METAL FROM CRASHED UFO? # John F. Schuessler
Did a cigar-shaped unidentified -flying object really crash near Aurora, Texas, on April 19, 1897? Some people believe the whole story was a -fabrication by S. E. Hayden, a local cotton/ buyer? while others are reasonably sure the tragic accident really occurred. Investigators -for the Mutual UFD Network, headquartered in Seguin, Texas, have uncovered evidence that raises doubts about the hoax theory. Sightings of strange airships were reported all across the United States during the spring of 1897. The Aurora incident was just another UFO sighting? but with an unusual twist. It resulted in the allegation that an object crashed and left debris as proof of the event. Bill Case, a state director for the Mutual UFO Network, discovered family members of the original witnesses were ready to tell what happened that memorable day. Mr"s. Mary Evans, about 15 years old at the time, said her mother and father went to the crash site and told her how the airship had exploded and that the pilot was torn up and killed in the crash. He was a small man and was buried later that day in the local cemetery by the men o-f the town. Jim Stephens told his son Charlie how the nose of the airship hit the wi ndl ass ..over the water well on Judge J. S. Proctor *s farm causing a chain reaction explosion. The flash followed by a fire was visible for more than three miles. Investigators have reconstructed the events of the sighting and located the crash site. Using sophisticated metal detecting equipment and guided by the eyewitness accounts they retrieved pieces of metal of various =izes and types. Bill Case said "from all indications there was definately an explosion. The pattern extablished by metals recovered indicates the craft exploded on the 1 ower right side? first blowing bits and pieces over a two or thre?E? acre area east and northeast of th
Electron dispersion x-ray analyser finds only aluminum and iron in Aurora, Texas metal sample V
! TO : Dr. J. Allen Hynek, chairman, Department of Aatronoa.y, Northwestern University, Zlvanston, 111. r/alter H. Andrus, Jr» executive director, Kidwest Unidentified Flying Objept Network, Quincy, Illinois. Fhon : Bill case, Texas btate Director - IlUFCH, and aviation writer The Dallas Times Herald, rallae, Texas RE: Investigation of reported crash of UFO April 19, 1897, in Aurora, Texas in which the pilot was dismembered "determined to be not an inhabitant of this world" and his alleged burial in Aurora Cemetery. Fro.r> our long association with this investigation it appeals it will logically br^ak down inti two phases * Phase I — The crash — which we bellevejcould be established with the metal reports from Dr. Gary Hanj and Dr. To& Gray of north Texas State University used as thegfckeystone. We also hav§ the testimony of three "second generation" individuals such as Krs. I-la^y (Grandma) Evans or Newark; Mr. c. C. (Charlie) Stephens of rural Aurora, and C. G-. Curley of nearby Lewisville, Texas. Th©ii stories a-e told in the clippings you already have in hand. Both ?-?r. Stephens and Mrs. Kvans, who lived in Aurora at the time of the crash„ assert certainty as far as the crash of an "unknown type of airship" at the well site on Judge J.S. Proctor's place in the north end or the vi'lage. Curley has only second hand repoz-t- from friends who wont to Aurora from LewisvS'le after hearing of tho crash. Others such as the owners of the property now, Elr.. Erawley Oatos, his w'fe, Bonnie, and Aurora lown Marshall H.K. Ideli all tell the same thing in essence : "Ue believe something crashed there. We've heard the story ail our lives and the investigations by r.UFON and reporters plus test of come of the many metals b^-ar this out." All lifelong residents of Auro^ a are still dubious on the existence of the p'lot but agree the only way to tell would be to exhume the giave in Auroia Cemetery. In addition, high quality metal detectors show at one time some small pieces of ffiet-al had be ^n litterally "blasted" into the bare limestone rock outcropping-which surround the well. And our detectors have located a piece of metal Trr>w aHrmt. t.ska. inside a tree fo^*. +>.T>cn£h ^nfl identified as an cak "at l
PHASE I (Cent..)
The amount of metal which appears to have been through an explosion of some great Intensity is enormous. Jagged bits or thin steel, some cast iron and zinc in addition to the aluminum alloy samples can be detected and dug up every few inches in a two to three acre area especially northeast and east of the reported crash site. story now SX 76 year a old is an accepted part of local lore. But inhabitant's are divided in their beliefs. However, none of the many residents we talked to in Aurora, Rhone .Newark and on farms and ranches in the area scoffed at the idea of a crash. They are hestitant on the matter of the pilot. no living resident inhabitant of Atirora who either visited the crash site in person or saw the pilot's body can be found we learned that both Judge proctor and Correspondent w«B"fun seekers" at times and not necessarily above embellishing the report of the crash by spicing it up with a report of a body. In the case or the aluminum alloy sample investigated by Dr. Hand we dug this up at a depth of about 4' InchesfiJUS^Xf iiramediatl y under by t» to three inches some badly corroded pieces of steel, zinc and cast iron. The aluminum was on the bottom in an area which has never besn tilled for farming or used for other purposes except ocoisional cattle grazing. It is too rocker and the sell so poor little except prickly pear cactus and a f ew ^iSeeds can exist there. Both $ates and Marshal Idell tell us that piece of land must be about the same as it was in 1820. "It ain't no good for nuthin," is their comic ent. Most of the metal rec6vered from, the well by Ilarshal Idell when he helped clean and cap it in 1245 is extremely corroded. Some is so far gone bits of iron have lost their magnetism through age and long exposure to both water 9 earth and th© chemicals of a chicken yard. Th® interesting samples obtained including those tested by Dr. Hand and Dr. Gray came from metal outside the chicken coop at dep-fos of 4 to 7 inches below the surface. Through constant contact with residents of the area we have broken through their usual ly taciturn attitude and now find th© consessus is "there probably was a UFO crash --- but we can*t be sure about a pilot." Seven point out they hav heard the cras|j report "all our lives" but add no one mentioned th© pilot as reported by S.S. Haytlen and Judge proctor in a small type of local newspaper ho was putting out at the time. Th*5 only original Aurora ne; spaper had folded from lack of business as half the inhabitants of Aurora died of typhoid fever the winter before the&rash, the cotton crop failed and the expected construction of a ra'lroad into Aurora went broke all within 12 months.
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PHASE I (Cont.)
From out limited experience in UFO hunting we believe by putting all of these pieces together we can establish Phase I , The Crasn , with a high degree of certainty and credibility.
PHASE II The Pilot, His Grave and Unique "UFO" Carved Headstone.
In this respect we fe^l the evidence is less certain although it has some very interesting correlations. Our tie-in to the crash site is that w-% get the same good metal detector decibel reading in a 2£-foot diameter circle at the grave sit©, that we did from the aluminum alloy sample analyzed by Dr. Hand. I saw Dr. Gray's sample and it was considerably different. He analyzed a SXMXX flat haid jagged "flake" about li inches long ^-inch wide and as thin aa^a piece of Xerox reproduction paper. Dr. Hand analyzed aluminum forged into a "nugget" by Intense h at. The grave site was given to us on a "tip" by two old friends of a 89 y^ar old Aurora man seriously ill with hea^t trouble. His family would not allow us to interview him for fear of causing another attack* Ho seat word as follows: "You are looking at the wrong grave. Look for theso landmarks a huge old gnarled oak tree ovor 200 years old just south of the south entran.ce road in the old portion.of tho four plots of the original cemetery. A large natural bee hive has been in it for years* Below the south side or the tree under the branches igfNlfcmi grave with an unusual carving on it." ^ (5 A -" These instructions were accurate to the letter. \le> found the grave the tree, bees nest and the odd carving on the stone which appears to be a rough hand csrved outline of a cigar-shaped UFO (reported in the area at the time) on the west face of it. See this in the photos which established the site by showing both the tree, grave stone and in close-ups the carving on it which appears to be a UFO. There is s--me ssntlrsent against "digging up the grave" in the community but the authenticity of the stone havo^been there 65 to 70 years has been verified by many old residents who told us "we noticed those marks but didn't attach any particular significance to them. These people wore children ov not yet born at the time of the crash. However, the stone is deflnately a long-Vine part or the cemetery landscape. Uhile there is an intriguing tie-in here between th' crash site and grave we feel it may not be sufficiently strong enough to convince a court to order exhumation without more scientific pr <3>:f. And we could not finance an expensive drawn out court battle if he Aurora Cemetery Association sight chose to fight the exhvwnation as some few (but very few) diehards have, indicated. Page 4
PHASE II (Cont).
Naturally in view or these facts tho inclination to seek an exhumation order is very strong, especially if it would prove scientifically the people of Aurora did bury a pilot from outer space. While we do not know how these pilot*a are physically cons ;ructed, we believe the metal detector signals are coming from remaants or his uniform which msy have had s.-me type of metalie covering and metal equipment he was wearing. 1^ a diSKembeied body was recovered it was , simply piled into canvas or grain mill sacking and buried in a grave between 3£ to 5 feet deep. That was the standard depth in thosr> days according to Carshall idell. $e believe no rough box or casket of any kind was used. During that period many of the communities residents were simply wrapped in a blanket and lowered into a rocky grave.
SUI-KALY CCMCLUSICH: Dr. Handrs netal analysis is most important and the other facts simply aid in sustaining the belief that a UFO crashed at Judge proctor's well. We also have a Xerox copy of S. E. Hayden*s original sto^y as published in the Dallas Morning News. Although investigation shows the T. L. V/eems, Hay den identified as U.S. Signal of rice in Aurora also turns out to be the town blacksmith at the time this dual occupation would not be unusual in Texas. Aurora was still a frontier pioneer corr.isunity at the time* Burials were carried out by parties made up of men 6f the community who all aided in digging the grave and performing the burials. We check the cemetery Association, the local church and other somces. Actually other than an incomplete recording or the grave plots owned by families in which up to 10 or 12 members of a family are intered there are no Individual records telling who is bur'ed whore. The plot in which the UFO pilot's grava is located has no owner of record, photos which Earl Watts shall bring with him Friday will help in establishing: the location ang giving you an idea of the terrain and setting. Regretfully, howsyer, we now believe although there is a definate possibility the reported pilot Is in the grave we are not going to get it exhumed without a fight in court. And bearing in mind that this is an intensely religious comaunity and the cemetery is tlv one in which the ancestors of today's residents are buried they have a very vested interest against disturbing it,"
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Hothlng Is more tempting that trying to exhume that grave as Hayden Hew?s proposed to do one Saturday morning without a court order 01 approval or anyone connected with the Aurora Cemetery Association.
Hia latest so-called press releases have b.:en widely intreproted here especially on radio and TV that "this conclusion finishes ofJ? the Aurora UFO hunt.." Our final hope is that the hundreds or papers vo distributed in Aurora, Rhome and Newark (all of which bury in the same cemetery) will urge some resident into coming up with a sSn"n£ni3& genuine metal sample, diary entxy or even a bible notation. Unfortunately the church has kept no records on past burials and the Cemetery Association has devoted its effo.tc to keeping the graveyard neat, clean and well-kept. Ihls sicall group of three towns and the community around it is unique in that the third and fouith generations continue to live there. And ir they do leav^ they return out or homesickness, it is an extremely close-knit area in which intermarriage between the early families have made every third resident a third or fourth cousin or almost everyone else and" there is a cohesive spirt in the community that cannot be ignored.
1 hope this helps rill in the gaps. After you have had an opportunity to study it, see Kaytfen'e original story and related repo/ts in Xerox copies of the original 1|S7 paper plus the photos we are sending to Sansas city for your conference during the iiUFGH annual meeting, you have any additional questions pleas^ call ae. I shall advise 3arl Watts whore I can be reached at your convenience.
Bill Case June 11, 1973 1HE D4LWS TIMES HER4LD 214/744-6111 P O BOX 5445 1101 PACIFIC AVE/DALLAS TEXAS 75202
June 16, 1973 ' r- Mr. I/alter H. Andrus, Jr. Executive Director MUFON ^0 Christopher Gt. Quinsy, Illinois 62301 i Dear Halt:
'/e have sent off samples for analysis gathered June 12 at the Aurora welj site by Mr. Geprge Kayfield to the chief physicist at the University of Calgary in alberta, Canada —covrtesy of Atlantic Richfield Oil Company — both are anonymously interested in the project and TL'Os in general as well as another slice of the sane piece to John Bchaessler in O'Fallon as you requested. The enclosed metal part of some typ" of equipment was given to us by Mike Fo^tler, KR 1, Box Q, lot 250, Mesquite, Texas 751^. We would not be interested in it except none of the farmers, ranchers or other buffs around the area can recocni"0 it as a pidce corning from • fa-"i" eq* ipment, household a1 pliarces or anything else. And the composition se=ms to be at least an aluminum alloy. It was not burned or melted by high heat as all of the other suspect _ icces have been. However, it is introguing since For-tler found this buried in the ground within the crash pattern of metal fragments we recovered 3ast and Northeast of the well. His Phone Number in event you should need it is : Area 21*t 2^6-7085. Perhaps you can ret someone to recognize this. We have not received a Xerox copy of the metal analysis from our friend in Fort -forth . Hope he was able to get one off to Dr. Hynek. However, GD is extremely busy trying to keep its head above water. We have all of the resident's t stimony on tape. We met with DistrJct Judge W.A. Hughes in Decatur, Wise County, who would sit on the case if MUFON applied for an exhumation order. At the moment until MUFON moves the Board of Directors of the Aurora Cemetery Association have "absolutely no comment." They won't even answer our calls or come to the door when we go to their homes in R^orne near Aurora. They obviously do intend to oppose an exhumation order. Earl Watts Having the UFO gravemarker stolen didn't help the cause. jj&jj&X believes our firendly competitor HH who promised "to ruin our investigation" is using it as a door sto or paper wei ht. personally I don't know. There we^e hippies in the cemetery last Sunday who caused trouble. Regards, ( Bill ^2$v/$17 & fTf ^ « 'K *_^'—^ j
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*•••*• • ' •' 'Wji-r'"1 • */"( I nJ.>'*-ai-'-*;'iK?"''' -"f [.3 -f PHONE 512/379-9216
MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. The Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects
WALTER H ANDRUS. JR 103 Oldlowne Road International Director Segum. Texas 78155 US A 1HE DAKAS TIMES HERALD 214/744-6111 P.O. BOX 5445 1101 PACIFIC AVE./DALLAS, TEXAS 75202
June 16, 1973
Mr. John F. Schuessler P.O. Box 9 0'Fallen, Missouri 63366
Dear John:
Enclosed is a slice of the metal at the Aurora, Vexas well crash site of a reported Georg« llayfield. I'm sure '.:alt Bill C?Se 4vietion Writer liUFOH State Director for Texas SECTION EDITION SPECIAL TYPE INSTRUCTIONS HEADLINE GUIDE ( Samples fron lir. George 1'ayfield to Dr. H. Roy Krouse, Phvsics Dent. University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2n 1N^ and llr. John Schuessler, P.O. Box. 9, O1Fallen, l!o. 63366 DALLAS TIMES H3SALD, 1101 Pacific NOTE: Regarding enclosed sample of metal recovered at reported site of UFO which is said to have crashed in /Iur6ra, Texas, April 19, Io97. The enclosed piece was recovered "by Kr. George I'ayfield, June 12,1973 approximately 100 feet west of the well site where the UFO reportedly collided with a windlass over the well and exploded* Metal has beer, found over a two-three acre area buried as deep as 17 inches in the ground. - This particular sample was dug out by Mr. Kayfielcl using a netal detector at a depth of ^-inches below the surface. It was lodged *-^~ directly against the face of the limestone bedrock. Kr. Kayfisld reports the side with the snail red dot conformed to the exact configuration of the stone. Fc believes it was in an almost molten condition and was alrea iy flowing downward f ror force of gravity as it penetrated the earth hit the rock and then cooled. s This is somewhat heavier than the aluminum allojr ess (80 aluminum, 19 ,o z.inc. with traces of other netals and a very tiny amount of carbon) picked up east of the well site 200 f<=et at a depth of about U-inches and found below sons badly corroded iron, oli steel scraps and sine located in an a-fa about two fret in diameter The nu;;sests v/ere given a complete analysis by a U.S. aircraft manufacturer. A diagram of the piece recovered by I'.r. Kayfield indicates it might have been a structural member of sone sort. The Attached Diagram Illistrates. Bill CESO Aviation Writer SECTION EDITION SPECIAL TYPE INSTRUCTIONS HEADLINE GUIDE Note: Re Metal samples recovered at Aurora , Texas, reported UFO crash site. Diagram indicates piece unearthed by Mr. George Mayfield. It is the largest such piece recovered Thus XX far. Aside frora havo two straight sides it also has what were KXgXSX either rivet or screw holes in the corner. The -diagram indicates how it melted out of its original formation upoa contact with the bedrock: tTj. . t J ' vN/-'-v*- >. ; ,o»- '.••»* V*. J . -• ~L*,. -=±- r* ' / o o Bill Case Aviation Writer Dallas Times Herald 1101 Pacific 4ve. Dallas, Texas 75205 pl^g^lllMilpiiv.sv- •:.•'.i1 wVjwLAJXf "5 •',,f " x••.,- «y» • --' •//. >• ^/• « A. J f ^'•'tX .V-i-^r-^ '-.^-' -^^v /^^//^ 4?">*4~ fy>- ( ^ • -. ::.- i'[^-,:-.-:-^^ .' - -V'^-^-S."-.'--; 1 !'.'. ...' •!] 7/,s ^sur?** //~~^fSi*e if* ^ ^* *r» -^ Sunday, July 8, 1973 Memo to Walt Andrus: RE: Publia Media Report on Aurora UFO INVESTIGATION Dear Walt: Arrangements have been completed for you to stay with Earl Watts and his wife during your Dallas visit at 515 Falling Leaves Drive, Dune anvi lie. Phone : AC 214 298-1523. A Complete file of all Times Herald stories and all photos available will be awaiting you here. However, we are enclosing the latest two to bring you up-to-date. At the moment we have these: PROS: 1 - Physical evidence at the reported crash site on Brawley Dates homestead of an "explosions" with a dispersion pattern'. This was arrived at by cataloging where the various metals were recovered from the earth at various depths ranging from one to 17-inches. 2 - Preliminery analyses of the metals which show: 100?£ pure tin Recovered by Fred Kelley, a professional treasure hunter of Corpus Christ!, and analyzed by American Smelting Co. Both Kelley and the company's scientists could give any reason why "pure tin" should be £ound there. The analysis of the aluminum alloy nuggetits carried out by Dr. Gary Henderson at General Dynamics which you have. Analysis of the samples John Schuessler has in the works in St. Louis. And by the time you arrive we will have a "prelimineyy" on the metals sent to Prof. William A. Funkenbusch who has enlisted the expert faculty at Michigan Technological University (widely known as Michigan Tech.) in Houghton, Michigan. He received samples of at least five different types of metais recovered in the dispersion pattern at the reported explosion site. 3 - Statement by C ,C . (Charlie) Stephens, of Aurora, that his father, James Stephens, was "an eye-witness to the crash of an airship on the crash site." Mr. Stephens, however, holds firmly that his rather mentioned no body in connection with the crash although he did no$ visit the scene until thenext day after Correspondent K.E. Hayden reported it was buried in Aurora Cemetery. 1-st-fold Memo to Walt Andrus : ADD PROS: 4 - Statement by Mrs. Mary Evans, 91, now of Newark, Texas, who lived in Aarora at the time or the incident that she recalls her family and friends talking about the crash, although she (being only 11) wasn't allowed to go to the scene. 16 Mrs. Evans told us on the second interview "a piece of the aircraft was stuck up as a marker."Says a body was recovered. We believe she also told this to Hayden Hewes. We believe it was this metal either shoved further into the grave or broken off by vandals which gave us the strong detector readings at the grave before the metal was stolen. We have sound film of detector tests over the grave attesting to the existance of a metal signal in the hands of Channel 13, Dallas, which we assume will want to interview you. As a Public Broadcasting Station they have followed the probe closely and have extensive film footage. 5 - Th® existence of the now stolen UFO grave stone with its unique design cut into it roughly Recorded in photos. Residents of Aurora , including Town Marshall H.R. Idell, tell us th/ls grave marker with' its unusuala^eign is known to have been in place there "at least 65 to 701' years and probably longer, obviously this was no "fake." 6 - Correspondent Hayden's story had "holes in it" as far as detail of facts are concerned. However, it cannot be divorced from the fact it was "one of more than 500 Airship sighting reports" published in Dallas and port Worth newspapers from April 14 thru April 27, 1897. An often asked question is "what happened to the reported pilot's log written in hieroglyphics ?" No mention of it can be found other than in H.E. Hayden'1 s original story. CONCLUSION: These facts add up to the belief that some type of unidentified "airship" did crash on Judge J.S. Proctor's homestead. And this much of correspondent Hayden1s story can be accepted on the evidence. Whether is. was extraterrestrial or not who can prove it ? We discussed metals found on the moon with Apllo 16 Astronaut John Young ( Capt. UBN) w&o told us they round "no unusual metats on the mooni only unusual combinations of already known elements including iron, nickel, copper, aluminum. But no "exotic" items such as titanium. The one element "iron" keeps cropping up. Dr. Tom Gray,a North Texas State University physicics professor, recovered some non:-magnetic iron. »e also did and compared the pieces side-by-side in his laboratory. From all appearances they appeared "identical" and he issued a press release on his own saying he found, metals recovered at the site "puzzling." is all he has 15HK contributed thus far. - 2nd Add Memo to Walt Andrus Add Conclusion: MUFON and Times Herald investigators were the first to locate the unusual grave in Aurora Cemetery with the UFO headstone. However, other than the design on the stone our only solid connetion was the metal detector decibel readings which matched those of the metal John Schuessler is now having examined. CONS: Th© Aflrora Cemetery Association has reacted as we expected them to in reply to an offer by MUFON to supply scientists to conduct exhumation of the body with no public or reporters present.Only Earl Watts was to attend to represent MUFON and the public. I was N(J> going to attend. Being so strongly against any scientific explanation of the incident they attempted to Ignore it completely hoping "it would Just go away" because thw "hoax" story has been kicking around for 76 years. It didn't and this investigation went much further than any of the many others which preceded it. It also went on for four months where many oi the others we discovered were simply "cursory" tours of the crash site area with apparently no attempts made to locate a grave in the cemetery or witnesses in the communities of AftroramRhome and Newark all burying in this cemetery. About 60 per cent of the Airora residents are adamant the whole thing was a "hoax." Another 20 per cent question the write off as a complete "hoax." Th© remaining 20 per cent believe "something happened there." but they don't know what. Glen McCrary, president oi the cemetery association, is a leader of the "hoax" belifcvers . We can go no further in Atorora. Arid viewed in one context perhaps this works to MUFON's advantage, it leaves us "deducting" from incomplete information blocked by the association's closing the cemetery to investigators and refusing the "secret" exhumation. They aiso so obviously locked the barn after the horse was stolen (grave stone stolen and grave broken into and metal taken) that I think we could state with assurance; "We can't prove all of Hayden's story. The cemetery association has blocked that. But all evidence, testimony and months of discussion during investigation conclusively indicate; 1- An explosion of major proportions and likely that of an unknown aircraft which was seen by eye-witnesses. And then there is the matter of the mystery grave. NO one can aeny the existence of the old stone with its unusual marking resembling the UFOs reported in the area at the time and the existence of metal in the grave which was stolen but gave off identical detector decibel readings as recovered metal samples at the crash site." A (more) MEMO to Walt Andrus Add CONS: "Thus, in view or the evidence we cannot label H.E. Hayden's story a hoax in every detail. " It may have been embellished (i.e. the pilot's log in unknown symbols) , but, too much evidence exists pointing to an aircraft explosion and crash and the co- incidence 61' the mystery grave established as being there these many years by pioneer residents to the credibility of Hayden's story." If Hayden had created a "hoax" it would have been virtually Impossible for him to create as durable a one as this story has turned out to be. Also, a hoax of these proportions would have been so elaborate to prepare and carry off it would have been: literally impossible to plant all 01 the clues which remained in place both at the crash site and grave for 76 years. There is no question a crash occurred. There is no question a mystery grave has been in Aftrora Cemetery since the incident. And evidence links them together. My personal conclusion was thatz Correspondent H.E. Hayden probably embellished some facts (and overlooked others) in his report. But he has been maligned in saying "the entire thing is a hoax. " you can't explain away the evidence and the grave as "Just a hoax." Hayden obviously worked from fact and the chances he dug a grave in the cemetery and produced the unique tombstone as a clencher don't add up. The residents wouldn't have permitted him to "desecrate hallowed ground" (as they cal it) even in those days. We believe Hayden, like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and other pioneers in their fields, was ridiculed and maligned simjbly because the residents were admittely frightened and wantedv nothing to do with the unnaturak event. We hope this gives you some basis on which to tiase your replies in interviews. Best Bill Case July 10, 1973 Re: Friday Media Interview Schedule. 1 - Interview with Times Herald Thurs . evening - HERE f&7~ 2 - KRLD Radio at 9:00 AM — 7901 Carpenter Freeway Studio, • ™ "7 with Mr. DICK WHEELER, NEWS DIRECTOR, f 3 - KDFW ---- Call MR. BUSTER McGREGOR on HOT LINE 744-6568 any time between 10:00 and 2:00 for Vidio Tape. 4 - Hold open time for NOON NEWS ON_ WF AA/-TVT.CH . 8 ) LIV$. CONFIRM BY 9:00 AM to MR. BOB jCROOK on" HOT" LINE 748-2956. Be at Communications center by 1 1-i'45 AM. They have sharks teeth. 5 - KERA-- BILL PORTERFIELD, PRODUCER -3000 Harry Hines or Lee Clark, News director. Phone 744-1300. Time is 2:00 PM. o- 7f . SECTION EDITION SPECIAL TYPE INSTRUCTIONS HEADLINE GUIDE July 10, 1973 Memo to Walter 4ndrus, Jr. Executive Director MUFON RE: Friday Media Interview Schedule. ,,.-.- -. . /C I I 35/9 Ui 1 - We hope to get our interview with you Thursday night at Earl Watts home. KDFW-TV 2 - You can be booked at our station KEDDKXXX Ch. *f (CBS) in the studios anytime between 10 and 2 p.m. Friday. Call Buster McGregor, program director at 7*rt-b5bB. 'J-'hey will videotape the interview. 3 - HOLD OPEN —Time f6r Noon News on WF44-TV Ch.8 live. Please confirm by 9 a.m. by calling Producer Bob Crook on their "hot line" 7^8-2956. They want you in the studios in Communications Center by 11:^-5 a.m. at the latest. This is HBKX 4BC. They have shark's teeth. WB4P-TV Ch 5 (NBC) Is interested but plans An calling you in advance in Quincy, 111. By now you've probably heard from them. They are Hanti-UFO" but Important. Follow up could be made by calling Russ Bloxom at 265-3311. If he isn't there ask for News Director. This Is best arrangement we ctimid make with themtfe gave them your numbers and Earl's home as well. I think they'll bite.It depends on news load. In KRLD Radio studio . 7901 John Carpenter Freeway, for interview at 9 a.m. with News Director Dick Wheeler . I know Dick well. He is j a good interview man and this1 is a good station with a sound audience. If you need to phone him the number is 63lt-1080. Might be well to call him early and confirm you will be there. 6 - WRR (Mutual Broadcasting System) is interested but cannot set time for interview today. They will call Earl and arrange for meeting after 2 p.m. we have suggested, 7 - Bill Porterfield, the KER4-TV Ch. 13 (Public Broadcasting Corp.) producer who has been putting the 4urora UFO documentary together wants you in the Ch. 13 studios at 2 p.m. They are located at 3000 Harry Hlnes Blvd. This should be your major exposure since Porterfield is deeply involved with at least an hour of sound color film in the can shot in 4urora at the crash site and grave Including sound shots of detecting metal in the grave. He can 2££ be reached at 7M*~13pO usually after 12 noon* Otherwise ask for Eee Clark, lady news "director. July 18, 1973 Current Report on 1897 Aurora, Texas Investigation As promised in the July issue of SKYLOOK, the following is an "up-date" report of the progress being made in the investigation into the 1897 news- paper report of the crash of an airship and the subsequent burial of the pilot's body in the Aurora Cemetery. Through the outstanding investigative work of Bill Case, Aviation Writer for the Dallas Times Herald newspaper and MUFON State Director for Texas, with the able assistance of Earl Watts, MUFON Field Investigator and State Director of Astronomy, the following facts are submitted as evidence that H. E. Hayden's original story to both the Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers cannot be considered a complete hoax as some people have implied. VJe have tape recorded the statement by C.C. (Charlie) Stephens of Aurora, Texas that his father, James Stephens, was "an eye-witness to the crash of an airship on the crash site." Mr. Stephens, however, holds firmly that his father mentioned no body in connection with the crash \ although he did not visit the scene until the next day after correspondent H.E. Hayden reported it was buried in Aurora Cemetery. Mrs. Mary Evans, age 91, now of Newark, Texas, who lived in Aurora at the time of the incident, stated in a tape recorded interview with Bill Case that she recalls her family and friends talking about the crash, although she being only 15 years old at the time, was not allowed to go to the scene. (Her Mother and Father did view the crash site). During a second interview with Mrs, Svans, she told Mr. Case that "a body was recovered and a piece of the aircraft was stuck up as a marker" in the Cemetery. Page 2 A grave was found with the aid of a metal det'ector in the Aurora Cemetery in an area where Cemetery records were incomplete and did not identify either the owner of the plot or the person buried in the grave. A small triangular shaped native sandstone marker has existed on this grave for "at least 65 to 70 years and probably longer" per Town Marshall H.R. Idell and other residents of Aurora. The only identification on the stone was a scratched drawing of an object that looked like the front of a UFO having three round portholes or windows. After the photograph of the marker under an old oak tree appeared in the Dallas Times Herald, someone stole the marker oh June llj., 1973* Even though we have disclosed a few slight discrepancies in H.E. Hayden's original newspaper account, it cannot be divorced from the fact that it was "one of more than 500 airship sighting reports" published in Dallas and Port Forth newspapers from April llj. through April 27, 1897. An often asked question is "what happened to the reported pilot's log written in hieroglyphics?" No mention can be found of it other than in the original story. What additional scientific facts are available to substantiate the probability that a crash of an aircraft on the former Judge J.S. Proctor's homestead did indeed occur? (This property is now owned and occupied by Brawley Gates and his wife Bonnie.) One of the earlier metal samples dug up at the alleged crash site was analyzed under the direction of one of MUFON's very capable Consultants and found to be an aluminum alloy. An alloy of this composition was not developed in laboratories in the United States until between 1908 and 1910 and not commercially available until 1920. Our Consultant stated that the metal had been subjected to Page 3 extreme heat and was probably in a molten condition since specific elements were forced to the surface of the aluminum alloy nugget. Other metal samples were retrieved using metal detectors at the possible crash site that were four inches under the surface and imbedded into the limestone on the hillside. These nieces of metal also indicated they could have been in a molten condition when deposited, since they conformed to the configuration of the limestone. Samples of these metals were sent to John P. Schuessler, Beputy Director of MUPON and Consultant in Astro- nautics on June 15th. They have been submitted to laboratories at McDonnell- Douglas in St. Louis for tbeir expert analysis. Other samples were mailed to Prof. William A. Punkenbusch at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich, at his request, for study by their faculty. Since I am on vacation at the time of this report (July 18, 1973) and traveling in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois, it has not been possible to obtain a copy of the results of the analysis of reports from either John Schuessler or Prof. Punkenbusch. Bill Case flew to Houghton, Mich, on July 12th. and expects to return with the results. John will no doubt have his report ready for the Carlyle Picnic on July 22nd. Preliminary investigation now indicates a high probability that an explosion did take place on Judge J. S. Proctor's homestead, which gives credibility to a possible crash. Why is MUPON interested in this particular case? If H. E. Haydens1 newspaper report is correct, we have possible access to pieces of a crashed . UFO and hopefully some remains of a body in the cemetery grave. Our goal is two fold in nature; first to either prove that the story was a pure fabrication of},~H.E. Hayden and a hoax; or second if it actually happened, to carry the investigation to a scientific conclusion based upon available Page evidence. Previous investigations into this legend over the years have been only cursory in nature and immediately branded a hoax, since no one took the time to conduct cfrv- in-depth study as is presently being done by MUFON. If scientific evidence exists to prove that the story is a hoax, MUPON will so go "on-record", and close this case permanently. However, if the evidence warrants continued investigation, as it now appears, it will be carried to a conclusion or as far as we may legally extend ourselves. A registered letter was sent by MUFON to each member of the Aurora Cemetery Association requesting their permission to exhume the identified grave to determine if remains existed that would either confirm or dispel the original story. Through their attorney, they not only refused to permit such an exhumation, but forbid UFOlogists and MUFON in particular from entering the cemetery. Due to the tremendous interest in 'this case, the news media in the United States and Canada requested that Bill Case and MUFON release a statement of our progress. On July 13th. Walter H. Andrus, Jr., Director of MUFON, personally answered these inquiries to the Dallas Times Herald newspaper and appeared on the following television and radio stations: KRLD radio (one hour tape), KDFW-TV (Filmed news broadcasts), WFAA-TV (live on noon news) in Dallas; WBAP-TV (live on evening special) and WBAP radio (2£ minute tape) in Fort Worth. Bill Case and Earl Watts are to be z-r -... commended for arranging this outstanding exposure to the public for MUFON. In several of the broadcasts, MUFON1s Director appealed to the Aurora Cemetery Association and the residents of Wise County to permit an exhumation Page 5 of the grave so as to "wrap-up" this case and eliminate any further escapades through their well maintained cemetery by curiosity seekers and UPOlogists. On Saturday, July ll+th, Via It Andrus met with Glenn McCrary, President of the Aurora Cemetery Association and Lloyd McKinnon, member of the association in the Aurora Cemetery for a 2 hour discussion. These gentlemen are very sincere about preserving their cemetery and fully accept their responsibilities to their Community for preventing further damage. (Someone came into the cemetery and removed the metal that was buried in the mysterious grave by professionally inserting a probe into the ground where the stone marker1,had previously rested). Both Mr. McCrary and Mr. McKinnon, who had been expecting my visit to the cemetery, maintained their position that they would not permit the possible body to be exhumed as stated through" their attorney Mr. W.A. "Bill" Nobles of Decatur, Texas in writing to MUFON. However, both gentlemen did agr"ee if legal action was taken through their attorney (going over their heads, as they explained), they would certainly give the proposal further consideration. Since the personal appeal was ineffec- tive, legal steps became the only alternative. Before MUFON solicits legal assistance, to seek exhumation of the grave, we must have scientific and legal evidence to justify such a serious move. We still need the complete analysis of the metal samples submitted to various labs in the United States and Canada as further scientific evidence, Lawyers are available in Texas to represent MUFON when this becomes the next step. Walt Andrus visited the site of the alleged crash on the property of Brawley Gates taking documentary photographs and interviewing both Brawley Page 6 and his wife, Bonnie. Bill Case, in his 27 trips to Aurora, has conducted very thorough interviews with the residents so no attempt was made during my visit to locate each of the contributors to duplicate their reports. Both Mr. McCrary and Mr. McKinnon are firm believers that the entire story is a hoax. As Mr. McKinnon points out, there is no record in the written history of Wise County, Texas concerning the crash of such an airship in l897« He believes that this should have been significant history if it indeed took place. MUPON's evidence to date indicates a high probability that an explosion took place on this rock strewn hill—the search and investigation continues. Another status report will appear in the September issue of SKYLOOK on this historical, but", very difficult case. Walt Andrus Director, MUFON MUTUAL UFO NETWORK August, 17, 1973 ^TEXAS. 