kind of, like, quarantine in a way of, like, what is in the core of this?
Speaker: I wonder if any of the holes go through to, like, the the center. Or if it's just, like, surface level. Yeah, I don't know. I really think maybe some go through. But I feel like a lot of it would have to be surface level. Because, like, if it's only just, just like, the rain hitting it. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: it's like those ice the ice caps that are melting and they're finding like new bacteria and new viruses and all that other kind of stuff. I'm like, i wonder what's in the middle of that bad boy. Oh, no. nothing Nothing good. That's why we need to keep it whole. Just keep it all together. we can all look at it we can display it. But we really shouldn't be digging into stuff like that. And send it back to Oregon.
Speaker: That's where it needs to be. Yes. Absolutely. Give Oregon their history back. That is so interesting. I had no idea. Well, that was amazing. um And that was also today's dive into the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker: If you love the stories or shivered a little, be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss Let's Lurking Beneath the Evergreens next time. Thanks for joining us on Beneath the Evergreens. We appreciate you diving into the mysteries with us. Until next time, keep your eyes open and your doors locked. but um And cover up any trails led by meteorites, please. Yes. I mean, be smarter. Smarter if you're going to try and rip everybody off.
