ufo_data/bin/overmeiere/tran_chron5.txt

!1880
!1899
#1880, May 8
CHINA, Xi-Yan (Hubei)
Ju Tan, as he was going to work in a field, saw in the air a shining object of different colors. He felt himself carried away through the clouds, in a strange state which did not allow him to struggle or to think, and suddenly felt himself thrown from a great height onto the side of a high mountain. Ju Tan was not injured but terrified beyond words: he did not know this landscape and wondered where he was. He followed a path at random to descend towards the valley. A woodcutter he met on the way told him he was in the province of Guizhou, more than a thousand li (about 500 km) from his starting point. When Ju Tan returned home, eighteen days had passed. (FSR vol. 38 n° 4 winter 1993, Gordon Creighton, taken up by Marie-Thérèse de BROSSES: "Enquiry into E.T. Abductions" - Plon 1995, p. 300, 301)

#May 1880
At sea, GULF OF PERSIA
On board the steamer "Patna", on a very dark night, around 11:30 PM
suddenly appeared in the sky, on either side of the ship, enormous
luminous wheels spinning on themselves and whose rays seemed to
brush the ship. These rays measured from 200 to 300 m long and
resembled the rods of schoolmistresses. And although each wheel
must have had from 500 to 600 meters in diameter, one could always
distinctly see the 16 rays it contained. Without any other visible
light in the air above the water, this phosphorescent glow seemed
to glide flat on the surface of the ocean. The appearance of these
rays can be almost exactly imitated by agitating from a boat, a
lantern horizontally above the water and making it describe
concentric circles. The wheels escorted the ship for twenty minutes.
Witnessed the phenomenon besides me: Captain Avern of the
"Patna", Mr. Manning 3rd Officer. Sé Lee Fore Brace (pseudonym of J.W.
Robertson) ("Knowledge" 28 December 1883) (Charles FORT: "The Book of
the Damned". - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 211, 212)

#June 5, 1880
At sea, off the coast of Malabar
Commander Harris of the steamer "Shahjehan" saw at ten o'clock in the evening, on a calm sea and a cloudless sky, something so strange that he stopped his ship. He described waves spaced apart with bright light and an unidentified substance floating on the water: it did not illuminate anything but seemed lit up with the rest of the sea, by gigantic luminous rays. "Wave after wave succeeded in one of the grandest and most solemn spectacles that can be imagined". ("Nature 21-410. Letter to the Englishman of Calcutta, 21.1.1881) (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 214)

#1880
VENEZUELA (EAST OF..)
A 14-year-old boy saw a luminous balloon descend from the sky and remain suspended above him. The witness then felt as if he was "drawn" to the object, but he managed to flee in spite of his fear. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 140)

#Early August, 1880
USSR, Saint Petersburg
A large spherical light accompanied by two stars followed the course of a ravine for three minutes, then suddenly vanished. (Ion HOBANA/Julien WEVERBERGH: "Les OVNI en URSS et dans les pays de l'Est" - Trad. Laffont 1976, p. 272) A large circular craft followed by smaller bodies was observed. For three minutes these objects moved along a ravine and they disappeared in complete silence. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 140)

#August 20 or 25, 1880
FRANCE, Paris - (or: Bagnères de Luchon?)
Excerpt from the "Bulletin de la Société Astronomique de France" of 1885, observation by M. A. Trecul, astronomer: "During a thunderstorm with thunder and lightning, I saw, in broad daylight, emerge from a dark cloud a luminous body, very bright, slightly yellow, almost white, of a slightly elongated shape, having apparently 35 to 40 cm in length, about 25 cm in width, with the two ends briefly attenuated in cone. This body was only visible for a few moments; it disappeared as if it were entering the cloud; but on its withdrawal, and this is what seems to me to be especially noteworthy, it left behind a small quantity of its substance, which fell vertically like a heavy body, as if it had been under the sole influence of gravity. It left behind a luminous trail, at the edges of which sparks, or rather reddish globules, were manifested, for their light was not radiant. Near the falling body, the luminous trail was almost in a straight line (vertical), while in the upper part it became sinuous. The small falling body divided during its fall and soon extinguished when it was about to reach the top of the screen formed by the houses. At its departure and at the moment of its division, no sound was heard, although the cloud was not far away. This fact seems to me to be especially interesting in that it undeniably denoted in the cloud the presence of a ponderable matter, which was not violently projected by an explosion, as in the case of bolides, nor accompanied by a loud electric discharge". (Henry DURRANT: "Le livre noir des S.V."- Laffont 1970 - p.67... to note that page 65 he tells the same thing with other words and on the date of 20.8.1880) August 25, Bagnères de Luchon. "During a thunderstorm with thunder and lightning B. Vessiot saw in broad daylight emerge from a dark cloud, a luminous body very bright, slightly yellow, almost white, of a slightly elongated shape, with the two ends briefly attenuated in cones. This body was only visible for a few moments, it disappeared as if it were entering the clouds. But on its withdrawal it left behind a small quantity of its substance which fell vertically like a heavy body which had been under the sole influence of gravity. The small falling body divided during its fall and soon extinguished when it was about to reach the top of the screen formed by the houses". [note from vog: either it is the same observation, or the same observation took place in two distant places 700 km apart at the same exact time, described with the same words?] (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 141)

#1880, September 8
USA, Coney Island (Brooklyn)
W.T. Smith reported seeing "a man" at an altitude of 1600 m above Coney Island. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 141)

#September 23, 1880
USA, Gallatin (Tennessee)
At around 3:30 in the afternoon on this sunny Sunday, Mr. David Lang, a farmer, vanished from sight in front of five witnesses: his wife, his two children, his father-in-law, and a local judge. The father-in-law and the judge had just arrived in a wagon, and Mr. Lang was coming towards them across the field with his family. Without any warning, Mr. Lang ceased to exist. There was no cry, no sign of distress. Suddenly, he was lifted up and thrown down, disappearing into the ground he had just walked on. All afternoon and all night, searches were conducted throughout the field. The county police on the scene determined that there was no quicksand, no hidden underground cave, nothing... (continued in April 1881) ("Coscon Files" on the Internet, 5.1.1997)

#March 6, 1881
France, Nice
Jovis, Allioth and Vivier, departed from Nice in a balloon, were picked up in the Mediterranean Sea. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 41)

#April 1881
USA, Gallatin, Tennessee)
(cf: September 28, 1880) In April, seven months after his disappearance, the children heard their father's voice crying out as if he were deeply buried UNDERGROUND. The voice sounded desperate and tortured: he was calling for help. Gradually his voice became less and less audible until it disappeared. It was never heard again. At the spot of his disappearance, there was a circle of whitened grass 20 feet in diameter. ("Coscon Files" on the Internet, refers to a book by Strieber; 5.1.1997)

#1881, June 11
AUSTRALIA at sea between Melbourne and Sydney
The two sons of the Prince of Wales aboard "La Bacchante" saw at 04:00, along with the twelve members of the crew, a dull light which they took for a ghost ship. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 141)

#August 14, 1881
FRANCE, MONTPELLIER
The aeronaut from Armentières, departed from Montpellier, was lost in the Mediterranean Sea. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout Université 1967, p. 41)

#October 14, 1881
USA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
PROFESSOR KING AND J. GEORGE HASHAGEN MADE AN ASCENT IN A FREE BALLOON OF A CAPACITY OF 100,000 CUBIC FEET. THEY REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF 5,000 FEET AND TRAVELED SOUTH-SOUTHWEST TOWARDS PEORIA IN ILLINOIS. At this point the winds caused them to turn back north. They landed in a swamp 70 km north of the Chippewa Falls. ("UFO's – A Century of Sightings by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 2)

#November 1881
USA, St Joseph (Missouri)
At least seven witnesses observed a curious aerial ballet. Nearly fifty lights were seen in the sky and they were arranged like a perfect pyramid near the Moon. The first was first seen in the northeast, while it was moving quickly. It stopped and was soon followed by four others that stopped in turn by aligning on the first. Then the ballet began and dozens of other lights joined those already in place to finally form a triangle that remained stationary for a good half hour in the sky. Finally, each of these lights left the ranks and the phenomenon disappeared in a few seconds. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 141-142)

#1881, December 10
GREAT BRITAIN, Bath
The government balloon "Saladin" landed in Bridport, but while its two companions had already set foot on the ground, the balloon suddenly disappeared with Powell on board, as if it had been violently sucked up. The unfortunate aeronaut was never found. The only pieces found in the Channel were a thermometer and a sleeping bag. What is curious is that at the same moment, on the other side of the Channel in Cherbourg, an unidentified flying object was observed. [In reality: the balloon "Saladin" rises by Gardner, Powell and Templar, rises from Bath. Gardner and Templar are projected from the Nacelle at the height of the coast. The balloon, with the corpse of Powell, is found in Spain.] (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 142) ("La conquête de l'air. Chronique..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout Université 1967, p. 42)

#February 11, 1882
Germany, Charlottenburg
Baumgarten and Woelfert Experiment with an Electrically Propelled Aerostat. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 42)

#1882, July 20
USSR, St Petersburg
Moshaiski (or Mojaiski) Russian Constructor, would have made a flight on board of a "heavier than air". Proof was never formally provided; one thing is absolutely certain, the inventor would have ordered engines from Great Britain. The press provided descriptions and schemas. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 42)

#November 17, 1882
GRANDE-BRETAGNE, Greenwich
Astronomer Walter Maunder described in the journal "Observatory": a large greenish light disc that moved quickly in the sky. Its circularity was obviously only an effect of perspective, as when passing over the moon it was described as "having the shape of a cigar", "a torpedo", a shuttle, a spindle. The effect lasted nearly two minutes, the color remained similar to that of the northern auroral lights. "It seemed to be a definite body, the movement was too fast to be a cloud but nothing could look less like a meteor shower. The object was at an altitude of 60 to 500 km. Phenomenon also observed in Holland and Belgium. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 231, 232)