1897 AIRSHIP CRASH (Follow-up for SKYLOpK) '•/Metal- analysis* details h.avc been received from, several .laboratories where investigations |iave..b'een conducted by metallurgists, physicists and'chemists: to detejrinine the-composition of pieces of metal imbedded •underground on the limes tqire- surface at'the alleged crash aite. , :; (Bradley Gates residence,.^ The Afferent samples recovered::by Bill: . Case AndEari Watts, ;througb the aid of a metar detector, all show evidence of haying been Ke.ated'to'i a !molteiv. state when they were .originally deposited.: Basically, .the Samples .are of :an aluminum arioyv>varying from an;aiuminui»;content_of. 651 to 951 and iron ,;' content from 25,1 down to '51*. .Other elements ave present .in small -..' . ' : quantities, in,.certain ofthe submitted, samples. Reports have\ been, ; . . received from three'•: (3-) .aerospace company labs,^ one. (1)! university, and one (1). private spectro-chemical research laboratory, in four (4) . different states.: The uniqueness of the metal has: eXeited the interest of the metallurgists who aT'e asking more questions in an effort to..determine the prigin or^ma:nufacturero€_t*e aluminum alloy. It is^belieyed by many/that pur universe :is made up pf^the same elements found on;our Earth;- therefore, we are hot looking for an unknown v-elementjthat.mightJbe evidence MB* extraterrestrial prigin. We are . : s.earchTfi,g for"pesi^iye evidence of a combinatipn of elements, or an " 'alloy 25 July 1973 Mr. Walter H. Anders, Jr. UFO BUREAU putney, Illinois 62301 Dear Mr. Anders: For the past several months I have been keeping up with the Aurora, Texas situation, and recently heard you discuss late developments on KRLD radio. For sometime now I have been interested in UFO's and have read all the available material I could find on the subject. In the event that your organization decides to institute legal proceedings for exhuming the remains in question in the Aurora Cemetery, I will personally volunteer my services to your organization without charge in connection with same, in hope that the truth may be known. The only thing I would ask is that the organization pay the Court costs and reimburse me for my expenses (such as postage, xerox copies, mileage, and long distance t_e~lephone calls). If you are interested, please advise. Sincerely, ch o * copy: Mr. Earle F. Watts Duncanville, Texas 75116 Title 26 CEMETERIES Art. 912a—22 Historical Note Prior laws: Acts 1034, 43rd Leff, 2nd C S . p. 146, ch. Art. 028. 6G. ; 1. Art. 912a—21. Records of interments A record shall be kept of every interment in a cemetery showing the date the body was received, the date of interment, the name and age of the person interred, when these particulars can be conveniently obtained, and the plot and the grave, the niche, crypt, or vault therein, in which such interment was made. No remains, either cremated or uncremated, of any deceased person shall b^rejnj0^d_fromjmyjeme- = T — ~teryrexcepfupon wTitteiTor'deFof'tKe Health department having juris- diction, or of the county Court of any county in which such cemetery is situated. A duplicate copy of which order shall be maintained as a part of the records of such cemetery. It shall be the duty of any person and/or persons, removing any remains from any cemetery, to keep and maintain a true and correct record showing the date such remains were removed, the name and age of the person removed, when these particulars can be conveniently obtained, and the place to which the same were removed, and the cemetery and the plot therein in which such remains were buried; if there be disposition of such re- mains other than interment, a record shall be made and kept of such disposition. Such person or persons shall deliver to the cemetery asso- ciation operating the cemetery from which such remains were re- moved, a true, full, and complete copy of such record. Acts 1945, 49th Leg., p. 659, ch. 340, § 21. Library references: Dead Bodies @=>2 et seq ; Cemeteries Historical Note Prior Laws: Acts 1934, 43rd Leg.. 2nd C.S.. p. 146. Art. 928a. ch. 66, 9 1. Art. 912a — 22. Removals The remains of a^deceased person jnterredjn^a plot.in.a cemetery. _, _ ~may beTembved therefrom with the consent of the cemetery associa- tion and the written consent of the surviving wife or husband, or it Th"ere is no surviving husband or wife, then of the children ; or if there is no surviving husband or wife nor children, then of the parents of the deceased, or should there be no surviving husband or wife nor children nor parent, then of the brothers and/or sisters of the de- ceased. If the consent of any such person or of the association cannot be obtained, permission by the county court of th*eTounTyjwjiere En*e* _cemeTeryis situated shall be ^unfcientT^^otice of application to the Court , at least ten (10) days prior thereto, personally, or at least fifteen (15) days prior thereto if by 400 Art. 912a—22 CEMETERIES Title 26 mail, to the cemetery association, and to the persons not consenting and to every other person or association on whom service of notice may be required by the Court. This provision shall not apply to or prohibit the removal of any remains from one plot to another in the same cemetery or the removal of remains by the cemetery associa- tion from a plot for which the purchase price is past due and unpaid, to some other suitable place. Neither shall this provision apply to the disinterment of remains upon order of Court or coroner. Acts 1945, Ju 49th Leg., p. 659, ch. 340, § 22. II Historical Note Prior laws: ~-~Acts'lQ34T~43rd~Legp, 2nd C.S., p. 14G, ch. ~Art.~928br CC, 5 1. Notes of Decisions S( Library references C( Dead Bodies C=>5. be permuted except under circumstances In C J.S. Dead Bodies 8§ 4, 9. indicating a necessity or compelling rea- sons. Alklns v. Davis (Clv.App.19C2) 352 tl 1. Construction and application S.W.2d 801. tr Failure to comply with former similar Next of km have some rights In regard 0( slalvile would not prevent the statute of to disinterment, and owe some duties un- limitations from running against action for der certain conditions. Id. w wrongful disinterment and reburial of re- Act pertaining to permission of county of mains of deceased person. City of Ver- court for removal of remains of deceased non v. Low (Civ.App.1942) 158 S.W.Zd 837. ih persons does not confer jurisdiction on While the right to remove a body re- County Court to determine a controversy CC mains with the surviving spouse, the right between surviving spouse and next of kin fr Is a qualified one, and removal should not over disinterment of a decedent. Id. (5 ac May contract pecuniary indebtedness but all Art. 912a—23. le: liens subordinate to dedication no Cemetery associations shall in the conduct of their business have In the right to contract such pecuniary obligations as may be required, CCi and may secure the same by mortgage, deed of trust or otherwise upon fn their property. Provided, that all mortgages, deeds of trust and other thi liens of whatsoever nature, hereafter contracted, placed or incurred cr; upon property which has been and was at the time of the creation or _US( placing of such lien, dedicated as a cemetery asjn this^Act'^author-- 'tio izcrl and-providedror"upon~propert"y wKicTTshaTl afterwards, with the sai consent of the owner of any such mortgage, trust deed or lien, be sui dedicated to cemetery purposes as authorized by this title, shall in . of nowise or at all affect or defeat the dedication thereof, but such mort- pr< gage, deed of trust, or other lien shall be subject and subordinate to iw such dedication and any and all sales made upon foreclosure thereof sec shall be subject and subordinate to the dedication of such property by to cemetery purposes. Acts 1945, 49th Leg., p. 559, ch. 340, § 23. for i Articles 912ar-l to 912a—27; Yemen's Ann.P.O., art. 705b—1. of Historical Note Prior laws: Acts 1934, 43rd Leg., 2nd C.S., p. 146, ch. Art. 929. CO, i 1. 410 LAW OFFICES OF YARBOROUGH AND POPE INC. 5148 East Belknap Street Fort Worth. Texas 76117 ALWAYS ; ZIP Mr. Walter H.. Anders, Jr, UFO BUREAU Quincy, Illinois 62301 I f /t . spW****'*' ,-_ „ —N- LAW OFFICES OF YARBOROUGH AND POPE INC. 5148 East Belknap Street Fort Worth. Texas 76117 Mr. Walter H. Andrus, Jr 40 Christopher Court Quincy, Illinois 62301 MIDWEST UFO NETWORK (MUFON) WALTER H ANDRUS JR MRS NORMA E SHORT DIRECTOR EDITOR SKYLOOK 4O CHRISTOPHER COURT BOX 129 QUINCY ILLINOIS 623O1 STOVER MISSOURI 6SO78 PHONE AC 217 222 8374 PLEASE ADDRESS REPLY TO: * P.O. Box 9 0»Fallen, Mo. 63366 31 July 1973 V Mr. Bill Case Aviation Writer The Dallas Times Herald P.O. Box 5445 1101 Pacific Ave. Dallas, Texas 75202 Dear Bill: The metal sample you supplied is keeping the analytical people quite interested. Unfortunately, they move very slowly, however quite thoroughly - maybe soon we will have a complete analysis. As you will note by the enclosure I divided the specimen into three pieces* The largest piece is being analyzed by the people in our research laboratory (identified as sample #1). Although I cannot yet offer a report on their efforts I can give you some verbal information* as follows: 1. It appears to have gone through a heating and cooling phase. It has large grain structure and no strains. 2. It has a typical aluminum alloy structure, but it is not at all a typical alloy. 3. It contains hard Pe (iron) inclusions. The inclusions are near the surface where cooling occurred first. 4. It contains on the two elements Al (aluminum) and Fe (iron). No copper or zinc were found. 5. In an examination by soft z-ray emission one spectral line was missing. This is most unusual and will be rechecked. 6. The specimen is 95$ Al and 5$ Pe. Again unusual. The sample identified as #2 was examined by a friend in the metallurgical laboratory. The enclosure is my preliminary report of his findings. Although measured quantities are not shown the EDAX identified only Al and Pe. For comparison the surface of the sample was tasted and numerous elements identifiedl SKYLOOK - - THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MIDWEST UFO NETWORK PHONE 512/379-9216 MUTUAL UEO NETWORK, INC. T " ! ; ' V ^ . The Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Flying Objoctt WALTER H. ANDRUS. JR. 103 Oldtowne Road International Director Seguin. Texas 78155 U.S.A. Bill Case ~ Page 2 31 July 1973 Examination of such a specimen always results in more questions than answers. I didn't want to tell the lab people about the background on this specimen until they had some results, but that desire held for only a day or so. Analytical people have inquiring minds and require a reason for their actions. So, I had to pass some of their articles you wrote on to them. These questions have resulted more questions and I have listed a few of the better ones in hopes you can provide answers. 1. Is their any pattern to the distribution of artefacts (metal?)? 2. Can you supply a map of the area with metal "find0 locations? 3. Do you have a photograph of the area where the specimen you supplied for analysis was located? Before digging? During digging? After - in the "as found" condition? 4* Are there any other analyses results available for review and comparison? Proprietary rights would be respected. 5. Is there any chance that a snail (tiny) piece of metal could be obtained from the grave for comparison? 6. Has anyone tried to duplicate some of this metal? We feel that it would be quite difficult to do. 7. Has anyone done an historical search on the use of aluminum in this part of Texas? The analysis will continue in both of tha aforementioned labs, as many tests remain to be conducted. The Research lab has promised a short prelininary report in a few days and I will send that along to tyou. I appreciate this opportunity to be of service and hope our efforts will contribute to the solution of the mystery. Sincerely yours, John P. Schuessler Deputy Director, MUFOH &S Case of <* T* **t » JOHN F. SCHUESSLER JUL 31 1973 KC 3oco X /Sod X \ «( #r*e GO * ** "* /? * - - '- /\t4*> lll'll ijll \ 42SEC 31569INT 1450EV 4 89 6 I N T 1788EV 384 I NT £ SV 2 3 5 9 E V 1 9 4 I N T ^. 2656EV 122INT 3366EV 161 I NT r. XT 3790EV 168 I NT 4508EV 615 I NT 4959EV 137 I NT 7. T"/ 6 4 8 6 E V 217 I NT R 7858EV 66INT 11 1855 8 E V 54 I NT 12 8EV 01 NT 13 8EV 8 I NT 14 8EV 01 NT 15 8EV 01 NT 16 8EV 0 I NT 17 8EV 6 I N T 18 8EV 0 I N T 19 8EV 01 NT -S- 73 -/!• W to It /5 AL YTOCI<. SPECTRO-CHEMICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES, INC. ESTABLISHED 1946 CHEMISTS • SPECTROGRAPHERS • METALLURGISTS • CONSULTANTS AREA CODE 312 330O WEST LAWRENCE AVENUE TELEPHONE 267-1844 August 2, 1973 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6O625 70564-M r ~l YOUR ORDER No.t- Motorola Inc. SAMPLE MARKED:— For W. Andrus 2553 N. Edgington Franklin Park, Illinois 60131 LOTl- .HEATi. 7-30-73 Attn: Mr. Art Bethke LABORATORY No.i- 10756 L J Cu • • • • • 5.68 ^n • • • • • .02 Fe . 38 Si . • • • • .26 Mn ...... 02 Ni ..... none MJ.YJ-e5 . • . . . .01 L i •••'•• trace Cr . 02 Pb .03 Sn . 02 A 1 • • • • • remainder Alloy 2011 SPECTRO-CHEMICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES, Inc. by , ,- PHONE 51 2/379-921 6 ' ,-fr -~*- ™ MEMORANDUM MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. MDRL- 7 6 7 The Scientific Investigation 13 AUg 73 of Unidentified Flying Obiaclt WALTER H ANDRUS JR ,03 Oldtowne Road Inlernalional Direclor Segum Texas 78155USA Subject: ANALYSIS OF "UFO" SAMRLE To: R. A. Weiss CC: D. P. Ames, L. l/C/itfirowitz, V. A. Montgomery, J. F. Schuessler, D. S'. Wright, S. Zwerdling From: J. E. Holliday Encl: (1) Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 -- Photomicrographs of the "UFO" Sample 1. The subject sample was analyzed by x-ray fluorescence, soft x-ray spectroscopy, and optical metallography. 2. X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis a. The approximate composition of the sample as measured by x-ray fluorescence was: 95 at.% Al 5 at.% Iron. That no zinc was detected in the sample is of interest, since zinc was found in other pieces of aluminum recovered in the geographical area of the present sample. The limit of x-ray fluorescence detectability for Zn is 0.5 at.%. 3. Soft X-Ray Analysis a. The approximate composition of the sample as measured by soft x-ray spectroscopy was: 98 at.% Al 1-2 at.% Fe. No copper was observed with soft x-ray spectroscopy which has a limit of detectability of approximately 1 at.%. Commercial aluminum alloys that contain iron usually contain 4-5 wt.o copper. 4. Optical Mctallographic Analysis a. Photomicrographs of the sample are shown in Encl (1). The presence of large grains shown in Fig. 1 indicates that the sample is stress-free and has - 2 - MDRL-767 | 13 Aug 73 gone through a melting and cooling stage. The presence of shrink cavities observed before the material was etched also indicates that the sample had been molten. Small .crystals of a second phase as shown in Encl (1) are an iron-aluminum inter- metallic compound. The second phase is present because not more than 1% iron can exist in solution in aluminum. These crystals are much harder than the aluminum matrix and are much more numerous at the outer surface than in the interior as may be observed by comparison of Figs. 1 ~and 2. The photomicrograph in Fig. 1 was taken at the edlge of the cut surface whereas the photomicrograph in Fig. 2 was taken at the center of that surface. The differences in the percentages of aluminum and iron between the x-ray fluore-scence and soft x-ray results are due to this change in concentration of the second phase. In the soft x-ray spectroscopy measurements, the x-rays originate from a small area (1 mm x 3 mm) near the center of the cut surface, but in x-ray fluorescence the entire sample contributes to the results. The increase in concentration of the second phase near the edge of the sample is a normal occurrence when the alloy is cooled from the melt. 5. The sample was tested for radioactivity with a Geiger counter, but no radiation above background was detected. J. Scientist - MDRL Dept 224, Bldg 33, Sta 23874 JEHrdll PHONE 512/379-9216 MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. The Scienfrfic /nvesfigofion of Unidentified flying Objecti WALTER H ANDRUS JR 103 Oldtowne Road International Director Seguin Texas 78155USA •x v •-- - ' * " •'**"% *' > <* / \ ' ,, ' . " XVO. >.j'>.,: .*.*&.& \ . Fio. 1 PhotoKiicrooraph of the metal specimen taken at. Lhc edge of the cut. surface. Mote the neodl'L'-i'orra, sr'iall crystal inclusions of a second phase, identified as an iron-a.l.umirium i n t e rnie t a I'l i c c on p o u nci. ;:.-...- .-• ' j •"• > .••••• // - -- .,-• : : ;.v/'\'/.-' ' -' A. .;''/-.•:• /•/''•/•">' /•' • ., .? /'/ •/. • fj Fi<). 2 Photomicrograph of trie metal specimen taken at the c-s-iLor of Lhc- cut surface. The' density on the needle-form, s-nall'crystal inclusions i's ir-uoh sma.ller than iii: the edge of the cut (see Fig. .1). Trio crystal inclus.i on." aro idont.i.r ieci as a second phase, iron-aluminura inter;netallic compound. MDF«L-767 13 Aug 73 Encl '.I) , ' •*• v ' •: - v. .-.i i. . August 17, 1973 AURORA, ffEXAS 1897 AIRSHIP. ^CRASH ....•;"'• • ' • ' " ' - •' ,/: .'' ^ (Follow-up for. SKYLOOK).,: •-.-,: '•• = ,.'• Meta^; analysis": deitaiIs have. been received from several, laboratories- . /"where, investigations, have been conducted by metalufgists; physicists ; '•- and chemists:to determine/the compositionJof pieces of metal..imbedded under ground .on the-limestone, surface at the., alleged crash site. ; .. • (Bradley Oates residence^); The different ..samples recovered by Bill -,- .Case, and; Earl Watts,-thrpug'h the aid- of -.'-a. metal .'..detector, .all show evidence, of having been heated to a molten state when they were originally deposited. ;' Basically, the samples are of an aluminum .alloy, varying from an aluminum content oF 65% to 951 and iron content fr.om 25% down ;to St.' Other elements are present in small. quantities in certain pf the soibmitte'd samples.. Reports have been -.-• received from three (3) aerospace company labs, one. (1) university ahd;;brie* (1.) private spectrp^chemical research."laboratory in four (4) , : different s;tates. . The uniqueness of the-metal has excited the .; . interest" pf the "metalurgists who are ;.asking more questions in ail . ;= - effort -to determine,-the- origin or manufacturer of the aluminum alloy. It is believed by many th;at our universe, is made up of the saine, elements :/ : found on our Earth; therefore, we are. not looking-^for an unknown element, that might"-be :evidence of extraterrestrial origin. We-are :'-•.-'> searching for positive evidence .of a. combination of elements, oivan : :ir alloy that has never been produced or manufactured on this Earth. ; If .: .the: continued ^investigation in the labs so dis.cios.es such., an alloy, V - , it will provide -the, evidence to seek further, support of this interesting case by seeking, a court order, to exhume the .alleged remains in the -: suspected"grave in the Aurora,-Texas cemetaiy. .Legal aid has been -- '':•.. volunteered when and if exhuminatiPn is the next logical step. . . . It has be,en-interesting tp read the "hoax" comments, made by. a few UFO buffs who -have-jfeiied. on the' cursory, investigations of a second - party forT their, facts;. No one.has ever conducted an in-depth inves- 1 tigation into this intriguing case to pfeove or disprove its authen- \ ticity prior t.o jMUFON 's work. Our goal is either to .prove it is a , ':. ; : : legend orr a hoax perpetrated by F. E. Hayden in 1.897, pr it ^actually. ;: .happened as, reported. ..Sine'e this, case is 76 ye^ars old, reconstructing • the .physi'cal evidence^ interviewing witnesses and. conducting the/ : : •'.','• necessary .laboratory research has :been very difficult, but a real .challenge to; a. scientific study. . "-. . ' "!'."; As new information becomes available', it; will be .reported in SKYLOOK. Walt Andrus Norma Please add this material to the previous unpublished story that arrived top late . for ""th e •;• August: issue ' ' - Walt :- .;:. ;•••.,-••. - -.'. SAMPLE REPORT SUMMARY (AURORA) #1 - Oxidized flake (1.8 x 1.2 cm); W = 0.525 g; Strongly para- magnetic; High iron, comparable to common cast/extruded black pipe. #2 - (2 pieces) Oxidized flakes (1.3 x 1.7 cm & 3.6 x 2.5 cm); W = 1.268 g, 3.215 g; Strongly paramagnetic; High iron, comparable to common cast/extruded black pipe. #3-7 - (5 pieces) Almost totally oxidized chunks of varying di- mensions (1 cm3 - 2.4 x 1 x 0.7 cm); W = 0.817 g, 1.214-g; Very weakly magnetic due to extreme oxidation of ferrite. #8 - Oxidized/mineralized large flake (5.4 x 3.7 cm); W = 12.828 g; Strongly paramagnetic; High iron, comparable to common cast black pipe, fittings, etc. Bill Case (2nd item) - Small chunk (approx. 1.8 cm x 0.6 x 0.4 cm); Aluminum oxide melt, essentially diamagnetic, easily worked/polished. Samples 1-8 - Density, hardness, macro/microphoto, luster, grain chemica-t^ana-Lyses, virtually useless. in_ determining original structure/composition/origin of mate- rials, since weathering (galvanic, oxidation, etc. action) negates meaningful extrapolation -- e.g., nothing out of the ordinary with common "modern" materials exposed to weather- ing. "Case" Sample - Aluminum alloy melt which could have origin as numerous "modern" and common Al alloys. (Dr. A. Hynek has original electron microprobe chart.) Percentages of major constituents varied according to location on sample (e.g., Al-80, Zn-20 to Al-87, Zn-13 with possible traces of Mg and ^/^"So., although not verified due to minute proportions, condi- tion of sample, time limitations of facilities/personnel). Hardness variable (Brinell Avg -145, Rockwell B 73-89) -- no way to extrapolate to original, (annealed, quenched, and aged, ... ?). Another essentially useless sample for in- tended purpose, except that its existence prior to 1908 or so, virtually impossible outside of laboratory. Dr. & Mrs. G.C. Henderson 4305 Plantation Drive Fort Worth, TX 76116 ALUMINUM AN INVESTIGATION REFERENCES: PAGE 1-2 FROM: GENERAL CHEMISTRY, By Hopkins & Bailar, Chapter 33, pp 527-5^0. PAGE 3-8 FROM: THERMOCHEMICAL DATA of ALLOYS, By 0. Kubaschewski & J. Catterall. 1956 PP 2, 11, 50-53, 173-175 J. F. Schuessler Aluminum Most abundant metal of the earth's crust. Al Atom Smaller and denser than that of magnesium Sometimes electrons are shared which accounts for the fact that aluminum sometimes behaves as a nonmetal. Valence Found Never found free in nature. Compounds are found in all the common rocks except limestone and sandstone. Compounds Silicates are most common. (From feldspar, leucite, hornblende; garnet, zeolite, mica and kaolin). Clay soils are largely aluminum silicate. These compounds are very stable and are not used as a source of aluminum metal. Extract from ore Only from bauxite, which is a hydrated oxide, A 12 02 "2 H20> containing variable amounts of F 6203. Ore found Bauxite is obtained from Ark., Geo., Tenn., and Alabama Metallurgy First prepared by a German chemist, Wohler, in 1828. Sold for $150 per Ib. In 185^ Deville obtained Al from clay by using sodium as the reducing agent. Sold for $90/lb. Finally fell to $12/lb as sodium cost went down. In 1886 Charles Hall made cheap aluminum possible by a process where fused cryolite dissolved aluminum oxide and this solution under the influence of an electric current deposited metallic aluminum at the cathode. By 1951 the wholesale price of aluminum was l8pYlb. 1 I Process the Ore The first step in Hall's process is the puri- fication of the bauxite, and it is especially important to remove the iron which produces undesireable effects upon metallic aluminum. The purified alumina is dissolved in a fused cryolite electrolyte in a furnace. Aluminum metal collects at the bottom of the furnace and is tapped off at intervals. To produce one pound of metal there are consumed 2 Ibs of aluminum oxide, 0.60 to 0.65 lb anode material, 0.1 lb cryolite, 0.1 lb. fluorospar and 10 kw elect, energy. Purity Done by electrolytic method known as Hoopes process, a 3 layer bath -fl-W Pure aluminum of cathodes Middle layer dissolves aluminum Fused fluoride electrolyte readily (but not cu, Fe, Si) and Impure Al-CuaJLloy Al finds it way to Anode the cathode Result 99«99$> pure aluminum metal Properties Soft white metal. Ductile and malleable at 150°. Specific gravity is 2.71. Melting point is 658.7° Boiling point is 1800° Better conductor of heat than iron or tin but half as efficient as copper. For carrying electric current it is 60$ as efficient as copper. It alloys readily with copper, tin, nickel, zinc, iron, and manganese. Pure aluminum oxidizes slowly in air or water at ordinary temperatures. Burns at 700°C Compounds The oxidation number of aluminum in its compounds is always ^3- Because of this high charge and the rather small size of the_ Alff * ion, negative groups such as the Cl " and OH" ions are attracted strongly to it. ALUMINIUM-IRON (NICKEL, COBALT) THERMOCHEMICAL DATA OF ALLOYS Ni-Cu-Al. Nickel-Copper-Aluniinium. OELSEN and LICHTENUERG [237] determined the heals of formation in the solid state on mixing Cu-Ni alloys with Al, in the same manner as with the Fc-Ni-Al system. The minimum heat of forma- tion in the ternary system was found with NiAl (A// = — 17,000); from this composition an inverted ridge stretches to CuAl (A// = — 5800). Parallel to this another inverted ridge extends from Cu2Al at NAi = 0-33, and disappears at about Ni:Cu = 1:1. With the alloys with N&1 > 0-5 a regular increase of A// towards the Al corner was observed. For further details the original paper should be consulted. Fe-Al. Co-AI. Ni-Al. Aluminium-Iron (Nickel, Cobalt) Heats of formation were determined for the whole range of composition by OELSEN and MIDDEL [322]. Liquid aluminium (850°C) and liquid iron (1600CC) were mixed in a calorimeter at room temperature under a protective slag. The heat contents of the pure metals were determined separately, and subtracted. In the case of Ni-Al alloys of the approximate atomic proportion 1:1 the reac- tion was so violent that some silica from the calorimeter lining was reduced. Within an error of about 5-10 per cent, OELSEN'S results are generally reliable. In the case of FeAl3 there is good agreement with a heat of formation determined by BILTZ and HAASE [28] from heats of solution in dilute hydrochloric acid. The heats of formation of CoAl and Co.,AI5 obtained in the same manner by BILTZ and Solid: Fe Co Ni A"J83 A,,,, A*:,, A,,,, A",,., Al'.,, 0-05 - 700 - 0-008 - 1,900 -0-02 0-10 - 1,450 -002 -3,700 - 0-039 0-20 -2,800 - 0-052 0-25 -3,400 -0081 -9,400 0-40 -5,000 - 10,300 - 14,000 -0098 0-45 -5,600 - 11,800 - 15,600 -0 117 0-50 -6,000 - 13,200 -0-15 - 17,000 -0-127 0-667 -6,500 - 12,600 0-715 -6,800 - 10,000 -004 0-75 - 6,650 -0-02 -9,500 0-82 -7,200 Accuracy •±400 ±700 ± 800 HOLVERSCHEIT [41], are however, 2-5 kcal/g-atom more negative than those of OELSEN, whose results have been preferred here. Heats of formation of Fe-Al alloys were recently re-determined by KUBA- SCHEWSKI and DENCH [252] who used a direct method. The agree- ment with OELSEN'S values was very good when these were corrected for the impurities present in OELSEN'S iron. The distribution of Al between {Ag} and {Fe} was studied by CHIPMAN [77] and CHIPMAN and FLORIDIS [79a] at 1600°C. From the results and the approximately known activities of Al in {Ag}, the relation J?rin -Al = - 12,950 + 22,250 NM (1600°C) was obtained for solutions containing up to 25 atomic-pcr cent Al. X-ray and pyknometric densities have been obtained by various observers [472, 56, 25], but the volume changes given above may still be subject to appreciable alterations. 4 Attention may be drawn to a study of the electron-density distribution in the compound NiAl by Acccv and GUSEVA [1]. The electron density is highest (0-9) along bridges formed between Ni and Al. The bridges between similar atoms, Ni-Ni and Al-AI, are much lower, being 0-4 and 0-2 respectively. The heat of formation is obviously due to the new covalcnt bond formed between the dissimilar atoms. Fe-Ni-Al. Fe-Co-AI. Fc-Si-Al. Iron-Aluminium-Nickel (Cobalt, Silicon) OELSEN and UCHTENHERG [237] poured molten, deoxidized alloys of various compositions of Fc-Ni and Fc-Co (1600°C) on to Al (800°-900°C) and allowed the mixtures to cool to room temperature Fe 10 20 JO 10 SO SO 70 SO 30 """> Atom-7. Ml, FIG. 2 Integial heats of formation in the Fe-iNi-Al s)stem at room temperature in a calorimeter. In another scries of experiments molten Fe (I600°C) was poured on to Al-Si melts (1100J-1600°C). After subtracting the heat contents of the component melts, the heats of formation of the ternary alloys at room temperature were obtained. OELSEN and LICHTENBI.RG thus found the heats of mixing of 10 FIG. 4 Integral heats of formation in the Fe-Si-Al system at room temperature Fe-X-O. (X = V, Cr, Mn, Al, Si, C.) The effect of alloying elements on the activity coefficient of oxygen in liquid iron: y0 m alloy/yo in {Fe} "X C Cr V Al C Mn I540 C 1595X 160CTC 1600°C 0001 0-987 0-95 027 0005 0-92 0-94 (0-9) 0-77 (00012) 001 • 0-86 0875 (0-8) 0-585 0-02 076 0-77 0-345 005 0-52 0595 0-10 0-26 0-415 0-20 0-27 Difference in A tfm -26-0 -29-2 - 38-8 - 70 3 kcal Deoxidation equilibria for various elements in liquid iron have frequently been determined for practical reasons. The equilibria may also be calculated from data available in the present mono- graph, i.e. from the free energies of solution of oxygen and of the deoxidizer in{Fej, and from the free energy of formation of the slag. Such calculations will not be repeated here, since they have frequently i been carried out, for instance, by RICHARDSON [366], CHIPMAN [137, 78], and KUBASCHEWSKI and EVANS [253]. It is, however, necessary to take into account the change of activity of oxygen caused by the presence of the added element. The effect of a few elements on the activity of oxygen in liquid iron was deter- mined by CHIPMAN and his associates: Cr [75], V [78], C [285], Si [137], and Al [138]. The effect of other elements, such as Mn, has been estimated by RICHARDSON [366]. The results arc given in the table, in the form of the ratio of the activity coefficient of oxygen in the ternary solution Fc-X-O to that in iron. This effect is partly compensated by the reverse effect of oxygen on the activity of the added metal. Thus the activity of Al in {Fe} is considerably lowered by the presence of oxygen [138]. For other metals having smaller mutual interaction with oxygen, and when the concentration of oxygen is low, as it is in practice, the effect of oxygen on the activity of the metal may be neglected. There is still some doubt as to the effect of silicon [137], and accordingly these data have not been tabulated here. It has been pointed out [366, 138] that the mutual effects of two added metals on the activity curves should be proportional to the differences in free energy of formation of the oxides of iron and of the alloying element. For an approximation, one may take the differences between the heats of formation at room temperature. This has been done in the bottom row of the table, using the heats of formation of Fe0.95O and of the most stable oxide of the addition element. The principle involved may be used for the estimation of the y ratios of other elements in iron. Calculations of the deoxidation equilibria in liquid steel [366, 78, 253] have mostly neglected the mutual effect of the solutes on the activities. This accounts for the larger discrepancies with experimental results. Part of the differences between theory and practice may have arisen either from inaccuracies in the basic thermochemical data and oversimplifications of the reaction mechanism (e.g. Fe-Ti-O), or from experimental errors, particularly in practice, ,whcre equilibrium may not have been attained. In addition the system may be more complex than that assumed in the theoretical analysis. Further rough values of the effect of third elements on the activity of oxygen in liquid iron may be found in a recent review by CHIPMAN [78a]. Table [.'