1897 Canada, British Columbia: Two Canadian
fishermen in saw a pear-shaped craft flying south wards
Canada, Winnipeg: A mysterious airship flew over Winnipeg, the capital of
Canada's Manitoba province, in full view of many citizens for a full fifteen
minutes." "The strange visitor" approached from the west, following the
Assiniboine River. After passing over St. Boniface Hospital, the UFO veered
sharply to the north and "was lost from view" as it flew toward the town of
Stony Mountain. From the Vancouver, B.C. News-Advertiser, Saturday May 1.
USA, Arkansas, Homan: Capt. James Hooton was hunting in the vicinity of Homan
when he heard the noise of a steam engine and found an object in a clearing. It
looked like a cylinder with pointed ends, lateral wheels, and horizontal blade
over it. Hooton spoke with a man who wore dark glasses and walked behind the
craft. There were three or four occupants. The witness was told this was indeed
"The Airship" and that it used compressed air for propulsion. Hooton saw the
wheels spin as the craft rose and flew away.
USA, Arkansas, Hot Springs: Two policemen, Sumpter and McLenore, were riding
northwest of Hot Springs when they saw a bright light in the sky. About 7 km
farther they saw the light again coming down to the ground. One km farther the
horses refused to walk. Two men were seen carrying lights. The lawmen took their
rifles, called the strangers, and were told that they crossed the country with a
flying craft. The silhouette of the machine, about 2O m long, could be seen in
the clearing. There was a woman with an umbrella nearby. It was raining, and the
younger of the men was filling a large container with water. The elder man had a
beard and suggested that the policemen fly with them "to a place where it does
not rain." The same witness went back through the same spot 40 min later and
found nothing.
USA, Arkansas, McKinney Bayou: Judge Lawrence A.Byrne of Texarkana, Arkansas,
was surveying a tract of land when he saw a peculiar object anchored on the
ground. "It was manned by three men who spoke a foreign language, but judging
from their looks one would take them to be Japs."
USA, Kansas, Everest: On April 1, the whole town saw an object fly under the
cloud ceiling. It came down slowly, then flew away very fast to the southeast.
When directly over the town it swept the ground with a powerful light. It was
seen to rise up at fantastic speed until barely discernible, then to come down
again and sweep low over the witnesses. At one point it remained stationary for
5 minutes at the edge of a low cloud, which it illuminated. All could clearly
see the silhouette of the craft.
USA, Kansas, LeRoy: From a sworn statement dated 21 April, a prosperous and
prominent farmer named Alexander Hamilton told of an attack upon his cattle at
about 10:30 PM the previous Monday. He, his son, and his tenant grabbed axes and
ran some 700 feet from the house to the cow lot where a great cigar-shaped ship
about 300 feet long floated some 30 feet above his cattle. It had a carriage
underneath which was brightly lighted within (dirigible and gondola?) and which
had numerous windows. Inside were six strange looking beings jabbering in a
foreign language. These beings suddenly became aware of Hamilton and the
others. They immediately turned a searchlight on the farmer, and also turned on
some power, which sped up a turbine wheel (about 30 ft diameter) located under
the craft. The ship rose, taking with it a two-year old heifer, which was roped
about the neck by a cable of one-half inch thick, red material. The next day a
neighbor, Link Thomas, found the animal's hide, legs and head in his field. He
was mystified at how the remains got to where they were because of the lack of
tracks in the soft soil. Alexander Hamilton's sworn statement was accompanied by
an affidavit as to his veracity. The affidavit was signed by ten of the local
leading citizens.
USA, Indiana, Gas City: An object landed south of Gas City on the property of
John Roush, terrifying the farmers and causing the horses and cattle to
stampede. Six occupants of the ship came out and seemed to make some repairs.
Before the crowd could approach the object, it rose rapidly and flew toward the
east.
USA, Illinois, Downs Township: While working in his field, Haney Savidge saw
an aerial craft land near him. Six people emerged from it and spoke to him for a
few minutes before leaving again.
USA, Illinois, Girard: On April 12, a large crowd of miners saw an unknown
object land. The night operator of the Chicago-and-Alton Railroad, Paul Mc-
Cramer, stated that he came sufficiently close to the craft to see a man emerge
from it to repair the machinery. Traces were found over a large area. The object
itself was elongated like a ship with a roof and a double canopy. It left toward
the north.
