By Natalie Myers
In 1896, the terms alien, UFO or extra-terrestrial were unheard of. That is until a newspaper article was published in the Stockton Evening Standard in California that same year.
Traveling by horse and carriage, Col H G Shaw and his companion were on route to Stockton on November 25th 1896. Suddenly, something appeared to spook the horses. Looking out of the carriage to see what was causing the fracas, Col Shaw saw to his amazement strange beings stood at the side of the road.
Three tall humanoid creatures stood before them. Standing around 7ft tall they were noted to be bald with a soft brown down covering their bodies. He described them as having small hands at the end of long spindly arms. Their large eyes dwarfed their mouths. Later both men would describe the beings as “strangely beautiful”.
Whilst daylight was fading, the beings all carried small lamps that shone unnaturally brightly. They had what appeared to be a bag and some sort of breathing apparatus that they sucked on. The glow from the lights illuminated their spaceship which was above them in the sky.
The beings communicated not in English or via telepathy but with an unusual type of chant. Col Shaw later told authorities that the beings attempted to abduct them but found the mass of the men was too heavy.
Clearly not overly frightened but extremely curious, they followed the beings as they walked away towards a nearby bridge. The cigar shape ship was hovering just above. The men described the beings as gliding rather than walking as they moved. Unusually they entered the craft by a sort of springing step upward towards the sky which took them above it, and then they effortlessly glided into the ship.
Three tall humanoid creatures stood before them. Standing around 7ft tall they were noted to be bald with a soft brown down covering their bodies. He described them as having small hands at the end of long spindly arms. Their large eyes dwarfed their mouths. Later both men would describe the beings as “strangely beautiful”
Speculation at the time was that people were visiting from Mars. Many researchers state is unlikely that these sightings represent human built air craft as there is no record of any sustained flights during this time. In fact, when you look back at aviation history, the first air balloon was flown in 1793 and rigid air ships such as the Zeppelin entered the sky around 1900. Looking at the illustration made in 1896 above, it does bare some resemblance to a Zeppelin craft, notably in shape and in the small propellers.
There were no laws at the time of the Shaw attempted abduction limiting the height of aircraft flight and there are records of a semi rigid craft flying in and around South America during these dates, but not North America. Looking in more detail at recorded events around this time, there are literally hundreds recorded all over the USA. I have listed just a few below. Could these all be legitimate sightings of flying rigid airships or could there be some that are simply beyond explanation?
Sadly the early date means no forensic or physical evidence was gathered, however we can’t simply dismiss all these cases. It is surly no coincidence that there were so many sightings around this time, often observed by several witnesses. If we are to believe the testimony of Col. Shaw, we need to be open to the possibility that ET’s have been around for some considerable time. Equally, maybe Col. Shaw may have been somewhat inebriated at the time, having come from a tavern, meaning his story could be just that.
What do you think ?
July 1896
Trenton N, Missouri
Object was observed from a car. One object, about 1 foot across, was observed in rainy weather on a railroad (Crotsenburg).
Sept 1896
Hastings, Nebraska
Object floated above ground, 500 feet altitude. Stationary for 30 minutes, then circled about, flew to the north two miles, returned, “sank into oblivion.”
Nov 1896
Oakland, California
A group of streetcar passengers saw a winged, cigar shaped UFO emitting a stream of brilliant light.
Nov 1896
Sacramento, California
On November 25, a mysterious light was seen moving rapidly from the Northeast and heading in a south-westerly direction. As it neared the southern boundary of the city of Sacramento it turned directly toward the west and after passing the city went south, being distinctly visible for upward of 20 minutes.
Nov 1896
Lorin, California
On November 26, an airship that looked like a great black cigar with a fishlike tail neared Lorin tremendous speed. It turned quickly and disappeared in the direction of San Francisco. The body was at least 100 feet long and attached to it was a triangular tail, one apex being attached to the main body. The surface of the airship looked as if it were made of aluminium, which exposure to wind and weather had turned dark. At half past 8 we saw it again, when it took about the same direction and disappeared.”
Nov 1896
San Francisco, California
Hundreds saw a large, cigar-shaped object, shining brilliant beams of light, and moving northwest passing over Oakland. Later reports came from other northern cities. A light was observed by many prominent individuals including Deputy Secretary of State George A. McCalvy, District Attorney Frank D. Ryan, and E. D. McCabe, the governor’s personal secretary.
Nov 1896
Homan, Arkansas
Capt. James Hooton was hunting in the vicinity of Homan when he heard the noise of a steam engine and found an object in a clearing. It looked like a cylinder with pointed ends, lateral wheels, and horizontal blade over it. Hooton spoke with a man who wore dark glasses and walked behind the craft. There were three or four occupants. The witness was told this was indeed “The Airship” and that it used compressed air for propulsion. Hooton saw the wheels spin as the craft rose and flew away.
Feb 1897
Hastings, Nebraska
A large glaring light circled for a few minutes in the sky over Hastings, Nebraska at 9:30 p.m. It then descended to an altitude of 200 feet, travelled at a remarkable speed, slowed, and again circled for 15 more minutes. Finally, it descended once more and disappeared mysteriously.
March 1897
Omaha, Nebraska
The majority of the population 2230 observed an object arriving from the southeast. It looked like a huge light, flew north-westward slowly, came to low altitude. A crowd gathered at a street corner to watch it.
April 1897
Baltimore, Ohio
Object with brilliant white lights fore and aft descended into field, lit up countryside, whirring/hissing noise. two men spoke unknown language. Close encounter with a craft and its occupants which attempted to communicate with a witness. One object was observed. A whirring sound was heard. Two humanoids were seen.
April 1897
Everest, Kansas
The whole town saw an object fly 2100 under the cloud ceiling. It came down slowly, then flew away very fast to the southeast. When directly over the town it swept the ground with its powerful light. It was seen to rise up at fantastic speed until barely discernible, then to come down again and sweep low over the witnesses. At one point it remained stationary for 5 min at the edge of a low cloud, which it illuminated. All could clearly see the silhouette of the craft.
April 1897
Girard, near Green Ridge, Illinois
A large crowd of 1800 miners saw an unknown object land 3 km north of Green Ridge and 4 km south of Girard. The night operator of the Chicago-and-Alton Railroad, Paul McCramer, stated that he came sufficiently close to the craft to see a man emerge from it to repair the machinery. Traces were found over a large area. The object itself was elongated like a ship with a roof and a double canopy. It left toward the north.
April 1897
Gas City, Indiana
An object landed 2 km south of Gas City on the property of John Roush, terrifying the farmers and causing the horses and cattle to stampede. Six occupants of the ship came out and seemed to make some repairs. Before the crowd could approach the object, it rose rapidly and flew toward the east.
April 1897
Linn Grove, Iowa
A large object was seen to fly morning slowly toward the north. It seemed ready to land and five men (F. G. Ellis, James Evans, David Evans, Joe Croaskey, Benjamin Buland) drove toward it. About 7 km north of Linn Grove, they found the craft on the ground, came within 700 m of it but it “spread its four giant wings and rose towards the North.” Two strange figures aboard the craft made efforts to conceal themselves. Witnesses were surprised at the length of their hair. Most residents of Linn Grove saw the craft in flight.