•Therniocheinical Symbols Used, and their Definitions (The table is illustrated with a hinary alloy system of two metals Me and Mt, where Me is the base metal) Symbol Quantity Definition Dimension r absolute °K. temperature e temperature °C Pae vapour pres- saturation pressure of the ideal gas (Me) atm sure of Me over a condensed phase containing this • component 2 elcctrochem. — valency E electromotive potential difference of an electrolytic Volt force = cell measured isothcrmally and rever- e m f. sibly by a compensation method, i e. no current flow Nue,N>u atomic A'MC = ' - A/,,, = /IMC/("MC + "ML) — fraction = at-%/100 "Me activity Padpo, where pa is the vapour pressure — of the pure component Me VMC activity — r coefficient aJfo/A Mc R gas constant 1 986 cal/degrce In logarithm logc — log logarithm logic — At/Me partial free change in free \ when 1 g-atom of cal energy energy 1 Me is assimilated by A/?Me partial heat change in heat 1 a (theoretically) infi- cal of solution content I nitc amount of an A5ne partial entro- change in 1 alloy of constant Cl = py in solution entropy ' composition A/Me cal/dcgrce A<7T integral free change in free \ cal whcn V a( energy energy ' MC £- om g-atom 1 Me and (1 — A\c, ) cal AtfT integral heat change m heat g.atom Mlcombin c of solution contcnt I by reaction at tern- g-atom A5T mtcg entropy change in perature T Cl of solution entropy / g-atom Lf latent heat cal fusion g-atom a, entropy of Cl fusion L,\T, g-atom I*t latent heat of cal transforma- g-atom tion 1 AVT atomic Atomic Weight/Density (p — pykno- cm / volume metnc; r — x-ray) g-atom AK volume at r (^alloi — £Kmcla|s)/SKmeials — change on temp T formation Brackets around chemical symbols cal cal Metal S AY,,, 0,'C L mpt °C L bpt'C "> g-atom g-atom at mpt LI 670 130 180 700 1370 Na 1223 23 7 97 8 625 24 7 910 K 15 2 45 4 63 5 560 472 779 Cs 198 677 298 500 72 7 690 Be 2 28 4 9 1283 (2800) 2400 Mg 7 77 140 650 20SO 15 32 1105 Ca 995 259 440 240 850 2 070 1420 Ba 160 380 370 150 710 1.830 1640 Al 677 100 659 2.500 11 27 2330 La 13 6 224 (868) 920 (2700) Cc 16 65 207 (754) 804 (2530) Pr 17 5 20 8 (79M 935 Tl 7 24 10 8 882 830 1670 3260 Zr 9 29 140 870 920 18t>5 4750 V 701 8 25 (1550) 1920 J350 Nb (8 5) 109 -t_ 2410 Ta 994 1085 2980 Cr 5 68 72 1850 2500 Mo 6 83 94 2600 5550 W 804 95 3380 O400) Mn 759 7 3 720. 1100. 480 550. 1250 (3.200) 1136 430 Re 8 85 93 3170 (5500) Fe 649 7 1 907 1401 215. 140 1537 3.630 795 3070 Co 7 18 66 445, 1125 60.70 1491 3.750 2900 Ni 7 12 66 1453 4,220 Ru (69) 83 2430 Rh (76) 8 3 1960 Pd 903 89 1552 (4.120) Os 7 8 845 2700 Ir 8 7 86 2440 Pt 1000 9 1 1769 (5 200) 4100 Cu 797 7 1 1083 3.100 796 2570 Ag 10 :o 103 960 8 2.690 II 6 2200 Au II S2 102 10(i3 3.050 II 4 2965 Zn 995 9 1 419 5 1.740 96 907 Cii 1235 130 321 1.530 14 0 765 Hg 18 2 - 38 7 550 14 B2 3565 (25CC) Ca 9 8 11 8 297 1 335 11 44 2250 In 13 9 1565 156 3 780 16 25 2075 Tl IS 35 1725 234 90 304 1.030 18 10 1460 Pb 15 49 18 2 326 7 1.150 1945 1750 Snwtl 12 29 1625 13 500 231 9 1.690 1705 2730 Si 4 50 1205 1430 11.100 Cgr 1 36 541 Bi 13 6 21 15 271 3 2.600 20 85 Sb 1092 184 630 5 '. 17 70 18 70 1635 (Sbx) A] 84 13 05 sb 622 P 10 6 170 —44 2 601 (P,) 17 75 280 (P,) Te 11 88 20 45 450 4.180 990 Cmet 10 15 16 3 220 1.500 1925 685 s 762 156 95 i S3 119 300 17 7 444 6(S,) Ref 450. 102. 255. 25 248 218. 329.455 248. 210 417. 255. 253.61. 211. 338. 210 61 230. 462. 456. 114 53 414 LABORATORY^ T|5T^RESULTS 1897 Aurora^TX Metal Sample Conducted for J>, "Schuessler 1. The subject sample was analyzed by x-ray fluorescence, soft x-ray spectroscopy, and optical metallography. 29 X-Ra.y Fluorescence Analysis The approximate composition of the sample as measured by x-ray fluorescence was: 95 atomic (at.) % Al 5 &•$*.% Fe That no zinc was detected in the sample is of interest, since zinc was found in other pieces of aluminum recovered in the geographical area of the ,,present sample. The limit of x-ray fluorescence detectability for Zn is \j*jn i avat« 70°/n. 3. Soft X-Sa.y Analysis The approximate composition of the sample as measured by soft x-ray spectroscopy was: 98 at. % Al 1-2 at. % Fe No copper was observed with soft x-ray spectroscopy^, which has a limit of detectability of approximately i at. %, Commercial aluminum allots that contain iron usually contain k-5 viffc. % copper. If. Optical Me tallo graphic Analysis Photomicrographs of the sample are shown in Encl.(!)(see attached photographs). The presence of large grains shown in Figure l(see page ) indicates that the sample is stress- free and has gone through a melting and cooling stage. The presence of shrink cavities observed before the material was etched also indicates that the sample had been molten. Small crystals of a second phase as shown in End. (l)(see page ) are an iron-aluminum intermetallic compound. Th%$ second phase is present because not more than 1% iron can exist in solution in aluminum. These crystals are much harder than the aluminum matix and are much more numerous at the outer surface than in the interior as may be observed by comparison of Figures 1 and 2. The photomicrograph in Figure 1 was taken at the edge of the cut surface 'whereas the photomicrograph in Figure 2 was taken at the center of that surface. The differences in the percentages of aluminum and iron between the x-ray fluorescence and soft x-ray results are due to this change in concentration of the second phase. In the soft x-ray spectroscopy measurements, the x-rays originate from a small area(1 mm x 3 mm) near the center of the cut surface, but in x-ray fluorescence the entire sample contributes to the results. The increase in concentration of the second phase near the edge of the sample is a normal occurrence when the alloy is cooled from the melt. 5. The sample was tested for radioactivity with a Geiger counter. No radiation above background was detected. PHONE 512/379-9216 MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. Jh» Scientific Investigation of Unktentified flying Object* WALTER H ANDRUS. JR. 103 Oldtowne Road i International Director Seguin. Texas 78155 U.S.A. SSQ: 74 RNRSTRS TECHNICRL SERVICES MON 15:27 Cursor-: 0.000KeV = 0 F ,^yy.^r.^ 0.000 VFS = 4096 10.240 240 RURORR FRRGMENT SSQ SEMI-QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS: AURORA FRAGMENT EL NORM. K-RATIO AL-K 0.99046 +- 0.00198 FE-K 0.00953 +- 0.00033 ZAF CORRECTION 25.00 KV 40.00 Degs No. of Iterations 2 ----- K CZD CAD CF CZAF] ATDM.'/i WT.7. AL-K 0.990 0.999 1.023 0.999 1.022 99.50 98.96 FE-K 0.009 1.080 1.018 1.000 1.100 0.50 1.04 * - High Absorbance 6, 0fy*»M+*f &*~ s"^-*" f I rf Jj> / fit 4U+4 '&***' J*** [i^^u^ r i4#t*?s*/^te. S /< >**«^^x^xa^K &&*~~& **>&&&*- s4*+ •Tfatt,; WAvtstHAgjArf '***&£. (Z^SI^ »»£l*^ fa^^srS^n****"*' J^&*^^jtt+***y#' b+jtl****0 6^0ut^<**+b ic-af^/ftr, \d*U/*"/***<&fc&ljfi*~ t^^^^^^r^^^ ^i^i $6, tfcfcifa' (rtfa+fatf Jy '^ l^c^^J^/^^^ fiji/>*d*i ^ty**, jtJtft' **Jj£*yd CBS & *- &**»£• ^^MM_ —ty\e*' s & (. Ov^fL^^-tfrdLze^^ t i . /% 9% r r r #v/ y?/ V /^ (f^^i^^^^r^^-f^1^^^^^^/f^ **-*>•! jt'f J. - //. r CM** ., -CB( ^SW-^Ll^^^_^«t i , 4 » ' i ^ ^ ^^^^(1^,^^^^^^^^-t a :A^>fcte5^fS_ ^M-^^-&jt^-0^4t^^r^^ - a ^Mt-ts^d**^-* /&#Ld£^.^( / tf ^ . J /} ' / j^ ««feL^!3*!Owl*v.~' >o -^ ^/ ^y s ^ y // ^ ^ —/— "y * / / -jfau£^-fd--*«*f4+&_ II --^^ ^J^i^4^^5^_^_- .^^^^^i^^.^1 /^^L/^^-^iz^— \ 1HE Q4LWS TIMES HER4LD INUOUSL* PUBLISHED FOR ao_£ARS THE T MES iB76 THE HEBALD see CONSOLIDATED ieaa May 31, 1973 Walt: Here is today's story on the first scienticf results of metals testing on the reported Aurora, Texas crash in which the pilot's body was surposed to have been recovered. We have sent a complete file to Dr. Hynek to brief him. After the scientific findings of the analtfets are in we would consider it an "honor" and one hell of a boost if both you as MUFON national director and Dr. Hynek eould comment on the effort wnd whether you consider the evidense substantial enough to go ahead with a firm effort to secure an exhumation order in the grave we have been getting the signals from. Obviously we need the respect and outside "punch" that a statement from Dr. Hynek and yourself would give us in this case. We feel we have dug intdi every corner and Gary reports his analysis thus fars looks promising. Please let me have your views on this possibility. We could of course conduct it in other ways not a la Hayden Hewes — and we want keep it straight and level to maintain the community cooperation. o _ 1HE DAUAS TIMES HER4LD frw^ ci CONT CONT 'NUOUSUf PU&USHED FOR 90 YEARS THE TIMgS 1B76 THE HERALD ISBfl CONSOLIDATED 1B88 I L^^Jv»—XO LJ In Metro Dallas J V In Retail Advertising June 5, 1973 Walt: Here are copies of last Friday's and Sunday's Aurora UFO search stories. This completes the set. We announce the metal findings tomorrow, Wednesday, June 6, 1973 Regards, Bill fadhud- — ^^ ' / a. >V*<. 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 30 2 25 26 27 28 29 30 - — ^31 I \ /^- t *\ —* ^ NOTES r Remember We've Moved COR PO RAT I ON 1B4S 57TH STREET, SARASOTA. FLORIDA 335BO CB13) 3S5-B411 . FAX JMQ . CABLE ELECTROLAB MAGNETIC SENSORS PROXIMITY CONTROLS TACHOMETRY SYSTEMS PHOTOELECTRIC CONTROLS / ' < ' ((. 1/*/73 /, VfBAP-TV &-•*" &£& /3fci<# C, AC U 1% £tt~jj*t £"^^ 7+ !&**&. (jj-tt* / -a*-* ON PttWfiLV JVL^f 12. ' ' ^ ' i At P5 - Me. SHUTA SUSPENS ON BR DOE GATE CATTLEGUABO (L) FLOCKED NTERM TTENT STREAM FLOW NO STREAM 0 TCH OB CANAL NAV GABLE STREAM NTERM TTENT NAV GATION SK P AND BARGE L N£5 NAUT CAL L GHT DOCK P EB OH LAND KG F SH HATCHERY LEVEE LEVEE w TH BOAD POND OR LAHE AREA SUBJECT TO NUNOAT ON NTEBM TTENT LAKE DAM PROM NENT ELEVAT ON ESCARPMENT OR BLUFF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS L NE P PE L NE WOIEH UNDERGROUND TELEPHONE LNE TRANS" SSION LINE M L TORY AIRF ELO GENERAL HIGHWAY MAP WISE COUNTY TEXAS PREPARED BY THE TEXAS STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT PLANNING SURVEY DIVISION IN COOPERATION WITH THE U S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION SCALES 0 05 0 1963 1970 CENSUS FIGUTES BOONSVILLE HIGHWAYS REVISED TO MARCH I, 1971 POLYCOM C PROJECTION NORTH AMERICAN DATUM Contro U S Coosi and Geodetic Survey and u S Geo og CD Survey Comp ed torn oer oi photog'Ophs By rodol Irangulaton and skeichmaster Comp ed 96 Mop f eld cnecked 963 Photog. aplis 9K3 WISE COUNTY TE*AS 249 < IM. .s/.r.w/.vr.u metal into the usages of man's life is an operation of extreme I''. A L. K. CiiirU-y, Troy, X. V. The castings in this difficulty." This statement was truly prophetic, for scientist ll wen- made from aluminum purchased from a metal though he was, Sainte-Claire Dcville sensed the crux of the Jtrokrr at ?1.30 per avoirdupois ounce. The date of the invoice, commercial problem, possibly because he had devoted a large Apr. 3, 1S7G, indicates that the metal was cither imported or part of his own fortune, not only to his experimental work, but olse m:\dc ;]t the small chemical works of Col. William Frishmuth also to the marketing of the product. ! at Philadelphia. Sodium was made at this plant and, by its Saintc-CIaire Dcville had reference to aluminum produced by the earliest process known, reduction with sodium. Thirty- four years later (1889), Charles M. Hall, whose invention of the electrolytic method of producing aluminum permitted a drastic reduction in cost, wrote his associate in the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, Romaine C. Cole, "The 'mention of S2 per pound in 1,000-pound lots did not seem to interest anyone . . . practi- cally no one wanted a thousand pounds." Here was a metal about which much had been published looking forward to an "Aluminum Age," with methods of working covered experimen- tally, and uses suggested' that ranged all the way from minor coinage to the replacement of steel in bridges. Also it was a metal but one-third the weight of any other metal in common use, which for 30 years had been generally known to have reasonable strength when worked or alloyed, and stability under ordinary atmospheric conditions. Yet when it was suddenly brought down from $8 to $2 per pound, ^ decrease to 25 per cent of its previous value, this new price did not even arouse interest. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the statement by Dr. Joseph W. Richards in the 1890 edition of his well-known book, "Aluminium, Its Properties, Metallurgy and Alloys," that "Aluminium has not yet won a very large field, and perhaps FIG. 1.—Transit made of aluminum by W. and L. E. Gurley and exhibited at not a little disappointment is felt on finding out exactly the few i Centennial .Exposition, in li>70. uses it has been put to." It was disheartening to the pioneers use, small quantities of aluminum were produced. The alumi- who, like Sainte-Claire Deville, had hoped to place the aluminum num tubing was bought in Paris by William Gurley. industry on a firm basis, but were instead between the devil of This transit was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in the high costs of production and the deep sea of a restricted Philadelphia and probably sold. Fifty-three years later it was market that could only be enlarged through sales below cost. returned to the makers for repair and by them exchanged for a The early dynamos were temperamental, but the weekly payroll new instrument. Its history from 1S7G to 1909 is unknown, was not. bin froin the latter date it was owned by an engineer in Char- ii'tJ-.'-viilc. Va., :uid had been in almost constant service. A Early Development of Markets in the United' States. o.:!ip!.-;<- clu'inical Mii:ilvsis. nrrntly made of a simple from Probably the first assembly of aluminum fabricated in the ''" --11' •'•'•£. !-h'i\\c'([ :m aliiiiiiri'.iiii content of OS.O-i per cent, United States, of which there exists authentic knowledge, is an 'v " ' :•(::.•..- ..; v^o-ui (>.'.>!: jr.... ll.'.M); r<'pjKT IU4; :uid engineer's transit made in 1876. It is now in the museum of its • '", "I » t t-'i: 8 THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY . HISTORY nf M.UMtXUU Soldering and Welding.—As soon as sheet metal became Early in 1S95' occurred the first bit of what might be called commercially available, the necessity for properly joining pieces inU>rn:ition:il publicity since the Paris Exposition of 1SS9. The was evident. Probably no other process was the subject of so Ili-rroshoff Manufacturing Company designed and, with great much effort and invention. The Patent Office files on aluminum secrecy, built the yacht Defender for the International Cup Races. solders are voluminous, and the results disappointing in many Aluminum alloy plates and deck angles, rolled in a steel mill, and ways. Scarcely a week went by in the earlyjdays that some new cast fittings werejused above the water line. Prior to this in the solder was not being pushed by a hopeful inventor. The problem United States, a few small aluminum boats had been used by the was not one simply of finding a solder that would flow and adhere. Any combination of metals with a substantially lower melting PITTSBURGH REDUC TICK CO point than that of aluminum was certain I to differ from it in electrolytic potential. This meant the failure of the joint through galvanic action in the presence of, any moisture that could act as an electrolyte. Ultimately a very satisfactory welding technique was developed, but in the'first 20 years of the commercializing of aluminum no stable use resulted where either hard or soft soldering was essential and .where riveting was impractical. The soldering of aluminum is better understood now and has some applications for which it is quite satisfactory. Some Early Uses and Their Results. { Prior to 1890, the uses open to so expensive a metal as alumi- num in fabricated form were of two general classes. The first included parts of instruments or machines of various kinds, in which the labor per piece was so much greater than the cost of the material used that this cost was negligible.! The second class might be termed "metal fancy goods" or novelties. Five years later, with the gradual decrease in the selling price of ingot to 55 cents per pound, and with sheet metal available at from 82 Fio. 2.—Aluminum inhibit .it tlie Pittsburgh Exposition, allowing typical cents to $1.10 per pound, depending upon width and thickness, aluminum products as mudo in Js94. (The Alum num. World. I, 47 (1S94).) manufacturers of novelties multiplied in number. Also a rapidly expanding demand resulted from the production of cooking Wcllman Arctic Expedition. In Europe, Messrs. Esschcr, Wyss utensils, both cast and spun ware. "New [uses" were mostly and Company had experimented with a launch in 1S91 and a limited to additional novelties, often developed on a specula- yacht in 1S92 which led to the French ccovernrncnt's ordering tive basis, and to new sizes or types of kitchen or camp furnish- several torpedo bents from the Crcusot Works in France. ings. A typical display of aluminum articles in 1894 included, Almost from the day the Dcf<;»d<.r was launched, sensational besides cast and spun utensils, such an assortment as metal- sizurios of (lie failure of aluminum appeared in the d.-iily press. backed brushes, collar buttons, tea-balls, snilt and pepper sets, I r.itt-il States jrovyniuirnt officials cuiiilcinncd the inef.-il. and (lie bookmarks, trays, card counters, cardcascs, paper cutters, look- laiiM'Ts jiri'i other «-.\[HTIS \\vro drawn into the c'>ntrovfrsy. l ing-glass ami picture frames, hairpins, combs, penholders, f •.r-ij.-.iu pr:iriiri-l vv:ft ritr-.l :imi liie tirhiiir::! prrs.-' '.•<>MKii« l)t<- L. to - *v\ t 01 „. %v*' fe '!' ••• -'^ , *+** c.»-.-.i Friday, August 6, 1S63 aljc Sallas -Slsrutiie Sfrai.-: ' . 7 A';: -V yin I DENiSOiV, Texas (Sp.)— Soulh-iDallas Kcrald in -.vliicli "Mr.! "After gazing at it for somc;!)!c'J, as well .is !-c c J o; !1 ! suc n [western sinr Ja/crs who thir.k' ' ' Martin, a f.-.rmrr who livcsj.;,-^ ^r Mr.rtin became b!r.rf '« • « ^"slar.ce. Ithcv are seeing 'spots before theirl™ si>: m^ rorth of .this f^tr"-. lonj looking and left of,'!wllich SCC!11-c! !o :'lirn l° b f H- i " , j ,.. ',, (Dallas),, wnne out ntmt:n^, I^ao .... , ,.. mie.s. l rea."onao:. 2 . I »"- ,cycs ^^rcn t secmg anytn.ns neiv.!-,,., a(lcntion dirc.ctcd .o a dnrk_v^^g it >» order to rrst ni.s.slra.,..c p^no,T.e.;c;, ,;;o,,h ;,c i F.any-d:iy p:r>nccrs were seeing. object lii^h up in the northern eye?. On -c.«imv.pj; his view, tr.t; js nf ,i,p ,,„•„,:,,,., .;:~r ;r ..vr, ]7L.,. aniccpl-ficc: Ilyirp objects a^sky. ' ;o'\-c: -va< ai^os!. cv::-hcail aiv.l^^blv oic oj ;!'c !i;.r.x-'-'y oodics. jt-arly .IK 'S7S. al.lcast. . . "The pc'.-jliar ihaac. and the r.."i rncrra;-cd coi .idcra'jly in '": \,-eri a.s rT).(i!y a:: it Iu/ j The Jan. 25, 1S7-S. txl'tioii of ihc! velocity v.ith which ire nbj'ictjbir" crnci anpearcd to be ^oin^; conic and was j-co,; ioj-i fo ii^h! iDcniron Daily News carried wiinj' soetne.l to approach, riveted hisil'i.'OBph space at a wonderful, in the southern s' eo.keeps popping :up yr?DL^-W.--' ;-^ w"> ••V wvupaoi wn« :was wwaoiy a mm-eveni..,; r'..-„-••" •»•»«»• ,.t-.~~- ' »O/' K Mcffltny ^/.^.'-•..v^^vri-^'^'''-- •••• •$ -J Stephenvllle.V Texas,- ccailed^The Dall*. */U; ^ir^p'iflftei'lFliufinW^;-'-^:' N«»« -to--"/ 1 ffoad 'telegraphers. And • yet people all over., ^ I li ; the-ccwntry. most of *§ ?f^^(^ 'Cwnen dynamitors start .riding ^r hlV fl&VB •*•""*•* *•» o«*«n» **»* •nlfsi cnu^M tmHt •.droppin. •- g - ~1xnnb9.;dofm-on_ •_• . - • *' " —.a saB«w,>iwBuvraji...,-,•_w ,^he aircraft..'; , .j-; .§,*• ^ ^ • .. worra^ready foraiwhips?" *;" V"v- -^ •^"••l,'•; Dr. Burnap,und6ubted^^has-'reference .' ,-.t "• y, • - •. *, •'-. .: >«,, ^j/A.,c/",' ? • ' >;to a newJs story'>h1ch"appeared rn'the^X.-OrHX MARSHALt "!<&:BroiraMof 1 ••#?*' . \*LApril 1% 1897, edition o^'The Dallas Morn- ' FarmergviUe. 'Texas/ and several-otheif ^^- ing News. There, wa?' no r^ .eviderice :,tt ^'church people" swore they "saw, tfieafc ^);'that 'the editor's were spoofuigiexcept that ;'V «mp flyblow over'town and what appeared the rather startUng^rarrath/e was carried! , .to be 3.meni.and> large, dog were see*. x v with a very modest headline on Page' |j^(f iftibard.HMarsh8/Jl Brown said he-"heard It was under -Jh.e •by;Hn^/of one ^S. ffi. someone singing "Nearer My "" Haydon and this i was th» story in part the craft from Aurora,, a village rn*aj ;Deoatur tod Judge,'Samuel Foster was erttertammg Rhomet ~ > • ' * r.''' 7 guest_ .s _ ; o• *;j' * hi• si fron•' _t .porc .. h_ • iBCprsjrana• *•. _ »'__•. > "AURORA. Wise bounty, Tesas-^bout The news story didn't aynlinii what (da • o'clock^ this morning early risers of AD- Judge .vaa serving but he and aU bis Tor4' were . aiitbnished at the sudden .ap- guests declared,they saw "the Qymgmt» pearance of the airship which baa'been chine roar over like a railway passenger cruising around the nation.... Evidently coach at rather fast speed against the fir» 5'. isoinetil J»_machineryj^s_out of order,"; '^inantent'fe In ^DalDallal s .M, •£• Oriffti, de- V fpfit was; making e'speed of;o»ly tOor"/ scribed'.as'"churcurch man and a non-drinK> .;!lj miles, ah hour tad ..gradually" settling- - " sai"d .h'e *borrowe• d "a powerful glass," • toward the earth. ''\ '«/ ; • : climbed' to the top of the courthouse *' "It sailed directly over the public and the airship convenienUy flew over to ." square then collided with Judge. Proctor's his "great delight" and he called it .a. .;* windmill and went to pieces with a terrif- "sublime eight." Fort Worth's leading wit- ;:, ic explosion, scattering debris oVer sever- 'ness, was Joseph E. (Truthful) Scully, a ;• al acres, wrecking the windmill and wa- railroad conductor "who never told a lie In '. ter tank, and destroying the judge's flow- v his life." '^ er garden." - , ; The* wire services said "fully 110 dents of New Carlisle, Indiana" would ' r^reCrO^ fo ^tfr0rq i' - * swear on the Sible they «w the ship on ' , »' -' The story-went on to say that a dead the night of April 18,1897. : ."; pilot was "epparentV' the only one One (theory on this whole thing li that • :'*' aboard 'and tKSt~his disfigured remains it-was-a hoex started by raUtead talegra?. v suggested that "he wasn't an inhabitant phere''in Iowa. Then railroad telegraphers •';; of this world." The story skid that "the all over the U.S., or at ltiut in the mid- •*. town is full of people" carrying off spec!-' dle part, joined b the fun. abetted by i *, mens of the "strange metal" of the air- .newspapermen. •,/ . ••. '• .'» - ship settle dbwn in one of his pastures 'and Stilt, the fact remains that thousands ."• and • silver." Thej yarn conchided -wWi: o,f people, some of, them In the back coun-, -" "The pilot's funeral will take place tomoA try, claimed to see the heavier-than-air ' crafts .flying around. They couldn't possi- bly have been in on the hoax in that tirew ;• THAT DAY (ApiU 17/1837) big air- of rather poor communications, 0 yean / ships were crashing over a widewvath of before' the Wright brothers- finally got a •• the nation, at least according to news re- machfm off the ground at Kitty Hawk. . ^ Tolbert*8 Texas " • '• % * / i •• 1 6Meah9 Schoolmaster * i (j,. Named Frog Not Town By FRANK X. TOLBERT £ * 'was' killed and apparently buried, . tern's tank, down the road from ^the ufo arrived from Jerold 1 1 1 on store and market 11,.,. '),.' ^"'^' jS/Vj. R. "I read your inter-. I was hoping that the'Frog^ot.CBJen-' . esting^reply^.to a letter fronj Dr.. '., dar would be illustrated by some picru, ift-;-M'f &VV ** ^" *' ~*~ - *~'--- ~ • furthe-* ** r •_*informatio- n of frogs. Instead there is a ,'airship' crash* at Aurora, Tex.v color ""• •<»--'-'•»•" Vallee. .author,of foals, on the subject of Frog Ha'rJon,, author of -J the scarcity of these amphibian^ but be-1' cause of an early schoolmaster--who .was • a severe disciplinarian..% Oqe of hia'pet peeves was over j^i,--*-'-"-"-----•-—-••-<--'• ing frogs to school, with a frog' in class So Ae afoot and later cne oomroumry .w p^^ Saiicer Revfew^for JwuM^-Febni- . came to be calf^.Frog Not or F:rognoff t.ffjiy Mr, Vallee jrnd Hanloii stated ,flBt That old sppilspor| <*j&!'^l«&&'\$n;im!stfatm was «pnt to Aurbra.to.as, would have been unhappy"1!} fie'd Iwed to',y^rt^n the vaUdity ofIfoe incident^epprt. see that likeness of ^ grten'frog-on,rti)«CA a?lnjche Dallas Morning N«ws edition of | ,-town-water, painted ffolft a'.scaffold by'''. Anril 18~I897V" ts£ ' - A Y »• •'""••• ' i" Not. ' ' Otis, and Hazel Disnn hopes enough frog lovers whq wiU contribute to^ "^icesOfficer (i4 this fund for the statue.' >^ *^ 4. V JS>:. th« dead pilot was from', airier'planWv' m t i i 'a if t v»».. ' c\, waSain fact the local blscksmith.. .•'> '-^' rrulfe/ut Scully'Moo* ^#$-&„ •impo-rtantly:,;the^uro^^ TROUBLE FOLLOWED,after J wrote .cemetery,, is •raocuratcjy.,1 y '" ' a sort of natipnal hysteria when tjiey ^busy little'town untij.the railroads claimed to see lighter-tha'n-air cfjft Hying. i-jrat \down their new tracks andqeglected around several years before' the W, right to .include Aurora-in their, plans. As are* .•Brothers' successful experiment. People isulvpeople begifl/td move to be near ti^ all -over die nation declared djeyV^ere. '<^ railfpaii E.^E-HaydDn,1 the man who sent 1 a Bn cras 1 .seeing aircraft. *'•«? "^ '• • "• '?f ^ .?io '' 'P' ' «tory<9'tb^,-the'pallBi «..*..* cTx- - -;?^ . ..f^^ffio Ther•n.—e wa—s _^.«:_-..-j—^tiin-i^../•Newa.was/spoofing a cotton b^yeraWwriterwl»f space on a seripns-soundlng stpriry,,ij n ant-^'v !wantet|' to do1 something) to keep people in y ^rlf^lK^ "- April,-. 1897., «diiiotj;of- :;. By FRANK X. TOLBERT v, „ ports. At'., Waterloo, Iowa, a'farmer ^apV . i t «-]n\!. YOUR; column about two years ; peared 'with some-.metallic debris which • • ago' you discussed a. small town in Texas he said was all,that, remained of anair- ; ''where1«, flying saucer .was'said to have craft which landed in his;.pasture. He;•'• landed • many -years ego. As I recall, it,.; 'charged 25c 'to -.yifew the wreckage and:' '•* ; was stated that :one of the pilots of thiSv,',-''didn't lack,for customers. ,: .: .,'. ; . aircraft was alleged to have become «!!;> . j_ • >;« '•-.'' >;-'' •'•'•.•,.''''" '•"^•'", died and'was buried i,-n« *hithis; tim«,t««m •• Blew •- Up in ' Kalamazoo -t.. ,wrjtes,:Ihomas K.' Bumap, 'M.D.. in a let-' : tef. 'Dr. Burnap, who is Director of-the ':• ''' 0n^ wire-; seA/jce chtonlcled under, a^j department, of anesthesiology at Presby- "idateiiiie, ' fnjnrt'V'Kalamaioo, Mich., 'that terian Hospital of Dallas, also asked:, .."three- prominent < and • sober citizens, "This .column keeps .popping up in my; '."while; engaged in rshihgling a roof," saw "~$ftntl!1md. nagging at mei repeatedly. Could: . .. ._. , . •'it. be possible to/receive a'copy of your itf*#**, •W"1*.*?. n»f to investigate .... IT*"" ,-..,. ..*r« ^ .ytfut. they said nothing .was left of the craft 'but "a- large coil of heavy wire and a Bumap. it was more like '12 ! ; or, hs/years ago .that i; made brief 'jpropeiler blade of some light material." 'i was probaWjra non-event. *' .A fanner . named C. L. McHhany of':'. ; [ Stephenville, . Texas, called The Dallas ( HtiWirtirnUI "'-News to say that he was coming home • ^ •y..,, .,. •,*..'-—•" • •.-. ; ~—~ • , ftom • jrfayer meeting when he saw an air-;,' • "'•i*' ill'. rnid-April of 1897 heavier-than-air r ship settle down In: one of his pastures and • '•frying machines'were feeing reported seen, two%en jumped out ''to make repairs on ''. 1 ; 'Sby!:,'^pb£r...citizens" all oyer^the United the raachin«ry.": He said sorrref/of hfe'l 1- -States.;' Ariel mind you Urigwas'eyeara.be* neighbors, also/wftre witnesses. 'Mir.-;Mc-''...'> , --fore^ the Wright brothers got' off, the'." /jihany offered some interesting philosophy -•'• MJigrpimU^at/•Ktty.1..Hawk.yt.p1rob4Wy all/,-.!in. that edition of The Dallas News 73 years •-, starte^0a8?'a pattical'joke'of. iwne-rail- .ago:., • ;•:• - ." ;,': : Toad telegraphers. And yet people all over ! . V •'What do you .think jsgoing to happen -. :.,^he country, most of wh^Cofcldn tpossl- ' when:dvnamltew*tart riding airships and • /. bly -tew been in on the,jote, »wort they • ^n^^ ^g^ 4^ fc folks? fc' this , : :> 1 J ,p,,wwthe aircraft. V^V£' '-': , ' .'^rworld ready.for Wrshlps?" ,.-" \- :' . - > :: 'Ofrf Bumap undoubtedly :,has reference,. •'.' • ; ;^'/ . . , >'. ^•to a;,,'news;;stdry 'which'eppetred -'in1 the'V;j..- CTY MARSHALL Tom,;Brown ol -;, .' April'is., Ifi97:'edition of The1, Dallas Monv'^-'Parmersville, Texas, and several other r; '••. -ing News.'.There; was no 'real evidence"/ : "church people'^ewore they''saw the eft- ; ; .,, .that the .editors were spoofing].except that:;r*j,Bhip fly low over; town and wl?at appeared :-'',J : the'-ratherr,. startlinstartling narrative''was'carried *.to be. 3 roeft and a large dog were seen ':"i fnoiti;Aurora, a village ;aear -p«Satur f, Jodge Samuelji'Ifoster was' entertaining^::•! ; ;Rhbme':." .''*' •'',-.'• ''''--'f ••' • •' • - ••'; , 7 guests on his front porch in Corsicana.^- - • '--:'. "AURORA, Wise Coun^r, Texa^-Vtfxwt' The news,' story; didn't mention what the '. , .6. o'clock this morning early risers of Au; : judge, was serving but he and! all his ''.-" ;•; rora were-astonished at,the sudden ap-,' guests declared they saw "the flying mi- .v •'•••> pearahce of the airship which' has been- chine-coar over'like a railway passenger erasing around .the nation-..,; Evidently u 'coach at rather fast' speed against the firf;",j S^soine;!of the machinery/was oat of order,, mament" In Dallas. M. E.- Griffbu;.«Iey,#.t ;: fptvit ;was making a speed of oitly 10 or, scribed .as "church man and a non-drink-''',;.! : \fj :*niiles an hour -and. gradually settling' er;" said he borrowed"a(pbw*rfurglass;", i", .i?, M(raird-.the'earthr:-. «• ;;1V-•'•.'. '' .''.;;' climbed to the''top 'of the cpurthouse^^,1 '?'J'it" sailed directly'.dyer the public and the airship'convenientiy flew over to"* ' squa'n^'theri,collided with'Judge Proctor's . his "great delight" ;aml--.he'called-it,;a^ . 1 windmill and went to pieces with a terrif- "sublime, sight." Fort Worth^leading wit-:7 - ;•' ic explosion, scattering :debris over sever- . nes.._-•.:s • was Joseph'E,- ^L. ^. (Tr(Truthfulu ) Scully, a '/" ; TJ,,al acres, wrecking :thc windmill and wa- railroad conductor "who nnever.tole d avlie-in'' : Vter tank, and, destroying^ the judge's flow-;j:- his lifei," , ( •-.,;, er'jgarden.". The'::Vire services said "fully. 110'resi- _ ;.-"dents of; N^ew."Carlisle;1 Indiana"-would • jFtinerak in. Aurora .V''swear on "the Bible they saw the^hipon' The story r One•,theory,on this whole thing 'pilot was,-"apparently* ;'Jh*i,;only ;bne aboard and that his' disfigured remains it was fa hoax/started-byrailroad telegra- " ' "^•suggested-" that >'V'he - wasn'l'^an inhabitairt. -. phere^in Iowa.=Jheri railroad telegraphers,*! ( of this -world." The story said that "the all over the U.S'. or at" lenst iri'the mid-T,'V; die • part, joined; in the fun, abetted .by "*., .,-'tOwn is., full, of people" carrying off speci- . : -.^niehs of'the "strang«!::metal'."of the air-.- • newspapermen.'-' ' • .,,, -. ...1.^4"-;, .-I 'ship nettle, tbwn in one of his pastures and '" Still,'.'the fact remains'that'thousands'i;.- i and silver." The yarn concluded with: ,,of people, some of them in the back coun-• '.' •'• ""The pilot's - funeral ,w!l) tafie place tomo'r^' .try, -Claimed to see.the heavier-than-air.>Cv'/ crafts"-flying 'arooml.-'They; couldn't possi- -• bly have been in on the hoax in that time ,;'': .THAT, DAY (April 17, 1897) big air- of -rather poor .communications, 6 years ;• : ships were crashing over a wide swath of before' the Wright brothers finally got a the nation, at least according to news re- machine off the ground at Kitty Hawk. "TYc vvi i~ came .icross an airship near Putnam in West Texas. Byrnes was pedaling his ve- locipede cast on what woulJ become U.S. SO. He s.iw a light, became curious,, and stopped to investigate. What he lound was the cigar filled with blue- suited men. The ship had engine trouble. He i elated th.it the mcr claimed to be on their way to Cuba to "bomb the Span- iards " The cigar was loaded with "sev- eral tons of dynamite." The cigar's captain revealed that his airship intended to drop bombs on the Spanish navy and destroy it. By one o'clock, on the morn- ing of April 17. the ship was repaired. Once Upon a Time in Aurora... It left Byrnes and his velocipede and flew off to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, by JERRY,FLEMMONS _ where, the captain said, his crew would "train for the-bombings. - — - — For that April dawn, the sun came oft Searchers found papers in the wreck- If a ruler is placed on a map, Aurora the mesquite prairie like a flipped gold age but could not read them. The writing lies almost in a straight line between the coin and poised on the sooty morning —if it was that—was unintelligible hiero- Putnam sighting and the Ozarks. By 6 clouds. The day was the 17th and if an- glyphics. The cigar must have weighed a m. the cigar could have been above- cient newspapers may be trusted it was several tons, but observers could not Aurora, just in time to destroy Judge cool for midspring but wonderfully clear identify its metal and only speculated Proctor's flower garden. and bright. Not a single cigar could be that it w,is a mixture of aluminum and So S. E Haydcn informed the news- seen in the sky. silver. papers and the newspapers informed the Aurora. Texas, on that 17th day of S. E. Haydcn. a local cotton buyer, world and the world yawned at the news April in 1897, claimed two lawyers, one surveyed the wreck and hurried off to of a Martian-piloted spaceship crash in undertaker, five doctors, a picture gal- inform big city newspapers. Citizens Aurora. lery, one brass band for Sunday concerts, cleaned up debris and at noon of the 17th Did it really happen? two cotton gins, a newspaper, two hotels, they gave the Martian pilot a Christian Wise County historians, familiar with and 3.000 people. burial in the little cemetery on the serene the talc, politely cleared their throats and The sun flipped up at 5:57 a.m., but hill. said. "No." It was just a hoax, folks. But civil twilight, that period of light before Texas had its Paul Revere for flying few believed them. the dawn, came about 5:30 a.m. At 6 panatellas. Joseph E. "Truthful" Scully, Years later, a West Texas scientist, Dr. a.m. the big. silver-colored cigar ap- a Fort Worth man who conducted for the Alfred E. Kraus. a director of the Kil- peared above the southern horizon. The Texas and Pacific Railroad. Scully, gore Research Center, came to Aurora cigar showed two gasoline engines along whose reputation for truthfulness and twice. He used a metal detector to search each side. Both turned propellers. An- honesty was unquestioned, told a report- the crash area. What he found were old other prop, which "bored through the er he had sighted the supposed airship in stove lids, horse bridle rings, and 1932 air," was mounted on top for vertical lift. Wood County near Hawkins. Almost license plates. What he did not find were By various accounts the curious air- immediately citizens reported sightings bits and pieces of a silver cigar. Kraus borne stogie was 200 to 300 feet long in Demson. Beaumont. Whitney. Forney, also interviewed several elderly persons and 50 feet wide. Windows, at least seven Mansfield, and Dallas. An Atlanta farm- who had lived at Aurora in 1897. None of them, were across the bottom. A er spoke with occupants of the cigar, one remembered a Martian visit. strong headlight-flashed out of the nose. of-whom told him. "We will he in Greece In the earlyJ960's jin aging railroad Depending on who reported seeing the day after tomorrow." That man claimed telegrapher confessed that the entire fly- cigar, it was piloted by one of several three beings aboard sang "Nearer My ing cigar business in 1897 was a joke PCIMM:S. some of whom wore blue sailor God to Thee" and passed out temperance concocted by railroad men in Iowa. suits tracts. When the joke reached Texas. "Truth- On {h« 17th, however, a Martian di- Rev. J. W. Smith saw the machine at ful" Scully was chosen to initiate the rect«J ff» cigar. 