#1883, February 5
SWEDEN, Arvika
At 18:45 a meteor was observed coming from the SSE towards the NO, when after 18 seconds it changed direction towards the SE. On its trajectory it made several deviations, and its brightness changed from that of a star to that of the sun, emitting a light sometimes white, sometimes yellow and throwing sparks at times. It disappeared after 50 seconds of observation. (Inforespace n° 45, May 1979, p.30)

#May 2, 1883
CHINA, unspecified
…in the night the celestial drums thundered, the sky opened its eyes, a huge bright and multicolored star cast dazzling lights, it was heading from east to west preceded and followed by small stars. Strangely, when the lights reached the ground, a sound like thunder was heard. (SHI BO: "China and the Extraterrestrials" ed. Mercure de France, 1983, p.44)

#1883, July 3
Belgium, Courtrai
Morlau (Belgian) and Conta (French) aeronauts take off from Courtrai and head towards Cologne. Above Louvain, the wind changes and pushes them towards the coast. They cross the Channel and land in Bromley (England). They have succeeded, the first ones, in the crossing from the continent to England. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 42)

#August 1 or 12, 1883
MEXICO, Zacatecas
... a large number of luminous bodies penetrated the solar disk. Mr. Bonilla telegraphed to the observatories of Mexico and Puebla, where they had not been seen. Due to this parallax, Mr. Bonilla located the bodies "relatively close to the earth". But in his language of astronomy, whether it was birds, beetles, a super-Tamerlan or an army of celestial Richard-Coeur de Lions "relatively close to the earth" meant "closer than the Moon". One of these objects was photographed: the document shows a long body surrounded by undefined structures, or by the trembling of wings or of planes in motion. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 175)
The astronomer Bonilla with his colleagues from the observatory of Zacatecas, noted in the space of two hours the passage of 283 unknown bodies in front of the solar disk. These objects had the most diverse shapes: often spherical, sometimes oval, moving alone or in pairs. A photograph of the phenomenon was published in "L'Astronomie" of 1885 p. 347. The following morning Bonilla was able to count the passage of 116 new strange bodies. To what invasion was the Earth preparing? It should be noted that it is manifest that these objects must have traveled at a low altitude since the astronomers installed in Mexico and Puebla were never able to observe them. (Frank EDWARDS, "The S.V. Serious Affair" - Trad. Laffont 1967 - p. 34-35) Unfortunately, the application of the optical formula cc' = f² allows to calculate the distance, therefore the dimensions and the real speed of these bodies. And given their appearance and their number, it is simply a flight of migratory birds. (Inforespace n° 49, JANUARY 1980, p.12 article by Dominique Caudron, SOBEPS; see also on the Oncle Dom website the details of this affair).

#1883, October 8
France, Auteuil
The Tissandier Brothers succeed in the first ascent on board a motorized airship. They go from Auteuil to Croissy on Seine in 1 hour and 15 minutes. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 42)

#1883, October 16
FRANCE, Montussan in Gironde
The fall of the matter occurred in the afternoon, in rainy and windy weather. The witness saw "floating" in the sky a thick cloud from which these flakes fell, fraying as they clung to the trees. This "rain" lasted about two hours. The matter, when ignited, burned and carbonized. Seen under the microscope it was composed of intertwined filaments, analogous to the threads of the virgin, of which it could be that the aforementioned cloud was an extraordinary agglomeration. (Jean SENNELIER, [cite G. Tessandier]: "Angel hair fallen from the sky")

#1883
Throughout the world
Exceptional year. Astronomer Wolf one evening saw something that obscured a star for 3 and a half seconds. A meteor had been seen in the vicinity, but its trail had only been seen momentarily. The following data is one of the most sensational that I possess, although it is very brief. A dark object was seen by Professor Heis, on eleven degrees of the arc of a circle, and moving slowly across the Milky Way. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 161)

#1884, March 17
USA, OTAY (California)
J.J. Montgomery made a series of flights using a glider of his own construction. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 43)

#August 9, 1884
FRANCE, CHALAIS-MEUDON
Ch. Renard and A. Krebs made the first circuit, the first true voyage in a dirigible, aboard their apparatus named "La France". They rose from Chalais-Meudon and returned after a voyage of 23 minutes during which they covered 7 km 500. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 43)

#1884, November 26
ENGLAND
England embarks balloons, the first, destined for a military operation overseas (Bechuanaland). The expedition arrives at the Cape on December 19. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 43)

#February 24, 1885
At sea, ASIA
Between Yokohama and Victoria at 37° North latitude and 170° East longitude, the captain of the ship "Innerwich" was awakened by his second who had seen something abnormal in the sky. (...) The captain saw the sky on fire "suddenly a large flaming mass appeared above the ship, completely blinding the spectators" and fell into the sea. Its size can be estimated, according to the volume of water it raised and which rushed onto the ship with a deafening noise, submerging it under a white and roaring foam. The captain declared that the horror of the spectacle defied all description. It is said that this large ball of fire rose near Cape Race at 150 m in height. Captain Moore of the English steamer Siberian declared that the object moved against the wind before disappearing and that he had already seen such apparitions in the same place. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 212, 213)

#August 27, 1885
BERMUDA
At 8:30 in the morning, Mrs. Adelina Bassett saw "a strange object coming from the south in the middle of the clouds". She called her friend, Mrs. L. Lowell, and both of them, not without some alarm, saw the triangular-shaped object, similar to a canoe sail and with chains hanging from it, seeming to land, then move away over the sea, and finally disappear very high in the clouds. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 205) The following observation briefly mentioned a strange round object noticed in the sky above the Bermudas. It was reported in the "Royal Gazette" of this archipelago. (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers Are Real" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p80)

#November 1, 1885
TURKEY, Andrinople
At around 9:30 PM a huge flying disc was observed by numerous witnesses; among them an astronomer. (Henry DURRANT: "The Black Book of UFOs" - Laffont 1970 - p.67-68) "An elongated and very bright" object was visible. It seemed to "float in the air". Its dimensions were four to five times larger than those of the full Moon. (Michel BOUGARD: "The Chronicle of UFOs" - Delarge 1977 - p. 144)

#November 2, 1885
TURKEY, Sartari
In the morning, a very bright flame, initially bluish, then rather green, moved at an altitude of barely six meters around the ferry dock of Sartari. The "meteor" remained in the sky for one minute and thirty seconds and disappeared into the waves, without any noise accompanying this immersion. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 144)

#1885, November
TURKEY, Andrinople
A luminous red craft in the shape of a cigar was seen, its color changing from an intense brightness to an almost imperceptible red, and it was huge and seemed to float and stop in the middle of the air. (Frank EDWARDS: "Les S.V. affaire sérieuse - trad. Laffont 1967 - p. 21)

#March 19, 1886
USA, Oshkosh (Wisconsin)
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a darkness as total as midnight descended upon Oshkosh. This caused general consternation; people ran in all directions in the streets, horses panicked, women and children sought refuge in cellars. (...) This darkness lasted from 8 to 10 minutes, moved from west to east and was followed by almost immediate light. Shortly afterwards it was reported that the same phenomenon had occurred to the west of Oshkosh. (...) (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 182)

#1886, May 3
FRANCE
In February, Maillot presented his 72 square meter kite to the French Society of Aerial Navigation. On May 3, he successfully experimented with his kite. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 43)

#1886, September 12
France, Boulogne
H. Herve and Alluard, "National" Balloon, lifted off from Boulogne and landed in England only after an unusual duration of ascent: 24 hours 30 minutes, during which they travelled only 300 km. They used submerged deviators, invented by Herve, to change the direction of their balloon several times during this ascent. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 43-44)

#1886, November 3
NORWAY, Hamar
A white cloud emitting blinding rays of light traversed the sky, maintaining its initial shape the whole time. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 226) It was between 8 and 9 PM, a very dark night. Suddenly a white cloud appeared in the sky, sailing towards the northeast, and from time to time this cloud emitted bright rays of light in all directions. The cloud maintained its original shape during the entire observation and in the end disappeared into the night. (NATURE, 16 Dec 1886, 159; Bullard: MYSTERIES IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER., 1982, 191 and THE AIRSHIP FILE., 1982, 379, cfr listing of Ole Jonny Braenne)

#1887, 19th March
ATLANTIC OCEAN
At 37°39' North latitude and 57° West longitude, in the middle of the Atlantic, Captain C.D. Sweet of the Dutch ship "J P A" saw, during a severe storm, two objects crossing the sky above his vessel. One was luminous, but the second was dark. One of them, or both, fell into the sea with a rumble and a splash of waves. Immediately afterwards, blocks of ice were seen falling. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 222, 223)

#1887, August
SPAIN, Banjos
Farmers working in the fields saw a boy and a girl come out of a cave with skin the color of green leaves from a tree. They spoke in an unknown language and were handed over to the justice of the peace Ricardo da Calno. They wanted to remove the green color, but it was not makeup, it was the real pigmentation of the skin. They had certain Negroid features and Asian-type eyes. For 5 days they refused the food that was offered to them, finally they ate freshly cut beans. The boy, too weak, died, but the girl survived. The green color gradually disappeared and she then had a normal complexion for a white race being. She learned Spanish and worked as a maid in the judge's house. Questioned, her explanations thickened the mystery: she came from a sunless country separated from a luminous country by a wide river. There was suddenly a whirlpool and a terrible noise that had taken the children and deposited them in the cave. The girl survived 5 years, then died. (Jacques BERGIER: "Les E.T. dans l'histoire" - J'AI LU - 1970 - p. 156, 157) IN REALITY: The Barcelona Zoological Museum gave no details and directed the investigation towards a Spanish magazine dealing with non-traditional sciences. Javier Sierra of the magazine "Mâs Allâ" conducted an investigation into the case. It turns out that the village of Banjos never existed in Spain and that the only place with a name more or less similar is Banyoles, where the story is not known. He also found indications of a British legend from the 13th century, telling a similar story. ((c) 1997 Jeroen Slurf and Jeroen Kümeling. UFO nieuwsbrief jaargang 2, nummer 1 et ALFRA, Humanoid research group. )