USA, Illinois, Nilwood: On the property of Z. Thacker, 19 km north of
Carlinville, an unknown object landed on Apr. 12. Before the three witnesses
could reach it, the craft, which was shaped like a cigar with a dome, rose
slowly and left majestically toward the north. Witnesses: Edward Teeples,
William Street and Franklin Metcalf.
USA, Iowa, Linn Grove:. A large object was seen to fly slowly toward the
north. It seemed ready to land and five men who found the craft on the ground,
but it, "spread its four giant wings and rose towards the North." Two strange
figures aboard the craft made efforts to conceal themselves. Witnesses were
surprised at the length of their hair. Most residents of Linn Grove saw the
craft in flight.
USA, Iowa, Waterloo: An airship, or a large vessel designed to leave the
impression that it is a flying machine, was first observed here at dawn
yesterday. The stranger in charge says it is a flying machine and he landed here
to make some repairs and that he will resume his voyage in the air today. He
keeps all people at a distance of several hundred yards from the machine and
therefore many do not credit his story, but think it is a fake designed to
create a sensation. The structure is about 40 feet long, constructed like a
giant cigar, with wing-like attachments on the sides and a steering apparatus in
the rear. The whole is surmounted by a cupola, or lookout cabin, on the roof.
The queer craft appears to be built of canvas and to be heavily varnished."
USA, Michigan, Williamston: At least a dozen farmers saw an object maneuver
in the sky for an hour before it landed. A strange man near 3 m tall, almost
naked and suffering from the heat, was the pilot of the craft. "His talk, while
musical, seemed to be a repetition of bellowing." One farmer went near him and
received a blow that broke his hip.
USA, Missouri, Kansas City: 10,000 residents saw a large black ship hover over
head, flash green-blue and white lights, then moved straight up into space
rapidly. Many other UFO sightings were reported, describing cigar-shaped,
metallic craft with either wings, propellers, fins, or search lights. Bright
lights were seen during the night.
USA, Iowa, Sioux City: Approximate date. Robert Hibbard was caught by an
anchor dropped from an unknown flying machine 22 km north of the town. He was
dragged over 10 m and fell as his clothes were torn.
USA, Missouri, Perry Springs: A passenger train on the Wabash line, going
toward Quincy, was followed by a low-flying object for 15 min between Perry
Springs and Hersman. All the passengers saw the craft, which had a red and white
light. After Hersman it flew ahead of the train and disappeared rapidly.
USA, Nebraska, Hastings: A flying object was seen the morning of Sunday,
January 24, 1897. It circled for a few minutes and then zoomed away to the
north. The Nebraska Bee, February 2, 1897 and The Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital of
March 31.
USA, Nebraska, Omaha: On March 28, the majority of the population observed an
object arriving from the southeast. It looked like a huge light, flew
northwestward slowly, came to low altitude.
USA, Ohio, Cleveland: Joseph Singler, captain of the "Sea Wing," was fishing
with S. H. Davis, of Detroit, when they saw on the lake what they thought was a
ship, about 13 m long, with a canopy. A man, about 25 years old, wearing a
hunting jacket and a cap, was fishing from the deck of the object. Near him were
a woman and a 10-year old child. When the "Sea Wing" came close to the craft, a
large, colored balloon rose from the object, which flew up with it to an
altitude of about 150 m and circled "like a hawk" before flying away.