1:16 a.m. of an April morning as it dis- story. .Byrncs's addition apparently was Th^ airship—no one really believed it appeared above Childress speeding to- unscheduled embroidery. Other sightings was a Hying cigar—came in low over ward Amarillo. C. L. Mcllhaney and a by non-railroad men were products of Aurora s square, then zoomed north dozen other men of Stcphcnvillc claimed imagination. above Juage J. S. Proctor's house, the cigar landed in Erath County and had Could anyone really have seen an air- perched on one of those caliche hills. a pilot and engineer aboard. In Mcrkel ship in 1897. some 6'/2 years before the The machine struck the peace justice's a family returning from church spied an Wright Brothers flew 59 seconds and 852 windmill and exploded. Debris scattered anchor hooked to a corral fence. A stout feet at Kitty Hawk and 3 years prior to over several acres. Among other dam- rope led from the anchor to the cigar, the first launching of Count Ferdinand ages w;is Judge Proctor's flower garden, hovering just above the ground. Before von Zeppelin's powered air vehicles in which was ruined. their eyes, the cigar opened and a small Germany? It all seems too improbable. Aurorans hurried to the smashed cigar. man in a blue sailor suit slid down the And Martians, little men in blue sailor The pilot was badly disfigured, but they rope. Spying the family, the sailor cut suits, anchors and dynamite-loaded air- could sec he was not of this earth. T. J. the rope, reentered the stogie, and the ships headed for Cuba must have been Wccms. an astronomy authority and the ship flew away. The anchor was dis- pure imagination. U.S. Signal Service officer stationed in played in Mcrkcl for several weeks. Probably it was just a coincidence that Aurora, issued his opinion that the pilot According to the Fort Worth Register, the battleship Maine mysteriously was .came from the planet Mars. Patrick Byrnes, a railroad telegrapher, blown up in Havana's harbor in 1898. February 1971 39 Southern Living UFO Unit AURORA, Tex. (UPI) - An (UFO) investigative group, international UFO bureau said legal means already spokesman said Wednesday have begun for exhuming the Requests the organization would go to body. court if necessary to open a "AFTER CHECKING the grave in a small north Texas grave with metal detectors To Exhume cemetery it says contains the and gathering facts for three body of an 1897 astronaut who months, we are as certain as "was not an inhabitant of this we can be at this point he was A Body world." the pilot of a UFO which re- Hayden Hewes, director of portedly exploded atop a well the Unidentified Flying Object on Judge J. S. Proctor's place, April 19, 1897," Hewes It was first reported in Dal- Hewes doesn't believe so. said. "He was not an inhab- las and Fort Worth newspa- "We hope by exhuming the itant of this world." pers a few days after the al- body we may obtain some of An intense search for pieces leged explosion, and reporters the same type of unusual, of the 19th century spaceship quoted witnesses that they metal from either his clothing- have been underway since had also buried the astronaut or bones that was unearthed March by the UFO bureau who died inside the ship. at the well site when we team, but the story of the al- Most residents around the checked it with metal detec- leged explosion of the UFO small hamlet, about 60 miles tors," he said. has been a legend in Wise northwest of Fort Worth, Those pieces of metal are County for more than a half Tex., claim the story was al- now being analyzed by scien- century. ways a hoax. tists, he said. St. Petersburg Times, Sunday, March 25, 1973 i MATCH 25, 1973 THE DALLAS TIMES, DALLAS , TEXAS Seek 7897 spaceman's [grave U By BILL CASE through "hundreds of UFO sighting re- crash where a crewman's body has and wait for its • appearance," The Aviation Writer ports published in old newspapers 76 been recovered. . ' ) Times Herald reported. " * A team oi ufologists (Unidentified years ago.'! The crash was the climax-to a'rash Published reports from more than Flying. Object investigators) are comb- Saturday The Dallas Times Herald . of hundreds of UFO sightings in North 20 cities where UFOs were sighted in- ing a cemetery in the ghost town of Au- also located published reports of the Texas cities and towns from about ,'Api'iL North Texas all described it as "silver! rora in Wise County lor the grave of a crash in the town near Rhome. 14 through'April 27,1897. ... • i colored, cigar-shaped, about 60 feet UFO pilot reportedly buried there after "The body was dismembered," the : The Times Herald of April' 18; 1897 long, with blinking lights and no his spaceship collided with a windmill reports said. "However, enough re- reported firemen of Engine Company' noise." . • and exploded April 19, 1897. mains were picked up to determine it .No. 4 had seen a UFO on the night of , "These reports correspond .with Hayden Hewes, director of the In- was not ,that o[ an inhabitant of this April 17 and Dallas druggist R. C. Ko- many of the thousands of UFO reports ternational UFO Bureau in Oklahoma world. It was given a Christian buri- pisch said a crowd formed in front of wo have received in. recent years," City;" .confirmed scientists are searching : al." his store to watch the cigar-shaped ob- said Walter H. Andrus, executive direc- the abandoned weed-covered cemetery ject with blinking lights hover over the tor of MUFON (Midwest Unidentified Hewes'. said he and his group hope for the ; spaceship pilot's grave.' .: city and then disappear at high speed. Flying Object Network). : to, locale jthe grave and ''nain permis- Hewes : said; the? "search under., way "During nightly visitations 6l the Newspaper stones said the UFO sion from the State of Texas to exc-.. was ; prompted , by newspaper, rep/orts of -aerial monster over Dallas residents which hfid been sighted over Aurora on .hume the bones for study. ~. the raciiden-pubUsh.-int-ala.-.and "held 'lawn parties' just to sit outside other occasions u'iis first spo'ted at 4 rbrf W^rU6n'-.pn 20/.1897; Tmearhcc '>•'••'•• Out•;of thousands;'• of UFO-reports' a.m.;._]haf fatal morning traveling at * , by vT/ItfFO B 4 researchers;;?- ^checking : T this is'the only recorded instance of a See UFO on Pagp 9 i-v •'.-"•'--..j'..'-i'•••:»• ;; • ;>v';- "'";••." "',- •>.•(.-••••• •-.. . •••'<: UFO STORY REVIVED BY SEARCH . v: Continued FrontPage 1' body' '-appeared-/to • be .some ;'• :As news; .of ;'the crash :; much lower 'altitude and mpv-.' sort'of log 61 his travels writ-~- '"spread'-"'the'•j'to'wh''" filled -with ', ; ; : -. -; ing due.north at about 10-to - ten inv-some;unknown hien> ^.sightseers 'p -\yho;: ;igathered ; ?:••-. .12..miles an hour. • ;."' :! •;.;V'."'"'"glypnlcs. wnich^ could not be :. pieces of the; craft; T/heJ'.pilot^ y.'.".-• -"In the north part .of town - deciphered," *'.:s:a'l d'":.T. :3; .;;was^buried atiioon.:vtt'V^ftf^ : ^•.vit^ollided-with Judge 7;' SV;.; '" ' ''"' v.'^Hewes said•'/?his'^searchers."^ '-^, Proctor's"-;wihdmill:.and went-; ^officer 1'.':stati6hed; in ?AuroraH had1 .-located- the;;cemetery, rery-i- 1'. •," to;;'pieces with'a.tremendbus.'-"} land ah'amateur astnnoxrier.'^inalJis.'"of "tiie-"Swindmill.'j.'iand;^ 'i\ ."-explosion," the- :stories:'. ref ^;'.'.'The:^pilot..appeared- to be';:pttier;.»,la:bdrnarks:;'. Hef-''also;.|.; i - ported. "Parts scattered < ^•: the-only livihg.'th&g i aboard-•> hopesL pieces\pf ;the ;craft lay- y-.' •; " acres" of ground.-.^'Hie'.wi.h^-'.'!J.'ario'';thei'spaceEhlp;';built! .of^ati; ••''w* '•'^"'^ti'"^<"i:"*":A°an~"'^'~ :'•:.' mill,- a watering trough"and ;^unknown; 'metal-'\vas;-'so. baoUy' Ihe' -fiiunclalion ";6f • Proc-,...; the judge's flower garden --"demolished detaiis:'X»f jtsicbn--:';.tQr,'s ;horne:- ;They could be an- ,_. '••".- were destroyed." .. - . ,:- "jstruction- and - motive '•power i-'alyied.-"'-tb.^determine, \vhat-:; :. "Papers found on the pilot's :. could not'be determined." -. metal the craft was made of.". - •- MAR 28 1973 Aurora's old-timers 'thinking over'JJJFCL Bj I>ILLi\?E "At 4 am a spaceship which had Aviation Writer been seen *n the a;ea prc>'cu^ tidi- Did a hapless LTD -Ji'ot riash KK -«"' ng \er> !c ' a- J MO». cii='ieduito spaceship into a windrrill near the J'jd3e J s "i"^'-- "im'Till ar.d Wise Coumy cora~ 'init> of AJIOM be- Kc:lt lo P'ec^ v'" A tiein.ndous ex- fore (he turn of tne centui.%' plosion " Was he 'buned «,th Chustian Partycat e *i o.ei *ve a|aci« ntes' m t.ie Auroia Ce n«eV ^ ^J "fa CeS^ TJlB P'' Mos. of Auirra * 2OT rodent, .dmir lot S ™> "as d'^embto-d. However, fhev dont b»< b-t are 'thmtang ,t enough lemam, uc, - gathered to deter- rine it wa^ r.i • HH ml aoitait of tin. * * r- o.id" Oliieis rmt as tacrtinn say/'h is Thp bodx u;)s hl|llpri at npon ,„ possible. Some brand the report a .Viiora Cemeter\. Ha>den reported hoax .-'" J"** ;' ', Papers beiie\ed m be the pilot's log After da/s of questioaingj jaaA w ob- \\ere found wntten in some undeji- ing by ufologists (urridenliQ^l^ying pherable hieroglyphics And the aircraft object investigators), ne«|p^B^teport- was made of some unknown metal " ers, radio and tdevisioB djmmEi^atOTSt ~ • When the stor>-came to Lg.it again little has bee» lcarned-to^p£Qj4rordl^.' f recently <.whfle some UFO researchers prove the crash' repotted April\9, 1897. were checking ol(f clippings, Hayden On that daterHi .the/midst'of a rash He\vesp. director of the International of UFO ciefprtngs - ja *JtfellasMj[%jd , UFO Bureau in Okianoma City, took throughout Jtorte%'Jejas.'F\&.flayAen, \ his investigators tot Aurora. a cotton bujer and rcafr&spondent for _"We are continuing to check the Dallas and Fort WoVtb newspapers area even though some say it was a filed this story:, , --, - hoax," Hewes' told The Tunes Herald Wednesday. "We are especially looking ior any metal pieces of the UFO that might have gone down nearby wells and we aie searching, the cemetery for the pilot s gra\e." Biauley Dates, 65, who was born m Aurora and has lived on the reported crash site since 1945 says- "I've heard this story "all my" bfe Of course I'm not sure this was a UFO But I believe something of this kind exists There are too man> sin1!- Isi reports from too -nany places tn he comcidenual " Dates said that .Oirn PP anrl A ncpi'e\\ clrdie^i 01 1 die oirl \ve'J wheiP tne mndmi!! '-ari been cported de- 5iio.>cd t)ie> ecovereH A hr^e amount ot 'netal. 'The pieces weie about the si7e of >our fast," he haid But \\e didn t think and simpl\ lunked them. Later we capped oi e \\Cil and dn'led_ a new one, then built a buck uellhouse on the site." Mrs Etta Pe^ucs of nearby NTe«- Ork,'a untei and novelist, debunks Lh« sioiy. 4 It wa<; all a hnax cooked up by Ha>den and a bunch of men wtrin; ainund in the gencial store," she toH j-e^V^iiers And their «a<; never any \umlmill theie " OalPS sa>s sheiswmn^ ' When we cieined out the Aell my nephew also dug out the old windmill cornej posts," he said j. SCHUtSSLtR itisk Investigated .. \- 3 Aurora's "UFO in 1966 Monday, April 2, 1973 . By FRANK X. TOLBERT Mcllhany said the pilots "waved adieu" and climbed in the plane and THE DALLAS News and other Texas took off, apparently under electric pow-- newspapers carried a story in the April er "from large storage batteries." J9, 1897 editions .that a "spaceship" had The farmer concluded his tale with crashed *he day before in the village of this philosophy: "What's going to hap- Aurora, Wise County, and it was de- pen when ^dynamiters get to riding in clared that the dead pilot's body was flying ships and drop bombs down on disfigured but it was clear .that "he was folks?" -not an inhabitant of this world:" It was also written that "funeral services will An April 17, 1897 newspaper story .be held for the pilot here at noon tomor- ' from Kalamazoo, Mich., chronicled row/'. that' "3 prominent and sober citizens while engaged in shingling a roof" saw IVe kicked this yarn around in my an, airship crash land and completely column before, most recently when blqw up. City- Marshall Tom Brown and some'quotations were printed from a some other "church people" in Farm- British magazine called Flying Saucer ersville, Texas, swore they saw 'an Review. The magazine sent an investiga- airship fly low over the town. There was tor to Aurora town and published a re- more of such testimony. port'In 1967. . i • The 1897 story in the Dallas News on .You may have read in Sunday's Dal- thei Aurora crash was under the by-line Jas iKews that a 1973 team of investiga- of 'F. E. Hayden! The material in his tors Vor an organization called Interna- story certainly isn't very reStble. For tional Unidentified Flying Objects Bu- instance he said that one of the wit- reau is now in Aurora looking for metal nesses of the crash was "T. J. Weems, ' fragments of the alleged 1897 spaceship a U.S. Army Signal officer and astro- crash' and searching the local cemetery noper." In 1897 there was a T. J. lor .the pilot's body. Weems in Aurora all right but he was WHAT THE United Press Internation- the local blacksmith. al wire service story in Sunday's Dallas Hayden wrote: "At about 6 o'clock NewS didn't mention was that that 1897 this morning early risers were aston- report •, from Aurora was only one of ished at the sudden appearance of an hundreds of "sightings" of airships and airship. It sailed directly over the pub- even conversations with the pilots on lic square and collided with the tower of .the ground solemnly reported by "sober - Judge "Proctor's windmili"and went to witnesses" all over the United States in pieces with a terrific explosion, wreck- that April more than 6 years before the ing the water tower and destroying the Wright brothers achieved powered judge's flower garden." flight at Kitty Hawk. The April 16 through 20 newspapers were full of such The Flying Saucer Review's British stories. You can say it was all a hoax. investigator who came to Aurora 69 Yet how did so many people in so many years after the alleged crash said that states get coordinated,for such a colos- Aurora had been a busy town until the sal prank? railroads by-passed it and that F. E. Hayden, the au;hor of the 1897 story For example, in the same issue "wanted to do something to keep people which reported the Aurora crash, there in his town and make it a tourist at- was^ another story from Stephenville, traction." Texas,-in which "a prominent farmer from 3 miles down the Bosque," C. L. STILL, BRAWLEY Gates, who in . Mcllhany, claimed that he was coming April, 1973, lives on the site of Judge home from prayer meeting when he Proctor's old place in Aurora, told the saW/a''heavier-than-air flying machine UPI in Sunday's story that "he and a land "in his pasture and 2 men jumped nephew cleaned out a well where the out "to repair the machinery." Mr. windmill stood and discovered a large Mcllhany said he assembled about a amount of metal. The pieces were about dozen of his neighbors to bear witness the size of your fist, but we didn't think and'namcd them. anything of it and junked them." UFO UFO Investigators 'M fyjP Hunts Spaceship '••' '•• "-'c. •;';5^t-. -•-• '• •'• — ••; That HitWjndmill jn 1897. •ess International AURORA, Tex.. April 11 — "The Aurora Cemetery has a Grave of Pilot .... .DALLAS, Tex.-'(AP) -r-V Etta Pegues thinks it's all a record of every person, there, 1 the Time Herald quoted Dalla big hoax, but an investigating and there is no record of any team of Unidentified Flying Ob- residents as saying that'crowds teani is busy ^searching for re- man from Mars- ever having jects (UFO) , investigators;;are had- formed to; watch a cigar- mains of a spaceship "reported been buried there. combing a cemetery' in 'the shaped object with'; blinking to^ha've cyasKed into Judge ji. "Furtherinofe, there never ghosttown of, Aurora in • North lights hover over the city.and, C. Proctor's windmill 76 years was any well there," Mrs. Central Texas for. the grave of a then disappear at high speed.' -','• ago. Pegues said. "Judge Proctor UFO pilot reportedly buried •' "During nightly visitations of Hayde. ._n- Hewes, director of didn't have any windmill." there, the Dallas. Times Herald .the aerial monster over, Dallas the "International UFO • - said in its Sunday editions. " jr.? residents held l^wn parties to sit Bureau" in Oklahoma City, outside and wait-for its appear-, says his group if not '; ''-. The newspaper said that Hay- any chances. taking den Hewes, director of theater-- 'ance," the Times-Herald'report-' . .national UFO Bureau in Okla- ed. ..':•> ;?::•;'•;:;.:> "£ "We are continuing to check ,homa City, confirmed for/the 'pilbt>&rave. • dufl^t.^ww^«-ife^.'.,-no.' i.:Z£&.'^\:--2: vi,.?L "XH«V.V nsa |c i-,.ifle:j«uivr«»-*vc4 .*^'/iit"«>»">.>. -.«.,s..._„, „ |la)SeKwh6::toyel;5^tojdete I APR 15 1973 Fragment** s from UFO? '97 tale- gain** s Contlnnod From Pnge 1. The story of the crash has been 's fi'i'Ni at Icasl ' branded a hoax by Mrs. Etta Pcgurs widely known UFO investigative agen- Aurora '1'nwn Marshal 11. II. Iflrll, of nearby tyewark. Mrs. Pegues, novel- cies arc i.'hfchiiiK nui the report. Gales who .says he "isn't certain about ist and local historian says, "There said. They arc the International UFO UFOs," !-rf:d he helped dig up the old never was any windmill there." Gates Bureau from Oklahoma, N1CAP (the wooden corner post remains and seal and Idelf "say she is mistaken, ,• Nalional Investigative Committee on off (he well in 1945. He showed report- The story of the search sprang into Aerial Phenomenal headed by Maj. in's iwo rusted iron corner posts still In national 'prominence recently, when it Donald K. Keylior, \Vashinglon, D.C., the ground on which he said the wood- was learnefl^UFptftflVesttgalors wcre and 'MUFON (the Midwest UFO Net- en beams of ihe windmill had been checking fl»tt>4^wry.,published inDal- work), Quuicy, 111., directed by Walter anchorcd/:7' , las' and tfdjjj:"$fajfjh .papers on April 20, H. Andrus, Jr. ' "There definitely was a windmill 1897k jffidTttMtteh" by F. E. Hayden, an here," I del I declared, displaying a AurSra cotton buyer and newspaper wheel-shaped piece of decayed wood correspondent. f. which he believes was part of the de- '"It ^waaiofifrrol hundreds of "uniden- molished hlructuro. "I helped clean out tifledlfliBlft" sightings reported in the the well ami (lie metal recovered was papers-between April 14 and April 27, just dumped on the ground. It was 1897,"' Hewes said, "but is the only iliwi: pieces (ho UFO InvfstJgntors took CURB reported where the UFO crashed away wiih them for Identification." and the pilot's body was recovered." 1"0" GRIT News Sect ion April 22,197$ Team Seeking Clues of Crash in '97 An investigating team is looking for evidence of a space- ship reported to have crashed in Texas 76 years ago. At least one person, however, isn't im- pressed. Representatives of the Inter- national UFO Bureau in Okla- homa City are searching in the vicinity of .-Aurora, Tex., for proof that an unidentified fly- ing object crashed into a wind- mill owned by Judge J. S. Proctor in 1897. Newspaper articles from that, time written by-F. E. Hayden stated that' a- spaceship that had been seen in the area be- fore "slowly crashed into Judge J. S. Proctor's windmill and went to pieces with a tremen- dous explosion." \ Body Said Found 1 The article further stated that the dismembered body of the pilot was found and that it was believed "it was not an in- habitant of this world." The pilot's log is also said to have . been found. But, reported Hay- den, the writing in the log was "undecipherable" and the metal in the spacecraft could not be identified. Mrs. Etta P e g u e s, 69, of nearby Newark, Tex., said she is sure it'v/as a hoax. -"It was cooked up by F. E. Hayden, who was a cotton buy- er and correspondent for Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers, and men sitting around the general store," she said. Mrs. P e g u e s said she be- lieves there is one fact that casts doubt on the whole story: "Judge Proctor didn't have any windmill." Texas efash site. Of 1897 UFO Search in Aurora Several months ago, an investigating team from the "International UFO Bureau" in Being searched ^ Oklahoma City began searching for the remains " a> of the spaceship that reputedly crashed into In this spring of 1973, when reports of UFOs Judge J. C. Porter's windmill 76 years ago. buzzing the landscape from Hamburg to Robeso- A March 30 UPI story, telling of the search nia have startled Berks countians, Walsh is for scraps of the '97 spacecraft and the pilot's pleased to note that investigators have been grave, quoted Mrs. Etta Pegues, 69, who lives in checking for the remains of a "flying saucer", nearby Newark, Tex., since 1920, who claimed the that reputedly crashed in Aurora, Tex., in 1897. 1897 story was a hoax. •» Back on Oct. 23,1966, you know who mused in She not only said "Judge Proctor didn't have his column: "All this makes Walsh wonder if any windmill" but that the "Aurora Cemetery has a record of every person there, and there is no record of any man from Mars ever having been buried there." JohnF. But a mid-April AP story disclosed that the researchers have unearthed bits of unidentified Walsh metal, and that Judge Proctor did have a windmill. As for the bits of metal picked up around ,the concrete slab used to seal off the old windmillj H. R; Idell, present town marshal of Aurora, Stiff believes they were actually part of the old Writtr windmill Uiat he had helped clean out from the vo well after it was demolished in 1945. -j As for the search in the cemetery, it was some of those unknown hieroglyphyics as well as complicated by the hundreds of curious sightseers some of those pieces of metal from the craft that who flocked in, including some who have stolen at wrecked the judge's windmill, are still around least 20 hand-hewn grave markers — making Aurora, Tex. He also wonders if any scientists more difficult the search for the pilot's grave! ever checked the bones of that ill-fated pilot — to The UFO hunt has apparently become as weird see if they resembled those of an earth hu- "* gs. man." In that particular column, Walsh told about various sightings of flying saucers over Texas that happened back in April 1897 — six years before the Wright brothers flew the first airplane. i The column was based on an AP feature clipped out of a Davenport, Iowa, newspaper by Betty Troy, who writes a Sunday social column for the Reading Eagle. Saucer scare The feature, headed, "The Saucer Scare of 1897," was written by a Houston Post writer, who dug into yellowed newspaper clippings to tell of a series of sightings across Texas in 1897 of the "mysterious airship." The most bizarre account was taken from the Dallas Morning News that was datelined Aurora, Wise County, April 17 (1897). It read: "About 6 o'clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the- airship which has been sailing throughout the country. "It sailed directly over the public square, and when it reached the north part of town, collided with the tower of Judge Proctor's windmill and went to pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge's flower garden. "The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard, and while his remains are badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world. "Mr. T. J. Weems, the U.S. Signal Service officer at this place and an authority\ on astro- nomy, gives it as his opinion that he (the pilot) was a native of the planet Mars . . . "Papers found . . . are written in some "un- known hieroglyphics . . . This ship was too badly wrecked to form any conclusion as to its con- struction or motive power . . . The town is full of people today who are viewing the wreck and gathering specimens of strange metal from the debris. The pilot's iuSSe^rnS take place at noon tomorrow." MAY 17 1973. Fragnents recovered at site of Spaceship crash" in Aurora By BILL CASE tertfur.. ««.:o.Gir.^ to newspaper re- curt iro.ii which he ahradv 'rad ip- the cemeterv- for the pilot's body and \vlaflon Writer ports he was billed here." moved the strange piece of metal. The looking for traces of the craft at the A scientific Te\-.« - uie uiur • Tr.e T_V cvplanauon I can gr.e soil produced an electronic buzz in the site may have uneartr.eo .Ousive evi- for geinn; the s-arr.e signals at t.-.e detector The story ougma^ed in newspapers dence a. UFQ ;nllidec « u. awihOn-^.. w nd.nili site ana in 'he grs e :T.' re "Somehow it also seerAs to ae im- pubasned in Dallas and Fort Worth on tr.ah a mile a.vav .s thai die p^lot pregnated." he explained "Peihaps it March 19, 189" when F. E. Havden an then disintegrated ir an enonr.o is •whose bod> was torn apart was b^ned comes from pulverization of the pilot's Aurora r"\\s correspondent and cotton blast that killed ana c-smemberea its wearing some t>pe ol -netai u.i.'orm or uniform or equipment and it has just bu; er, faed this story. pilot in the North Texas v Jlage o' Au- eqv.prr.ent which gives us tr.e same re- laid here tor76}ears." "At 4 a.m. a spaceship which had rora or. April 19,1897. ac'icr.. And he was buned reportedlj Mrs Dates reported she has lived been seen in the area earlier moving "In more than 25 years of recover- shortlv alter the crash." on the homestead 26 years and "noth- low and slowly crashed into Judge ,T. ing metal and treasure of all kinds Kelley. a master mechanic, builds ing, not even weeds, will grow in the S Proctor's w.rdmill and went to from the Gulf coast ar.c; elsewhere in some of his detection equipment ir. area where Kelley's detectors give in- pieces with a tremendous e\plosion". Texas. I've never seer, metal like that company with a team of professional dications of meutl." "Parts scattered over several acres I unearthed Wednescs.- at the site metal IcK-at* •«. He made his exhaustive The windmill was destroyed. .The pi- where the windmill used to stand" Kelle> recovered more than a dozen search accompanied by Aurora Town pieces of the strange metal at depths lot's body was dismembered. However, catd Frank N Kelley oi Corpus Christ! Marshal H. R. Idell and a Tunes Her- "The fragments T recovered are ranging from two to 14 inches. Ail enough remains were gathered to de- • aid reporter. ••JJ1* " -> were a dark brown color on one side termine it was not an inhabitant of Uus small, thm and jagseo as if torn apart >> by an explosion. They look sometfjig He said'-te_ AURORA, Tex. (AP) - An gives us the same reaction." acres," one story relates, "and unidentified flying object Mrs. Brawley Gates has lived the windmill was destroyed.;,, crashed into a farm windmill, on the property for 26 years The pilot's body was dis-'J exploding in a ball of flaming with her husband. She said not membered. However," enough ' metal fragments, according to even weeds will grow where remains were gathered to de- newspaper accounts in this Kelley's detectors indicate termine it was not an in- North Texas area. there is metal. habitant of this world. The pilot's badly-dis- membered body was buried in Kelley dug up more than a "The body was buried at a grave about a mile away. dozen pieces of the strange noon in Aurora Cemeteryjft Date of the news reports: metal at depths of from two to wrote correspondent F.E. Ha|| March 19, 1897. 14 inches. PA1] were a dark den. "Papers believed to be the A professional treasure hunt- brown on one side but appeared pilot's log were written in some er unearthed metal fragments to have a protective grey coat- undecipherable hieroglyphics. at the 'site Wednesday and ex- ing on the other side. And the aircraft was made of claimed: "In more than 25 some unknown metal." years of recovering metal and "This metal looks so different treasure of all kinds . .. I've I honestly don't know what it i here is at least one skeptic., never seen metal like that is. The fragments are small, Etta Pegues of nearby Newark. thin and jagged as if torn apart She claims the whole affair Frank Kelley's new, deep- by an explosion. They look was a hoax dreamed up bj probe metal detector not only something like modern aircraft Hayden and some'men sitting gives off electronic response at covering. around the stove at the general the crash site but at the grave store. site. "But, they are not aluminum, "The most amazing aspect I tin, iron, steel or any alloy I But Gates and Marshal H.R. see is that most soil 20 to 30 know," he said. Idell disagree with her. feet around the former wind- Accounts of the ll^U crash mill site also gives off a some- "At 4 a.m. a spaceship which were printed in Dallas and Fort had " the newspaper what less but almost identical Worth papers March 19,1897. electronic response even when stories say. there is no metal in it," Kelley, "At 4 a.m., a spaceship of Corpus Christi, said. which had been seen in the .1 "I am also puzzled at receiv- area earlier, moving low, and ing the same type of rebound slowly crashed into Judge J.S. signals from a remote grave in Proctor's windmill and went to the Aurora cemetery in which pieces with a tremendous ex- the pilot may be buried. How- plosion. ever, there is a tie-in. We know he died in 1897. The others im- "Parts scattered over several mediately around that graves died the same year or close to it. And we are certain, accord- ing to newspaper reports, he was buried here," Kelley said. Kelley, a master mechanic and part of a team of profes- sionahmetal locators, said "the only explanation I can give for getting the same signals at the windmill site and m the grave ... is that the pilot whose body was torn apart was buried wearing some type of metal uniform or equipment which placed off limits By BILL CASE Brn\vley Oatos b5 owiiu of Atlation Writer the will site propprt> when the UFO ieportrdl> crashed 7d The owner of propel ty in years ago s,aid additioiirtl bits Auroui, Wisp County, whore a of the unknown metal \vciu H UFO reportedly crashed Into .1 covered Frld iy h\ a lolntwr. windmill and exploded April 10, In « built li Tlnusdi^y Fi ink 1897, rrMilting in the pilot» N Krlley of ( irpus Chnsii i di.iih, put tlio propnrly "n[( 25-yr \r vetriati In ISIIK hunt limits ' Fild.iy Lo all but offi- er and piofohslondl loM mct.il u.il UFO investlfjutorb. locator used d dreppmhc MIDWEST UFO NETWORK Mi^ Breiwley Oatrs, who metal d^t'ctoi lo Im.itL alinut (MUFON) a do/en pitccs, of thin lifihl has h\cd 2& years on the farm whrtc a scientific tu asure weight metal. hunter found unidentifiable "I've never seen »nv mt I il WALTER H ANDRUS JR like this It isn't aluminum metal fiagmentb Thursday, D I R ECTO R steel iron or any alloy I said hundreds of amateurs have AO CHRISTOPHER COURT knnw,' he said QUINCY ILLINOIS 623O1 visited the aiea and dug it up Haydpn Hevves director of PHONE AC 217 222-8374. She hdud she expects more the International UFO Bureau persons on-Satuiday and Sun- in Oklahoma City \\as to cor day aftei the latest publicity. tlnue the search Saturday for SUBMITTED "If thfte ii any evidence a more of the mysterious metal UFO crashed theie we want to fragments protect the metal until It can Hewcs and his oiginiz.ition by qualified labo- have bten combing the a; pa j" • «1ie 'italfl. ' Because slnca March and also are tiv »!ght8e*r* huve Jjeen freaking \ng \<> loi iii iii' c>'^(' <>r tin thing? up. Including ionic of • UFO pilot rr[KUtrdly bun il ill the metal they found, we are the Auiora Cemeteiy closing the site to only scien- Dates said Fudaj he \\ould tific UFO investigators until restrict the search to those they c in complete their work who have ipent weeks working vsith s>pi cial equipment " on i no ute Scientists Say Pilot Fro~~m Other Planet Is -* , > mr *» ' •* ' ^ Aurora couldn't learn too much from the A team of scientists from bits and pieces of spaceship they picked Oklahoma City is busy searching for up, but with the use of modern the remains of a spaceship pilot Now Buried In Texas technology we'll learn a lot." buried in a ghost town cemetery. sion," said The Times Herald. "Parts Hewes' success would be a milestone Recent evidence suggests that on scattered over acres of ground. The wind- in the study of UFOs. If he finds the April' 19, 1897, an unidentified flying mill, a watering through and the judge's pilot's body, scientists will not only object, presumably a spacecraft, col- HIS UFO flower garden were destroyed." have conclusive proof of life on other lided with a windmill and exploded. The article continued, "Papers found planets but will also be able to tell us Newspaper articles written at the time on the pilot's body appeared to be some what our neighbors in space look like. of the accident reported that the pilot's CRASHED sort of log of his travels written in some While some people may scoff at remains were given a "Christian burial" unknown hieroglyphics which could not Hewes' attempts to locate the space vis- in a now overgrown cemetery in be deciphered. itor's body, many prominent scientists Aurora, Texas. "The pilot appeared to be the only liv- are anxio.usly awaiting the results of his The.old newspaper reports, which IN 1897 ing thing aboard and the spaceship built search. - appeared in The Dallas Times Herald of an unknown metal was so badly Stanton T. Friedman, a master'^ and The Times Herald of Fort Worth, to watch the cigar-shaped object with demolished details of its construction and graduate in physics from the University were unearthed by a team of ufologists blinking lights hover over the city and , motive power could not be determined." of Chicago and an expert in U FOs, says, .(scientists investigating unidentified fly- then disappear at high speed. As news of the crash spread the town "After more than 13 years of study and ing objects) headed by Hayden Hewes. Published reports from more than 20 filled with sightseers who gathered investigation I believe the earth is being Hewes, director of the International North Texas cities all described the pieces of the spaceship as souvenirs. visited by intelligently guided machines, UFO Bureau, says he and his crewhave spacecraft as "silver-colored, cigar-., The pilot was buried at noon. not from this world. In fact, humanoids already recovered parts of the windmill shaped, about 60 feet long with blinking . "The body was dismembered," said from other planets have been visiting the involved in the crash and soon hope to lights and no noise." .the reports. "However, enough remains earth regularly — possibly for thousands find fragments of the spacecraft and the Visits by the strange craft became so were picked up to determine it was not of years." space visitor's-grave. regular that during one period The that of an inhabitant of this world. It Friedman admitted that critics of "Out of thousands of UFO reports this Times Herald reported: "During nightly was given a Christian burial." UFO research are right when they say is the only recorded instance of a crash visitations of the aerial monster over Dal- Hewes is optimistic that his team will, that many UFO sightings can be where a crewman's body has been re- las, residents held 'lawn parties' just to eventually find the pilot's remains and explained -in conventional terms. covered," says Hewes. sit outside and wait for its appearance." be able to analyze them using today's "But," he says, "a core of unexplained The crash was apparently the climax On the fatal morning of the crash, sophisticated techniques. He also hopes sightings remains to give strong support to hundreds of UFO sightings in North newspaper stories confirmed that the to locate a well, said to be near the to the theory of visitors from outer Texas cities and towns from about April spaceship was first spotted over Aurora foundation of Proctor's old home. He space." 14 through April 27, 1897.. at 4 a.m. traveling at a much lower believes that it still contains fragments Hewes and his team of scientists may .The Times Herald of April 18, 1897 altitude than normal and moving due of the spacecraft. soon turn up the proof that will change reported'firemen of Engine Company north at about 10 to 12 m.p.h. "If we find what we are looking for," theory to fact. No. 4 had seen a UFO on the night of "In the north part of town it collided says Hewes, "it will be a milestone in April 17. Dallas druggist R.C. Kopish with Judge J.S. Proctor's windmill and the study of extraterrestrial travel. MIDNIGHT Page9 said a crowd formed in front of his store went to pieces with a tremendous explo- Seventy years ago the inhabitants of May 21, 1973 UFO_ unit wants body exhumed T L Intern ic-r IFO Bmcau \\as seeking legal - c ^ s.