#1887, November 12
At sea, Nova Scotia (CANADA)
Captain Moore of the British ship "Siberian" saw around midnight an object of red color rising from the sea. The UFO climbed up to about twenty meters, then, against the wind, it moved towards the ship and stopped a few meters away. After five minutes of observation the sailors saw the object depart towards the southeast and disappear. Total duration of the observation: five minutes. (Frank EDWARDS: "Les S.V. affaire sérieuse - trad. Laffont 1967 - p. 21) (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 146)

#1888, May
USA, Darlington County (South Carolina)
A wave of "snakes" in the sky was observed. They emitted a whistling sound. (Christiane PIENS: "Les Ovni du passé" - Marabout 1977 - p.91, 92)

#1888, May 4
NEW ZEALAND
An object with an oval nucleus and black striped flames, suggestive of a structure. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 226) ... an oval disk, advancing at great speed was reported. (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers Exist" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p 81)

#June 1889
CONGO BELGE
At MATADI, the Belgians are conducting tests of an aerial post using hot air balloons. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout Université 1967, p. 44)

#1889
HIMALAYA
Major M. A. Waddel was the first European to report in 1889 that he had seen large footprints in the Himalayan snow, to the northeast of the Sikkim protectorate, at an altitude of about 5200 m. However, he did not see the Yeti making these tracks and he had to rely on the word of the porters who assured him that what he was seeing there were the tracks of the Yeti. (Jean FERGUSON: "The Humanoids..." ed. Leméac, Ottawa, 1977, p.120)

#December 24th to 25th, 1890
USA, South Bend (Indiana)
The Lerch family had invited about twenty friends to celebrate the holiday. The youngest son, Olivier Lerch, 20 years old, was particularly joyful as his fiancée and her parents were among the guests. Around 10 pm, Mrs. Lerch asked Olivier to fetch some water from the well in the farm's courtyard. He took two buckets and went out. A few minutes later, a horrible scream was heard outside, where everyone rushed. They distinctly heard "Help! Help! They're taking me!" and these cries came from above. This lasted for another 5 minutes. Near the well was a bucket, apart from that there was nothing in the courtyard. Afterwards, the well was dredged, but there was no trace of Oliver who never reappeared. (Jimmy GUIEU: "Black-out sur les S.V." - FLEUVE NOIR 1956 - p. 210 à 212)

#Around 1890
Netherlands Indies
Approximately two years after (note from vog: after May 4, 1888) several aerial bodies were seen hovering above the Netherlands Indies. Most reports say they were roughly triangular, having about thirty meters at the base, and seventy meters on the sides. Some were narrow with a rounded base (...). (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers are Real" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p 81)

#1891
GERMANY
German engineer Hermann Ganswindt, known as the inventor of the autogyro, the free wheel of the bicycle, a dirigible airship and many other things, presented in 1891 a project for a spacecraft propelled by the reaction of dynamite cartridges. He unfortunately fell into ridicule. ("The Rockets, Vehicles of the Future" - Hans K. Kaiser, ed. Amiot-Dumont 1954, p. 40)

#1891
Germany, Grosskreuz
Otto Lilienthal builds his first glider. The successful test takes place in Grosskreuz. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 46)

#1891
USA, California
In 1891, Californian Thomas Blot wrote a small book in which he recounts his encounter with a Martian who suddenly appears before his eyes at his rural home. This Alien speaks to the man in English and provides him with abundant information about his planet, all of which was obviously false. (Jean SIDER: "Ovni, les envahisseurs démasqués", ed. RAMUEL 1999, p 89)

#July 19, 1894
GREECE, Boiai
At noon a fireball descended at great speed. It suddenly stopped and remained suspended in the atmosphere leaving behind a bright line accompanied by smoke. After five minutes of suspension, at 12:12, a terrifying noise was heard and the fireball headed towards the summit of Mount Crithen. Continuing its march it fell into the sea with a new noise. On the same day and almost at the same time, the fall of fireballs and meteorites was reported in different points of Crete (Candia). An isolated black cloud having exploded, a luminous body having the shape of an inverted cone was seen, which, moving from southeast to northwest, fell into the sea near Heraklion. (...) A fireball, having an apparent length of two meters, passed very close to the prefectural house and descended to a certain point, almost at ground level then, changing direction and moving very quickly, parallel to the ground, disappeared towards the northwest. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 147)

#1894, August 16
GREAT BRITAIN, Wales
In North Wales.. a disc from which an elongated flat fish-like orange body was projected, is reported by Admiral Ommaney.
(Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 225)

#August 20th (26th?), 1894
GREECE, between Athens and Phalères
On August 26th 1894, an English admiral reported having seen a large disc, projecting like a tail... (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers are Real" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p 81) C. Maltezos also recounts how at around 8:40pm, while travelling by train from Athens to Phalère, he saw "a meteorite with the aspect of a large white globe, surrounded by a greenish atmosphere, and moving at a very slow speed." (Michel BOUGARD: "The Chronicle of UFOs" - Delarge 1977 - p. 147 which dates it to August 20th)

#1895, June 27
NORWAY, Alen;
At night, fishermen saw a luminous object fall into the lake Hesjoen, about 1 km from their position. (FJELD-LJOM, 8 Jul 1895; AFTENPOSTEN, 3 Apr 1990, 3 and UFO, 1/1991, 36, cfr listing of Ole Jonny Braenne)

#October 16, 1895
ETHIOPIA, near Adoua
The Ethiopian army, marching towards Adoua where a battle was to take place, was frightened by the passage in the sky of something of a green color, leaving behind it a long trail of smoke and making a thunderous noise. This is what the Englishman Afework, chronicler and great friend of Negus Menelik, recounts. (Henry DURRANT: "The Black Book of UFOs" - Laffont 1970 - p. 68)

#1895, December 16
FRANCE, Audruicq (Pas de Calais)
M. Vanvinck Reniez presented the sketch of a slow bolide observed that day: of a vaporous appearance, yellow-reddish, it progressively doubled in volume and suddenly disappeared. (M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, premier dossier complet..." - éd. Alain LEFEUVRE 1979, p. 40)

#1895-1897
PERU
If we ignore a more than legendary Peruvian, named Pedro E. Paulet, who, according to foreign press information not confirmed, would have already conducted experiments with liquid fuel rocket engines around 1895-1897... (...) ("The Rockets, Vehicles of the Future" - Hans K. Kaiser, ed. Amiot-Dumont 1954, p. 45)

#1896, January 6
FRANCE, Domrémy
On this anniversary of Joan of Arc, a magnificent meteor, coming from distant regions, crossed the Meuse Valley, stopped above the church of Domrémy, inclined to the left and came to rest in front of the heroine's door. It illuminated the facade for a few moments and disappeared without leaving a trace. The meteor seemed like a star as big as a child's head, it was followed by a luminous trail one meter long, ended by three stars arranged in a triangle. (M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, premier dossier complet..." - éd. Alain LEFEUVRE 1979, p. 40)

#1896, May 6
USA, WASHINGTON
A scale model airplane (13 kg) built by Langley, powered by a steam engine, flew in Washington. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 49)

#1896, August 20
USA
CH. Lamson launches a kite carrying a mannequin weighing 68 kg. The rope breaks, but the apparatus glides and gently lands 800 m away. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 49)

#1896, Summer
USA, Trenton (Montana)
.. letters from C. N. Crotsenburg, from Crow Agency. The observer was employed in the mail wagons and had long experience with all the phenomena related to his post. One day, as his train was moving north from Trenton, he and another employee saw in the darkness of a heavy rain, a light of round appearance and a pinkish color, which seemed to be thirty cm in diameter, floating 30 m from the ground, then rising "halfway between the horizon and the zenith". The wind was blowing hard from the east, but the light continued to go north. Its speed varied. Sometimes it exceeded the train, very considerably, other times it seemed to be lagging behind. The postal employees watched it until they reached Linville, in Iowa. The light disappeared behind the depot of this town and was never seen again. It had not stopped raining. (Charles FORT: "The Book of the Damned" - ed. Eric Losfeld 1967, p. 236)

#1896, November 17
USA, Sacramento
Hundreds of people observed a "mysteriously powered electric arc lamp". ("UFO's – A Century of Sightings by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 1)

#November 23, 1896
USA, Oakland and surrounding areas
In Oakland it was described as a 45 m long craft with four bright rotors. On Monday the 23rd the mysterious airship was spotted above Oakland, Berkley, Antioch and Chico. The "San Francisco Call" of November 1986 published a drawing of the airship while it was hovering above St Mary's College in Oakland. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 156)

#1896, November 25th and 26th
USA, California
In the Oakland Tribune it was read: Redbluff, November 26th. Several inhabitants affirmed to have seen the presumed space vessel in their neighborhood last night. It was seen for the first time around 7 pm and was taken for a bright star that moved quickly in the direction of the southwest towards the mountains behind which it disappeared. (vog: this space vessel thus only appeared as a very bright point high in the sky...) Shortly after a telegram from Chico announced that the vessel was passing over that city around 1 am in the night. It was then seen again in Red Bluff. Another telegram from Leesville announced that the object had taken the direction of Red Bluff, but after having made some turns it left from where it had come. Several citizens told us that at first only a light was seen, but that later the body of the egg-shaped object became visible and that it moved quickly in the sky. (...) Charles White, from East Oakland affirms for his part that he saw an aerial vessel last night. Around 6:15 pm it arrived from the direction of San Francisco. It approached quickly and caught up with the ferry-boat that was crossing the bay. It went so fast that it was already above Alameda while the ferry was only docking. Mr. A.B. Parker, ferry driver, confirmed the whole story as well as other passengers. (...) A young electrician from Oakland declared to us on his honor that he had seen the space vessel very close and that he can describe it with precision. The young man is Case Gillson, one of the professor Gillson's sons (..) His testimony is confirmed by other young people (..) Gillson and his friends saw the object twice in the evening of Thursday, at 8 pm and 8:30 pm. The sky was perfectly clear and a strong wind was blowing from the northwest. The aerial vessel moved quickly from the southeast to the north, against the wind. No light was visible, only the now well-known silhouette that was outlined against the starry sky. (...) It was heading towards Lorin at 300 to 450 m of altitude and looked like a large black cigar with a fish tail. If it had propellers, they must have been turning very quickly because Gillson couldn't see them. The body had a length of about 30 m and a kind of triangular panel was attached to it. The surface of the aerial vessel was like made of aluminum that had blackened from the wind and the bad weather. (...) it was moving at an incredible speed" Why does this machine never appear in broad daylight, nobody knows and so the incredulous will continue to make fun of it until then". (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 156-157-158)