USA, South Dakota, Howard-Artesian: A flying object coming closer and closer
to the ground followed a train, as reported by the engineer, Joe Wright. USA, Texas, Aurora: From
the April 19, Dallas Morning News 'About 6 o'clock this morning the early risers
of were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship, which has been
sailing around the country. It was traveling due north and much nearer the earth
than before. Evidently some of the machinery was out of order, for it was
making a speed of only ten or twelve miles an hour, and gradually settling
toward the earth. It sailed over the public square and when it reached the north
part of town it collided with the tower of Judge Proctor's windmill and went
into pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of
ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge's flower
garden. The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard and,
while his remains were badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked
up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world. Mr. T.J. Weems, the
U.S. Army Signal Service officer at this place and an authority on astronomy
gives it as his opinion that the pilot was a native of the planet Mars. Papers
found on his person, evidently the records of his travels -- are written in some
unknown hieroglyphics and cannot be deciphered. This ship was too badly wrecked
to form any conclusion as to its construction or motive power. It was built of
an unknown metal, resembling somewhat a mixture of aluminum and silver, and it
must have weighed several tons. The town is today full of people who are viewing
the wreckage and gathering specimens of strange metal from the debris. The
pilot's funeral will take place tomorrow.' From UPI, 1973, A grave in a small
north Aurora, Texas cemetery contains the body of an 1897 astronaut who "was not
an inhabitant of this world," according to the International UFO Bureau. The
group, which investigates unidentified flying objects, has already initiated
legal proceedings to exhume the body. "After checking the grave with metal
detectors and gathering facts for three months, we are certain as we can be at
this point [that] he was the pilot of a UFO which reportedly exploded atop a
well on Judge J.S. Proctor's place, April 19, 1897," Hewes said. He was not an
inhabitant of this world." A few days later, another UPI account datelined
Aurora quoted a ninety-one-year-old who had been a girl of fifteen in Aurora at
the time of the reported incident. She said she "had all but forgotten the
incident until it appeared in the newspapers recently." She said her parents had
gone to the sight of the crash, but had refused to take her along. She recalled
that the remains of the pilot, "a small man," had been buried in the Aurora
cemetery. Not to be outdone, the Associated Press, in a story datelined Denton,
Texas, reported "a North Texas State University professor had found some metal
fragments near the Oates gas station (former Proctor farm). One fragment was
said to be 'most intriguing' because it consisted of primarily of iron which did
not seem to exhibit magnetic properties." The professor also said he was puzzled
because the fragment was "shiny and malleable instead of dull and brittle like
iron." The Aurora Cemetery Association was successful in blocking the attempts
to dig up the grounds in search of the "Martian pilot." USA, Texas, Hillsboro: A lawyer was surprised
to see a lighted object fly over. His horse was scared and nearly toppled the
carriage. When the main light was turned off, a number of smaller lights became
visible on the underside of the dark object, which supported an elongated
canopy. It went down toward a hill to the south. When the witness was on his
way back one hour later he saw the object rising. It reached the altitude of the
cloud ceiling and flew to the northeast at a fantastic speed with periodic
flashes of light.
USA, Texas, Josserand: Frank Nichols, a respected citizen, was awakened by a
machine noise. Looking outside, he saw a heavy, lighted object land in his wheat
field. He walked toward it, was stopped by two men who asked permission to draw
water from his well. He then had a discussion with a half-dozen men, the crew of
the strange machine. He was told how it worked but could not follow the
explanation.
USA, Texas, Merkel: People returning from church observed a heavy object being
dragged along the ground by a rope attached to a flying craft. The rope got
caught in a railroad track. The craft was too high for its structure to be
visible but protrusions and a light could be distinguished. After about 10 min
a man came down along the rope cut the end free, and went back aboard the craft,
which flew away toward the northeast. The man was small and dressed in a
light-blue uniform
USA, Texas, Rockland:. John M. Barclay saw a flying object circling 5 m above
ground. Elongated with protrusions and blinding lights, it went dark when it
landed. Barclay was met by a man who told him his purpose was peaceful and
requested some common hardware items to repair the craft.
1898
France, Lille: An astronomer saw through his telescope a rectangular object
with a violet colored band on one side, the rest being striped red and black.
It was not in the position of any known planet. It remained stationary for 10
minutes, then 'cast out sparks and disappeared.'
1899
France, Dourite, Dordogne:
November 1An object 'like an enormous star' was seen from 7:00 pm, 'at times
white, then red, and sometimes blue... moving like a kite' in the southerly sky.
France, Luzarches: M.A. Garry observed a round luminous object rise above the
horizon and shrink in size as it moved into the distance over 15 minutes.
South Africa: After alerting its telegraph offices to be on the lookout for
invading British aircraft, the Transvaal government was inundated with sighting
reports. Phantom airships, often equipped with powerful searchlights,
mysteriously appeared in the skies around. Of course, neither aircraft nor
airplanes were known to exist in Africa at this time.
USA, Arizona, Prescott: Dr. Warren E. Day observed a luminous object that
'traveled with the Moon all day' until 2:00 pm. A similar object had been
observed the day before from Tonto, Arizona.
USA, Texas, El Paso: A luminous object was seen in daylight from 10:00am to
4:00pm; Venus was two months past its secondary phase of maximum brilliance.
