1897 – 1899
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.