#1896, November 28
USA, Potomac (Washington)
Langley's Steam Airplane travels 1600 meters in 1 minute 45 seconds above the Potomac (Washington) and ends its flight and career in the waters of the river. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 49)

#1896
SWITZERLAND, Arolla (Zermatt)
The author Aleister Crowley was mountain walking when suddenly he saw two small men. He waved to them but they did not seem to pay attention and disappeared among the rocks. (Magic without tears by Crowley) (UFOs in Heidi, cfr GREPI, Switzerland, 1997)

#1897, January 22
USA
Hugh. D. Wise of the 9th infantry regiment, made a flight with a cellular kite. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 50)

#1897, January 24th and 25th
USA, Hastings (Nebraska)
In the "Kansas Semi Weekly Capital" of March 31st 1897 it is written: The UFO was seen in the morning of Sunday, January 24th 1897. Several people believed that an experimenter was testing an "airship" of his invention about 16 km west of the town. This UFO circled for a few minutes before flying off to the north. In the "Omaha, Nebraska Bee" of February 2nd 1897 the report is somewhat different: Several inhabitants of Hastings reported having seen an airship or something of the same kind, to the west of the town. It was seen for the last time floating at about 175 meters above the ground, after having stayed stationary for 30 minutes. Then it took a circular flight heading north for 2 miles, returning to the place of its stationary position, where it finally descended in a straight line. It was not seen again until the evening, when it reappeared at an altitude of 275 to 300 meters, stationary a few miles to the west of Hastings. At first glance it appeared like an immense star. On closer inspection it was noticed that the fantastic coloring of the light must have been produced by a very powerful dynamo. At 9:30 pm on Monday, January 25th, the great light was observed circling for several minutes before descending to an altitude of 70 to 80 meters, circling at an amazing speed on an axis of nearly 2 miles. This lasted about 15 minutes, the speed decreased and suddenly the light disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared. (Ufo Roundup, vol. 2 n° 4 of 26.1.1997, Joseph Trainor)

#February 5, 1897
USA, Invale (Nebraska/Kansas)
The "Ohama Bee" newspaper of February 5, 1897 reported that the UFO had reappeared. It was people from a small farm, returning from the temple, who observed it. The thing seemed conical in shape and was 30 to 40 feet long, with a large headlight and six smaller lights, three on each side. On one side the object seemed to have a winged structure as well as a large rudder in the shape of a fan. The witnesses said they heard a buzzing sound as well as the voices of the occupants of this craft. (Ufo Roundup, vol. 2 n° 4 of 26.1.1997, Joseph Trainor)

#1897, March 26
USA - Near Sioux City (Iowa)
Mr. Robert Hibbard was grabbed by an anchor suspended from a rope coming from some kind of aerial ship. The unfortunate man was dragged for about ten meters before he could free himself. When the grapple let go, he fell heavily to the ground. (..) He clearly saw a dark object lit up on each side by electric incandescent lamps, coming from the south at an altitude of about 1500 meters. When it reached his height, the object changed direction and descended towards the ground before returning in its original direction, trying to kidnap him with a grapple. "A magnificent ball of fire was seen in the clouds, shining for a moment before it went out a short time later (The Hudson Post)... [note from vog: see: 1843, July 16 FRANCE, NANTES, true story taken up by the Americans 50 years later to fill their newspapers with fantasy...] (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 52-160-161)

#April 1, 1897
USA, Kansas City
At 8:15 PM thousands of people observed the mysterious light above Kansas City. Flying sometimes at high altitude, sometimes at the level of the daisies, the object moved from west to north, then from south and finally disappeared towards the north. The glow seemed to have the dimensions of a large street lamp and must have been at the height of the clouds. At one point a beam of light came out of it, somewhat like a projector. Its color changed from white to bright red, it moved in various directions, at a regular speed. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 161-162)

#April 1, 1897
USA, Everest (Kansas)
That same night the citizens of Everest (Kansas) followed the maneuvers of the (same?) craft for 80 minutes: "At one point and for five minutes the airship flew along the lower part of the clouds which were very low in the sky and it was then that the powerful lights it carried were reflected on the cloud masses, thus illuminating the flying object whose every detail could be seen. The basket or gondola must have been between 7.50 and 9 meters long and its shape evoked that of an Indian canoe. Four luminous wings emerged from the gondola, two of them being triangular. A large dark frame was visible immediately above the basket and the witnesses thought it was a balloon inflated with gas. That it was the same source that powered the headlights and the propulsion of the craft seems obvious, since these lights weakened when the object gained speed and became very bright when it hovered at low altitude. One of the witnesses saw a blue glow, others saw it rather white or red." (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 161-162) The object was first observed around 9:30 pm by two or three people, but they only saw the bright headlights. A few minutes later, when the object approached, its huge frame was visible. It was like an immense cigar and half the town's inhabitants were watching it. The airship seemed to make erratic movements. Instead of moving in a straight line, it undulated and leaned once to the left, once to the right, but all this apparently under absolute control. The airship came from the north and was observed for a quarter of an hour before disappearing towards the south. The town's inhabitants propose to look at the sky very often in the hope of seeing this phenomenon again, because for some time now it has been appearing often in the early evening and returning very early in the morning. (from: Evening Times of Pawtucket of April 2, 1897) (Ufo Folklore Center - Roundup vol 2 n° 14 of April 6, 97 - Joseph Trainor)

#1897, April 3
USA, Wesley, Iowa
"Reliable witnesses declared under oath to have seen what they assumed to be an aerial vessel. (...) It had the shape of a cone with lit windows on the side. They could not make out how the craft was propelled...(..) it seemed to be navigating at no more than a few tens of meters above the ground. Sometimes it moved slowly, sometimes it went really fast. Sounds were heard coming from the object. Some said it was human voices, others that it was simply the noise of the machinery. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 161-162)

#1897, April 5
USA, Omaha (Nebraska)
About a hundred inhabitants saw at the same time a round flying object with a diameter of 12 feet. It was night. The object became so bright that people who were sleeping woke up, and a panic began to spread among the population. ("Ufo's – A century of Sightings by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 3)

#1897, April 6
USA, Guthrie (Oklahoma)
At around 11:00 PM, Mr. Trumbull, the owner of the Arlington Hotel, saw a dark object moving above the town. Soon he saw that the object had a bright light on its front and was using it like a projector, sweeping the sky in different directions. Several other witnesses followed the movements of the craft for a few minutes. The following night it was observed above Belle Plaine (Iowa). (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 163)

#1897, April 8
USA, Cedar Rapids
An object was seen moving along the railway. It was first spotted in Cedar Rapids (9:00 PM) before disappearing an hour later. The object had a bright and dazzling light that illuminated a metallic hull and wings on either side. It glided through the air emitting a whistling sound. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 163)

#1897, April 9
USA, Chicago
The inhabitants saw the ship cross Lake Michigan, heading towards the land, slowly veering northwest and disappearing into the darkness. "...The main body of the nocturnal flying object must have been 20 m long, it was of pleasant proportions and seemed to be very fragilely constructed. Attached to this body was a searchlight and other lights. Some observers claimed to have seen, at a short distance above this main body, structures resembling wings or sails. These latter must have been 6 m wide." Another railroad story took place near Chicago. The driver of an express mail train, Mr. F. L. Bullard, suddenly saw his locomotive overtaken and then passed by "a dirigible moving at least 240 km/hour". (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 163)

#1897, starting April 9
USA, in the Midwest
One of the most curious describes an incident that began on April 9. In the Midwest, a huge cigar-shaped craft was seen flying at a very high altitude. Short wings protruded laterally, according to astronomers who observed it through a telescope. ... On April 16, the object disappeared from the Midwest. (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers Are Real" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p 81)

#April 10, 1897
USA, Newton (Iowa)
2000 citizens of Newton observed from 8:00 PM on this Saturday evening of April 10 the mysterious aerial craft that flew over their city for nearly 40 minutes. Heading towards the northwest, it at one point released a kind of "parachute" to which a light was attached. That night it was also seen above Eldon (7:25 PM), Ottumwa (7:40 PM), Albia (8:10 PM), Wausau and Fort Atkinson (Wisconsin) and Winemac (Indiana). It was also observed for a quarter of an hour in Galesburg (Illinois). The object had a very bright white light and flew over the city at an altitude of about 1200 m. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 165)

#1897, April 11
USA, Chicago
The New York Herald announced the reappearance of a spacecraft above Chicago: "The famous airship now above Chicago. The city is excited by the appearance of lights moving quickly in the sky. Astronomers are incredulous. They think that these lights come from a star in the constellation of Orion. It is a dirigible balloon, said Max Harmar, secretary of the Aeronautical Association of Chicago. (Henry DURRANT: "The Black Book of S.V."-Laffont 1970 - p. 68, 69)

#1897, April 11
USA, Norman, (Oklahoma)
Almost 400 citizens of Norman saw a brightly lit craft at low altitude above a lake near Evanston. It navigated in all directions above the city before finally heading west. At the same time it was seen in Niles Center, Schemerville and Kankakee. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 163)

#1897, April 11
USA, Holland (Michigan)
Hundreds of inhabitants saw the craft hovering above Black Lake at 8:35 PM: "it was a huge dark mass lit up by lights of all colors". After hovering for a few minutes it departed in a zigzag pattern towards the northwest. That same night the same phenomenon was seen in Milwaukee and above Chicago where a photo was even taken. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 166)

