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Which is when they discovered something that, obviously, did not belong there.
By one account1, it was Nishimoto who, tired from a long, fruitless day of searching, passed what looked like a large boulder and struck it with his hammer in frustration. The loud metallic sound of steel against metal led the two men to chip experimentally away at the rock, which did not crumble, but produced small shavings. A meteorite, surely!
The suspected meteorite measured about 2.5’ x 2.5’ x 1.5’, with a maximum circumference of 5’4”.2 It was the size of a “potato sack” and “burnt sienna” in color, with thumbprint-like depressions covering its surface.
With the help of camp administrators, the two men reported their find to the Smithsonian Institute and sent a sample.
The Smithsonian, confident that the find was a meteorite, sent someone from the U.S. Geological Survey in Salt Lake City to inspect the object. The inspection confirmed that the specimen was a meteorite, and “scientifically valuable.”3
The meteorite was then hauled to Topaz and put on display in front of the administration buildings before being crated and shipped to the Smithsonian.
An article in the Millard County Chronicle by Frank Beckwith1 tells a Cinderella-like tale of the meteorite being purchased by the Smithsonian, paying the discoverers its museum value. However, history tells a different story: since the meteorite was discovered on “federal land,” there would be no purchase. Ujihara wrote to E.P. Henderson, Curator of Mineralogy and Petrology at the Smithsonian: “The pleasure is mine to communicate with a great scientist like Mr. Henderson through our finding which was merely an accident. As for myself, I lost my home, business, and major part of my savings due to the evacuation. But it is only infinitesimal compared to the millions of people of war zones. My only desire is that by this incident it may benefit to the scientific world and in some way it may open a way to establish a better world for the coming generations. . . ” 4
Henderson authorized payment of a “finder’s fee” to the two men: $700, to be divided between them, to reward them for their effort and to cover shipping expenses. The meteorite went on display at the Smithsonian; and although Nishimoto and Ujihara did not receive official credit for their discovery, their interest in stones, minerals and gems continued after the War.