It was broad daylight when a strange, fast-moving object appeared in the sky, southwest of the town. For a moment, the people of Bonham stared at the thing, not believing their eves. The only flying device then known was the drifting balloon. But this thing was tremendous, and speeding so fast its outlines were almost a blur.
Terrified farmers dived under their wagons. Townspeople fled indoors. Only a few hardy souls remained in the streets. The mysterious object circled Bonham twice, then raced off to the cast and vanished. Descriptions of the strange machine varied from round or oval to cigar-shaped. (The details of the Bonham sighting were later confirmed for me by Frank Edwards, Mutual network newscaster, who investigated this case.)
Twenty-four hours after the Bonham incident, a device of the same description appeared at Fort Scott, Kansas. Panic-stricken soldiers fled the parade ground as the thing flashed overhead. In a few seconds it disappeared, circling toward the north." *
From Mr. John Martin, a farmer who lives some six miles south of this city, we learn the following strange story: Tuesday morning while out hunting, his attention was directed to a dark object high up in the southern sky. The peculiar shape and velocity with which the object seemed to approach riveted his attention and he strained his eves to discover its character.
When first noticed, it appeared to be about the size of an orange, which continued to grow in size. After gazing at it for some time Mr. Martin became blind from long looking and left off viewing it for a time in order to rest his eyes. On resuming his view, the object was almost overhead and had increased considerably in size, and appeared to be going through space at wonderful speed.
When directly over him it was about the size of a large saucer and was evidently at great height. Mr. Martin thought it resembled, as well as he could judge, a balloon. It went as rapidly as it had come and was soon lost to sight in the heavenly skies. Mr. Martin is a gentleman of undoubted veracity and this strange occurrence, if it was not a balloon, deserves the attention of our scientists."**
"From
1762 to 1870, the reports were meager. Some described mysterious lights
in the sky; a few mentioned round objects seen in daylight. Even though
they were not so fully documented as later ones, one point struck me.
In those days, there was no telegraph, telephone, or radio to spread
news rapidly and start a flood of rumors. A sighting in Scotland
could not be the cause of a similar one two days later in the south of
France.
Beginning in 1870, there was a
series of reports that went on to the turn of the century. In the
London Times, September 26, 1870, there was a description of a queer
object that was seen crossing the moon. It was reported as elliptical,
with some kind of tail, and it took almost thirty seconds to complete
its passage of the moon. Then in 1871, a large, round body was sighted
above Marseilles, France. This was on August 1. It moved slowly across
the sky, apparently at great height, and was visible about fifteen
minutes.
On March 22, 1880, several
brilliantly luminous objects were reported seen at Kattenau, Germany.
Sighted just before sunrise, they were described as rising from the
horizon and moving from east to west. The account was published in the
British Nature Magazine, Volume 22, page 64.
The next report in the file
mentioned briefly a strange round object seen in the skies over
Bermuda. The source for this account was the Bermuda Royal Gazette.
This was in 1885. That same year, an astronomer and other witnesses
reported a gigantic aerial object at Adrianople, Turkey. On November 1,
the weird apparition was seen moving across the sky. Observers
described it as round and four to five times the size of the moon.
This estimate is similar to
the Denison, Texas, comparison with an orange. The object would
actually be huge to be seen at any great height. But unless the true
height were known, any estimate of size would be guesswork.
On March 19, 1887, two strange
objects fell into the sea near a Dutch barkentine. As described by the
skipper, Captain C. D. Sweet, one of the objects was dark, the other
brightly luminous. The glowing object fell with a loud roaring sound;
the shipmaster was positive it was not a meteor.
In New Zealand, a year later,
an oval-shaped disk was reported speeding high overhead. This was on
May 4, 1888. About two years after this, several large aerial bodies
were sighted hovering over the Dutch East Indies. Most accounts
described them as roughly triangular, about one hundred feet on the
base and two hundred feet on the sides. But some observers thought they
might be longer and narrower, with a rounded base; this would make them
agree with more recent stories of cone-shaped objects with rounded tops
seen in American skies.
On August 26, 1894, a British
admiral reported sighting a large disk with a projection like a tail.
And a year after this, both England and Scotland buzzed with stories of
triangular-shaped objects like those seen in the Dutch East Indies.
Although many officials scoffed at the stories, more than one
astronomer stuck to his belief that the mysterious things might be
coming from outer space. Since planes and dirigibles were then unknown,
there was no one on earth who could have been responsible for them.
In 1897, sightings in the
United States began to be more frequent. One of the strangest reports
describes an incident that began on April 9. Flying at a great height,
a huge cigar-shaped device was seen in the Midwest. Short wings
projected from the sides of the object, according to reports of
astronomers who watched it through telescopes.
For almost a week, the aerial
visitor was sighted around the Midwest, as far south as St. Louis and
as far west as Colorado. Several times, red, green, and white lights
were seen to flash in the sky; some witnesses thought the crew of this
strange craft might be trying to signal the earth.
On April 16, the thing,
whatever it was, disappeared from the Midwest. But on April 19, the
same object--or else a similar one--appeared over West Virginia. Early
that morning the town of Sisterville was awakened by blasts of the
sawmill whistle. Those who went outside their homes saw a strange
sight. From a torpedo-shaped object overhead, dazzling searchlights
were pointing downward, sweeping the countryside. The thing appeared to
be about two hundred feet long, some thirty feet in diameter, with
stubby wings and red and green lights along the sides. For almost ten
minutes the aerial visitor circled the town, then it swung eastward and
vanished.
The next report was published in the U.S. Weather Bureau's monthly Weather Review. On page 115 in the March
1904 issue, there is an account of an odd sighting at sea. On February
24, 1904, a mysterious light had been seen above the Atlantic by crew
members of the U.S.S. Supply. It was moving swiftly, and evidently at
high altitude. The report was attested by Lieutenant Frank H.
Schofield, U.S.N.
On July 2, 1907, a mysterious
explosion occurred, in the heavens near Burlington, Vermont. Some
witnesses described a strange, torpedo-shaped device circling above.
Shortly after it was seen, a round, luminous object flashed down from
the sky, then exploded, (Weather Review, 1907, page 310.)
Another cigar-shaped craft was
reported at a low altitude over Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1905.
Like the one at Sisterville, it carried searchlights, which swept back
and forth across the countryside. After a few moments, the visitor rose
in a steep climb, and the searchlights blinked out."***
*FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL, Donald Keyoe. p.58
**FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL, Donald Keyoe. p.59
***FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL, Donald Keyoe. p.59-62