#April 11, 1897
USA, Sioux City
More than 800 km west of Holland, Mr. Butler observed around midnight a strange flying apparatus. "At the top there was like a large balloon in the shape of a cigar. It was about ten meters long, three meters wide and it was tilted to the side. Below there was a gondola that looked like those of a Ferris Wheel. There was also a row of windows on the side. (...) The object emitted a sound like a flock of quail taking off. In four or five minutes the airship was out of sight, disappearing to the south." (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 166)

#April 12, 1897
USA, Nilwood (Illinois)
On Monday the 12th, a huge cigar-shaped craft topped with a dome landed around 2:30 PM on the property of Mr. Z. Thacker, 19 km from Carlinville. Three witnesses, Messrs. Edward Teeples, William Street and Franklin Metcalf, wanted to approach it, but before they could reach the craft, it slowly rose up and majestically flew off to the north.
(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 166-167)

#April 12, 1897
USA, Girard (Illinois)
At around 6:00 PM, several miners saw an unknown flying object 3 km north of Green Ridge and 4 km south of Girard. The night service agent of the Chicago-Alton railway line, Mr. Paul MacCramer, stated that he had gotten close enough to the craft to see a man come out and repair the machinery. Numerous traces of the object were found, which was very elongated and topped with a double dome. The object then took off in a northerly direction, towards the Great Lakes. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 167)

#1897, April 12
USA, Fontanella (Iowa)
A flying vessel was seen in this town around 8:30 PM. It was coming from the southeast, moving at an altitude of barely sixty meters above the tree tops. Its speed was low, less than 20 km/h. The machine was clearly visible. It was described as having a length of 18 m and with wings that vibrated. An indistinct noise of an engine and music could be heard, as if there was an orchestra in the sky. It moved towards the north and, increasing its speed, it quickly disappeared. Almost the entire population saw it (...) The weather was very cloudy and it had lightly rained all evening, so that no stars were visible. One was also observed above Shermann at 8:00 PM and Williamsville at 8:45 PM. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 167)

#April 12, 1897
USA, Battle Creek (Michigan)
At least twenty people were observing the maneuvers of an "airship" above the Battle Creek sanatorium. The craft had extinguished all its lights. One of the witnesses, Mr. Dixon, stated: "The upper part of the object had the shape of a cone and suspended from it there was something cylindrical and rather dark. At the back of this last body, there was something like a wheel emitting a buzzing sound which was very clearly heard". Suddenly there was an explosion. Sparks flew in all directions and the craft began to descend from an altitude of 1500 m to 800 m. A new explosion soon resounded, flames came out of the "wheel" and the craft then began to rise again. At the same time, it extinguished the two lights it had lit (one red at the front and one blue at the back) and disappeared from the view of the spectators. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 167-168)

#April 12, 1897
USA, Kalamazoo
Approximately 40 km east of Kalamazoo, George W. Somers and William Chadburn observed an illuminated object flying overhead at almost the same time. A dull explosion was heard, soon followed by a series of detonations. The next morning, various debris was found scattered 3 km away in Scotts, including a large coil of metal wire likely intended for electrical use. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 167-168)

#April 13, 1897
USA, Pennfield (Michigan)
In the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Parks saw a very bright object buzzing overhead their farm. At one point, this body ejected a flaming piece which crashed. Terrified, Mrs. Parks forbade her husband to approach it, but the next morning George Parks and his brother Benjamin returned to the spot and discovered a large aluminum propeller of nearly one meter in diameter. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 168)

#April 14, 1897
USA, Casstown
While he was feeding the pigs on his farm at 6:00 in the morning, James Mc Kenzie heard a curious noise as if a flock of geese was passing over him. Looking up, he then saw an astonishing giant bird flying towards the southwest at 50 meters altitude. The object had wings and some kind of tail or rudder. It emitted a musical sound and Mc Kenzie distinctly heard a human voice as the bird passed. Something very large and white fell from the craft, but Mc Kenzie had no reaction that day. When he went to look the next day with friends, he found nothing. (Michel BOUGARD - Inforespace n° 36, p. 37)

#1897, April 14
USA, Gas (Indiana)
At around 3 pm in the afternoon an object landed 2 km south of Gas on John Roush's property, frightening the farmers and causing horses and cattle to flee. Six occupants emerged and seemed to take bearings or make some repairs. Before the witnesses could approach, the craft quickly flew off to the east. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 169)

#April 14, 1897
USA, Reynolds (Michigan)
An hour and a half later, 300 km north of Gas, an object shaped like a balloon is said to have landed near Reynolds after having remained suspended in the sky for an hour. A strange 3 m tall figure emerged from it, almost naked, and even injured one of the witnesses of the phenomenon. Around 9 pm the aerial vessel was seen above Weatherford, Corsicana and Fort Worth. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 169)

#April 14, 1897
USA, Cleveland (Ohio)
Joseph Singler, captain of the Sea Wing, was fishing with S. M. Davis from Detroit when they saw on the lake what they took to be a boat about 13 m long with a dome-like structure. A man in his twenties wearing a hunting jacket and a cap was fishing from the deck of the object. Near him was a young woman and a ten-year-old child. When the Sea Wing approached the craft, a large colored balloon emerged from it and the whole thing rose to an altitude of 150 m. There it made some turns "like a falcon" and eventually flew away into the distance.
(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 169)

#1897, April 15
USA, Linn Grove (Iowa)
"... Thursday morning they saw a large object moving slowly in the sky towards the north and seeming to want to land. Five people (...) decided to pursue it. They found the craft on the ground about 6 km north of the town and approached it to within less than 700 m. Suddenly the object extended four gigantic wings and rose towards the north, letting out two large stones of unknown composition which were exhibited in the village. There were two strange people on board who tried in vain to hide. Evans and Croskey say that these occupants had the longest beards they had ever seen in their lives." (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 169)

#April 15, 1897
USA, Springfield (Illinois)
At the same time, a craft landed. Two farmers, Adolph Winkle and John Hull, attested in writing and under oath that they had seen a strange craft land in a field to repair some electrical devices on board. They claimed to have spoken with the occupants, two men and a woman, who revealed to them that the machine had flown from Quincy to Springfield (160 km away) in just thirty minutes. These characters also declared that they would "make a report on all this to the government when Cuba is free". ?? (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 170)

#1897, April 15
USA, Pine Lake
Witness William Megiveron recounted how that night he had been awoken by knocks on a window of his house. When he opened his eyes, a strong light blinded him. He immediately got out of bed and went to look outside: that's when he heard a voice above him. This voice explained to him that the glow was coming from an aerial ship that had been hidden behind the clouds since the afternoon. A burst of lead from a duck hunter had then suddenly damaged one of its wings and the occupants had had to repair it immediately. The voice asked the witness to go and get four dozen eggs, sandwiches, and a coffee pot for the crew. After Megiveron had complied, a large bucket containing Canadian coins was lowered for payment. According to the witness the craft must have been at an altitude of 90 m. He could not make out its shape due to the projector that was blinding him. Megiveron repeatedly asked to be allowed on board, but was met with laughter each time. He supposes that the crew must have been drinking as they had also asked for a corkscrew... (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 170-171)

#1897, April 15
USA, Dunkirk
At Dunkirk, railroad workers, including Messrs. French and Willis Mahon, saw at 8:15 PM an airship so close to the ground that they could hear the occupants speaking. They said that "the thing was as big as a wagon and it had wings that extended on the sides with some kind of engine at each end. In front there was a clearly visible red light and at the back there was a yellow-green lamp." (Michel BOUGARD - Inforespace n° 36 p. 37)

#1897, April 15
USA, Fair Field
Farmers Byron Rutter and Billy Schneider saw an object dark in shape like a cigar with two pairs of large wings fly over them. Rutter specified: "It was inclined at an angle of 45°, which made me think it had landed not far away and had just taken off." (Michel BOUGARD- Inforespace n° 36 p. 37)

#1897, April 15
USA, Hillsboro Texas
At 9pm Spencer Bounds, a lawman, was surprised by the glare of a bright light coming from a projector that lit up above him. The surrounding landscape became as visible as in broad daylight. His horse was so terrified that it reared, backed away, and started to act as if it had gone mad, trembling like a leaf. (Jean SIDER: "Ovni, les envahisseurs démasqués" - ed. Ramuel 1999, p 149)

#1897, April 16
USA, Aurora (Kansas)
In the "Dallas Morning News" of April 18 and 19 and the "Houston Post" of April 20 and 22, a certain E.E. Haydon, witness to the affair, wrote at the time: "Around 6:00 a.m. the inhabitants of Aurora were surprised by the sudden appearance of the airship (...) It was advancing facing north and very close to the ground. It was quickly understood that part of its machinery was out of service, which is why its speed did not exceed 20 km/h and it was gradually approaching the ground. It sailed over the public park and when it reached the bottom of the town, it crashed against the windmill of Judge Proctor. Immediately there was an explosion, debris flew in all directions, the windmill and a water tank were destroyed, as well as the wonderful flower garden of the judge. The pilot of the aircraft must have been alone on board and although he was terribly disfigured by this accident which cost him his life, it was nevertheless realized that he was not a inhabitant of this world. Mr. T. J. Weems, the officer of the U.S. Signal Service of Aurora and an authority in astronomy, declared that in his opinion it must have been a native of Mars. The papers found on him, probably the account of his travels, were written with unknown hieroglyphs and could not be deciphered. The aircraft was really in too bad a condition to form an opinion about it. It was built in an unknown metal, somewhat resembling an alloy of aluminum and silver and it must have weighed several tons. Today the crowd is filled with a crowd come to look at the accident site. Everyone is trying to find debris from the device to keep as a souvenir. The funeral of the pilot will take place tomorrow April 18 at noon." [IN REALITY: Everyone is convinced that it is one of the many hoaxes of the time, this one mounted by the journalists. Some ufologists sought, around 1966, evidence for the veracity of the story, with varying success. However, investigators had to discover that there had never been a windmill there, as certified by the current owner of the site, the local mayor. Obstinate, some wanted to search the cemetery a few years ago to find the bones of the burned pilot... The local council opposes it, of course.] (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 172-173)

