Jul., 1868 Copiago (Chile). A strange "aerial construction" bearing lights and making engine noises flew low over this town. Local people also described it as a giant bird covered with large scales producing a me- tallic noise. Although not an actual landing, this is the first instance of close observation of an unknown object at low altitude in the nineteenth century. (Fort 638; Anatomy 11)
Dec. 07, 1872 Banbury (Great Britain). At King's Sutton an object 0100 hours resembling a haystack flew on an irregular course. Sometimes high, sometimes very low it was accompanied by fire and dense smoke. It produced the same effect as a tornado, felling trees and walls. It suddenly vanished. (Fort 189)
1880 Eastern Venezuela. A 14-year-old boy saw a luminous ball descending from the sky and hovering near him. He felt somehow "drawn" to it, but succeeded in backing away in spite of his terror. (Lor. III 2O6)
Mar. 26, 1880 Lamy (New Mexico). Four men walking near Galis- evening teo Junction were surprised as they heard voices coming from a "strange balloon," which flew over them. It was shaped like a fish and seemed to be guided by a large fanlike device. There were eight to ten figures aboard. Their language was not understood. The object flew low over Galisteo Junction and rose rapidly toward the east. (FSR 65, 3)
Jun. 11, 1881 Between Melbourne and Sydney at sea (Australia). 0400 The two sons of the Prince of Wales, one of them the future king of England, were cruising aboard "La Bacchante" when an object resembling a fully lighted ship was seen ("a phantom vessel all aglow"). (Fort 637; Anatomy 12)
Nov. 02, 1885 Scutari (Turkey). A luminous object circled the hardawn bor. Altitude: 5-6 m. Illuminated the whole town. Duration: 1 1/2 min, as a bluish-green flame. Then plunged into the sea. Made several circles above the ferry-boat pier. (LDLN 48; Anatomy 14)
1896 Arolla, near Zermatt (Swiss Alps). Author Aleister Crowley was walking in the mountains when he sud-denly saw two little men. He made a gesture to them, but they did not seem to pay attention and disap- peared among the rocks. (Magic Without Tears, by A. Crowley)
Mar. 26, 1897 Sioux City (Iowa). Approximate date. Robert Hibnight bard was caught by an anchor dropped from an un- known flying machine 22 km north of the town. He was dragged over 10 m and fell as his clothes were torn. (FSR 66, 4)
Mar. 28, 1897 Omaha (Nebraska). The majority of the population 2230 observed an object arriving from the southeast. It looked like a huge light, flew northwestward slowly, came to low altitude. A crowd gathered at a street corner to watch it. (185)
Apr. 01, 1897 Everest (Kansas). The whole town saw an object fly 2100 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 its 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 min at the edge of a low cloud, which it illuminated. All could clearly see the silhouette of the craft. (FSR 66, 4)
Apr. 12, 1897 Nilwood (Illinois). On the property of Z. Thacker, 19 1430 km north of Carlinville, an unknown object landed. 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. (186; Anatomy 12)
Apr. 12, 1897 Girard, near Green Ridge (Illinois). A large crowd of 1800 miners saw an unknown object land 3 km north of Green Ridge and 4 km south of Girard. 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. (186,187)
Apr. 14, 1897 Gas City (Indiana). An object landed 2 km south of 1500 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. (188)
Apr. 14, 1897 Cleveland (Ohio). 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 bal- loon rose from the object, which flew up with it to an altitude of about 150 m and circled "like a hawk" before flying away. (189)
Apr. 15, 1897 Linn Grove (Iowa). A large object was seen to fly morning slowly toward the north. It seemed ready to land and five men (F. G. Ellis, James Evans, David Evans, Joe Croaskey, Benjamin Buland) drove toward it. About 7 km north of Linn Grove, they found the craft on the ground, came within 700 m of it 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. (190)
Apr. 15, 1897 Howard-Artesian (South Dakota). A flying object nightfall coming closer and closer to the ground followed a train, as reported by the engineer, Joe Wright (FSR 66,4)
Apr. 15, 1897 Perry Springs (Missouri). A passenger train on the 2100 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, although the train was then running at 65 km/h. (190)
Apr. 15, 1897 Springfield (Illinois). Two farm workers, Adolph Winkle and John Hulle, saw a strange craft in a field. They had a discussion with its occupants, a woman and two men, and were told the ship had flown from Quincy to Springfield in 30 min and that the crew was making electrical repairs. (FSR 65,1)
Apr. 16, 1897 Downs Township (Illinois). Approximate date. 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. (191)
Apr. 17, 1897 Williamston (Michigan). At least a dozen farmers morning 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 bellowings." One farmer went near him and received a blow that broke his hip. (196)
Apr. 19, 1897 Leroy (Kansas). Alexander Hamilton was awakened 2230 by a noise among the cattle and went out with his son and his tenant. They saw an elongated cigar- shaped object, about 100 m long with a transparent cabin underneath showing narrow reddish bands, hovering 10 m above ground. They approached within 50 m of it. It was illuminated and equipped with a searchlight. Inside it were "six of the strangest beings" the witness had seen, also described as "hideous." They spoke a language no witness could understand. A cow was dragged away by the object with the help of a strong red cable; it was found butchered in a field the next day. (Anatomy 16; Magonia)
Apr. 20, 1897 Homan (Arkansas). Capt. James Hooton was huntng 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. (FSR 66, 4; Magonia)
Apr. 22, 1897 Rockland (Texas). John M. Barclay was intrigued when his dog barked furiously and a high-pitched noise was heard. He went out, saw a flying object circling 5 m above ground. Elongated with protru- sions 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. He paid with a ten-dollar bill and took off "like a bullet out of a gun." (192; Magonia)
Apr. 22, 1897 Josserand (Texas). Frank Nichols, who lived 3 km 2400 east of Josserand and was one of its most respected citizens, 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. (193; Magonia)
Apr. 23, 1897 McKinney Bayou (Arkansas). 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." (Farish, in Allende Letters (Award Special, 1968) )
Apr. 25, 1897 Merkel (Texas). People returning from church-evening 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. (194; Magonia)
Apr. 26, 1897 Aquila-Hillsboro (Texas). Approximate date. A law- yer 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, 5 km from Aquila. 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. (195)
May. 06, 1897 Hot Springs (Arkansas). 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. (FSR 66, 4; Magonia)