- \\cdncsd< \ of nii^ a 'c< * UFO STORY REVIVED BY SEARCH Continued From Pago 1 body appeared to be some As news of .''the' crash much lower altitude and mov- sort of log of his travels writ- - spread the town filled with ing-due north at about 10 to ten in some unknown liiero- / sightseers who gathered 12 miles an hour. glyphics which could not be pieces of the craft. The pilot "In the north part of town deciphered," said T. J. was buried at noon. it 'collided with Judge J. S. Weems, U.S. Signal Services Hewes said his searchers Proctor's windmill and went officer stationed in Aurora had located the cemetery,je-.. to pieces with a tremendous and an amateur astronomer. jr.aJns of the windmill and explosion," the stories re- "The pilot appeared to be other landmarks. He also ported. "Parts scattered over the only living thing aboard hopes pieces' of the craJt lay acres of ground. The wind- and the spaceship built of an at the bottom of a deep well 1 mill, a watering trough and unknown metal was so badly near the foundation of Proc- the judge's flower garden demolished .details of its con- tor's home. They could be an- were destroyed." struction and motive power alyzed to determine what "Papers found on the pilot's could not be determined." metal the crait v,-as made of. Group asks injunction in Aurora UFO case By BILL CASE nn Inhabitant of this uoild, Aviation Writer said ' W K lldsdi n i n< ws The Aurora Cemetery Asso- pdpri coiuspnndfiit ciation asked for an injunction 'The clash uccunul il">ut4 in district court in Decatur, a in and the body was ^ivon a Wise County, Friday to stop Christian buii.il in Auioi i reported digging in the gra\ e of Cemeter> at noon llu>rlcn a UFO pilot allegedly buncd wrote there Since Mdich ipportei;, firm Attorney William A. Nobels The Times Herald and UFO representing the association invest i gatois hav< hern comb siiid he would ask Dist. Judc,e ni({ the crash sitp with nn i! W 'A. Hughes for the order dctcctois and rctovuid SOUK effective immediately. unusual types of met il The action was requested Thursday by members of the These samples luu> linn bent to .scientists Hcting ni Am-oia Cemetery Association «md community residents who consultants to the MnUvest Un heard erroneous radio reports identiLed Flying Object Net on "a national radio network work (MUFON) for oimina- that "UFO investigators were tion already digging in the grave They told The Times Hci aid of the UFO pilot " They were "It will take at Icist a week «aid to be from the Interna- or 10 ddjs to run all of the tional UFO Bureau. various tests requited to idcn Tfte pilot was reported killed tify these metals detei mine when his«UPO^truck a wmd- their ag<- molecular nnke ip Us* OWP a wen w the Judge and other characti iihlics " .T S Proctor %mn In Aurora Un ioi)"ii of DM uro 111 ii April 19j.,1897 The body win In AuiniH is tbr nnU our i \( dibnwtnbofed but it could be iceuvcd in whub tin pilots determined "It was not that of body allegedly wtis ieio\rnd MIDWEST UFO NETWORK (M.UFON) WALTER H ANDRUS JR DIRECTOR 4O CHRISTOPHER COURT OUINCY ILLINOIS 623OI PHONE AC 217 222 3374 Y; -p°sr; MAY id, 1973 19th Century Spaceman Tale Stirs Interest in Texas 'Blob' Reuter • cookies and cannot be de- restraining—but not DALLAS, May 25 — Re- stroyed " -the blob. ports of a 19th-century Despite her attempts to "I do hope it's no relation spaceman burled in a small kill it, the blob remains. to the spaceman they thinK Texas cemetery and a seem- "I sliced the thing with a might be buried over there* ingly industructible "blob" garden hoe, and it was in Aurora," commented. a" infesting the backyard of a blackish mUcus inside," she • Harris neighbor. suburban Dallas housewife said. , Officials of the Interna- are diverting the attention "Taking it for a fungus of tional Unidentified ^ Flying of northeast Texas residents some kind, I cut it up and Objects Bureau, citing news^ from the celestial machina- spread it out. Two mornings paper reports more than 70 tions of the space program. later it had returned -*- years old, claim some sort of twice as big this time." spaceship "exploded atop a? Reports of the "blob" — Mrs Harris said her hus- well" in Aurora on Aprfl*l'97 described by Marie Harris 1897. r-' of Garland as "foamy and band then took a whack at creamy and pale yellow" — the blob, but "then, last Sat- "Thevpilot's dismembered urday, there it was again ... body was buried that same, followed claims by flying this time the inside was or- day in the Aurora ceme- saucer buffs that an alien ange." When she sprayed it tery," IUFO Director Hay- being is buried in the small with a nicotine-based mix- den Hughes said. farming community of Au- ture, "it appeared to be His organization is seek: rora, about 70 miles north- bleeding red and purple ing "legal meanst' to have west of here. fluids " the body exhumedjjjand ex- Mrs. Harris discovered^the The spray appears to be amined. ^L "blob" one morning this month when she looked out ' - %h_ her bedroom window. "It was white and foamy- looking — about the size of an oatmeal cookie," she said. "But that was two weeks ago. It has now grown to the size of 16 oatmeal . . TFUBUN^T U Mystenou^ Texas Queries From Far-Off Cities By The Associated Press miles from Seagoville, a su- are being kept away from a At three Dallas area homes, burb east of Dallas, said she small cemetery. spotted a similar mass inching A guard at the graveyard residents are watching a pul- Monday told one newsman, "I sating, cancerous blob of mat- its way up a telephone pole. don't care if you're Jesus ter which mysteriously oozed "It was red and pulsating, like Christ. You can't come in." from the ground, thus far de- the one I read about. For heaven's sake — what is it?" MEANWHILE, NORTH fying definition. Scientists from Growth In- Texas State University at Den- Some 75 miles to the north- ternational, a Colorado firm, ton, and other schools, are ex- west, an armed sentry guards are analyzing the membran- a m i n i n g metal fragments a graveyard where villagers eous matter in Mrs. Harris' found where 1897 Dallas news- say a spacemanjwas buried in yard. paper accounts say an uniden- 1897. tified flying object crashed. GI SCIENTIST ARNOLD Villages at Aurora and the INVESTIGATORS ARE Dittman gathered spore speci- Dallas newspaper reports say holding what they say may be mens and shipped them to Co- the badly mangled creature metal fragments from his lorado for laboratory tests. piloting the UFO was buried spaceship. "Yes, it's growing. We put at the small cemetery now The whole affair has become samples in a jar and before being guarded. a science fiction buff's idea of long we noticed pressure was Professional metal and trea- heaven. building up inside," he said. sure hunters have examined London newspapers, have "Bacteria, if it is, bacteria,., metal fragments dug up at the been asking more information have tremendous growth po- site, tested and analyzed them along with reporters in Can- -tential. Bacteria have more without learning their com- ada and Australia. than 1,000 genes in each orga- position. Scientists and universities nism and under proper condi- are investigating, also. tions can change to a com- HAYDEN HUGHES, HEAD The mysterious membrane plete different specie in a few of the national UFO center at began oozing from the back- seconds. Maybe that's what Oklahoma City, said Monday yard or a Garland, Tex., the thing is, a new mutation. he plans a trip to Aurora to woman two weeks ago. Marie But we really don't know what conduct his own investigation. Harris described the strange it is," he said. He confirmed that pieces of material as reddish with thick Dittman said some bacteria the unusual metal dug up at bubbles on top ... blackish grow from one billion spores the reported crash site have mucous inside. It has mul- to one billion tons in 24 hours. been distributed to several un- tiplied itself by 16 times in two "With its ability to mutate, iversities for analysis. weeks. bacteria can adapt to any change or deficiency in growth IT IS FOAMY AND TURNS conditions. I'm not saying that colors when punctured. When happens all the time," he said. the bubbles are broken, the "blob" appears to bleed a red MRS. HARRIS SAID and purplish material. heavy rains had oblitered the A North Dallas woman who "blob" last Friday. refused to be identified said, On Monday she said, "I "I'm scared to death. I have looked again. Three more had the same thing on my hedge. I ' grown in its place." can't kill it." To the northwest, at Aurora, Edna Smith, who lives eight Tex., sightseers and newsmen 'Stjpnge* V Grave' Is Found ' AURORA, Tex.- (UPI) - A grave in a small north. Texas ,' cemetery contains the body of an* 1897 astronaut who "was n»t an inhabitant of th'is"''world," according to the International UFO Bureau. The group, which investigates unidentified flying objects, has already initiated legal proceed- ings to exhume the body, and will go to court if necessary to open the grave, director Hayden Hewes said Wednesday. , "We hope by exhuming the body we may obtain some of the same type of unusual metal from , either his clothing or bones that was unearthed at the well site when we checked it with metal Selectors," he said. ; Hewes said pieces of metal found near the grave and crash site are now being analyzed by scientists. "After checking the grave with metal detectors and gathering facts for three months, we are as certain as we can be at this point • he was the pilot of a UFO which reportedly exploded atop a well oh Judge J. S. Proctor's place, . April 19, 1897, Hewes said. "He was not an inhabitant of this world." Confidential data 2 narrow hunt for UFO pilot's grave By B1M,CASK a hcatt condition and liiyli blood pic - l\ p( s uf i \li i me h, luui i. III .ind Aviation Wrltrr Mill1. silling Illlllli Ulllli il IIK.I I ' ' ( • -.") -JI.I-." : v By'HOWARD DAVIS research into old newspaper I'". Metallurgists are clippings has turned ..up the- "baffled"' at metal fact there was a "barrage" fragments found at Aurore, of widespread UFO sightings i Tex., where an unidentified throughout Kansas,: flying object allegedly crash- Oklahoma and Texas during ed in. 1897, a UFO Bureau April, 1897, he said. spokesman said in Oklahoma Although the metallurgists City Tuesday. expect.to spend.another two- Hayden,Hewes, director.of weeks completing their tests •the city-based International on. the: metal fragments,.j UFO Bureau, said he has Hewes said,, those at.North,-;- • received reports from scien- Texas State .University are,f tists analyzing the metal sending part of their sample*. which indicate the probable to the General Electric extra-terrestrial origin of the Research Center in Ohio.'.; >''; substance. . "The UFO Bureau does notf.'-, . Hewes returned last week hold to any particular theory • from' a personal investigation about this,'1 he said.; "We're ,of the Aurore gravesite of just'checking to see if the in- 'what some villagers claim is cident really happened.'1,1 , the buried body of an alien "It.could be one of the most, being who allegedly crashed monumental events in human,., in the. UFO. The site 'is Hay •(ewes history." '•.'•'• presently cordoned off from Hewes said that, if the sightseers and newsmen by at one gravesite in a nearby scientific tests tend to con- armed guards. '. .' . cemetery, where the old firm the probable rion- The story of a UFO ex- newspaper reports said the terre'strial origin .of 'the ploding atop a well on Judge badly mangled creature metal, he will attempt to get J.S. Proctor's place April 19, piloting the craft was buried. a court order to exhume the' 1897, was first reported in Hewes reported Tuesday grave. . . Dallas and Fort Worth that the scientists have found Commenting ori:: another newspapers a few days after the metal is 75 percent iron, ; Texas development'.—'.- the the alleged explosion. . -. but strangely enough does not discovery, recently', of-.- '.Most residents around the .have magnetic properties. . ; • "pulsating" blob growths in small hamlet 60 miles "Anything over 7 percent three Dallas area homes — northwest of Fort .Worth iron is supposed to be Hewes said. "I dd not think? claim the story is a hoax..' • magnetic, but this stuff there, is any connection with .However, Hewes claims he isn't," he said. the Aurore case." ••••••-• >., has found the well site and Hewes also said scientists > located' unusual metal from Southwest Airmotive fragments there, samples of have determined the area is which he has turned over to radioactive, and speculated ; Southwest' Airmotive's . Jet that "this suggests the craft 'Division and to scientists at may have been nuclear North Texas State Universi- powered — which implies it ty- • . ', • •! . . . was not terrestrial if it land- A metal detector ed in 1897. registered similar reactions The UFO bureau's MIDWEST UFO NETWORK (MUFON) WALTER H. ANORUS. JR. DIRECTOR ^*O CHRISTOPHER COURT QUINCY. ILLINOIS 623O1 _PHONE: AC 217 222-S374 SUBMITTED BY; • ^^•^ v-., - Woman recalls UFO it) IIILI. CASE +faiSU/f3 "t. \r.ir' a^ ) HH\dcn \\iole Tie rfin.uns nl tho pilot wc-iv.' ilnii'si !).' siivu an unidentified flying Mrs E\.ans, widely kimw,n as pillien'il loi!i-iln-i H \\as delorminrd oli|< < t illil i uish In Aurni-n, Trxiih. Apill "(inuuiriiu lOvnn.s" li} irsiilrnl*. nl ihe VI. IS'ii. mill Ilir Ixidy of Die UKO In' \\ is not .m inliiiliil.inl (.f (his Wdild pilot was recovered and buried 111 the rolling Wise Ciiunly v.illry m \\lmh .iiiil In- \\.is j;ivi'li a CliMsliiin liuiuil m Aurora Comelery. Aurora Khonu-' and Ncvv.nk :n eliu-.it Anim i I'i'liii '> i \ ed aafely together, is still active. She "1 was only about 15 at the lime (>\<-( I lie yiMis ll.iydcn s slnry U.T; lives m her uwn home across the debunked niul branded by both the .iml li.id all but forgotten the incident street from relatives and is an aleil pioss and the pnbliL as a hoax. until it appeared in the papers recent- and avid fan of daytime television soap Ileixiiii'is fioin Thi Times Herald )> " Mrs. Mary Evans, now living in operas. and nucsiipaiois from I'KO private 111- Newark west of Aurora, told The "That crash certainly caused ,1 lot \esiij;aii\e nri;.im/.iiii>ns uho began Tunes Herald in an exclusive interview of cxntcment," she said. "Man> peo- I'lietUmj; H;\>den's reptiri \\nli tlie aid '1 in sil.iy. plr nerr friRhtenod They didn't know u[ s< .I'liiiln metal ili-tection equipment, ' We wcic living in Aurora nl the \vh.it lo e.xrxt'l Th il was je.ii1- IK fote i.idi ill M ii.i li is .mil nlher devices lime Iml my molhci fcnd father wouldn't we had anj ienul.ii iiiipl.tncs m nther ilini- ni'iiii'i .1^1) \\i\f iiinvrreii inn lei me go with them when they wont kind?, tit airships " ill-mid ill i pii-i i s (if sii.mjji' niel.il at up to the crash site at Judge Proctor's Mrs. Evans1 slalcnn nl is llu- first toe vs. II ,ih well. tangible evidence bj a living icsident "We h.ivc si nt .M le.ist seven differ- "When they returned home they told of the area backing up a newspaper ent Hpe.> of unusual metal to the laho- me how, Iho airship had exploded. The story filed April 20, 1897 by H. E. Hay- i-.itnr.es of (,nr> P! .Amtnca's largest Mri Mary Evans . . . pilot was lorn up and killed in the den, an Aurora newspaper correspond- ane ,ift m.iiuiiMcturers for con^ilete .. . the remembers UFO ciash The men of "the town who gath- ent and cotton buyer, which was pub- Sw WOMAN on Page 3 * WOMAN Cmitlmiril ITOIII 1'ugr I es.i -limn ami identification as i , in n a 1,0, type • mil n i spokesman for MUFON .M.WM Umciin- lincd Fl>m^ Oh|c Moiiliv. following a new lead supplied by U\o Auioia nsitlcnis, th<> UFO investip;a- loi^. s\Mtt.lii il tin n snirdi for tin- i».lni •> pr.iM fiotnthotcn- tor to tiiL- soulli nt the u-me- Iciy. 1 Tin 10, following 'in inform- ant -. Uueclion^ to lo l« I ri.uiyij' fiom tin; lli.it wi- did fioni sonu- newly ic(o%rri»d mi-Mi nl lliu site at tin- I TO cuish .it thr \vcll. "\Vr iio\. aio .lu.iilniK sficn- lifii ( \.iln iinm of tin- metal s«m plo-. mil r^piLt a upoit by nest M"iiU>," ho addrd "There se^ms viiUi.illy no doubt of a- genuine UFO crash on the well site And if we get —Sloif photo bv Bill C«t the readings we suspect from CHALK OUTLINES a rongh carving on a grave headstone indicated the tl.c meUl tests, ue can estab- shape of a legendary spacecraft that supposedly crashed in 1897 at Au- lish a definite tie-in betsveen rora, Wise County. At least two elderly residents of Aurora recall the the UFO crash location and occurrence and the burial of the pilot's dismembered body beneath a I ho iic'iipanl ot that grave in gnarled oak in the cemetery. iln i UK 'i iy " \ WATV^^A/^^/ju/_f^uinijA.iiAAa1 i rn^suzisT, jjr»-cn UTB^ 01 tforwi ^exas oT^a^e -ni^err..^ wcamines a 3»t«u s3on.pl« fron the ao-oall*d1 •paccsnip^si.te in Aurorft.Twft.'-Trou^t *^ "In for eraluation ?y acfc« ^57 coll«n£Utaa C * four SBT.bles h« nas exa^-lnsd, on* "a? "^SZ^^.-T" UFO advocates study 1897 Airship'crash AURORA, Tex. (UPI) - A 91-year-old woman says she remembers the night on April 19, 1897, her parents went to o A THE HERALD-WHIG the spot where an airship ZA crashed into Judge Proctor's QUINCY. JLL1NOIS well and the pilot was buried in Thursday, May, 31, 1973 the community cemetery. "That crash certainly caused a lot of excitement," Mary Evang said Wednesday. "Many people were frightened. They didn't know what to expect. That was years be/ore we had any regular airplanes or other kind of airships." UFO advocates have combed the Aurora area with metal detectors, radiation meters and other scientific devices in re- PHYSICIST TOM GRAY cent months in an attempt to . . examines metal sample get some tangible evidence to file with a court order to ex- one piece and said it was • hume the body of the alleged unusual because it was 75 per pilot. Pieces of metal taken cent iron but lacked many of from the area have been sent the properties common to iron. to various scientists and The professor. Dr. Tom Gray, metallurgists for examination, said it was not magnetic and A physics professor at North was shiny and soft instead of Texas State University tested dull and brittle like iron. t-{*Alie mllV^nI I SauceVXV^\^X*V^rI Pilo1 II^X tI Ik f^is>^^^^^{ Story Texas Hoax? By HOWARD DAVIS been cruising around the nation." Of The Journal Staff "Evidently, some of the machinery was Did an alien being in a cigar-shaped flying out of order, for it was making a speed of saucer really crash in Aurora, Tex., on an only 10 or 12 miles an hour and gradually April morning in 1897? settling toward the earth," Hayden's ac- Is it possible the pilot's body is interred in count said. the sleepy North Texas community's "It sailed directly over the public square, cemetery, or was the whole incident a hoax then collided with Judge (J.S.) Proctor's put on by railroad telegraphers and an over- windmill and went to pieces with a terrific enthusiastic newspaper correspondent? explosion, scattering debris over several Old newspaper clippings, area folklore acres, wrecking the windmill and water and accounts of present-day survivors of the tank and destroying the judge's flower gar- period pose a baffling — but often amusing den." — mixture of the credible, the contradic- The story went on to say that the pilot tory and the plain old Texas Tall Tale. "appeared to be the only living thing aboard The first newspaper account of the inci- and the spaceship built of an unknown metal dent appeared in the April 18, 1897, edition was so badly demolished details of its con- of the Dallas Morning News, under the struction and motive power could not be byline of one S.E. Hayden, a local cotton determined." buyer of dubious journalistic cre'dentials. Hayden's story of the events of the According to the report', the body was in a preceding day said that early morning dismembered condition, but "enough risers of Aurora "were astonished at the remains were nicked up to determine it was sudden appearance of the airship which has See SAUCER on Page 2 1 THE OKLAHOMA JOURNAL, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1973 Saucer • , Continued from Page not that of an inhabitant of this world." be occupied by three men and a large dog. The early reports said the being was In Merkel, Tex., a family reportedly "given a Christian burial." returned from church and spied an anchor Bear in mind, all this was six years before hooked to a fence, with a stout rope leading the Wright Brothers flew a plane at Kitty from the anchor to a cigar-shaped craft Hawk. which hovered just above the ground. In any case, some students of the Aurora Before their eyes, the cigar opened and a incident believe Hayden's story was a hoax, ' man in a \blue sailor suit cut the rope and particularly because of quotes attributed in climbed back into the craft, which flew the story to "T.J. Weems, U.S. Signal Ser- away, leaving behind the anchor, which vices officer." didn't. Weems reportedly said — among other The Fort Worth Register reported that a things — that "papers found on the pilot's railroad telegrapher named Patrick Byrnes body appeared to be some sort of log of his was bicycling east of Putnam, Tex., when travels written in some unknown he encountered an airship. hieroglyphics which could not be He reportedly said he found a ship full of deciphered." blue-suited men who told him they were Weems also reportedly opined that the having engine trouble and were on their way pilot must have come from the planet Mars. to Cuba to "bomb the Spaniards." Skeptics of the Hayden account claim that Byrnes reported the ship was loaded with "T.J. Weems" was actually Jeff Weems, several tons of dynamite which were going Aurora's blacksmith. to be dropped on the Spanish navy to destroy Improbable as the initial account was — it it. appeared with a very modest headline on By the morning of April 17, the Register page 5 — it came at a time when similar account goes, the ship was repaired and set strange UFO sightings were rampant off toward the Ozark Mountains where, ac- throughout north Texas and much of the cording to the captain, the crew would train Midwest for the bombing run. The same day as the alleged Aurora inci- H.A. and B.T. Hambright, brothers, told a dent (April 1?) a Waterloo, Iowa, farmer Register reporter they saw a silver aircraft reportedly appeared with some metallic above the town of Rhome, two miles east of debris he claimed was all that remained of Aurora, about 8 p.m. on April 17, the craft an aircraft which landed in his pasture. reportedly having a white searchlight in A wire service report from Kalamazoo, front and cruising west at 150 miles per Mich., stated that "three prominent and hour. sober citizens, while engaged in shingling a In the last several months, investigators roof" saw an airship crash-land and blow with IUFOB, NICAP and MUFON have con- up They stopped shingling the roof to in- verged on the old Proctor place looking for vestigate, but they reported nothing was corroborative remains. (IUFOB is the left of the craft but "a large coil of heavy International Unidentified Flying Object wire and a propeller blade of some light Bureau. NICAP is the National material." Investigative Committee on Aerial Dallas Times-Herald Aviation Writer Bill Phenomena MUFON is the Midwest UFO . Case, who has been working with the UFO Network.) investigators, says there was a "rash of A Corpus Christi treasure hunter earlier • hundreds of UFO sightings in north Texas v this month went over the area with - cities and towns from about April 14 sophisticated metal detector equipment and • through April 27, 1897." came up with fragments of a strange metal The Times-Herald of April 18, 1897, which he and others have not been able to reported firemen of Engine Company No. 4 identify had-seen a UFO on the night of April 17, and The metal detector got the same readings Dallas druggist R C. Kopisch said a crowd at the site of one unmarked grave in the formed in front of his store to watch the community cemetery. cigar-shaped object,with blinking lights Within the last week, Case with the Dallas hover over the city, and- then disappear at paper managed to obtain an interview with : =r;== high speed. h ^ _--^^= " '- —83:yjear-old C.C. Stephens who claimed his The Times-Herald-reported 'thaT"during " fathefwaTan eyewitness to the crash itself. nightly visitations of the aerial monster "My daddy watched the silver-colored, over Dallas, residents held 'lawn parties' cigar-shaped airship cross our pasture very just to sit outside and wait for its low and slowly;" Stephens said. "It had a •—appearance^ -—- _=-^ ... - - -white -lighVoiMt-^d-toe^watched- until it Case has examined published reports crashed and burned on the top of Proctor's from more than 20 north Texas cities where hill. He told me about it while I was still a UFO's were sighted, and says most all of boy." the accounts describe the UFO as "silver Stephens, however, said his father never colored, cigar-shaped, about 60 feet long, mentioned any occupants in the airship. with blinking lights and no noise." The old Proctor place is now owned by Some of these accounts relate bizarre in- Bra wley-Gates, 65. teractions between the inhabitants of the Mrs" Gates reported she has lived on the -earth and those of the spaceship. homestead for 26 years and "nothing, not An Iowa farmer claimed one of his prize even weeds, will grow in the area" where cows was rustled by occupants of the cigar the strange metal detector readings have he saw. . been noted. „ In the'Texas town of Atlanta, near Tex- " .• Hayden Hewes, director^of- the Inter- arkana, a resident claimed to have spoken national UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, has with the occupants of the cigar. given samples of the metal to scientists at He reportedly claimed three of the oc- . North Texas State University. t cupants sang "Nearer My God toThee" and If the analyses indicate a probable extra- passed out temperance tracts. terrestrial origin, he said the bureau will "City Marshal Tom Brown of take legal action to see if the grave can be Farmersville, Tex, alone with several exhumed for examination 1 .* THE ATLANTA CO?SSTIlUTIOiV, Iliurs., May 31, 1973 1897 UFO? He Can't Tell If Metal's Alien Tex. (UFI) — A physics professor at North Texas State University said Wedneday a small chip of metal "stirs" his curiosity, but that he could not tell if it came —as some have suggested— from a spaceship which crashed in Texas in 1897. Quincy, III., Thursday Ev^ing, May 31, 1973 Primary among the unusual aspects of the metal, ac- cording to Or. Tom Gray, was that it was 75 per cent iron, but lacks properties common to iron. He said it_\^asj3pt^ma.gnet_ic, anjL w^s also shiny and "soft! instead oTTduirandiSiUIe likeTironr " "^^^^^-^ "l don't mean by my comments to indicate whether this UFO advqqgites study is ot terrestrial or extraterrestrial origin," Gray said, "but that the physics of that much iron not being magnetic stirs my curiosity as a scientist. 1897 'airship' crash "It it proves to be a rather strange beast, then a great deal more study will have to be done on it. Right now, we AURORA, Tex. (UPI) - A can only make suppositions. We cannot draw any conclu- i 91-year-old - woman says she sions." remembers the night on April 19. 1897. her parents went to The samples were dug from an area near Aurora, Tex., , the spot where an airship about 70 miles northwest of Dallas in Wise County. Various '..crashed -into) Judge Proctor's samples were found when dispatches resurrecting news re- ' well and the foilot was buried in ports from the 1890s of the supposed spaceship crash were 1 the community cemetery. published. "That crash certainly caused Une article, published in Dallas and Fort Worth news- a lot of ex'citement," Mary papers April 20, 1897, was written by H.E. Hayden, an Evang said Wednesday. "Many Aurora correspondent and cotton buyer. ', people were ^frightened. They Speaking of the crash, which he said occurred over the didn't know Avlhat to expect. weU on the larm owned by J.S. Procter, Hayden wrote: , That was years before we had "The remains ot the pilot were gathered together. It was any regular airplanes or other determined he was not an inhabitant of the world and he kind of airships." was given a Christian burial in Aurora Cemetery." UFO advocates have combed Otticials ot the International Unidentified Flying Object the • Aurora area with metal Bureau, run by Hayden ^Hewes of Oklahoma City, have detectors, radiation meters and seized on the incident as a real instance of UFO activity other scientific devices in re- PHYSICIST TOM GRAY on earth. cent months in an attempt to . . . examines metal sample They have said that if the metal is proved to be extrater- , get some tangible evidence to restrial they will press for exhumation of the body of the ' file witih a court order to ex- one piece and said it was supposed astronaut. hume the body of the alleged 'unusual because 'it was 75 per •pilot. Pieces of metal taken cent iron but lacked many of from the area have been sent the properties common to iron. to various scientists and The professor, Dr. Tom Gray, metallurgists for examination. said it was not magnetic and A physics professor at North was shiny and soft instead of Texas State University tested dull and brittle like iron. MIDWEST UFO NETWORK (MUFON) WALTER H. ANDRUS. JR. -..DIRECTOR 4O CHRISTOPHER COURT OUINCY. ILLINOIS 623OI PHONE AC 217 222-8374 SUBMITTED J cemetery,'or was tjie whole incident a; hoax k >'i. enthusiastic newspaper;corre?jpondent?,",;';,':K;v•^.explosion,;;'scattering,deb'ris"over'severa1 f Old newspaper clippings, -ar^'fofclore :yvi.;aqr^ '•' and accounts of present^day..survjivors"of the ,.!;"-. tank 'and deslrovine the;iudsft's flower sat ^i. period posis a baffling,^ but of ten. amusing -.• — mixture of the credible,:the co'ntradic- :; tory and the plain old.' -. Hie first newspaper dent appeared in the A[ 1 of the Dallas Morning News?; utfde^'.the ;-; ;ivstVucti6n'.:a?d;motive pbwepcoiild not t • byline of one S.E/Hayden, a localvcotton /. Jdeterminedrvi) •' ';; -V" f'.*1 •''^•''f">/•'* \ buyer of dubious journalistic credentials. , ;!-; . . '•'•::'.-,'.'$"-.'• .'\"''"' !jl- w ^i/V^^^'''1' '•- Hayden's story of the events of the '/.V^" According to the'report, tht e body was In preceding day 'said that early morning / t^smembered^^comlitloh- -but.^enougi / risers of Aurora "were astonished at the $''™^XW.?^9tyW*$&&y>: ', sudden appearance of the airship which has i;,. ^ v See SAUCER on Page 2'i: '.-.•. r1:-' .-cr-" •. v:-.",r,;. VA-y.1.' -.=•.•• s-'•••;'.• -' 'T '•"p"- f- '• •'r ' V'vii'yiv^i.v.Qr'^:-^;, ••'..•'.,'•,• •'•; •''••( "-^ THE OKLAHOMA JOURNAL, THURSDAY. MAY 31. 1973 • ^^ '' ' ' . ' "f i , • • ,.•••.-'-•,.:,:"• .;'.'•.,^-''V., r::'':•.••.'•,:;::'/•'v-',-:'./''.-• r ',:l>;-y:;^,X'^ ;V'"' . f' , V.:" ''••.'•' Continued frorri Page . ' * not that of an inhabitant of this world:" be occupied by three men and a,'large dog.',.-, i The .early reports said the being was ' In Merkel, 'Tex., a family, reportedly,; : "given a Christian burial." returned from church and spied an anchor ',. ',.'-. Bear in mind, all this was six years before hooked to a fence, with a stout rope leading ;' '.the Wright Brothers flew a plane at Kitty from the anchor to a cigar-shaped craft'' Hawk?,, • . '' , which hovered just above the ground. '? . In any case, some students of the Aurora Before their eyes, the cigar opened and a: incident believe Hayden's story was a hoax, man in a blue sailor suit cut the rope and particularly because of quotes attributed in climbed back into the craft, which flew ; .the story to "T.J. Weems, U.S. Signal Ser- , away, leaving, behind the anchor, which vices officer." •. i. -.-•-••• , . ,- didn't. - •' , -. 1 Weems .reportedly said —. among'other The Fort Worth Register reported that a . things f— that "papers found on the pilot's railroad telegrapher named Patrick Byrnes ; . body, appeared to be some sort of log of his.-.: was bicycling eas't of Putnam, Tex.vwhen j; y, :^;.,, travels, written in some unknown he encountered an airship. ','"" • '••, ^'r'\^"- : hieroglyphics which could not be . He reportedly said he found a ship full of ^ £$)v4i £•• deciphered."-.,,, v •'; •••"• blue-suited men who told him they were;! "• ''""''",' J, Weems also reportedly opined that the . having engine trouble and were on their way '{i i;tt B, BDLLCAAE lectors to recover four pieces of differ rwitn <*onie other Irate elemerts. Dr., J. Allen Hynek, chief consultant of all known metals " dismembered body i.. italf Wrttrr ent metals near a well. "But it lacks properties common to for MUFON \Midwest Unidentified A preliminary report on this collec- gathered by the men c following the crash Tuo of three laboratc- tesurg Newspaper reports o£ the crash at iron, such as being magnetic," Dr. .Flying Object Network) chief consult- tion, of samples should be rebdy 1 riday. the time said the airship" collided Gray said. "It is also shiny and malle- ant and the nation's leading UFO ex- "It was detern pi ^s of metal recm errt ' the s.te t A third set identical to this ghen to habitant of this \\cnu of i reported UFO c-? Aurora with a windmill and exploded blasting able, instead of dull and brittle like pert at Northwestern Umvetsiry theiAmeJKean Aircraft Co. have been pieces of metal over several acres and Christian bunal in Auf Tc,, Apr'j 19, }&1 ha- Jcrfed the la a second report on seven samr' _ sent' to the National Research Institute tailing^the pilot. , ~, Most 'alloys which contain iron are it said. have found *cne sa wgaJy un^ pies submitted by Dallas Times tferald "In Ott^ra, Canadau Using metal detectc-- he added. "".- -* sual " \ samples have properties and reporters "to one of die nation's largest "Ware seeking independent evalu- . MUFON ->n\estigato « Physicist Di Tton. Gcaylqf the common to metals of tfiis -Dr. Gray ^emphasized he did not ' ^ aircraft manofacruren, aciefitisU said ations at the metals tram as many remote grave in the c North Texas State Umversit faculty area," Dr Gray said. "But one sampfe mean hu oommests to- indicate the "ode of, Jna seven dlSereat pieces sub- highly reliable sources as possibl^ un- from which they recei\ . said he iouBd one outlet io_t. pieces pSky require much more investigation." sample was of earthly or extraterres- mitted lor exuntnafion 'l»'highl> unu- der the drCTpnstances," a MUFON ibel readings as the\ He said the sample looks as if it • BiiaL'.'^ r -> being tested In {ns laboratory "puz- ortgjn. "But Its physics stir my cu-^ •** ^ f : 'srmfestnan 'fcltt-!, The Tones Herald sample of metal Dr Grs dwg." > \ , has been melted and jp&ttered on the dfy as a scientist," lesakl. j * "*Bui3l.0Eud the sample'also was '6K resaHarlndlcate at crah company scientists ; Conducting Us own search for metal ground. - -s- ^tti^ saflSple ItBU&r rt^mre ^nncbu shj&y, jsnwoa^etlc and tests tins tar' the loetals ^considered "puzzling" and unusual ,Bt.tha site of the alleged UFO erash on "ttowjwer, the most urtxigoinjfiung 'wto« nwesti^ito" hfr -"^ "» <* •* BflBW ^|Tf"^!IP fwO^^tieSf A ffPflfcpyma^ i}-'tul by the IpeotisU we Extra effort has b<- IheBrawiey Oates fasm home favArova , is that4)t is made Up primarily ol'jron,. gptvves to j&e a-'i said in a prje&Btf&rx. report. ^"We are. nave scientific .evidence on investJgabOT of the rc Gray said DC. DaanA Redden ofrthe but is/Sst tnagnebc;' he espiajned." _.- ' a great giving* ^his^ a^4oiDp$|te run-down. crash because this is the NTSU department oi biajogjcal samples F^st analysis- shows it to be about b MIDWEST UFO NETWORK (MUFON) WALTER H ANDRUS. JR DIRECTOR AO CHRISTOPHER COURT QUINCY IULINOIS 623OI PHONE AC 317 222-8374 ^ Dr. Gray sold tftat the piece he analyzed "may re- quire much more in- TX vestigation." .' He said the "most in- triguing part" is that the piece "is made up primarily fPuzzling' of iron, but is not magnetic." • i The piece was taken from a six-inch scrap of metal found by Dr. Redden. • "It is 75 per cent iron and metal 55 per cent zinc with a few »* i (trace elements," he added. ''But it lacks properties com- mon to iron, such as being Examined magnetic. It is also shiny and fnalleable instead of dull and irittle like iron." .> ;DENTON Wl - A North > He said, however/ that his" T,exa^cAaas ouuState Universituniversity scien- ^if Comments, "do not indicate tjst said Wednesday a piece f Jvhether this is of terrestrial oj metal found at the site of •o r extraterrestrial origin. reported 1897 spaceship crash/. Sfhey mean only that the is "puzzling." / physics of that much iron not ; Dr. Tom Gray, who has Jjeing magnetic stirs my cu- been analyzing scraps of met- riosity as a scientist." il found near Aurora, a ghost •! The NTSU physicist said town in Wise County in North Jt h a t reports of the in- Texas, said at least one piece vestigation will be sent to Dr. of metal appears to be the re- andthe.pilot,wasT3uried,i. urc>|AuuiiW<» uiuicu,uni thLUeC vyuuii^uuiity cvciiustci.j'.je r • ) , ,. '"That crash certainly caused'a iytuaf'excitement," Mary v >-- ins said here::."Many ^peppie w,ere frightened^ They, 1 I • didn't know, what to expect. Th&t was years before we had , any regular airplanes or other,kjnd1rf airship's:"^ /^ ' '<"" - 1 ; The Wright'Bro'tKers made 'their'historic'fligh t 'pVKitty<>f - Hawk in DecembeV^ 4903/ This^feis led some to believe the airship that .crashed at the Texas -well was from 'another . planet, if indeed such -an airship exists. Mrs. EvansJias no doubts.' "*":"<,-S?-V* / ', i\ "~ 'J .. ' '"\ r>; "I was" "only ^bout ,15| at'the time and had all but forgotten the incident until it Appeared in the; newspapers ; recently," she said.^"We were living in Aurora at the time but,my molher and fattier^wouldn't let me go Tvith them1' when they went up to the crash site at Judge Proctor's well." I/!«.. ' • "When they returned horne"theyj told me bow the airship, had exploded.'The pilot was !torif upland killed in the cras.hr" ,'x'a small^matf^andyb'uried him!thaVsamevday iri^Aurorel- J f> „ . „ 1 ; f r^t % , * z Jr* ^". ^r *- i.>J SI.-VN-* Cemetery." (^^-,;,y .j?, j^J ^-,. ..