#April 17, 1897
USA
Early in the morning of Saturday, April 17th around 6:15 a.m. M.C.T. Smith, on his way to work, stumbled upon a metal piece to which an envelope was attached. Inside was a distress message: "To whoever finds this: we are 750 meters above sea level, facing north at the time of writing these lines. While testing our airship we got lost and are now unable to control it. Please alert people by telling them that we are somewhere above Michigan. Signed: Arthur B. Coats, Laurel, Missouri C.C.Harris, Gulport, Missouri C.W.Rich, Richburg, Missouri." (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 172)

#1897, April 17
USA, Stephenville (Texas)
Several authorities of the city (including the judge) had discussed for a few moments with the occupants of a curious object. They were called S. E. Tilman and A. E. Dolbear. The latter prevented the witnesses from approaching the machine, even specifying that the capitalists of New York were financing them and that aerial navigation would soon be an established fact to reveal to the public. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 172)

#1897, April 17
USA, Sandusky
An interesting observation of this flying object was made in the morning. The object had purple, yellow, and green lights. The witness E.T. Kenan described it as "a trough about twelve meters long, with wings like those of a 16th century windmill(?)" (Michel BOUGARD, Inforespace n° 36 p. 38)

#1897, April 17
USA, Williamston (Michigan)
In the morning, twelve farmers saw a craft for at least an hour before it landed. A humanoid about 3 m tall, visibly suffering from the heat, seemed to be piloting the craft. Its almost musical voice seemed to be a series of lowing. One of the farmers approached it and received a blow that broke his hip. (Christiane PIENS: "Les Ovni du passé" - Marabout 197 - p.99)

#1897, April 18
USA, Cutler
The inhabitants observed a huge flying machine with wings and a projector. It moved quickly in the sky emitting a sound of "gasoline engine". (Michel BOUGARD, Inforespace n° 36 p. 38)

#April 19, 1897
USA, Sistersville (West Virginia)
That morning, early, the town of Sisterville was awakened by whistles from the sawmill. Those who came out of their homes had a curious sight. From an object in the shape of a torpedo, which was crossing the sky, dazzling beams of light were directed downwards, exploring the countryside. The object seemed to have about seventy meters in length, and a diameter of about fifteen. It had truncated wings, as well as red and green lights on the sides. The aerial visitor circled around the town for about ten minutes, then disappeared in the direction of the east. (Donald KEYHOE: "Flying Saucers are Real" ed. Corrêa Paris 1951, p. 82) A gigantic, shining red object coming from the northwest, resembling a huge cigar, shooting at least two spotlights on Sistersville. "Through binoculars it seemed to be a large cone-shaped object of more than 50 m in length, with large fins on each side". Thirty minutes later, another object was seen in Longview (Texas). (Frank EDWARDS: "Flying Saucers are Serious Business" - trad. Laffont 1967 - p. 23)

#April 19, 1897
USA, LeRoy (Kansas)
At around 10:30 PM an extraordinary event occurred in LeRoy. The affair was reported by the Farmers Advocate of Yates Center, one of the witnesses being an old settler Alex Hamilton who told the reporter: "We were awakened by a noise coming from the cattle enclosure. I immediately got up thinking it might be my bulldog playing around. But when I got to the door, to my great surprise, I saw an aerial vessel descending slowly above my cows, two hundred meters from the house. I called Gid Heslip, my farmer, and my son Wall. We grabbed some axes and rushed towards the corral. Meanwhile the flying machine had slowly descended to an altitude of about ten meters. It was there, fifty meters away from us, in the shape of a large cigar that was at least one hundred meters long. Underneath there was a kind of box made of glass panels or some other transparent material, separated by strips of another material. It was brightly lit from the inside and everything was clearly visible. There were three lights: one like a huge projector and two smaller ones, one red and the other green. The largest of them seemed to be able to be pointed in any direction. This kind of gondola was occupied by six of the strangest beings I had ever seen. There were two men, a woman and three children. They were jabbering among themselves, but I was unable to understand a single syllable. Every part of the vessel that was not transparent had a dark reddish hue. We remained speechless with astonishment and fear, when suddenly a noise drew our attention and they immediately turned their projector towards us. Having spotted us, they started some unknown power and a large turbine propeller (about ten meters in diameter) began to buzz quickly while just a moment before it had been turning slowly above the machine. Soon the craft rose as lightly as a bird. When it was about ten meters above us, it seemed to stop and hovered just above a three-year-old heifer that was crying and jumping around like crazy. Going in its direction we found a cable about a good centimeter in diameter made of the same red material and that was tied around the animal's neck with a slip knot, the other end going towards the machine where it was connected by a metal wire. We tried to untie it, but without success. We then wanted to cut it but to our astonishment the machine and the cow rose slowly into the sky and disappeared to the northwest. We went back home but I was so scared that I couldn't sleep. On Tuesday morning I left at dawn on my horse to look for traces left by my cow. Coming back in the evening to LeRoy I learned that Lank Thomas, who lives in Coffee County, about six kilometers west of LeRoy, had found the skin, legs and head of the animal in his field. He had thought that someone had butchered a stolen beast and had brought the skin to town for identification. The fact of not finding any trace on the spot had however seriously worried him. I returned home last night, but I still can't sleep, constantly remembering that cursed thing with its big lights and its hideous occupants. I don't know if they are messengers from the devil or angels, but in any case we all saw them, and my family and I never wish to have anything to do with them again." (Frank Edwards: "Serious UFO Cases" - trans. Laffont 1967 - p. 18, 19)
IN REALITY: Pete.Porro, FIDONET.ORG, GREAT AIRSHIP HOAX Date: 31 Dec 93, which refers to the book: "UFO's and the Limits of Science" Ronald D. Story 1981, Pages 39-40. On January 28, 1943, 46 years later, an article in the Buffalo Enterprise published the letter of E.F. Hudson, who was in 1897, editor of the Yates Center Farmer's Advocate. He admitted to having set up the hoax with Mr. Hamilton, they were both members of the "Ananias" club (Liars' Club). [note from vog: see also "L'Atmosphere", by Camille Flammarion, 1888, explaining the vogue of dirigibles since... at that time, a hundred years already and confirmed in.] ("Ufo's - A century of Sightings" by Michael David Hall, Galde Press Inc. 1999, p. 5)

#1897, April 19
USA, Groesbeck and Belton
At Belton, the aerial ship damaged a large tent intended for shows and on board were seen "about ten people talking among themselves but in an incomprehensible way due to the speed of the object". That same night it was also seen above Richmond (Texas).
(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 178)

#April 19, 1897
USA, Beaumont (Texas)
In the newspapers, the following account was read: "Mr. J. R. Ligon, local agent of the Magnolia Brewery of Houston and his son Charly observed the famous airship in the evening of Monday, April 19th around 11:00 PM. They saw lights in the farmer Johnson's field and went to the place to see what it was. They then saw four small men circling around a large dark object. Contact was made and the men asked for two buckets of water from Ligon. One of these men said his name was Wilson, he led Ligon and his son to the machine which measured 41 meters long and 6 meters wide. It was powered by four gigantic wings, two on each side. The energy was of electrical origin. The hull of the craft is made of steel and is divided into compartments in which compressed air is injected during flight. The ballast contains water. This is pumped forward to approach the ground or backward when one wants to rise. Wilson further specified to Ligon that this machine was only one of the five machines they had developed and built in a peaceful village in Iowa". (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 175-176)

#1897, April 20
USA, Uvalde, (Texas)
At around 10 pm Sheriff H. W. Baylor heard voices and saw a strange light behind his house. That's when he saw three men near a craft. One of the characters gave his identity: Wilson, from Groshen (New York) and asked for news of the previous sheriff, a certain C.C. Akers, whom he had known very well. (??) Here we find the citizen Wilson, alleged "inventor" of the airship. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 178-179)

#April 20, 1897
USA, Homan (Arkansas)
It is probably from this Tuesday, April 20, that the fabulous adventure of Captain James Hooton, train driver, dates. He had gone that day to Texarkana (Texas) and having free time in front of him, he had decided to go to Homan. He recounts: "It was about 3:00 pm when I arrived at Homan. Around 6:00 pm, after having spent a good afternoon at my favorite sport, I set off to reach the station. As I advanced in the bushes, my attention was drawn to a familiar sound, that of the whistle of the air pump of a locomotive. I then headed in the direction from which the noise came and there, in a kind of clearing, I saw the object that emitted the whistle. I was more than surprised and immediately understood that it was the famous flying ship that had been seen across the country. There was a man of medium build on board and I noticed that he was wearing dark glasses. He was repairing what seemed to be the back of the ship and as I approached, he was so stunned that he could not speak. (...) While I addressed him a few words, three or four other men came out of what must have been the keel of the flying ship. A close examination showed me that this part was divided into two (...) there were three large wheels on each side, they were metal bars folded in a concave shape.
- I beg your pardon, I said, but it seems to me that the noise I hear is very similar to that of the Westinghouse brake. - It is quite possible, I was answered, we use airplanes and compressed air but you will soon know more. I also observed that a tube of about 3 cm section, began to send steam on the wheels and that these began to turn. The machine rose little by little emitting a whistle. It soon accelerated and in less time than it takes to say, they disappeared from my sight".
(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 179, witness drawing p. 180)

