From James Madison to John Graham, 11 August 1816
To John Graham
Montpellier Aug. 11. 1816
Dear Sir
I return the letter of Mr. Poinsett with the Spanish documents inclosed in it.1 They coincide with other disclosures of the policy of G. B. at a certain period at least, in favor of Spain, and agst. the U. S. I add to these inclosures two letters from Buennos Ayr⟨es⟩ of which the Mr. Thomson named by you was the bearer. Your communication of them to Mr. Monroe, will enable him to hold the usual language in relation to the mission of Mr. Thomson. The lett⟨er⟩ and dissertation relating to the Iron of Tucuman are in a character so difficult to read, that I am not sure of having understood the precise meaning of some passages; and I doubt the accuracy of the account in some of its particulars.2 It is nevertheless an interesting view of a valuable resource. The present of Pistol⟨s⟩ may be deposited in the Dept. of State, with a simple expressio⟨n⟩ of the proper sensibility to it.3 Friendly respects
James Madison
RC (DNA: RG 59, ML).
1. Graham to JM, 8 Aug. 1816, and n. 2.
2. JM’s response suggests that he had tried, albeit with limited success, to read the Spanish-language documents he had received from Graham. The “dissertation,” docketed as an “Essay on the Iron of Tucaman by the Superintendant of the Manufactory of Arms at Buenos Ayres,” had been enclosed in the 9 Feb. 1816 letter sent to JM by Ignacio Alvarez Thomas ( 10:213–14 and n. 1). No contemporary translation of the essay appears to have been made, but its author, Estevan Lucas, reported that the iron mines were located near Santiago in the province of Tucaman, and that the ore was said to be “a marvelous mixture of various metals, combined with iron, and a phenomenon of the mineral kingdom which is unheard of and inexplicable.” The ways in which this iron differed from iron found in other regions of the world—and from cast iron, wrought iron, and steel—were described at some length, leading to the conclusion that “it might be considered as self-regulated iron, or purified iron,” or “native iron.” Some authorities believed that the iron was “formed by lightening”; others claimed that “this mineral had fallen from the Sky.” Lucas did not doubt that it was a rare form of “pure iron,” which “some attribute to subterranean fires,” but he concluded that its origin was “still Covered with the Veil of mystery.” He attributed this uncertainty to “the lamentable effects of the policy of the past Spanish Govt., which treacherously deprived the American Soil for so many years of the study of the natural Sciences, so useful and desirable for the prosperity of all Countries” (DNA: RG 59, NFL, Argentina; translation by the editors).
3. The pistols are now located in the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The essay on the Tucaman mines (see n. 2 above) also contained a description of the forging of the iron from which the pistols were made. In 2008 the pistols were subjected to forensic analysis, which led to the conclusion that the iron was not meteoric in origin. The handles of the pistols were not silver, as had been supposed, but were of a type of brass that may have originated in southeast Asia (Jonathan Fildes, “Science Probe for ‘Space Pistols,’” BBC News, updated 26 May 2008, http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7414544.stm).