^V^;,;',; The UFO advocates bave'jfcoinbed1 the Aurora area -J"' jmeiaf detectors, radiation nSeters and, oth^r r^ci J 1 *_ t . 1 1 ' «.! i _AA _-ij. i X _ _. _A _ Jl_ J^V A — r ^ sent to yarious^ejjtiste.and-metalttrgiststof . examination. . •/ ^'V^ ."A pbyslcs'^rdffessor at' Worth Texas StateJ -University" one piecev and, said it was unusual because it was 75 i|e properties cornirtpn to -' ' -^' . 5.>pR.jJO/UljjQ^Cv.V > SaMp/e-iPozi/es DALLAS TIMES HERALD, Fri., tune I, 1973 B-3: UFO incident Pioneer recalls hearing of crash Bv BILL CASE phens. 8t>, of Aurora, who de- Aviation Writer scribed how his f.iihcr, Jim A third pioneer North Texas Stephens, was aji cye-w itness resident has confirmed he to the UFO cmsh. and that knew of the crash of an uni- given by Mr* Mary "Grand- dentified flying object in Au- ma" Evan=. 91, who lived in rora April 19. 1S97, in which Aui ora at the time. the pilot was killed Mrs. Evans said her mother G. C. Curley, 9S. of Lewis- and father wouldn't allow her vil!e, now a resident of the to visit the crash scene but Lenisvillc Nursing Home told they told her when they re- The Times Herald Thursday: turned home the UFO had ex- "We got the report early in ploded when it hit a windlass Lewisville. Two friends wanted over a well on Judge J. S. me to ride over to Aurora to Proctor's farm. sec it. But I had to work. "They said the pilot was "When they got back on tom up and killed in the crash," she said. "He \\as horseback that night they told buried later that same day in me the airship had been seen the Aurora Cemetery." coming from the direction of The reports related by Cur- Dallai the day before and had Icy. Stephens and Mrs. Kvans been sighted in the area. But closely duplicate the facts In a no one knew what it was. story written by Aurora news- "They said it hit something paper correspondent, H. E. near Judge Proctor's well. The Hayden, which was published airship was destroyed and the In Dallas and Fort Worth pa- pilot in it was badly torn up," pers the day after the crash. he said. While the search for addi- Curley who is remarkably alert despite his advanced age tional witnesses and informa- added: tion continues by otologists (UFO investigators), reports "My friends said there was a big crowd of sightseers who from three scientific laborato- were picking up pieces of the ries which are analyzing sam- exploded airship. But no one ples of metal gathered at the could identify the metal it was crash site were expected Mon- made of. We didn't have metal day night. like that in America at that "Wo have at least one piece time. of very light metal which "And they said it was diffi- shows nonmagnetic iron, zinc u cult to describe the pilot. They and at least traces of six other saw only a torn up body. I elements and it is hi.^h'y un- don't know what happened to ustinl." said one scientist. the pilot's bod>. They didn't Investigators ha\c located a say." grave in Atiroia Cor.ctcry in Curley added "people were '.\hicli they believe the UFO frightened by the crash. They pilot was buried. They have couldn't understand what it obtained identical metal detec- was." tor decibel readings from the His statement corroborates grave that they do from the statements given The Times mystery piece of metal scien- Herald by C. C. ' Charlie" Ste- tists ;nc studying. _...-"*-_•":,~- Aurora UFO site ~prob • e/ neas* **&r climax '- By" HILL CASE. ^ payoff," a MUFON spokes- Avintion Writer man told The Times Herald. -- Exhaustive efforts since . "More intensive investigation mid-March to confirm reports has gone into this case be- that H UFO crashed at .1 well cause it is the only reported • site iu Aurora, Tc'x., April 19, case of a JJFO crash in which ilSfi?, \\crc al u crucial stage the pilot's body was allegedly Sunday. recovered and buried. The sci- ./•Investigators from MUFON entists report one out of seven (Midwest Unidentified Flying pieces of metal is highly unu- Object Network) and Dallas sual in its properties. Times Herald reporters have "And," he emphasized," combed the area with scientif- even if analysis shows this ic instruments in an effort to metal is known on earth it is locate pieces of the reported not conclusive proof that it did space ship and have pinpointed : >•}-'§ not come from space or that it '. r*!»?«V;:rf'l a grave in Aurora Cemetery in was not developed and dupli- which the pilot may be buried. cated on earth by man at a :'^lhrl And scientists in laboratories later date." at North Texas State Universi- Meterorites composed largely ty, one of the country's major of iron, zinc and traces of oth- aircraft companies and the er metals, some known and National Research Council in unknown, are constantly bom- Ottawa. Canada, arc in the barding us from space, Dr. midst of running tests to identi- Tom Gray, NTSU physicist, fy metal samples supplied by said. "And we don't know "investigators. NTSU conducted where' they, come from. .It is itslsearch on its own. the physics' of this puzzling " "We are in the waiting peri- piece of metal we recovered at od to see if all of our efforts the crash site that stirs my curiosity as a scientist. I would like to see'if we can du- plicate it." The first in-depth compre- hensive metal analysis reports are expected to he completed Monday night. Although the slory has been branded a "hoax" and practi- cal joke for years in North Texas, the investigation has found three aged persons who have given detailed stories of the crash, recovery 'and burial of the pilot. In addition, articles from April 14 through April 27,1897 published in Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers . list hundreds of sightings of "air- ships" matching the descrip- tion of th$ one which reported- ly crashed in Aurora. "We have no plans to ex- luimc the pllot's^body at this Him:," the MUFON spokesman said." However, if scientific evidence shows close relation- ship between the, metal read- ings from the crash site and the grave are valid we shall consider asking' Wise County District: Court to issue an ex- humation order allowing it to be performed by experts in ac- cordance with instructions of the court." •'THcre~Ss" no'"intention -'of turning this into a circus. It is a . scientific .investigation and will be kept on that plain with till respi:bf' for Mm oMtinlcry, its other-i occupant* and the people of the community." I- Saucer Expert Hayden Hewes, Oklahoma City director of UFO bureau, listens to radiation detector in ', chicken coop built over site of supposed UFO crash. Nothing but normal background radio- j tion was detected. (Staff Photo by Steve Sisney.) ,• „ - ( 2 THE OKLAHOMA JOURNAL, MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1973 Nothing Found Probing with metal detector for signs of a supposed alien landing are, from left, Inter- national UFO Bureau members Richard Leonard, Ken Vaught and Vic Johnston. Only a rusty nail was found during Sunday's search. (Staff Photo by Steve Sisney) UFO Artifacts Gone By HOWARD DAVIS phenomena had been into hiding Sunday when a Of The Journal Staff reported in the last several team of UFOlogists AURORA. Tex. - The weeks that tended to suggest (researchers into uniden- evidence all but disappeared Sunday as on-site in- See Related Pictures, Page 11 vestigators took a fresh look at the site where in 1897 a something unearthly did tified flying object sightings) mysterious airship allegedly happen one Apr-il 'morning in confronted the site with crashed and exploded with an this north Texas hamlet. Geiger counters, metal alien pilot aboard. But most of the reported j A number of unusual phenomena ^appg;.~ntly went See UFO on page 2 V' c. *- r- UFO Continued from Pagj 1 There were reports earlier detectors and firsthand in the week the cemetery observation. association had posted armed There were reports that the sentries to keep sightseers alleged crash site was still and newsmen out of the radioactive, but the Geiger cemetery grounds. counters failed to pick • anything up but normal Lynn McCrary, president background radiation. of the association, denied this The radiation was supposed report. • to have been responsible for However, Nobles . the chickens laying rotten acknowledged that Wise eggs in the coop built over the County sheriff's deputies supposed crash site. But even spent several hours at the the chickens were on good cemetery one day when behavior, apparently laying townspeople feared an immi- nothing but standard Grade A nent attempt to abduct the Mediums, which, when open- body. ed, looked and smelled fine. An effort was made, with Further discouragement the use of metal detectors, to came with the disclosure by find more fragments of • a Nobles that cemetery shiny metallic substance records indicate the suspect recently discovered on the grave was owned by a man crash site, but the only thing named C.A. Carr and that metallic recovered from the attempts to locate Carr or his ground was a rusty nail. known descendents have been Meanwhile, the man who futile. first discovered the strange McCrary said it is not even shiny metal and took the known whether Carr is alive, lion's share of it for himself adding that it is possible a has apparently disappeared relative of Carr or Carr without a trace, leaving himself fell victim to one of behind only a fake address in the repeated yellow fever Corpus Christi and a epidemics which plagued telephone number that Aurora in the 1890's and may belongs to someone else. have then been quickly buried Hayden Hewes, director of with no stone to mark the the International UFO grave. Bureau, headquartered in McCrary is openly hostile Oklahoma City, said efforts to the UFO investigation. to contact a "Frank Kelley", "The people here don't like who said he was a it," he says. "You wouldn't professional treasure hunter, like it, either. That (the • have been futile cemetery) is supposed to be a Two more disappointments sacred place. greeted the investigators when they arrived at the "The way it's been the last Aurora cemetery, when, ac- five weeks it's been a show cording to turn-of-the- place." century newspaper accounts, Mrs. McCrary, whose the alien pilot was "given a mother and mother's-mother Christian burial." . _, _were born and raised inthe '' - * * * * THE OKLAHOMA JOURNAL, MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1973 |"| L)l _ ... Last Fragment r | True Believer ..'/ Brawley Oates, owner of farm where UFO may have UFO investigator Tommy Blann holds up one of remaining'''; crashed, believes the story is true. (Staff Photo by Steve fragments of metal recovered from "crash site." (Staff Photo' Sisney.) by Steve Sisney.) ' '' \ ' l"'-''l".- .*' •V4U: 2 THE OKLAHOMA JOURNAL,'MONDAY;,JUNE:4, 1973 tf^:.ij^'^—"bP- jYvy"-' r3j>*|ji«-• « "•,,• '. ••••-c" .- !••:-. Morning-round 'W/'.^v?-,-.^. 4i;^i^;;^ ' •...Probing'-with metal detector.for signs of a supposed alien Jandirig'are, frorn"le(l,'inter-!'' national UFO Bureau members Richard Leonard; Ken Vaught apd^ic Johnston..pn|xa''ru'st)r"':^ .^ , nail was found during Sunday's search.*-(Staff,Photo by Steve Sis'n'ey) '• •.,;"":;''/.j|^;'.1' '."; • • , . . , - - i , •., ,. .•". - ( By HOWARD DAVIS . p h e n o m e n a . h a d been into hiding Sunday when 'a £ '- Of The Journal Staff '. reported in the last several team of :. UFOIogists ^' ;•••; ;AURORA. Tex.. - The .weeks that tended to suggest "(researchers^ intb\unidei^ • evidence all but disappeared '; •• ...... - i«i , •* •• . ' ' '. •"•>-, ' • • , '\- ,. • ; Sunday as on-site in- See Related Pictures, .; vestigators took a fresh look -.at the site where in 1897 a something unearthly did tified Hying objet sightngs) mysterious airship allegedly happen one April morning in . confronted ' the; sjte yirith MIDWEST UFO NETWORK ,\ . • .- • • (MUFON) . . •• - ,- • .1" ',', 1'" i1' ^' ' ' '\ \'- • ' ' '* WALTER H. ANORUS. JR. - .-..v,. '._ ,-. . j..-,.^-, DIRECTOR 4b CHRISTOPHER COURT QUINCY. ILLINOIS 623O1 PHONE AC 217 232-0374 SUBMITTED BY; .;tn -, • « t*/< .-••. • ujnunueo Jrom Page.^,^*fAew wfc'rff'frepbfts earflSf.i« detectors and firsthandYsto Itbe week the cemetery?' observation. V' 1 association had posted armed •' There were reports that the ?' sentries' toL keep, sightseers/ alleged crash site was still iVand/ newsmen out of ,the THE ATLANTA CONSTI11JTIO1N, Tliuri,.,-Ma> 31, 1?73',, radioactive; but the Geiger'vCemetery grounds': .' ..;. ; ' 1897 UFO? TX'"'-.••• •'-.'-'-•1-.-\i1...;/-'i:;V to have been responsible for HoWever,'.: ' Nob 1 eS:< ' the chickens laying rotten acknowledged 'that .Wise He Ctitft Tell eggs in the coop built over the . County !>sh'erif f's deputies > >.••• ; supposed crash site. But even -'' spentvseverah hours at^the •'? the chickens were on good cemetery .one'day when * behavior,. apparently laying townspeople feared an immi- >. I/If MetdTs AMti nothing but standard Grade A neht attempt to abduct the : Mediums, which, when open- :; •••'. '".DENTON, Tex. .(UFI) ,— A physics /professor at North ed, looked and smelled fine. .v;^J ';t.^i:>V'.:-^/H if Texas State University said Wedneday a small chip of" An effort was made.Jwith ; discouragement,- !' J metal "stirs" nis-curiosity, But. that he could not tell if it :- the use of metal detectors', to' came with i the disclosure by ' find more fragments, of-;a •Nobles ; that''cemetery . shiny metallic substance • records indicate! the suspect; . !. recently .discovered on the /grave was 'owned by a' man^'. crash site, but the only thing ' named.C.A- Carr and ,that but lacks properties comrno , metallic recovered from the attempts.to locate Carr or his" ground was a rusty hail:-,. known descendents have been :, oft, instead'bf. duU-ahd.britU(?v^Kg"}ron:;^iYr-^^i^;v"C'''. Meanwhile, the man who -T-, s,?-,-;,?';.- -..-, •;- -:;v •••• "l don't mean; by my/conynents 'id'. - indicate'whether'l'thisl first discovered the strange McCrary.'said it is not even ;;: . is of terrestnal'or extraterrestrial origin,'7 Gray said, "but shiny metal and took the . known,whether Carr is alive, -: that the physics of that much iron not being magnetic stirs • lion's share of it for himself adding that it-is possibleva.; my curiosity as. a scientist. ''•'-' . i has apparently disappeared relative of |Carr ;or .Carr .; „, i, "It it proves'.to'b'e' a rather-strange beast, then a great without a trace, leaving, himself fell-victim to one of";'' deal more study, will have to be done on it. Right 'now, we behind only'a fake address in, ' the/ repeated, yellow fever =qan-only.make;suppositions."We,'cannot'draw any ( •• Corpus Christi and a •epidemics^ -which,plagued ~'\ 'efnne ""-." 5'-'': *t;'rilX ' T'-"'. ' "' ' "-' telephone number'that /Aurora in,the 1890's and may.'! The samples,;,were''djig from';ah^,area near, Aurora,; Tex., '••• belongs to someone else, rr 'haye then been quickly buried. • Hayden Hewes, direcior'of with no.itohe^ to mark (the I . about, 70 miles nbrtnwe^rof .DallasJn.Wise County? Various' ;the International UFQ , samples were found when dispatches resurrecting news re- '-grave.::'.V-^;1.; -'...yj/^ pjarts from the- igjjQspi'the. supposed spaceship'crash were .Bureau, headquartered, in : : : ! Oklahoma City, said efforts. ; . McCrary' is bpenly' hostile!\ 'published. '•',„•, :.>,\ ,.'.•••-.-; ..-.,...,'.•»•-i-V''--'• I-' '• , to the^UFO investigation.,, .'i iOne article, published in Dallas and ,Fort Worth news-. to contact a."Frank Kelley",.; > L who " said he was^ai,' ivJv'.'The people here don't like - papers April 20,- 1897, was written by H.E. Hayden, an ; lt,' ' he' saysJ "You wouldn't A'urora correspondent and cotton buyer. professional treasure hunter; '< : have been futile. "^-^v'j:; „;; like it,. either., That (the Speaking of the crash, which he said occurred over the '..'". Two more disappointments 'cemetery) is supposed to be a ,'well on the larm owned by J.S. Procter, Hayden wrote: r ;.sa,cred plaicie;''.,;, '• • . :.'/••..: "The remains of the pilot were gathered together. It was . i" greeted the investigators'! ; when they arrived at "the -;: /'The way it's been the last r determined he was not an inhabitant of the world and he . Aurora cemetery, when! ac-; five weeks it's been a show ' - was given a Christian burial in Aurora Cemetery." L{- cording, to turn-ofrthe-;..- place^",:',t<-^i,,],-'.'^:^ Otticials of the InternationaN l Unidentified Flying Object K . century newspaper,accounts;;i: Bureau, run by Hayden Hewes of Oklahoma City, have the'alien pilot was "given" a'. seized on the incident as a real instance of UFO activity mothw and mother's^ mother ' Christian burial.".. : ,. ,r. on,earth. ,Were born and rajseiMn the ••»i, i VK ii • W*CI^ i .aurora 'area^ana who nas,liv-; They have said that if the metal is proved to be extrater* i ' that the small, unmarked ed all her own life there, said : restrial they will press for exhumation of the body of the triangular headstone at the Vshe nad never heard the 1897 supposed astronaut. . suspected.£ravesite had been story until three or four years' broken off two inches above.'; ago. ; ' ' : :; f ground level and removed. Second, the metal detec- She attribytes.all the furor tors failed to get any to Braley Gates, 65, the man readings directly over the who lives on the land where , gravesite, contrary to earlier the cigar-shaped airship : reports allegedly exploded. . ,.: The developments of Sun- f Gates says he first moved. i ; day's investigation tended to to the farm in 1945, and didn't dim any immediate prospect hear anything about the UFO^ ' the UFO Bureau may have of incident until an article came \ getting a court order to exr out in a newspaper about it ' . hume the suspect gravesite.^ some 12 years ago, ;.; . '. . ' ..i-. 1 Trustees of the cemetery; ; "At the time.J didn't think; , ,'a.larmed last week of curiosi- anything about' it," he said> ty. seekers overrunning the "I didn'K think there was . any ' groiinds, have had their-at-,. ^siich of1. a thing as; flying ' torney, Bill Nobles, draft' 'isaucers.. ". V-,3.- legal papers for obtaining,an "But l-sure, do-now/' '• injunction, if necessary, to -. — —j,. w - v, •^••«-.One - ••t«>*thing^ ;\»lia; tha»t W^lgl^weighas keep the grave from being .heavily with Gates is that desecrated. , ^-.'.-',. ...• ;r doctors ;have.': told him his ( ! ! However. ,, Nobles'said.h' e '"""'gouty" ;.arthriti•"•*••"*s- ma—"y~ be!th"—•"-e- , does not plan to file for the in- result of radiation poisoning, junction at this time and will he says.vi. -. • •'. •',-.';'• v'' not file unless there is reason i The UFQ'was supposed to to believe the grave will be J>ave crashed_on top of a well;! disturbed. '•'._ ' on the farm. .When Gates took ". Hewes has'"said the UFO' possession of the place, he Bureau is consulting its own cleaned the partly filled well attorney.s. about the .^lega6ul. ., out and used the well for process involved in exhuming drinking water, for 12 years, the gravesite, but will, not ... Most 'of. the strange metal start proceedings until and ' fragments were believed to unless analysis of the,,hav,--" , ew- .-bee- — — n-. dredge*•• *.v*^V'«d« *»Jup* wheTf »V O tn z n 2 n i D •< i '. in 9 I 2 1 O H U I C P m I o Z I S R 8S5o " 0 3) 2Z m (D l. 31 :'• riayden Hewes, Oklahoma City director pf UFO bureau;Vlistens to:radiqtipn:detect6r ih^ Torany Blann, deputy direct- ; ; or of the "bureau, issued a state- ment denying several reports relating to the bureau's investi- , gation of the incident which "be- . V-gan last summer. ^- . - -.. ••-,',.-:-.:.. The statement also said,"A- !. reporter in the area is hamper- ing our serious research as we have "been unable to dispel un- , founded and unnecessary runl ; ors that serve no purpose but ; : > •to fan the fire"."' /. . . ,: ; ; Blann said a well was found near the site of the supposed /•. . . '• i'~- "• " crash, contrary to other reports ; ,that there was no well* He also . said metal -found at the crash site by Frank N« Kelley, Corpus '-Christl, who disappeared after ,. ,. /,,/,0; .. : U --r. •<*-•.!••.:. he gave investigators the metal, has been found to be iron* Blann said bureau persons had interviewed two of the three supposed eye-witnesses to the incident, but they said.they ' • ' did not see it* They were only :: told of the happening when they' were small, Blann said* HB denied that the '•pulsating ; fT blobs'* sighted In Texas and OldLahoma yards and fields were j connected with the crash. "< ft Z. Blann also denied that the " < O I "bureau had, obtained a court or- o go 5 m ft n z 0 n (A ^01 3 7 ~* der to exhume the pilots*s body. . C 21 7 2 . ILLINOI S ISTOPHE R > •< I H AND F 1 DIRECTO R 1 "s **0nly If the metal Is detercw i Ined to be not of this earth and N m 0 > / M c ™ m ®m u °r ID u o n d until the grave Is located will an -J - H * t_ •< 3J O 70 order be sought^** he said. 1 He also denied that an Injunc- tion was Issued to l&ep bureau people from digging and said the area was not radioactive. > 2 Experts Differ About f897 UFO By The Associated Press probable MUFON's investiga- The question of what hap- tion is at its most intensive pened, if anything, at Aurora, points." Tex., April 19, 1897, turned THE ORIGINAL 1897 Saturday into dispute's be- story came from S. E. •Hay- tween two Unidentified Flying den, cotton buyer and part- Objects experts. tune newspaper correspondent The mass of evidence is on at Aurora, a village which has the side of reports that, some- become a ghost community. It thing did strike Judge J. S. 1 is between Fort Worth and De- Proctor's windmill on that catur. date and exploded. The re- Hayden said the craft went ports also say some creature to pieces with a tremendous died in the explosion and was explosion when it hit the wind- i buried by the citizens of mill, scattering parts. ov«r I Aurora. several acres. ] During the weekend, Hayden Hayden said the pilot, de- Hewes, director of the Interna- scribed as a "small man," tional UFO Bureau, Inc., of was dismembered. Oklahoma City, added fuel to "However, enough remains the dispute. He said there was were picked up to determine it nothing to the reports and that was not an inhabitant of this newspapers were only fanning world," Hayden wrote. "The the fire to keep it alive. men of the community gath- This was disputed by the ered it up and it was given a Midwest Unidentified Flying Christian burial in the Aurora Network and Bill Case, avia-. cemetery." tion writer for the Dallas INVESTIGATORS BE- Times Herald, who has inves- lieve they have pinpointed the tigated the story deeply. grave — a spot marked by a , CASE SAID THE TESTS OF handhewn stone. Chiseled into metals found at the site by the stone is the outline of a Hewes were not the same cigar-shaped object. samples found by Case and There has been some talk of others which several scientists digging into this grave but so have said are at least puz- far nothing has been done. zling. Men of the cemetery associa- Walter H. Andrus Jr. took tion have guarded the grave- issue with Hewes' statement. yard against molestation re- Andrus is executive director of cently. Midwest Unidentified Flying At least three old-timers Object Network. have been found who heard Andres told Case, "His direct reports from persons (Hewes') announcement im- who saw the wreckage. plies investigation of the re- One is Charlie Stephens who ported crash of a UFO ... is said, "My daddy, Jim Ste- closed simply through analysis phens, said he was putting the of four pieces of metal. cows out to pasture on pur "Nothing could be further ranch about 4 a.m. three miles i from the truth. south of Aurora when he no- i "MUFON investigators and ticed a cigar-shaped airship 1 reports from the Dallas Times with a white light pass over. Herald are still vigorously working on the investigation." "IT WAS VERY LOW AND just went straight ahead until ONE POINT OF DISPUTE it crashed at a well site on a is a fused nugget of aluminum high hill on Judge J. S. Proc- alloy which metallurgists say tor's farm. He said there could not be produced on earth seemed to be an explosion and until this century. a fire that lit up the sky for The nugget was found be- several minutes. neath other metal fragments "The next day my father at Aurora. One speculation is rode a horse into Aurora to that its depth in the earth look at the scene and said it shows that it came from the looked like a mass of torn '- reported flying object. Others metal and burned rubble." ] say that its composition in- Mrs. Mary Evans, 91, says dicates that it was manufac- her mother and father would tured well after the crash not let her go with them when date. they went to the site. Andrus said, "If we deter- G. C. Curley, 98, said two mine it is a hoax, we will an- friends went to the reported i nqunce it candidly. And we crash site and told him4hat will have the evidence to show sightseers were picking pieces why we believe in it. But at of metal of a type unknown the moment, our findings in- then. Curley said his friends N Vidicate the possibility it is a also told of a dismembered -hoax,is jnore, and.m.ore jm- 4 Counties By DANI PRESSWOOD Beporter-News Staff Writer gfottene Jta Officials in four area coun- Comanche judge: B ties are making preparations for the next step in the crea- tion or extension of hospital 'not the right tin\ '"WITHOUT OR WITH OFFENSE TO FRIENDS OR FOES W districts approved during the' 63rd Texas Legislature.i election/ Legislators passed bills call- ing for five new districts and 92ND YEAR, NO. 358 PHONE 673-4271 ABILENE, .TEXAS, 79604, SUNDAY extension of two others. New Although the 12-year-old Co- districts include Hamlin and manche Municipal Hospital op- st Anson in Jones County, De erates at 90-98 per cent capac- Leon and Comanche in Coman- ity, he said, "no patient has m che County and Fisher County. ever been turned away." el "This is one of the few hos- BILLS WERE approved to pitals around that is complete- Experts Fan Flame* extend the existing Stamford ly solvent," Dr. Minis said. -i Hospital District in Jones ho '•It has operated successfully H By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS rora. gated the story deeply. County and the district in without one cent of tax mon- The question of what hap- During the weekend, Hayden Case said the tests of metals Mitchell County. do, ey I pened, if anything, at Aurora, Hewes, director of the Inter- found at the site by Hewes Of the seven districts, Gov. "And it has met all Medi- Tex., April 19, 1897, turned were not the,same samples Dolph Briscoe has signed the Co national UFO Bureau, Inc., found by Case and others De Leon and Comanche-dis- care and HEW (Dept. of Jo Saturday into disputes be- of Oklahoma City, added fuel Health.' Education and Wel- in tween two Unidentified Flying to the dispute. He said there which several scientists have tricts into law, while the oth- fare) requirements." said are at least puzzling. ers still await signature. iii Objecls (UFO) experts. was nothing to the leports and Claiming that he is "neither sa The mass of evidence is on that newspapers were only Walter H. Andrus Jr. took Even if the governor fails to for nor against" the proposed sta the side of reports that some- fanning the lire to keep it issue with Hewes' statement. sign the remaining bills, they district, Dr Minis said his Andrus is executive director will become law automatically co: tiling did strike Judge J. S. ahve. within 20 days after passing comments reflected the "feel- Proctor's windmill on that This was disputed by the of MUFON (Midwest Unidenti- ings of the people" of Coman- date and exploded. The re- Midwest Unidentified Flying fied Flying Object Network). from the Legislature to his che County. ports also say some creature desk. ' : Netwoik and Bill Case, avia- Andrus told Case, "His Each of'the proposed dis- II died in the explosion and was tion waiter for the Dallas (Hewes') announcement im- LOCAL .OPTION elections buried by the citizens of Au- plies investigation of the re- tricts must now be approved i:::: Times Hei aid who has investi- by voters in trie individual dis- for Comanche and other hospi- r tal districts may be set 35 E. tricts in local option elections. Ings Most ^.Of ,the_nrnnn«>'' •"- days afff- tho hi'ic_Vionnivio UFO Continued from Pg. 1A Christian burial in the Aurora Cemetery " Investigators believe they have pinpointed the grave—a spot marked by a handhewn stone. Chiseled into the stone is -the outline of a cigar- shaped object. There has been some talk of digging into this grave but so far nothing has been done. Men of the cemetery associa- tion* have guarded the grave- yard against molestation re- cently. ] At least three old-timers ; have been found who heard j direct reports from persons ) who saw the wreckage. , One is Charlie Stephens who vsaid, "My daddy, Jim Ste- "phens, said he was putting the cows out to pasture on our ranch about 4 a.m. three miles south of Aurora when he no- ticed a cigar-shaped airship with a white light pass over. "It wag very low and just went straight ahead until it crashed at a well site on a high hill on Judge J. S. Proc- tor's farm. He said there seemed to be an explosion and a fire that lit up the sky for several minutes. "The next day my father rode a horse into Aurora to look at the scene and said it looked like a mass of torn metal and burned rubble." Mrs. Mary Evans, 91, says her mother and father would not let her go with them when they went to the site. "That crash certainly caused a lot of excitement," Mrs. Evans said. 'Many peo- i pie were frightened. They j didn't know what to expect. That was years before we had any regular airplanes or other kinds of airships." She said there was a body, which Ste- phens did not mention. G. C. Curley, 98, said two Mends went to the reported crash site and told him that sightseers were picking pieces of metal of a type unknown then. Curley said his friends also told of a dismembered body. j l i ; i '•fert-is>«'«'-''K^vt'/-»''">'-Y-^/i-'-M''p^4» i '-'r^xW'-!:'"Vi'."'.' >v'"''''i' '< . •• ;'• ••. \- '< • '..•••.•v--i..----!i--. ' • :/ •. DALLAS TIMJSHEHALD. ThBM.,luntT, »978 C j.:- '» ,B-3j .. ':v-\^ '-.V'.1"'1' •' .-'.•r^S*:;-' ^iV?^^^" , ;. '- ' ; •.' ~"^^^^if^^:,v •.,'•'. H — ' . :< •'-.'. THE TULSA PAIlV WORLD, SUNDAYi JUNg-ifr W3 • •'. V . ... ••"V.;':By-BILLCASE." '•*•'': ••.' .By' The Associated 'Press probable,' MUFON's'. invesHga- ;:.-: .Aviation Writer ' ..,' "J , :. ' The question of wha't hanJ tioa is aMts, m°sf intensive pened, if anything, at Aurora,1 . ' '?,';•;!, Two ,of the nation's'top UFO Tex., April 19, 1897, '; turned ' ' V;'iliuthpritles have urged resi- i;--denis of Aurora, where an uni- '•':'< 'identified flying - object 'repprt- . Objects experts. : time'neWSp?per'icorres1)oiident *?"'edly crashed and killed thepi- • ine mass ot evidence,is;on f:,gt Aurora, a village which'has •/'.' lot'on April 19, 1897, to search ,-the side/of:rejports that,some-;^become a ghost community. It - -, .their homes, barns and storage thing did strfke. Judge J & •-.,,.ls.between Fort-Worth.ahdDe-; , '".' places for . historic • ,'clues and Proctors.'Windmill oni that;! c'atur ,-;-•'•- "•'.' - ''•'• ' date and exploded. The--re-'; iHayitea'''sai , lyzedby scientists, i, .:- • DIRECTOR . ' .'', ' 'After checking the grave AO CHRISTOPHER COURT with metal detectors and gath- OUINCY. ILLINOIS 623O1 . ering facts for three months, PHONE AC 217 222-837-* we are,as certain, as we can be at-this point he was-the • pilot of .a UFO which repor- SUBMITTED BY; tedly .exploded atop a well on Judge J. S. Proctor's place, , April 19, 1897. Hewes said. "He was not an inhabitant of this world." ; :; 2 ExpefcrDrffermm L' ''.?" ll)v' '••it. a"'^ ^*^'"*'s'•Uii' f r ^ grandfathers or fathers or oth- About f897U|jCi^ ers-in the family, picked up at , the site of the alleged UFO^ By The Associated Press probable. MUFON's investiga- * crash. We even suggest they/; The question of what hap- tion is at its most intensive '-• check the family bible1 for|a pened, it anything, at Aurora, points." notation," he said. I * Tex, April 19, 1897, turned Andrus said It was reported Saturday into disputes be- THE ORIGINAL-,1897 tween two Unidentified Flying story came from S. E. Hay- by newsmen in 1897 that f&l- Objects experts. , den, cotton buyer and .part- lowing the crash hundreds Krf time newspaper correspondent sightseers carried away bltfc The mass of evidence Is on at Aurora, a village which has the side of reports that some- become a ghost community. It and pieces of the exploded thing did strike Judge J. S. is between Fort Worth and De- UFO as souvenirs. He estimat- Proctor's windmill on that' catur. ed a verified piece of UFO O H date and exploded. The re- Hayden said the craft went metal would be as valuable as ports also say some creature to pieces with a tremendous a moon rock recovered by died in the explosion and was explosion when it hit the wind- Apollo astronauts. buried by the citizens of mill, scattering parts over Aurora. several acres. ' Dr. Hynek plans to Inspect During the weekend, Hayden Hayden said the pilot, de- '' the crash site an , '.« fceman Never Stole a Box Car By FRANK X. TOLBERT versation pieces of the world recently IN FORT WORTH in 1897 there lived because some "UFO scientists" have a railroad man for1 the Texas & Pacific, been in the village looking for pieces of named Joseph E. (Truthful) Scully, ."strange metal" around the site of also widely renowned as "The Honest .Judge Proctor's old water well and Brakeman — he never stole a box searching for the grave of the 1897 UFO car." ' pilot alleged to have died in the crash. * The Honest Brakeman was, I be- When I was in Colorado and New lieve, the central figure in the so ': 3DNV31N3 iaaaiS TVMCHJ dOHS MISHAINn Nl 8O "8 >33M V SlHOlN 9 N3dO ISV3 NMOI'TIVW S£ ional UFO clues requested By BILL CASE Aviation Writer Two of the nation's top UFO authorities have urged resi- dents of Aurora, where an uni- 'dentified flying object report- ' edly crashed and Wiled the pi- lot on April 19, 1897, to search their homes,'barns and storage DALLAS TIMES HERALD, Thurs,, June 7, 1973 places for historic clues and souvenirs of the incident. "Now that scientific investi- gation makes it highly improb- -able that the report is a hoax as has been reported so many times, we feel the people of j the area may be able to locate rir-> information and physical evi- „ „. dence gathered and kept by Liii t*16*1" fatners and grandfath- j- ^ers," said Dr. J. Allen Hynek, 1—chairman of the Department of (.,. Astronomy at Northwestern I University in Evanston, 111. JILts Walter H. 