#April 21, 1897
USA, Harrisburg (Arkansas)
In the night, around 1:00 AM, former senator Harris was awoken by a curious noise. Looking outside, he then saw a strange object in the sky, heading west. He immediately got up, dressed, and went outside with binoculars. Immediately he realized it was the wonderful flying ship that had been talked about so much in the newspapers. He could clearly make out its shape as the object drew closer. The mysterious craft slowed and gradually descended until it reached an altitude of a few meters above the ground, very close to the field where Harris was. The latter said there were on board an elderly man, a woman, and two young people. The old man had a long black beard that reached down to his waist. He had black eyes like jet and an expression of great firmness. Having approached, Harris called out to the old man. The latter seemed at first surprised to see someone outside at such a late hour, but he politely answered him. After drinking some fresh water, he said:
"Well, you seem to be a very intelligent man and if you promise not to divulge my secret with the intention of harming me, I will tell you the whole story, except for what concerns the propulsion mechanism."
After receiving assurances from Harris, he continued:
"..you will surely remember that 26 years ago, what is now called the St Louis Republic was then the St... it became... and later it was the..., about 26 years ago it was exclusively the St Louis Times, an exposition concerning a scientific invention made by a gentleman whose name I cannot mention and thanks to which the laws of gravity were purely and simply defied. He received offers of large sums of money from several syndicates of the country and other offers even came from Paris, London and many other places. Meanwhile he suddenly fell seriously ill and died in a few weeks leaving his invention in secret in a chest. That man was my uncle and he had partly confided his secret to me. Not enough however for me to do something. After 19 years I managed to obtain the original file and since I had a lot of money I then spent seven years experimenting with the flying ship that you see here. I have not yet finished my tests and that is why I continue to fly at night so that I am not spotted. I will try to reach the planet Mars before making this invention public. Weight is not a problem for me. I eliminate all the effects of gravity by placing spires of metal wire around the object. You see on board I have embarked a Hotchkiss cannon of 4 tons and about 20 tons of ammunition. I was preparing to go to Cuba to demolish the Spanish troops if hostilities did not cease, but now my plans have changed and I am going to the aid of the Armenians. To power the weapon you see here it is enough to place the cartridges in a kind of hopper and press a button so that it fires 63,000 shots per minute. No, really, gravity is not my problem. I place my metal wire around this 4-ton gun and I can then pick it up with one hand. Distances are almost no longer important; thus, at 12:10 less than an hour ago, we were above Dallas and yet we traveled very slowly. I will have my breakfast here, do my shopping in Paris and I will be back here for dinner without any inconvenience.
The man then saluted Harris, boarded the flying ship and in a few seconds it was gone towards the stars, hidden by the darkness of the night. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 181-182)

#April 21, 1897
USA, Rockland.
23:00: John M. Barclay had gone to bed when he heard his dog barking furiously, with plaintive cries in its throat. He went out and saw a curious body, oblong in shape, with wings and other various pieces on each side. There were bright lights that illuminated much more than electric bulbs. When he first saw it, the object seemed stationary less than five meters from the ground; it then made some circles in the sky and finally landed in a meadow near the house. The witness then took his Winchester and went to see what it was. The object had now turned off all its lights. As he was about thirty meters from the craft, he encountered an ordinary mortal who asked him to lower his weapon because no harm would be done to him. Then a conversation ensued.<br/><br/>
- Who are you and what do you want?
- My name is not important, call me Smith. I would like some lubricating oil and a pair of cold scissors if you can find them, as well as a sharpening stone. Here is a ten dollar bill, go get these items and keep the change for your trouble.
- What are you doing here and what kind of device is this? Let me go and see.
- No, we cannot allow you to approach any closer, but if you wish and because of your kindness, we will call you one of these days to take you for a ride in the air.
Barclay brought back the requested items (except the sharpening stone which he could not get), the man thanked him by shaking his hand. As he was leaving, Barclay asked him where he was coming from and where he was going.
The man replied:
- From nowhere, but we will be in Greece in two days.
He then boarded, there was a sound of a wheel turning and the object took off immediately. It disappeared at lightning speed, as a rifle bullet would add Barclay. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 180-181)

#1897, April 22
USA, Josserand (Texas)
Frank Nichols, a distinguished farmer living about 3 km east of Josserand, was awakened a little before midnight by a humming of machinery. He then saw outside like a strange vessel with bright lights that landed in a cornfield. Nichols went out and approached. Before reaching the ship he was approached by two men with buckets who asked him to take some water from his well. Nichols was invited on board and he spoke freely with the crew composed of six or eight individuals. The machinery was so complicated that in the short conversation that followed, he could hardly understand the mechanism. However, one of the men told him that the problem of aerial navigation had been solved. The hull of the aircraft was built with a new material that had just been discovered and had the property of staying in the air by itself. As for the motive force, it was highly condensed electricity. He was informed that five of these flying machines had been built in a small town in Iowa and that soon this invention would be made public. Others are being built and within a year the use of these flying vessels will be generalized. Nichols will convince any skeptic by showing him the place where the flying object landed. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 183)

#April 3rd, 1897
USA, between Lancaster and Baltimore
A landing took place around 8:00 PM. The object landed less than 100 m away from the witness, who preferred to remain anonymous. Inside the object were two characters conversing in a strange language. One of the occupants was of oriental type, while the other spoke English with a British accent. In speaking with the witness they said that the craft was called "Aeribarque" (sic) and that they were finishing an experimental flight. They often landed in isolated places or approached cities when they had to get provisions. They demonstrated the electrical equipment to the witness and then asked him to leave. They revealed nothing about the propulsion, but the witness is convinced that they must have used some volatile substance capable of counteracting the Earth's gravitational force. (Michel BOUGARD - Inforespace #36 p. 39)

#April 23, 1897
USA, Texarkana (Texas)
On Friday, April 23, 1897, Judge Mc Kinney Bayou was assessing a piece of land when he saw a singular device on the ground. The witness specified that the device was occupied by three men who were speaking a foreign language. According to their appearance, they must have been Japanese. The apparatus was made of aluminum and operated with compressed air. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 183)

#1897, April 23
USA, Burton (near Flint, Detroit)
In a farm in Burton, a certain Daniel Gray heard a noise that was a mix of a whistle and a rumble. Soon he saw a dark object with flashes of light pass over him. Suddenly he saw an object fall to the ground near him: it was a newspaper from Toronto (Canada) dated October 5, 1896... (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.183-184)

#1897, April 23
USA, Newport
From the newspaper "The Kentucky Post" 24.4.1897, page 3: "Here's The Latest"
Airship Passes Over City Of Newport 'A Mysterious Message' Dropped From
The Skies By Captain Pegasus. On Friday, April 23, the airship passed over Newport around 8 o'clock.
Mrs. Pilling from No. 18 West Third Street said she saw it. It had the shape of a cigar and carried an intense light. Miss L. Remme, an artist and sister of Ed Remme, the cashier of the German National Bank - living at No. 22 West Third Street, found a small muslin bag filled with sand in her garden. There was also a message written on a piece of paper: "We passed over Newport at 40 miles an hour. We have traveled 200 miles since 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon. We hope to be in Nashville on Sunday at 3:30. CAPTAIN PEGASUS."

#1897, April 24
USA, Chattanooga (Tennessee)
Two workers encountered a certain Professor Charles Davidson near a "cigar" lying on the ground. According to this "professor", the craft had left Sacramento last month and had been travelling around the country since then. On the same day, in Waxaxie (Texas) while they were fishing, Judge Love and his friend Beatty saw a strange machine in the woods. Around it there were five men dressed very warmly. One of them, who spoke English well, explained to the two witnesses that this flying ship came from certain regions of the North Pole where, contrary to what is believed, there is a vast inhabited land. He also explained that his people were one of the ten lost tribes of Israel. As they could not find wood in their inhospitable lands, they had built aerial vessels. According to the character, there were currently twenty of these craft above the United States and Europe, they were all supposed to be at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in Nashville on the 18th and 19th of June. (according to the "Dallas Morning News of 19.4.1897) (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p. 175)

#1897, April 25
USA, Merkel (Texas)
Houston Daily Post of April 26: "Groups returning from church last night noticed a heavy object dragging a rope attached to it. They followed it until, crossing the railroad track, the rope got caught in a rail. Looking up, people saw what they supposed to be an aerial vessel. It was not close enough for them to get a good idea of its dimensions. Lights could be seen in some portholes, and there was a very bright headlight in the front, resembling that of a locomotive. After about ten minutes, a man was seen sliding down the rope. He got close enough for them to see him clearly; he was wearing a blue sailor's suit and was of small stature. He stopped when he saw the groups near the anchor, cut the rope beneath him and the vessel moved off in a north-easterly direction. The anchor is now on display in the blacksmiths' shop of Elliot and Miller and is attracting the attention of hundreds of people."
(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.52-53)

#April 26, 1897
USA, Aquila (Texas)
In the evening a lawman saw a luminous object in flight. His horse became scared, panicked and almost overturned the carriage when a very powerful searchlight suddenly lit up. The cigar-shaped object turned off and on several times this beacon before disappearing behind a hill as if wanting to land. As the witness was less than a kilometer from Hillsboro, he saw the craft take off from the ground. It headed northeast at a speed greater than 150 km/h. From time to time it flashed several bright lights. Between the two observations an hour had passed. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.184)

#1897, April 29
USA, Cincinnati
John Ringer, a police officer, witnessed a curious spectacle at around 10pm: "I was standing at the corner of 8th Street when my attention was drawn to a string of lights moving across the sky. In front of them was a brighter light, like a projector. Behind it was a row of smaller lights, barely bigger than stars, in a line. It seemed so high up that I couldn't make out the shape of the object. It was all moving quickly towards the southwest and I was able to follow it until it disappeared. Beside me, a dozen people also observed this very strange thing..." (Michel BOUGARD - Inforespace n° 36 p. 40)

#April 29, 1897
USA, Holton (Michigan)
On Thursday, April 29th there was a new observation. In the night, around 11:30 PM, a huge illuminated object coming from the north flew over Holton. It is said to have come very close to the ground and many people heard the commotion of passengers on board. During the 55 minutes of the flight, one could hear conversations and music. The craft measured 100 m in length and was followed by a kind of tail of about ten meters, as for its width and thickness, they were close to 30 m. At one point this tail began to spin and the "beings" threw overboard a hook that caught one of the witnesses, who was brought back on board. (?) The next day this aerial traveler returned by train from White Cloud. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.184-185)

#1897, May
USA
USA First Great Kite Contest in the United States: 50 Competitors Participated. The Highest Altitude Reached Was 1429 Meters. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 50)

#1897, May 1
USA
The Saginaw Evening News of this day reported the discovery of a shoe of gigantic proportions near the O'Donnel railway line. This curious find was of course supposed to have fallen from an aerial vessel. (Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.185)

#May 4, 1897
USA, Garfield, Cincinnati
From the "The Cincinnati Enquirer, 5.5.1897": "AIRSHIP" Said To Have Been Seen Passing Over This City Last Night: many people saw around 9 o'clock last night the famous airship. Dr. Louis Domhoff, 112 Garfield Place, made a sketch of the light which had the shape of an egg and was red in color and of which part seemed to be obscured as by a curtain, the beams of light escaping from the center and from each side. The phenomenon arrived from Price Hill and then took the direction of the southeast. The airship could be observed for 5 minutes before disappearing from view and in this time it seemed to have traveled a distance of 20 miles on a zigzag trajectory, going up and down. Bus driver J.C. Gaupel saw it in Monmouth street, also W.J. Klein, attorney living in Mitchell Building, and Fred Porter, from the Methodist bookstore and a lot of other people.