'Andrus, national director —StoH Photo BOOK PROJECT—Larry Pile, a 14-year-old Boy Scout, The project took three months with most of the boob finishes packing more than 600 books he has collected coming from Glen Cove area residents. for the Dallas County Children's Emergency Shelter. Aurora cemetery ouster Urologist hit by order _By BILL CASE year-old hoax. on the findings later," a MU- FON spokesman said. "Their Staff Writer Correspondent H. E. Hayden had written after the crash answer was to say they did , Weeks after the gravestone "the airship which had been not feel they had the authority , of a reported UFO pilot buried seen in the area for three to to grant an exhumation and - In Aurora Cemetery was stolen Jour days collided with a they had the obligation to pro- and his grave robbed, tiie Au- wooden windmill structure on tect the cemetery from any ' rora Cemetery 'Association has the Judge J. S. Proctor horn- damage. „ ordered unidentified flying ob- stead." "They turned down the legit- ject investigators to stop inves- "The airship exploded and imate exhumation offer after 'tigating the gravesite in the the pilot was lolled," Hayden the place had been trampled cemetery. wrote "His body was dismem- like a herd "of elephants, the The Aurora Cemetery Asso- bered but it was determined grave marker was stolen and ciation also turned down a he was not an inhabitant of the grave was robbed by pro- proposal for a "secret" exhu- this world. He was buried with fessionals who took metal that mation of the reputed pilot's Christian rites in Aurora Cem- investigations had discovered in body although the association's etery." the grave with electronic de- board was to oversee the ex- The investigation which be- tectors." humation conducted by profes- gan in Mid-March this year In his letter protesting van- sional archaeologists and fo- drew large crowds of sight- dalims, Nobles said the ceme- rensic medicine specialists. seers and an influx of vandals tery association's property was The exhumation plan pro- and professsional grave rob- closed for "all investigative posed by Midwest Unidentified bers to the small cemetery. purposes" and any investiga- Flying Object Network (MU- tors found in the cemetery FON) was rejected in a letter Reporters and MUFON in- vestigatoi-s urged Ihe associa- would be charged with crimi- 'from William A. Nobles, Deca- nal trespass. tur attorney, representing the tion and Nobles to seek an in- ' cemetery association. junction and take other mea- The association's clampdown ' The exhumation was to have sures to protect the cemetery on investigators came only six dimazed a four-month investi- May 24 before serious damage days before Walter H. Andrus , gation in which MUFON had been done. Jr., executive director of MU- sought to prove whether or not "Nothing happened until we FON, wits to arrive in Dallas a story filed with Dallas and proposed a secret exhumation to brief the news media on the *Fort Worth Newspapers, April fron* which all newsmen would progress of the long investiga- iTcj. *qqp mi« ^pue- or a 7b- be excluded- and then filled in tion. Discovery of Evidence Surrounding 1897 UFO Crash Baffles Scientists .'if/ By OKSANA SENCZYSZAK An abandoned cemetery in Aurora, Tex., is the site of one of the most intensive UFO investigations ever. An alien spaceman is believed to have been buried there when his unidentified flying object crashed in 1897. Today 76 years late, a group of UFO investigators have found what they say may be pieces of the demolished aircraft. The unknown space vehicle crashed into a rural windmill and exploded on April 19,1907—six years before the first air flight made by man. SIGNPOST announces arrival to Aurora, Tex./where UFO is believed to have crashed In 1897. Scientists who studied the metal fragments from the crash site "We were living in Aurora at the revealed that they are an aluminum time, but my mother and father alloy "unknown in the U.S. until wouldn't let me go with them when about 1910 and not produced on this they went up to the crash site at earth until early in the 20th century." Judge Proctor's well. k "When they returned home, they told me how the airship had TAKING PART in the exploded. The pilot was torn up and investigation are the International killed in the crash. The men of the UFO Bureau, the National town who gathered his remains said Investigative Committee on Aerial he was a 'small man' and buried him Phenomena (NICAP) and the that same day in Aurora Cemetery. Midwest UFO Network (MUFON). Hayden Hewes, director of the "THAT CRASH certainly caused a International UFO Bureau, lot of excitement," added Mrs. explained: "According to reports at Evans. "Many people were the time, the airship was scattered frightened. They didn't know what to over several acres by the explosion expect. That was years before we ' f Editorials Fri.July 13, 1973 IRE D4LMS TIMES HER4LD /METROPOLIT4N Andrus asks Fri., July 13, 1973, DALLAS TIMES HERALD exhumation Aurora case A well-known investigator of uniden- " tified flying objects has appealed to the Aurora Cemetery Association to allow '__ ' Ufologist asks exhumation of a grave believed to con- tain the body of a UFO pilot. , Walter H. Andrus Jr. of Quincy, 111., executive director of the Midwest IW * probe of grave identified Flying Object Network (MU- - FON), issued the appeal Wednesday at? ' t Continued from Page 1 gered over the sightseers at- a meeting of MUFON members in • Duncanville. ' " -~ of the UFO pilot has been pin- tracted to the area by there- Ufologists and newsmen have pur- pointed through use of a metal ports. A marker over the sup- sued the inquiry since late March \ detector which registered the posed grave of the "space pi- when a team of investigators began - same decibel readings as those lot" also has been stolen and combing the Aurora cemetery for the r' found at the supposed crash the graveyard has been de- grave of a UFO pilot reportedly buried -., site. scribed as "looking as if a there after his spaceship collided with The Aurora Cemetery Asso- herd of elephants stampeded ' a windmill and exploded in 1897. ciation has refused to allow The search was prompted by news- . exhumation of the grave. through it." , paper reports of the accident published Townspeople have become an- Based on evidence collected ! in Dallas and Fort Worth on April 20, thus far and investigative ! 1897, which were in turn unearthed by - work done by ufologists and researchers for a UFO investigatory ,• Times Herald aviation writer group in Oklahoma. Bill Case, Andrus is close to In the weeks since the investigation being convinced it did. began, scraps of metal — later de-. - "No in-depth story of a re- scribed as "highly unusual" and "puz- - ported crash site has been zling" by researchers who examined - done before now," he said. them — have been found at the report- "The work done here by Case ed crash site and submitted to labora- , and (MUFON member) Earl lory tests. Also, a^grave reputedly that Watts shows there was proba- See UFOLOGIST on Page 4" bly some sort of crash. Case himself has made 27 trips, 26 more than some folks have made under similar circum- stances." Andrus admits the Aurora Andrus noted that people of , ble-type aircraft, he said, and Cemetery Association is "justi- that time "thought someone the objects were always seen fiably angry" over what has had developed an airship and singly, tiot in groups. happened since the highly-pub- this is what they were seeing. Today's UFO's are disc- licized investigations began. "But, call it 20-20 hindsight, shaped, .often with red or He added a personal appeal we know today there was noth- green lights. They have been that MUFIN investigators be ing of that type in 1897. , reported singly, in pairs and allowed to conduct a "strictly "Were ''these thousands of in groups as well, and at private" examination of the people merely seeing halluci- speeds varying from "slow- graveside in hopes of ending nations?" he-asked rhetorical- moving" (like the craft of the the investigation. ly. 1890's) to '.'unbelievable." Further evidence Andrus "People who say there's Andrus will be in the Dallas considers persuasive is found nothing new under the sun are area until Saturday. He plans in "the thousands of reports exactly right. We'r,e seeing the , to visit Aurora sometime dur- across the United States in same things today (the most ing his stay. He also hopes to 1897" of UFO's. recent 'flap' occurred during meet and talk with officials of "Texas was literally loaded the first three days in August, the community and of the Au- down with sightings at that 1965) people saw them." ' rora Cemetery Association in time," he said, "what we call One thing has changed, how- the hope of resuming on-site today a 'flap,' meaning a suc- ever, and^tb^t is the shape of investigations which have been cession of sightings over a the UFO's, said Andrus. halted. brief period of time." Reports from the 1890's de- scribed cigar-shaped or dirigi- I rk* ifeJlHE ODESSA AMERICA ^Sunclpy, August 19,1?73c ;,rrgX^€» . j At §it@ 5njfa^:rash ' •;""'"". Odessan Recovers Mysfery A/lefq| By JERRI OSBORN dug out the corner posts of the There are two graves that are Hansen says a court order is the metal the UFO people took American Staff Writer wood mill years ago. being considered as the possible now being sought by the UFO with them this summer and^tl Curiosity and a love for "He said he cleaned out the burial site of the remains. bureau to open the graves. same that Oates threw away: prospecting took Jack Hansen well and gave a huge amount of "One is marked with just a "It would be a simple matter' long ago. to Aurora Northeast of Dallas metal he aound there to the .stone," Hansen said. He took 1 cover the graves back up if they And he says he doesn't in Wise County. scrap metal drive during World pictures of both sites. "The turned out to be wrong," He returned to Odessa with a War II," Hansen said. That $tone they had on the other one believe all he's read about the. Hansen maintains. metal or the legend or events mysterious metal and a "wait means, if it turns out there was was stolen sometime this But some people are just surrounding it. and see" attitude about the a 'ship'," Hansen said, "then summer,." he continued. "stubborn" according to legend behind it. some of our planes had some UFO officials wanted to find Hansen, referring to Aurora He was excited when he found Hansen says he neither alien metal in them." the grave and dig it up earlier residents that continue to block the metal, though. "It was sort believes nor disbelieves the The legend says the pilot of this summer. A court order, the exhumation. of like finding gold," he said legend that says the metal the flying object was blown to sought by some citizens of comparing his feelings. pieces are fragments of an Aurora who feel the whole thing Hansen admits he has taken nieces on impact. Oates' word for it when it "airship" that crashed in *** is a hoax, prevented the UFO No. he won't sell the metal at Aurora in 1897. personnel from entering the comes to the fact that the metal he now possesses is the same" as any price. Not yet. The few pieces Hansen found cemeterv are kept in a small plastic box. He plans to keep them until someone determines the exact composition of the metal. "It says right here that it is 75 per cent iron," Hansen says, pointing out an article in an astrology newspaper — July's issue but already well worn from handling and folding. "I don't know," Hansen said when asked why the metal wasn't heavy like iron. "The scientists don't understand it either " Dr. Tom Gray of North Texas State University terms the pieces of metal "unusual." They are not magnetic as iron is They are shiny rather than dull like iron and soft instead of brittle. Hansen, a coin collector, handles the metal like a precious stone. Unlike a precious stone, the metal isn't pretty or even impressive. It has striations that look like a piece of scratched tin adhered to a piece of rock, but it is not rock or tin. It is as light a» aluminum J^nt if ic nnt TIMES-.HERALD, Dallas, .Texas, '.Sunday, Aug. 19, 1973 Investigators turn to courts /or exhumation . By BILL CASE . tensive investigation lead us to . "They have even gotten out Aurora 55 miles northwest of > .v;Av)atiou Writer, : believe we should open the a court injunction preventing Dallas from as far away as ( ?. Unidentified Flying Object grave to settle the matter once UFO investigators from exam- Rome, Italy; Montreal, CanV • ; (UFO) investigators are lum- and for all," Andrus said. "We ining the cemetery and grave da; and Los Angeles. .-..'.• ping to. the courts in their ef- still believe there is substance site under threat of criminal In addition to its planned le-; '.forts to get a reported legcn- to the report." trespass." gal move, MUFON is continu-; ;' dary UFO pilot's body exhumed Blocked in its efforts to ex- If the Travis County District ing scientific analysis of metal.' ', from a grave • in an" Aurora, hume the gi ave by the Aurora , Judge also declines to issue ait samples dug from the earth at i' Tex., cemetery. Cemetery Association, Andrus ordef to open the grave, An- the crash 'site, Andrus said. • • . ./..The pilot , was allegedly said a MUFON' attorney from drus said. MUFON will take "Analysis thus far indicates,' • killed when his cigar shaped Fort Worth will file papers in ' the fight to Austin where a mobt of the interesting sam- ' ;'• UFO collided with a windmill Wise County District Court state agency has t'ac power to pics contain aluminum but ele- : and exploded early on the asking the court to issue an overrule local authorities in ments in the metal have beon • niorning of April 19, 1897. exhumation oider. such cases where an effort is re-arranged and under spec- ' . Newspaper reports of that day "No one knows who owns the being made to identify the oc- • troanalysis it doesn't show uj> , ,' reported "the body was found burial plot where the grave is cupant of a grave. in the same manner as most '. not to be that of an inhabitant and there is no record of its Since MUFON began its in- known alloys. •~oi this world. It was buried in occupant," Andrus explained. vestigation the search has at- "There arc many puzzling as- !' Aurora Cemetery." "Under these conditions the tracted international attention pects to this case. But we be- , /-,,-. Oyer the 76 years since Vhe cemetery board could permit in newspapers and on radio lieve exhuming the body would ., and television. Reporters have provide conclusive evidence . incident was reported in Dal- us to open the grave. But they -.las and Fort Worth papers the steadfastly refuse. descended on the hamlet of one way or another," he said. /.story has been hotly debated, .''. called a hoax by some and de- scribed as a. true crash by oth- ers., .• Walter H. .Andrus, director 'of MUFON (Mutual Unidenti- MUTUAL fied Flying Object Network), • MIPWCOT UFO NETWORK . whose investigators have been probing the report scientifical- (MUFON) . ly since last March, told The ' Dallas Times Herald Saturday: WALTER H. ANDRUS. JR. —-"The testimony of witnesses, DIRECTOR analysis of metals found at the 4O CHRISTOPHER COURT ; scene and other information OUINCY. ILLINOIS 623OI gathered in five months of in- PHONE AC 217 223-8374 1 ~ \ , .; -•'. '.'.->•' -,•'•' "i >*''•- ,.""'' ' i.. '..' —" . • ' »v^ •>-- • £/// Ponerfield this yave — and if not this one then some opinion thai he was a native of the planet other close by - holds the secret of the Mars. Aurora man trorn outer spaee "Papers found on his person - evidently This is Wise County, Texas, just north of the record of his travels — are written in • • where the We it begins, and here, upon this The sole authority for all tins hovering pretty little promontory which divice> the and itching is a seven-paragraph story some unknown hieroglyphics, and cannot Grand Frame and tne Western Cross which appeared on page five of the Dallas be deciphered "The ship is too badly wrecked to form Timbers, well here the tov.n of Aurora Morning News and on page lour 01 the old once was. I say was because it's gone now, Fort Worth Record 76 years ago The any conclusion as to its construction or has been for more tlun 7u years. Ch, there dateline was Aurora, Wise County, Texas, motive power. It was built of an unknown are still a few people around, bat the only April 17, 1897, and the story went as metal, resembling somewhat a mixture of , follows. aluminum and silver, and it must have businessman left is Brjwley Gates, *nd Mr weighed several tons Gates is not exactly setting the world on "About six o'clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at "The town is full of people to-day who fire. If things continue as they have, the sudden appearance of the airship which ' are viewing the wreck and gathering Brawlcy will end his days in that little Arco has been sailing through the country specimens of the strange metal from the service station, the only gas stop between "It was traveling due north, and much debris. The pilot's funeral will take place at ' '* Boyd and Rhome. (Those aren't local nearer the earth than ever before. noon to-morrow." football heroes, but towns just west and Evidently some of the machinery was out east of here, towns that nude it when of order, for it was making a speed of only .HAT WAS THE story, and the ' Atftora couldn't - if you call a few ten or twelve miles an hour and gradually man who filed it signed his name at the hundred people coming together and getting toward the earth. It sailed directly bottom, S. E. Haydon. Haydon, it turns hanging on for dear life making it.) over the public square, and when it reached out, was an Aurora cotton buyer who on But back to Brawiey Gates. The one in the north part of town collided with the occasion served as a country correspondent t the gas station, not the two in the tower of Judge Proctor's windmill and for the city newspapers From time to time ' cemetery. You see the family goes back went to pieces with a terrible explosion, in the years hence, when local news was some. The first Brawiey Gates — he was a wrecking the windmill and water tank and slow and the national scene was depressing, lean old patriarch with a long white beard destroying the judge's flower garden feature writers have tended to dig up Mr. - was in this county, and a power to be "The pilot of the ship is supposed to llaydon's old item and give it another run. reckoned with, as early as a hundred and have been the only one on board, and It's usually at UFO time, when, for twenty years ago. The point is that the while his remains are badly disfigured, whatever reasons — perhaps spring and the Oateses are a patient people who don't run enough of the original has been picked up running sap and the pulling moon - there away when the going gets tough. And tnis to show that he was not an inhabitant of is a rash of flying saucer reports and people place has had it, a number of times, this world. begin to imagine we are being visited by through the years. "Mr, T. J. Weems, the United States creatures from outer space. Jerry signal service officer at this place and an Flemmons of the Fort Worth authority on astronomy, gives it as his Star-Telegram has probably gotten more BJU.T NOW THINGS are looking up. People are starting to pay attention to Aurora again, to buy 335 from Brawby. And it's all because of the man from Mars who is buned in the local cemetery, over there not far from the first two Brawiey OjtCsCS. Well. I don't believe it, l)iit a lot of people ilo, jnd tli.il's what jll the Juss is about. Whether lo dij; him up or not i ho t,ooJ Lulus and ^cm.c_uicn o! ilie Aurora Cemetery Ai-OLi.ition .ay let hi.n he in peace, whoever or whatever he is And they are so aJ-.nii.nt -uout it they've gone to a lawyer over in Deejtur, wnich is the county Seat, and n-d papers drawn up to try to prevent disturbance of any bouy in the cemetery. On the other side are some characters who cjh themselves l>. G experts, and who identify themrclvcs ... ben ^ with vanou., unidentified flying ub,ect networks They haven't -etually Jried disn.u:mcnt yet, but it is ob/ious they zi^ itui.n.j to go -t Aurora Cemetery with pick and shovel. They've been hovering about the graves for weeks with metal detectors and other witching rods, and they arc convinced that Hill fonerfield is a Texas writer who works for KCRA-TV in Dallas Sept. 21, 1973 11 mileage out of the Aurora spaceman than effect that one Mr. Hjyden Hewes, who CASE: Right here. Earl, try her right anyone, havmi aoki the stoiy to a dozen was with the IUFOB, was on his way to here! publications since I960, and yet Memmons Texas to check out a legend that a pilot WATTS: (Excitedly) I'm over 100 his never taken the t lie seriously from another planet was buried in the decibels and reading! Coming in strong In f ict no lepoitcr had until Uill Case ot Aurora cemetery That was bone enough here. the DilU<; lime* Herald came driving into for Bill Case Me drove to Aurora and CASE. (Pointing at the spot) See, the Aurora one oay in March wearing an began inquiring around same reading as at the grave! Now how Apollo flightjaikit and a scnu-scientific "We want to investigate this story." he deep are we, Earl, what would you say? mien Case is an old uyed-m-the-hair would say, "and prove once and for all WATTS. Five feet, yes, the same, five Hearst-UPl man who tame to the Times whether it is a hoax or the real thing " Who feet, Bill. Herald several years auo to wind up a long did lie mean by We' "The Times Herald CASE: (Grabbing a shovel and putting reponni!; career in a\iii.on, aerospace and and MUFON," he would reply MUFON is his foot into it) Let's dig (And he digs, medicine This s'v<.iJt> was once at a the Midwest Unidentified Flying Object turning up earth and caliche and artifacts premium in citvroom-. wnen Uncle Sam Network Bill said he was not only a of an old farmyard ) What's this? Look at was running Spun ik i rice to the moon, science writer for the Times Herald but a that Earl. What would you say that was? but now, with \AS\ down in the consultant with MUFON as well The WATTS. (Scientifically) A, uh, a doldrums with \i\on and lunar junkets a people could believe it He looked very shotgun shell cap Yes A shotgun shell cap. bore, reporters l.ke Bill Case often find oflicial In fact, from a distance one CASE: Junk1 That's all we're getting, their stones buried baek on the hog page resident took him to be either the dog just junk! Oops Here. What's this? (It is a But a Hearst man aown is not a Hearst catcher or the highway patrol Olive khaki rusty piece of tin, almost ore again ) man defeated 1 know that's what Albert shirt, khaki trousers, metal-rimmed sun WATTS. (Putting down his detector, Parson Terhune used to say about collie glasses The oft-white car with a hard hat in pulling out of his breast pocket a do,?s. but the description tits members of the rear window Upon closer inspection, carbon-tipped stylus, he scratches the this particular bleed ot reporter They can Mr Case was obviously with the National surface of the thing, then measures its sink their teeth into the driest bone and Aeronautics and Space Administration. width with a micrometer.) No, this is tin. come up with some saliva of excitement Wasn't he wearing the insignia on his Too thick and heavy for spaceship This must have been Bill Case's mood early jacket9 Some Aurorans who had scoffed at construction. » this spring when, back in his corner at the the legend began to have second thoughts. CASE. (Looking about) Yes, I think Tune* Herald, he came across a little item For in orbit with Case were several other you're nght But the evidence certainly in a newsletter put out by the International investigators Hayden Hewes and Tommy seems to support that there was some kind Unidentified Flying Objects Bureau of Blann with the Oklahoma outfit, Earl F of crash, some kind of an explosion, Oklahoma City It said something to the Watts of Duncanville, state director of around here. Look at the desolation. astronomy for MUFON, and Fred N Nothing much seems to grow. But it's only 12 The Texas Observer kellty, whom Case identified in his stories bald here. The rest of the hill supports bfe. as a treasure hunter and lost metal detector out of Corpus Chn^ti Their titles were impressive, but when one saw their cars HAT, ESSENTIALLY, is what r parked around Bradley Gates' service has been going on here in Aurora since ,' »/j| station, cars and campers with more surreal March. Bill Case or one of the grandsons of equipment than a deputy sheriffs' Brawley Gates leading the curious through convention painted by Dali, one could only a bunch of chicken .. . feathers echo Edith Brown's reaction. "They're Oh, some metal has been found, metal getting me to where I'm about to believe other than shotgun shell caps, old stove lids The Garden Hotel* them," she declared. "I didn't think they and horse bndle nngs. The other day w,ould ever go to the moon, and they did!" Benny Rasberry, Brawley's 12-year-old Authentic Colonial grandson, found a silver half dollar, minted Mexican in design ATTENTION was focused in New Orleans and dated 1856. And Case and some of the other UFO experts have and dscor, featuring?, around Brawley Dates because Brawley lives on the place where the airship was dug up fragments which seem to excite services to tits reported to have crashed back in '97, the them a great deal, enough to qualify them discriminating few, old Proctor farm The house is up on the for front-page treatment in the Times hill just behind the service station, and Herald. back ol it is the well where our science Back in Apnl the i treasure hunter, /"MEXICO writer of old - or science fiction wnter if Kelley, unearthed 12 pieces of lightweight you will - wrote that the airship came to metal which he said was unlike any metal CITY carlli, a galactic Quixote doing battle with he had ever seen. And right alter that is In the city s pufcrrcd location, ono when Case and the UTO men spotted what block IIGIH i'io rtJuinM nctr U S a windmill Enibn'iy Pn;£lu narking Delight Ol cc>uise the windmill is gone, and over they feel is the grave of the spaceman. )ul dining PuniiL'd VAiU;r Uur/ the well is .1 pump house which Brawley What led them to it, Case said, were tulciljininciit Pd jto giidLJi directions trom an oldtimerCase retuses to exclus.vcly for QJCSU Open year 0-ies has converted into a chicken coop 'round P.ti jaaLIt utos Inquiries 1 his is where the "scientific" scratching unmask with an identification. The other invited. Rc^r.'ilion: lusQeilcd has been going on, the search for some bit clue that led them to the grave in question Telo <£-93CO of metal, some piece of proot that old S. E. was the unusual marking on the headstone Haydon wasn't a liar Let's listen in on No name or anything, not S. E. Haydon's }10TEL correspondent Case and Earl Watts as they "unknown hieroglyphics," but the image explore the landing site of our unearthly of a spaceship carved clcarly^at least it was i -MAZIA being Watts, a tall, thin man with eyes as clear to Case) in the stone 'Case even sees wild as the blue yonder of his jump suit, port windows in the drawing What I see CE:STINA holds a metal detector and walks about the (or saw the stone has since been stolon) is chicken y ird, followed by Case and a flock a line of cracks which could be a spaceship . lor-: 21 I'.zico 5, 0 F j of curious hens The metal detector beeps if you wanted it to be, but clearly; at least and whines to me, an if-you-want-it-to-be thing Case's port window seem to bo circles of fossil in goiter. Brawley's hands ati'd feet arc, so ' This 'is,' indeed earth-shaking news, as the riVk. swollen and misshapen he has to sit in the i long as you .forget that 1897 was but three ' ' .Whatever. is*'on the stono, ' the plot service station and let his customers wait • years removed from said century. Or as thickened when. Watts' metal detector was on themselves, i , long as 'you don't want to know the hold over the grave and registered the same The other day, during all this flap about i identity of the scientists iwho intensely readings as it did over the metal found at the spaceman and the well and the grave, analyzed the metal. Case identifies them 1 the \voll site. some sightseer who gassed up at Brawley's only as people from one of the nation's This was enough for Hjyden Hewes of leading aircraft manufacturers. He has to 7 pumps wondered aloud if maybe it wasn't - Oklahoma 1U1 OB fame to tell Case and radiation that had caused Brawlcy's protect their names, he says, because as he the woild (tlijnks to the Times Herald and medical problems. This is an example of " puts it, "You know what the government's the wire service),! "We are more convinced how the story of the Aurora spaceman has attitude toward UFOs is." . ' than ever that a UFO crashed here and that gained momentum. Momentum and To lend even more;,credence to this, .the pilot was killed and buried in this mutation. • ' posture of scientific ,'inquiry, Case cemcteiy. Our attorneys jic already Out of a meaningless mosaic of announced in the Times-Ucrald that Dr. J. checking to learn how we might have the fragments, Bill Case has fashioned a Allen Hynek, chairman of Northwestern .1 body exhumed."; fantastic feature story, which, coming as it University's astronomy department, would Hewes, a dramatic fellow in white boots has during the dog days of summer and take leave of Evanston, 111.;, and descend .' (were Flash Gordon's boots white?) then Watergate, has been welcomed by readers ' upon Aurora "to evaluate the evidence." took his metal samples and materialised around the world, as well as by those in ' Dr. Hynek was quoted as saying, "We, back to Oklahoma. Dallas and Fort Worth. have been following the scientific search of ' The trustees of the cemetery, taking Mr. The Times Herald has recognized this,1 this site and the cemetery with' great - tic'wes at his word, called out Wise County and has allowed Case wide latitude. Since interest. Now looking at this most recent' t '< ^Sh^jriff Eldon Moyers to stand guard at the March, Case and the spaceman have been in • evidence/it highly suggests-ihe'actual crash1 cemetery. Then' they retained Decatur the paper almost every other day, often on of an aerial object did occur.'' attorney Bill Nobles to fight any attempt the front page. Each new development "In view'of both the identification of to remove the body. (and most of them are generated by Case the metal and the testimony of some of the himself or his UFO friends) is reported most highly respected members of pioneer - ' ', OUT IS THERE a body, earthly or with the earnestness of straight news, as if families in the area who have given details 'unearthly, beneath that makeshift stone it is indeed a fact that men of science are of the reported crash, the' likelihood that which was there one day and gone the taking seriously. this is a hoax seems more and more next? Cemetery records only show that a improbable." • ' man named C. A. Carr owned the plot. " C_xASE HIMSELF is an old pro, When I read this in the Times Herald it Carr's descendants cannot be found, so we especially with adjectives. "Highly set me back some. Dr. Hynek's reputation is above reproach. Yet I could not help don't know if Carr is buried there or sensitive" is one phrase that runs through ; noticing that he talked > the way . Case somewhere else.. Lynn McCrary, a welder, his accounts of Watts' divining. This kind of emphasis tends to imbue a hundred and writes. , ' , i • is president of the cemetery association, My fears'about Dr. Hynek's rationality and he says a lot of people are buried in fifty dollar instrument with more savvy were laid to rest. The good astronomer did; unmarked or unidentified graves. During than it has. The same with Case's reporting the 1890's, people around here were dying of the laboratory tests on the metal dug not show up at Aurora. Case says it was from spotted fever and yellow fever, and up. It has not undergone mere because Dr. Hynek was sidetracked ~by .many were interred quickly with no ' identification, but "intensive analyses." MUFON's annual symposium in Kansas '' record. When he brings up the treasure hunter, City, at which he was a speaker. It's hard • The stone itself, the one with Case's Case is careful to point out that Kelley is a to say what happened, whether Case was spaceship carving, had been in the "scientific" treasure hunter. The airship on accurately quoting Dr. Hynek's interest cemetery for at least 49 years, according to the tombstone was "laboriously carved" and the doctor then cooled and backed H. R. Jdell, the town marshal. Where it into the rock. out, or whether Dr. Hynek was merely came from, and where it went the other The other day, on page one of his paper, courteous to Case and Case mistook it for a day, the marshal doesn't know. It is all Case reported that scientists had analyzed committment. Shortly thereafter, Dr. very mysterious, he says, and has been metal fragments from the well, and that Hynek left the country for Africa, London • since the day back in 1946 when he they had concluded that it was an alloy and New Zealand, and I" haven't'been able 'cleaned out Brawiey Oates's water well, the which could not have been produced on to catch him. well in cosmic question. The marshal came earth until the 20th Century. Here Coral Lorenzen enters the picture. up with some melted metal which struck Sept. 21. 1973 13 him as strange, and he says it resembles the sluff Case'and the UFO diggers have found. The reason Brawiey Oates wanted the Calle Orizab 16 well cleaned was that he and his family. wanted to drink from it. It had not been Phone AC 217 222-8374 used in years. Well, they did drink from it, for 12 years. Then they quit. There was , something about it that made them uneasy, an accumulation of misfortunes that may or may not have tiad anyting to do with the well and its water. . MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. First the youngest daughter, Sarah Lcnore, died at the age of nine months, of a sickness the doctor could not pinpoint, WALTER H. ANDRUS, JR 40 Christopher Ct although a polio epidemic was going on at Director Qulncy, III 62301 U.S.A. the time. Then Brawiey and his wife Bonnie developed arthritis, which in fcrawley's case took on monstrous 150 Rooms, Group Rates Available. proportions when it was complicated by She ,:iY'secretary iind - co-founder ;of; the .; Well |et's begin with Jeff Wccrhs. There ' got the'county'scat and courthouse and the • '•'wor'id.-rcno'wiK'd'. . Aerial. '• Phenomena Jis no record or'recollection that he was Bible College. Bridgeport, got' the coal Rest-arch-Association, and she and her field ever a Signal Service, officer, much less an miricsl .'Boyd the Rock Island Line , and investniators-in Texas h.ive.'been following /authority on astronomy., Mr. Haydon, it Rhome the Ft. Worth &, Denver., And the second- flieht of the. Aurora spaceman • appears, was having some fun with the • Aurora? All Aurora got were the, boll with raised'eyebrows. Their eyebrows are. local blacksmith', for,that was.what T. J. weevil and a disastrous downtown fire, and raised but • of skepticism, not wonder. :.\Veeins was - the'town's farrier. Wcems , two fever epidemics that'sent most of its 1 Lorcn/en is bluiit aboul it. . • ; eventually moved to Rhome, just cast of.' citizenry to the cemetery, or in flight to . ."The people who make up MUFON are .Aurora, where he ran a grocery store until, other tpwns. By 1897 it was a ghost of its :,\ .people-that : we turn-down as^not being his death in 1925 at the age of 82. ,: . :,: former self. . .. /^4' , :''...... ' - ,' 1 .qualified and .responsible' investigators,". • Haydon's article seems even more a bit Yet Judge. Proctor stood fast, because she said.. "They, are publicity seekers, and .i of strictly terrestrial .horseplay when its his family had been there since before the 1^:0: in the case of.Aurora wc-arc going on the ..context is considered. In the. Morning Civil War, because, he was the justice of the : assumption', that, .whatever rare -metal. is .News, the story ran on page five, buried ' peace. Haydon hung around because his.U 'found at {hat well has been planted there. ..down toward the middle of a page that wife and sons . were . in the graveyard,' ;When, I- read. Mr.. Case's storyt about Dr.-. ;'contained no less than 16 reports from as 'victims'of the fever. What sustained them, [.-.; .i':.;^..^ jiynek rJrepanne to po to Aurora, I picked :. many area towns about an airship being;' . this .old Roy-Bean, aiid his. :cotton-man ','. ' v,:'':"':'\.up. the phone'and called.Allen and read it1 -.sighted; (Remember that this was six and a. sidekick, we now realize, was a sense of 1 :.' half years before, the Bright Brothers and • ; to him: He was astonished and angry, and . . humor. ' ••','.••':;.' V '; '•'V. ''•".'.'... • •• said he had either been misunderstood or • Kitty Hawk.) The reports covered a period : The , spaceman .came^i to Aurora and ;. misquoted;" ; Dr. .Hynek's ...-office in of two days, April. 17 and 18, and quote Haydon'.and Judge Proctor had some ..Evanstori confirmed that he had no interest; many eyewitnesses- from a nine-county. , laughs. Some relief. Can't you see them • vat all in going to, Aurora and that he would ' radius. This 'would, appear, on the surface,.. cooking ' it up,: "matching :their version?, be out of'the country, for the rest of the 'to give some weight at least .to' the against those from other, villages, and, 1 possibility that something out' of the, ; summer.' - ' - .. '. ... ; , Haydon riding into the telegraph office in ;'•'. Case lays all:this'to:jealousy, but one' .'ordinary, was in the air of that long ago Rhome to file it'with the city papers? , '•,' 'senses in liiin a pulling back, a "tendency :• April. ' . \ ' ' ' • Robbie Reynolds Hanson was a girl of now to.soft-pedal the scientific probe and i But it doesn't really. One has only to 12 at the time, and she remembers that '.- read the stories to realize that what was in to play around with the possibility that it ( ' Judge Proctor ran a :story, similar to is all.'an old joke. He has always left himself . the air that Aries was a happy contagion of Haydon's but in the judge's words, in the -. this out, and will, I predict, paint himself cosmic invention that caught the fancy of little local ,paper he published, , a every village Jules Verne. . ... 