#May 6, 1897
USA, Hot Springs (Arkansas)
At almost the same time, two policemen, Sumpter and Mc Lemore, observed one of these flying objects on the ground. The newspapers published an affidavit of the two witnesses. It mentions an object in the shape of a cigar and occupants with long black beards. Again, a conversation took place with the witnesses and, as always, it was of a disconcerting banality. "(...) Our horses refused to move forward. About 100 m in front of us we saw two people moving. A man with a long black beard advanced with a lantern in his hand (...) he and the others, a young man and a woman, were traveling in an aerial ship in the country. It was dark, it was raining, the young man was filling a large bag of water about 10 m from us, while the woman was standing in the shadows. She was sheltered under an umbrella. The man with the whiskers invited us to come with him, to take us to a place where it did not rain. We told him that we preferred to be wet. (Jacques VALLEE: "Other Dimensions" - trad. Robert Laffont 1989, p. 63, 64)

#1897, May 17
USA, Covington (Kentucky)
From the "The Kentucky Post" of 18.5.1897, page 5: HE SAW IT, A Covington Man Wants To Make An Affidavit That He Beheld the Airship Hovering Over Eleventh Street
"Mike Sheridan, well known in the city and residing in Eleventh Street, presented himself at Squire Wheeler's office in Scott Street this morning to testify to his observation of the airship Tuesday evening around 11 o'clock. The phenomenon passed over the intersection of Eleventh and Scott Streets. Mr. Sheridan said it was a cigar-shaped machine and, with all sails out, it presented a triangular shape. According to his best estimate, the vessel measured about 5 meters and was at very low altitude, about 15 to 18 meters. Sheridan adds that he clearly heard the engines. The witness is a middle-aged man of temperate habits who does not tend to play tricks on people. He has always lived in Covington and has a very good reputation there. "

#1897, July 11
NORWAY, SPITZBERG ISLAND
S.A. Andree, Strindberg, and Fraenkel ascend in the balloon "Oernen" from Spitzberg Island in an attempt to cross the polar cap. They land on July 14 at 82° 55' 7" N 29° 32' W, 480 km from their departure point and 800 km from the Pole. On August 6, 1930, fishermen on White Island find the remains of the expedition: Andree and Strindberg's notes, as well as the expedition's photographic apparatus. The negatives, developed after more than 30 years, yield some excellent shots. Fraenkel's body is also found a few days later, along with his notes. ("La conquête de l'air. Chronique..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout Université 1967, p. 50)

#1897, October 14
PARIS, Versailles
At Camp de Satory, Clement Ader attempted in very bad conditions (wind, rain) the first flight of an airplane. The wind blowed with force from behind first, then across. The "Airplane N° 3" took off, travelled a distance of 2 to 300 m. then made a forced landing on an unprepared terrain. ("The Conquest of the Air. Chronicle..." A. Van Hoorebeeck, ed. Marabout University 1967, p. 50)

#January 3, 1898
FRANCE, Vannes
In the "Comptes rendus" of the Academy of Sciences, one can read, on the date of January 17, 1989, under the title Meteorology: observation of a double bolide in the sky of Vannes, the account of Commander Georget:
"On January 3, I was returning to my home around 6:30 pm when I saw, to the northeast, at an altitude of 30 to 40 degrees, a luminous bolide of red color crossing the sky at a low speed. It disappeared towards the north in a point...(...) I observed the phenomenon with the "Soulier" telescope of 30 mm for a short moment. This bolide was formed of two distinct bodies "A" and "B" located at the same altitude "B" preceding "A". Remarkable particularity, the body "B" was affected by sudden oscillations which lasted only a few seconds. I counted from 4 to 5 oscillations per minute." (Jean François BOEDEC: "Les OVNI en Bretagne, Anatomie d'un Phénomène" ed. Fernand Lanore, Paris 1978, p. 27 and 28)

#1898, 2 November
SWITZERLAND, Geneva
"Hélène Smith" upon waking around 6:15, noticed that a strange reddish light enveloped her entirely. A Venusian presented himself, she visited Venus with him, learned the Venusian language, etc. [note from Vog: I studied this Venusian: a mix of French and Yiddish, with syntax completely identical to that of the French language. Book to read: Theodore Flournoy: "Hélène Smith", ed. 1900, re-edited by KARDEC] (Jean FERGUSON: "Enigmes du temps présent", ed. Leméac, Ottawa, 1979, p.102, 103)

#1899, April 27
FRANCE, Baye (Marne)
In 1973, Mr. Tyrode of the "Lumières dans la nuit" group met with Mr. A. Houley, then aged 83, who was a witness to the event. "This Thursday, the two children were playing with a top on the RN 51 in the center of the agglomeration. They were suddenly pulled out of their game by a very bright light that appeared to them in the sky in the direction of the northeast. They looked up and A. Houley was surprised to see a huge red ball, like a sphere of fire of an incandescent red, crossing the street obliquely. It was moving relatively slowly, without any perceptible noise, despite its apparent proximity. They estimated its altitude to be between 200 and 250 m, an altitude that was corroborated by older people, including their teacher, in relation to the length of the visible trajectory. The size was compared to the width of the road, which was 10 m. A. Houley sometimes gives the diameter as equal to five times that of the Moon, which corresponds to this diameter at this altitude. The ball was extended by a short tail of about 5 m. The object was flying at a very regular speed, as if sliding in the air and disappeared from the sight of the witnesses hidden by the houses bordering the road to the southwest. The total duration of the observation was about 9 seconds. (...) A. Houley felt nothing particular when the object passed, but Mr. Bergère felt a general tingling on the surface of his skin, tingling that lasted a good quarter of an hour. He also felt very nervous. After the passage of this phenomenon, the children rushed to their parents to tell them the adventure. They were believed on their word, although no one saw anything positive, but many people noticed the intense light and an old lady "La Mélie" was very affirmative and her statements supported the children's story. A. Houley recorded his observation in a notebook and never spoke of this matter again. Hearing about UFOs, he was lucky enough to find his 74-year-old notes. "(Michel BOUGARD: "La chronique des OVNI" - Delarge 1977 - p.150-151)

#1899, September
Mexico, northern part of the country
In January 1996, Jorge Hernandez, dying, insisted on making a declaration to the Catholic priest, Father Joel de Mola, in Nacozari de Garcia. Jorge made an extraordinary confession saying that he was present when the American lawman Dave Mather disappeared in northern Mexico. Jorge added that Mather had been abducted by extraterrestrials. Dave Mather had been a friend of Wyatt Earp and his brothers, of Bat Masterson, of Doc Holliday and Kate Elder at the end of the 1870s in Dodge City, then the wildest of the cities of Kansas. Earps left the city and went to Arizona in 1880, and Mather left for Tucson, Arizona. In August 1899, the farmers of the Sierrita mountains, southwest of Tucson, began to complain about missing cattle. Mather formed a team and went to track down the thieves. Jorge Hernandez, then 14 years old, was part of the team, which was led by an Apache Indian from the San Carlos reservation, and they followed a trail into Mexico. About 80 km southwest of Nogales (Sonora) they saw an "enormous silver bowl in the sky". This UFO preceded the pursuers in bursts, always staying about half a mile ahead of them. Mather then suggested spreading out in a fan to try to find out where this "damned airship" was going. Jorge soon found himself alone on a path. Suddenly "a small man with silver clothes" was facing him, "threatening" him with a hollow tube. Jorge's horse reared and whinnied in terror. Jorge ended up on the sand, screaming he immediately fired a shot from his Colt 45, and repeated the shots as fast as he could. The six bullets hit the mark. But the "little man was flaming like a torch and disappeared." Jorge hurriedly ran to find the others and tell them about his encounter. The gringos laughed skeptically, only the Indian believed Jorge and even showed fear. Finally Mather volunteered to go back to the path. He would fire a shot if he met anyone. So the team waited for more than an hour. Then they saw the silver bowl rising from the earth to the sky, then taking off at lightning speed towards the horizon. Finally they set out to search for Mather: they found his horse in a state of extreme nervousness. Mather's Winchester was still in its leather case, the canteen was half full, there was no sign of violence or blood anywhere, but Mather was nowhere to be found. The Indian guide then remarked that there were only the marks of the horse's hooves, but no boot prints of Mather in the sand. Then the Indian mounted his horse and returned to San Carlos without a word of explanation, only saying "It is the people of the sky". The team stayed two more days in the area, but Mather remained missing. Father de Mola said in 1996 in a television program that Jorge Hernandez firmly believed until his death that the spaceship had been sent by God. (UFO ROUNDUP, Volume 4, Number 19, August 31, 1999; Editor: Joseph Trainor)