'out of .the'corner where the need for a : two-sheetcr called the Aurora News. , good story has taken,.him. Out of it he has In Stephenville, out in Erath County, C. ;•• "Mr. Haydon called Jeff Wcems a Signal gotten a raise, a fat scrapebook of by-line L. Mellhany, a farmer, talked to. the' Service officer," .Hanson said, "but the stories, and. a'.promotion in MUFON to :.' two-man crew of an "aerial monster" that only commissioned man in town was my.' ' state section chairman. .. .' landed in his pasture. Mr. Mcllhany's father, J. D. Reynolds, and he was the imagination, alas, was not as lofty as our constable. I remember it was around my own Mr. Haydon's. His airmen were not birthday that Daddy.was reading Judge •T SEEMS UNCANNY to" me, or •from Mars but from that other weird place, Proctor's 'joke' in the Aurora News and maybe it's;'canny,'that no one has'cxplorcd :•:.. New York, and they were only testing the ; , laughing about it. 'The judge has gone and , the character of1 the three men who were in ; world's first "aeroplane," a cigar-shaped outdone himself this time!'That's just how on the story,from the beginning 76 years contraption powered by : Daddy put it. ''Course ho one' took 'it ago. They arc S. E. Haydon, the Aurora- electrically-charged windmill fans. That '; seriously. The Judge and Mr. Haydon were cotton buyer who wrote the original story; was on April 17.. .•: ' ' known to be men who liked to tease. Why Judge i.,S. Proctor, into whose windmill , The next day,,over in Waxahachie,' in', they were always .writing satirical little the thing'was supposed to have crashed; Ellis County, a Judge Love of that city had essays and such for the paper!" and T. J. Weems, whom Haydon identified . a similar experience, only this time the .•',••:' Ms. Haydon is not the only native who is ,in his . story, as a "United States signal crewmen were long-lost Jews from the Ten - astonished, and a little put out, that "service officer '. . . and 'authority on "Tribes of Israel. Since Biblical times they 'anyone would take the1 legend of the astronomy." .Wecms, you remember, was had been living in the North Pole, had ••Aurora-spaceman as'gospel. It isn't-that"' the'-one wKd-'decided"that the spaceman .; learned 'English from the explorers Sir they can't cotton to the notion that man , was a Martian. • •'''..' •Hugh Willoughby and Sir John Franklin, , has company in the'universe. That would and were on their way to the Centennial „ be presumptuous. But they are storytellers, , 14 The Texas Observer Exhibition in Nashville to show off their and realize the importance of myth. A airship. '.-.-,- . - cock-eyed story'has its place, as does the • On the stories soared, taking rarefied reality of plain talk, and you have to be Bookkeeping & Tax Service 'forms, until Dr. E. Etuart of Ennis, Ellis careful how you mix them. Both are too -. County's foremost metaphysician, declared : . . 503 WEST 15TH, AUSTIN 78701 important to be abused. •:' . ,;. ... in the Morning News that the whole affair That's the lesson I learned in Aurora, ' , ">'-., •'-'''.. ,.. '"-, (512) 472-6886 was due to hypnotism and bad whiskey. and I came away with a greater OFFICE HOURS^9 A.M. TO 5 P.M. . appreciation of the reality of those two AND^Y APPOINTMENT ANYTIME 'good rogues. Judge Proctor and Mr. lERE IN Wise County, on this Haydoh, than I do of the riddle they left .-'.- caliche hill, the tale of the flying panatella, us. The answer doesn't lie at Brawlcy as Jerry Flcmmons calls it, must have been- .'; Oates's wellhead, or even in the cemetery, as refreshing to S. E. Haydon and J. S. but with Proctor and Haydon, wherever • Proctor as the promise of rail service had they are. I wish I could.say where they are, .; IDA'PRESS : I been a few years earlier. Both were men of but I. can't. They seem to have disappeared, • 901 W 24th St Austin some substance, at least in character and : to : have lost themselves, perhaps on ... Multi copy service. leadership. They had staked their future on purpose,, perhaps the better to grin and ;'.'Call 477-3641 • ; Aurora, had seen it boom and then, within • bear us our. interminable and intruding -, a decade, wither before their eyes. Decatur "science." >, ••-•••: " '.'. Q ..i ':----.-:. - IAINBOWS VOL. C No. 11 NOVEMBER 1973 END... FROM,THE EDITO;RVS:DESk'li-::U V. .'ft :- ^^begins with a ' . A BILLION; DOLLAR; BONANZA ,. , 11-' : UFO CRASH S|IE^6CATED;WlfH^METAL. DETECTOR ;' 16 TREASURE LOCATOR! 21 22 37 ,-THE FIFTY:DOLLARMASONi 58: "COMMANDER" 720 .This Goldak'Treasur.e ;, 57: '..Locator is unsurpassed for .• •.^locating buried treasure,-' . coins.,Civil War relics and •for beachcombing. Features •'•': VTell-Tone" Signal. Locates ;; .'any metal object under dirt, . sand, mud, rock, etc. No ..cumbersome cords-rconv !'.;: pletely transistorized, 'bat- vtery-'powered. . '-•:.'".- : tf;' When it comes to find- ^,-'ing your pot of gold.' go l\';w;th the-leader—go with :,Gp»dak/.;v.. •" . . ..-,;:• r EFFECTIVE DEPTH RANGE PONVvEXPRESS (Under Normal Conditions) DVVSING FORTHRBSURE "THE TREASURE -BQiOK^SHibP" V^^^^;;^^;;; "'..'•'''••'?."'Treasure Magazine'is"j»ublished.mbnlhly.',v W:'-•irr'-i'lT Kenneth1 H. Doe •"'Publisher Start out right -send $1.00 pre- : paid for authentic gold-plated '':'..:; ••"•-''./ byJejs Publishing Companjr.'Jnt,' •'•71-^•':'.V ••••'•*•-• Bob Grant ;•. Editor • replica of a Spanisn douoloon ' 7950 Oeering Ave., Canoga Part, Calif. 91304. f V'^:;;, . Matt Thornton' • Articles Editor found off Cape Kennedy.. -' Telephone (213) 887-0550.-Copyright ©1973.'-by;>'.- r •"•-}'/. •' . •' •: • • Jess Publishing Company, lnc,V- ':'•;'/' -'V John Ernsdorf • Art Director, 601DAK COMPANr, INC. • v Robert E. Lee >-'. Advertising Director '' All rights reserved on entire, contents; nothing .:' ; ' ''-llOl-AAirWay .",.... v may be.reprinted, in whole or In part- - : Jerry Stanfield •' Circulation Manager Glendale, California 91201 . '.}'''•'.• Roy Roush •• Technical Consultant * • without written permission of-the-publisher. Not '•• :; D Please send free literature on COLDAK trei- : ,..-:V': .responsible for .•unsolicited materials.''^, '• Blanche Stephens • Research Editor sure locators.; .'. '. " ,,-.; Manuscripts,;photographs and drawin'gj.-n6t."v v Lee Spence ». Marine Archeology Editor D I enclose $1:00'prepaid for-my gold-plated , returned.unless'accompamed/by a self-eddrtssed'/,/ 'doubloon replica with pouch. ^ ,. : ^; 'Roman• Malach -••'''Contributing Editors stamped enveloped Single copies •ySc/'V: ^>'-tJerry"Keene; -• -;^.' • .•• •• Name.— ••;•; Subscription $9.00 for twelvejssues (one year).';.,,.,. 1 " ••-'•>: Second class postage paid at Canoga Park; - -'.' •^^"Jirii. Glbbs •'.'•'-'• •':.'*'• '•"• '•' Address. •>'. .< California and.at office of additional).;>•: City .•;.„;'../. ' '. " : .-.entry in Sparta.'.lllinoii-'.V ' • ••.' '. Printed in the United States of.America.'-• ' State — -Zlp- Cover: This highly successful' bottle: dig' was photographed by'Joseph Barnett of Lincoln, California. ' •'• "••.:• '•.;.-' • .. -' airplanes/ or vany. other kind $v\V"..of airships,,peopje-didn't know what •••;i:to.vexpect." "' and UFO inves- .-metal detectors a thorough going •ailwiTuljg. .DJ ja; JLJLI \.jf •*i 'j ,1 f »/» £• ,j-jV',r-Jover. and came ^"unusual pieces of 5' testing- the metal 'zling" in that the recovered metal was \ '','75% iron and 25% zinc -with "a" few £^ \other trace elements -present,, but"! fr^'-that-the metal exhibited absolutely^ i\" no magnetic properties the way iron., ^r '' normally would. "It is also shiny and ,r ^^ malleable instead of dull and "brittle. |t'".'l|ike iron should be,'.'-said Dr-.Tom'j ^^.;Gray, >a physics professor >t North,; ^/''^ Texas University, one -ofithe'scien- •>,. *%$. tists testing the metal.' Samples are £T '.-being given a spectroscopic test'and j;^,'; the information run through a cbmpu- er vC-.".' bank of all known metals-.. •':\^.- ;"!",/.\According-.to a': radio, report tthe^ &?-•£ . /»i*ae»H f\f iha'*"a!reKin" tionnsM-msJ rlnv~* uwwwi, . jne .. i or/' wrs/ craan.^r.^ -.. , fc-,.; *• --,, . , %• . t • . 1. , ^-- --•/-' * •< ni 2o/^; ;/-^^^-^.'^^;'--^'.'•--r^ !,!'•"« .:;"... '..v - ': .^vr. ;:.;. 1897,' report .by H:' E.. Hayden, an-, ferent" laboratories JaridJ to /one' "of ->'final check-by'running . a "detector / /.Aurora-' newspaperman,,.rwho said:^-America's'>largest- aircraft"manufac-~ over the grave site. The hand-made '-."The-.remains'' of the, pilot' were J. turers :--for;"-com'pleterf^examiriation' tombstone with the ^r.ude-'outline of • ,'. gatKered together. It was determined ;,,and;'. identification,?."sard a.MUF.ON.'a UFO'''on it: had been; stolen ;in . ; "- he'Was not-an inhabitant of '''this'";' spokesman!;:The'-metal> Has'be'eri'de-j'-June, and- apparently -the .robbers ;world and he was'giverv'a Christian','scribed-'as very 'light/in.weight; and''•• 'probed-;down through the hole'left.- : ^buriahIn the Aurora Cemetery..";, ,^;.'amazingly.dfd'not;corr^6de_6ver;,the"'by, the stolen tombstone. They must . ' f\\ta* tl*A \tf*f* *f LJ l\istf*r\1 f* r*lf^r\t \*if^ft i \if\r* m . A «^^v#l^*^«' n^v^xvpft filr*ti~u-i *t-.«*.r%§-*^N'', |"IO\JQ ' I ICOfl ' lonfl ' ^ISndGT ' DOI Htfirf t* -toothed metal prqbe's'"and'--ac-| ,'complished the robbery-in^a' "thor--; '. ihly professional manner.'.-' -After1 robbery Watts said he''could.hol '. •/* •• get-'any readings with his ' \ ' ;' . V( detector. • ' •-''"'•..'• Prior detector readings established - . • ^ r< ' - ,if ••* n^« f n n^ j • i s^\u 11 iwvi ii\^niv \i i\*y 11 i^iai icwwcicu-^cii.-iiioiitiiiii^. r »• *, n 131 1116 y (3 VG cnCOmpaSSGS Only ^>'%V-loid me"'how-the airship .had,, ex-'>' < An" Oklahoma'man '.wanted to' ex-"= about .a 32-inch diameter'cjrcle in the /. , fXf,^'''plode'd. The 'pilot ..was:torn up and ;--hume -.the j-emairis-'Of 'the -'pilot, but, rocky soil, and the grave'stone'was : Itieiii^liiiSKJisiiaii • v-H METAL DETECTOR top of this^/' .*" .-. '. y. came at 'a time when people were trying', to make" arrangements for a private exhu'ma-" . F the .pilot's body.,Now', presu- •there. 1s nothing to .exhume.'.- the.time said the "airship";collided'/a report..filed;-by,|Biir,Case,< aviation '• ; "This r'case is most important,t>e- ,,with- the ' 'windmill ove'r/Judge Proc--"1 writer.jor .the^'Dallas" Times'. Herald,1" cause it. is the only reported ..crash •• • f*r**4 il-ixN x>> wr>l ^N trVSM: analyzing.-.'' BUT GRAVE ROBBERS STRIPPED THE SITE BEFORE COULD EXHUME THE BODY LEGALLY treasure- 17 -1-973 MIDNIGHT " " S.E. Hayden, who 16st his wife and two of his four ' sons in the spotted fever epidemic has been described as an egotist, a man who wanted to be important. If there is a clue to a hoax in H >yden's story,' it is in the signal service officer's identification. T.J. Weems actually was Jeff- Weems, Aurora's blacksmith. Bureau Public Relations Director Dan Garcia then wrote to Jerry Flemmons of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, who had written an article about the incident. Garcia requested any information that might have not been included in the original article. Flemmons replied by saying. "For the first (This is the continuation of Hayden C. Hewes' investiga- and last time, no, absolutely not. No space ships. No Martians. tion into reports that a flying saucer had crashed in Texas in You have my word that if Aurora was indeed the site of an April, 1897.) ^ actual Marxian-driven space ship disaster, Holiday Inn would Lou Parish,'who spent a great deal of time researching have one of its motels on the site, billboards would point r the reports of the flying saucer crash, feels it was all a hoax the way, and you and everybody would be paying $2 a head perpetrated by S.E'. - Hayden, the local writer-cotton just to look and purchase plastic replicas of the space ship, buyer. , or plastic ash trays with pictures of Martians on them." Parish wrote one letter to us, offering his opinions. "I'm The search for the Aurora Astronaut by officials of the not committed to the hoax explanation but everything has International UFO Bureau, in an effort to determine if the seemed to point in that direction," he wrote. legend is true or not, have resulted in the following conclusions. In another letter, Parish related to the author that the It is the opinion of the Bureau that the entire story is reason for the hoax was that Hayden hoped "to cash in not a hoax; that in fact something was observed. But no evi- on publicity from the genuine airship sightings in many parts' dence has been presented to establish the indentiftcation of of Texas at this time. Aurora was iifdanger of being bypassed, what the object was or what grave the 'alien' is buried in, by the railroad, and he was hoping the publicity would cause if there was an occupant. the railroad company to change its mind." One thing remains; Brawley Oates is a true believer in In June, 1972, Daniel Garcia of the International UFO , the story. Oates says he first moved to the farm in 1945, Bureau wrote to the Texas State on Aurora. Library and and didn't hear anything about the UFO incident until a'n obtained historical information on Aurora. article came out in a newspaper about it 12 years ago. "At The report stated: "During these 'boom days' of Newark the time, I didn't think anything about it," he said. "I didn't (a neighboring town), Aurora, the best Wise County town think there was any such things as flying saucers. But I sure at that time, began a demise. There were three very good do now." reasons for this. The roadbed for a railroad to be known ~ One~thing that weighs heavily with Oates is that doctors as the 'Dallas-Albuquerque' was surveyed through their dis- have told him his arthritis may be the result of radiation 4 trict. Construction was slow, due to the fact that there was i poisoning. 1 no power equipment, only 'team power', and hand power When Oates took possession of the place, he cleaned the with pick and shovel. The horse-drawn scoop did the excava- partly-filled well and used it for drinking water for 12 years. tion work. Oates thinks the water in the well may have been radioactive. "The 'Dallas-Albuquerque' never reached completion. . His gnarled, grotesquely deformed hands baffled doctors " Some old-timers attributed the failure to a fund depletion. who, he said, have never seen anything like it. This was a set-back to Aurora. The second reverse to progress Geiger counters used by the Bureau failed to detect any- came on a windy day when the entire western business section thing but normal background radiation. . was destroyed by fire. On the heels of this tragedy, a greater The-controversy in the Aurora incident continues but aV catastrophe occurred in the form of the 'spotted fever this point in time, it is only the unexplainable legend of epidemic' that caused a virtual stampede of the populace (1890)." . _ ,--,... . "... ._. - me World The story of a mysterious crash that demolished a windlass and killed the "pilot" of an extraterrestial cigar- shaped flying object on April 19, 1897, at Aurora, Texas, Beyond Reality several decades before the beginning of the Flight Age ; on earth, was told by William (Bill) Ose, Dallas Times Y '^y; Hayden c; Hewfe Herald aviation editor, for Fort Worth chapter of Ninety- Nines. (This is the continuation of Hayden C. Hewes' invest; Case was principal speaker for igation into reports that a flying saucer had crashed ir descendants of survivors of tho Texas in April, 1897.) ^| the annuat Wright Brothers Me- crash. The pilot, described in morial Dinner of the chapter on various ways as non-human or Dec. 16 at Colonial Country Club non-earthly, was buried in Auro- Several fragments of the 'unknown metal' were in Fort Worth. He was introduced submitted to several universities for analysis. The first ra, and continues to be the target by Tony Page, publisher of Cross of scientific researchers, although analysis was conducted by Dr. Tom Gray, a physics Country News. professor at North Texas State University. His report all evidence of metal has been John D. Jackson, raconteur, removed from inside the grave, stated, "Frankly, I'm puzzled. It's very interesting scieh'-j humorist and ground instructor tifically. It's mostly iron," referring to one of four metal' presumably by metal-recovery with American Airlines Academy devices, and exhumation orders fragments he was testing, "about 25 percent zinc, but; of Flight, was master of cere- have been refused. it's not magnetic. Now that wouldn't be unusual if it; monies for the dinner, and Mrs. The legend is a matter of lively were stainless steel, but it's not stainless steel. I don't | Al Hall Jr. of Arlington was chair- know what it is." Gray said. ^ curiosity to UFO researchers. man. -Lorraine Waddell is chair- Despite the mountains of notes Samples were submitted to one of the nation's leading man of the Fort Worth group of and clippings on the Aurora inci- aircraft manufacturers. A spokesman said in a preliminary'„ Ninety-Nines. dent he has amassed, Case ob- report, "One of the seven different pieces submitted for exami- '\ Spotlighting a UFO sighting that viously will go on trying to get the nation is highly unusual. We are giving this a complete run- -.- has refused to die depute the pas- inside story, both of the crash and down, including spectroscopic tests and a feedback run-;. sage of almost 77 years and effi*-!s of that lonely grave in an Aurora through in a computer bank of all known metals.".Several,/1 of townspeople to play down the cemetery. days passed until the analysis'was released. '.--:-. mysterious crash that threatened In a story on the final report, the Dallas Times Herald \to disrupt thoir privacy, Case told said. "Fragments of metal believed to be pieces of a UFO $' the story of his own rest-arch and which reportedly exploded at a well site in Aurora,Tex., April ? efforts to interview survivors and 19, 1897, have not been produced on earth until early iri'°f the 20th century," scientists have reported to The TimeV'fi Herald. .:^ 'This is an aluminum alloy of a tjpe which could not ; possibly have been made prior to 1908, 1910, or even as late-"' as 1920," explained the scientists of one of the nation's"-;-' leading aircraft manufacturers. The report continued. "The" remainder proved to be iron, steel, and lead, which we can, tell from the corrosive effects they have undergone having - been buried there for many years. *Some of them were so saidcorrode. d they have lost all of their magnetism," the scientists • Following the announcement of the analysis. Dr. J. Allen Hynek. chairman of Northwestern University astronomy department and one of the nation's leading authorities on UFOs. was notified of the identification of the metal. Dr. Hynek told The Times Herald. "In view of both the identification of the metal and the testimony of some * of the most highly respected members of pioneer families in the area who ha\e given details of the crash, the likelihood that this is a hoa\ seems more and more improbable." The International UFO Bureau, headquartered in Oklahoma City. Okla.. reopened the Aurora file following further investigation of the incident by Tommy Blann, deputy director, during the summer of 1972. SV....T.V.,/.,i ."~_v.v~, 00 Aurora, Tex. , ;v .v.,_^.. _. ^ _. be identified/,^"Itls '>all^ nonsense, 'cWe'd • — -. — -th•-—e | Fi,THE. LITTLE MAN from'outen^pace hadn't appreciate it if people would just let it,drop. I • community gathered^it up, and it was .givenr'a wasn't^ here ,at % the time, , but 'I've-got .,'some-; - Christian burial, in'the Aurora' cemetery:;'sl".^, J^hen his cigar-shaped spaceship plowed : ige J.S.. Proctor's window on .April 19r-, - .commor n sense(X, and I know none of.those,stories. .;.' .^^\^-^Except for' ann .r^\^^- Oklahoma', Cityr^.^^^^'^' researcher' of •M ^ ' '^T" », ._ would' be ;• like"'any other; rural 3v •;:-„*.. 1 ;;^t ^-"v. ^^Vy^YK', >' '."unidentified flying-objects'who^contended'that =££73 ." comnjjnm___ y left to wither when'the railroad went ' 'Aurora -was saved, from, anonymityfby. one• - -he had.proof, the siory-'was'true.'jproppnents.b'f ;ewherejwhere' just after the turn.of the century^ ^.s.E.;Haydeh;a local cotton-buyer, and correspon- V exhumation say theyv are" not sure';the inan-from % ; i Y '4 ' ^ ', ' \. ' , A - '• ' , ltf' ',?'.*>:'. *~ "dent for Dallas and FFor t Worth' hewspapers,.\wh' o ^'outer,space is buried in^the.' cemetery herexAnd - In fact, that's exactly ' what • most "of; its / wrote the newspaperer storie' s solemnly'describing i ' they say' there" 'was "a. nation wide'UFO.-'craze, in . jresidents would like it,to remain-—'ia\quiet' the..crash that allegedly dismembered the pilot ';--'April f.'1897,' 'marked "b'y"'", dozens of .'obviously j farming and ranching community of 273 persons, and '-.destroyed^ the judge'silwiridow,1 watering js'puriou's sightuigsr But" this' is ''the J'only^ place > -'.^where ,a being is supposed to'be/b'uried,~"and ,a'do1 t on the more intricate states maps,-.an-xtrough'and.flower garden.^X-^vV' * ".(.''«• I nobscurl*.n A«* »xei itsvvwncommunit* •• *i *tv yr AK.45 w*ilslrmilesi nstvwnorthwesl \-, *irytf+t f\fof Dallar\all4Os ' "" "* —^ ' * ."*'•* f'vt * " * J *'« * efforts'should be made to find 'out if ft's^true, " -'."However,", Hayden reported^^'enough*, re- 1 SvT^—• ' in a county where the biggest town has 3750 'they say.-- '<-. . , • • ' •'•.-••'» U;v*" '^.t. ^''^ mains were'picked up to determine it was not an "i,,,--•,. ',,-••> -, \ : -.- i>.';'^>-(V'";sf "'i- \'t m^ Presidents and the biggest event is the annual ""'We exhume bodies on 'much-iless.» cogent Chisholm Trail Days eachJj, , legal and scientific grounds than'this," said-Ray 1 Instea S:F.;SundaVExarn^er^& Chronicle.^Sundov. Puncli^Mar^ 1. j^?j.'. Ma'y 1;79/MlbNIGHT'/GLOBE 37 TEXAS -1 By'MIKEJAMEpr-? ' THERE is a spacemarifburfed in Peo^l^n this small town haVe s __.^^rn.-- abouuhcfalien creature for years. • "J* 1 |, • Nolw inVestigatori, from fhejJMutiuii UFO nehworjk Jay tfyey have startling proof that j* uiiiiidrUt?1^"1"- Contains t'he remains of a spaceman By TOM TIEDE admit the hoax is founded on. a shaped object. Aurora residents say ' " AURORA-. -'Texas (NEAi..- vague fact, records' indicate \hat "the marker was not really hand- r «. There's almost 'nothing to do in this ..something of-this sort may indeed, = made, and that the'inscription close- .y^ north Texas farm community. The have happened here. - - . .<• t ly resembled the scrape of a plow. nearest city is Dalla's.'45 miles,to :. The year was 1897.; And though the . .The residents concede the crash the East, and the^ nearest beach is '.-first-flight of (he Wright brothers of- 1897 probably occurred. .But on the Gulf Coast, 'down .towards ~.' was still eight years away, people that's as much credence'as they'll Mexico. The only.business in town is across America were sighting pro- - allow the story of the dead space- a service station —.and it's not open " pelled objects in the sky. For exam- man. They believe the town was hit much :anymor'e. •-•;-" . '.--:. • pie. several Texans reported seeing . by a meteorite: and Weems and Y,et i.each Dimmer, ;when .Ameri- " a cigar-shaped vehicle, lighter than Hayden embellished the,1 moment. Vr cans are: touched -by flarm. weather "".. air. 'cruisingclow.overcowboy coun- j > ; . they-sayHayden was>a vell-known.- twanderlus,t; vhundredsr'of ~ tourists try. •«T. >r *-*-#'5sc- By John Scnuessler Texas UFO Crash al that could be subjected to laboratory In 1897? analysis. - , „ < • Metal analysis conducted.in several laboratories across the country reveal- ~ed the'material to~be~straTTge indeed. By"' Did a cigar-shaped unidentified fly- using an electron dispersion x-ray anal- ing object really crash near Aurora, yzer it was determined that the material Texas on April 19, 1897? Some peo- was ultra-pure aluminum. No,trace ele- ple believe whole story was a fabri- ments usually left by the refining pro- cation by S.E. Hayden, a local cotton cess could be found. Photomicrographs buyer; while others are reasonably of the sample showed large grains in the sure the tragic accident really oc- sample indicating it had truly under- curred. gone a heating and cooling cycle. The Sightings of strange airships were anlaysis showed-how the material was reported in the newspapers all across constructed, the nature of its crystalline the United States during the spring of structure, and unusual purity. All this is 1897. The Aurora case was just an- consistent with the allegation that a other UFO sighting; but with an un- UFO exploded spewing debris in all usual twist. It resulted in the allegation directions, impacting with a tremendous that an object crashed and left debris force. as proof of the event. Investigators were able to locate a The flight path of the UFO carried it over sparcely settled farmland as the crude marker in the local cemetery at a location supplied by the aging witnes- farmers were out doing their chores. ses The marker was inscribed with a Farmer Jim Stephens told how the shape resembling a cigar-shaped ob- nose of the object hit the windlass over the water well on the farm of ject just as the stories had related.., However, before the legal .process Judge Proctor causing a chain reac- could be put in motion to force opening tion explosion. The flash and fire was of the grave, the marker was removed sible for more than three miles. from the cemetery,- leaving the grave Mary Evans, about 15 years old at location a mystery never to be revealed -the-timersaid-ri8r-parents-went-to-the- P-erhaps-the-people-of-Au'rora-were_ crash site and told her how the airship afraid their longstanding popularity had exploded and that the pilot was would be diminished if the grave were torn up and killed in the crash. He was opened and science proved the whole a small man and was buried later that event was a hoax On the otherhand, day in the local cemetery. what if the grave did hold the remains of \ Investigators of the Mutual UFO an alien pilot? At this time the investK Network were able to track down the gators' file shold sufficient evidence to witnesses and piece together the se- cast reasonable doubt on the hoax quence of events and the actual loca- theory. You may direct any questions or • tion of the crash. Using sensitive met- inquiries to. Mr John F Schuessler. al detectors they found pieces of met- PO Box 58485, Houston. Texas 77258. BINGO BUGLE 9 FEBRUARY, 1984 VOL 1 NO 6 HOUSTON GULF EDITION TX 000) Aff.ll- II, New Texas Almanac has everything from football, UFOs to Super Collider I ASSOCIATED PRESS reported sightings of 'airships' in 23 counties, mostly in DALLAS — The most winning high school football North Central Texas. Nine counties reported multiple team The Great UFO (Maybe) Hoax, and tons o' facts sightings, with Hill County accounting for four, includ- abound in the 1990-91 Texas Almanac. ing two in Hillsboro and one each in Whitney and For instance: Texas' most winning high school foot- Osceola. ball team is somebody's Wildcats. It could be Temple's Crews of the "spaceships" were reportedly observed Wildcats, which won 72 percent of their games from by. groundlings. And several observers supposedly 1920 to 1988 Or it could be Piano's Wildcats, which talked with the airmen — or, in one instance, air- won more games, 524 to Temple's 510. woman ,- During the same period, the North Dallas Bulldogs "On April 19, S.E* Haydon, a correspondent for The dug themselves a hole to the bottom of the listings by Dallas Morning News, reported that an airship had losing 424 games struck a windmill in* Aurora in Wise County and ex- There's the first Thanksgiving, which the Almanac ploded. The body of a small man, identified by a local says was celebrated in Texas before the Pilgrims even authority as a Martian, was recovered from the wreck- age and buried." thought of it i • * j- ' Science is a predominant theme in this year's Alma- The Almanac explained that the famous Aurora inci- nac, the 132nd edition. The cover has a science motif. dent, after much research has been labeled a hoax by There is a section on the Superconducting Super Col- 20th-century historians. -The conclusion is encouraged lider, which has yet to be built south of Dallas. that all the sightings Were probably tongue-in-cheek Increasingly, editor Mike Kingston has restored reports, perhaps delayed or extended celebrations of signed articles to the book. The policy isn't really a April Fool's Day, 1897. break with the past. Nevertheless, Alfhanac'readers are offered proce1 "Although generally phased out later, opinion pieces dures for reporting'an unidentified flying object. Be- were common in early Texas Almanacs," he explained. yond that, they are treated to a section on "UFOlogy." Indeed, more than a "century ago, the Almanac was The Almanac has broadened its customary demo- embroiled in libel actions. And it was once denounced graphic details on each, of the state's 254 counties to in the^U.S Senate by Sam Houston, who'd been politi- include crime rates,%otirt backlogs and poverty rates in cally attacked by an Almanac writer. each county. ,, The science theme, however, allows the inclusion of Continuing the Almanac'$ series d regional histor- sensational events. In the book's Miscellany of Texas ies, the 1990-91 b&k.inqjUghts West Texas, with its History, for example, the reader finds: parade of expk*cVs;JSpttw^ soldiers, Indians andcowr "Between April 13 and" l'1, 1897, there were 38 men. ',* :"f.*i'f*Afi'l ' • • '•'>« A-12 /The Houston Post/Monday, November 6, 1989* Sunday, December 23. 1990 E8 Austin American-Statesman Books Unidentified flying history Texas Airship Mystery' adds weight to spaced-out topic After reading Wallace Chari- nity of Aurora on April 17, 1897. ton's The Great Texas Airship The spaceship blew up, killing it) Mystery, I have decided to relate only passenger. The badly burned the following story, but only to body of the alien, which a local au • prove a point. thority on astronomy identified an In the summer of 1967, a young a resident of Mars, was buried ixi man from Austin, recently gradu- the Aurora cemetery. ated from Sidney B. Lanier High All of this was reported as fact in School and soon to take up the a dispatch by one S.E. Haydon, a study of journalism at Angelo cotton buyer and newspaper State University, was working as a "stringer." cub reporter for the San Angelo Haydon's story did not make too Standard-Times. much of a splash at the time, but it One afternoon, bored and a little has aged well. It pops up in news- homesick, he twirled a piece of paper stories occasionally, and pulp copy paper into his manual several years ago it was the basis of typewriter and wrote a short story a grade-B movie. about a San Angelo woman being When Chariton went to the mi- followed by a flying saucer near crofilm to research the story, he Lake Nasworthy. The story said was surprised to see the Aurora in- the woman, who had asked that cident had not been an isolated her name not be used, had been case. Folks all over the Midwest buzzed by an object she described had been seeing "airships" that as a "pulsating orange-and-white spring. Chariton found reports of pie pan." As the object hovered Texas sightings beginning April near her car, she said, her head- 12, 1887, and continuing for a lights failed. month. Flying objects were seen The reporter tossed the one- from Texarkana to Eagle Pass and page story into the "in" basket, from Beaumont to Fort Worth. chuckled to himself and went off to (Austin weighed in with three dif- supper. ferent sightings.) When he got back to the office, who was willing to agree she'd also When Chariton realized there the man in the "slot" (responsible seen it. The point of this confes- had been more going on that for editing and laying out the pa- sion: It used to be pretty easy to spring of 1897 than he had per) asked who had written the make something up and get it thought, he expanded his article story about the UFO. No one printed in a newspaper. These into a book. The book, thanks to spoke up. days, newspapers have ethics and the many hours Chariton had "Oh well," he shrugged. "It's a manufactured news is no longer spent reading newspaper micro- good story." And he put it on the possible, of course. film, gives a good picture of late- hook to be set into type. "Ethics" was not exactly a 19th-century Texas. And though it The next morning the story ap- household word in Texas back in is billed as a book about the airship peared in a box on Page One, be- 1897, when newspapers across the mystery, it also is a neat piece of neath the fold. state were full of stories about a Texas journalism history. The author of this blatant piece mysterious airship seen flying over So were Texas and the Midwest of fiction could not believe the pa- Texas that spring. Those reported being visited by space aliens in per had actually published it, but sightings are the basis of Chan- 1897,? Or was it a massive hoax? Or felt great pride in having pulled ton's readable 252-page book, pub- mass hysteria? Or bad whiskey? one over on his bosses. Unfortu- lished by Wordware Publishing of (Too much good whiskey might nately, he lacked the courage to Piano and available at $16.95. also be suspected.) Or natural phe- own up to the practical joke. Chariton, a Texas history buff, nomena? Chariton concludes it Or was it a joke? had not had a book in mind when could have been all of the above. Back at work the next after- he began his research. He had only After all, he's a storyteller, not a noon, the reporter took a call from intended to do a story on Texas' seer or scientist. a woman who said, "Listen, I read best-known UFO tale, the crash One thing is for sure: Mysterious that story this morning about the landing of the Aurora space man. objects in the sky make a good sto- orange-and-white pie pan over According to the Dallas Morning ry, in 1897, 1967 or now. Lake Nasworthy and I just wanted News and other Texas newspa- y'all to know I saw it too!" pers, a spaceship careened into the > Free-lance writer Mike Cox Is the au- OK, as if you hadn't guessed, I windmill of one Judge Proctor in thor of five Texas-related books and a wrote the phony story. There had the Wise County farming commu- collector of Texana. been no orange-and-white pie pan flitting around in the night sky over San Angelo, despite the lady The Great Airship Nick D'Alto, 2462 Marie Ct, Bellmore, NY 117iO, The editors and readers of 1900 would eventually wrote some time ago of his interest in the "Great be the eye-witnesses to flight. Yet the turn-of- Airship Craze of 1896," and subsequently.put to- the-century newspaper was very different from our gether the following illustrated article. The own. Parts of a Jules Verne novel, complete with story is entertaining enough in its own right, headlines, might appear side-by-side with actual but Nick suggests it had impacts of differing news events. Rigorous factual reporting was not kinds on the public, the press, and contempo- always the rule. Even reputable newspapers pub- rary researchers as well. It is provocative to lished fanciful, tabloid-type stories, leaving speculate on the effects on the avbiz of the the reader to decide for himself. UFO scares, science-fiction- and aviation his- torical writing of the past fifty years- present- News reports of a "Great Airship" began in day writers included. California during November 1896. On the whole, the stories ranged from simply "seeing strange In response to your favorable replies of 19 Dec lights" in the sky to detailed descriptions of and 6 Mar, I have prepared an article on the "flying machines," complete with flapping wings, "Airship" craze of 1896. These events were front- fans, and gasbags. They ranged from ostensibly _ page newsjjack then, yet they are rarely_men- genuine to obvious hoax. -___^__ _ ~""-tibrie"d "iri"aviation~histories today. That" was my~" motivation for researching the topic. Newspaper readers of the day barely understood the difference between lighter and heavier-than- The "Airship" is really one extreme example of air flight. The "Great Airship" seemed to fit how the journalism and public perception of 1900 neither category. It bore little resemblance to (or any year) are not exactly like our own. We any genuine airships of the era. Instead, it must be mindful of this when we look to the past. represented "the solution to aviation": complete I think that your present discussion of dirigibility, vertical takeoff, and fabulous historian/antiquarian is closely related. speed. Everyone was talking about the airship. Since I am a great believer in working from What was the effect on aviation? Octave Chanute primary sources, and since the language of the did not much like being named in the CHICAGO original "Airship" press reports (true or not) is TRIBUNE as one of the airship inventors. He, \ more picturesque than I can muster, I have Edison, and other scientists tried to explain concentrated on a brief analysis, and included that flight would not be born, full-blown, in facsimiles of'the actual articles. isolation. AM Herring condemned the Airship in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. The "Airship" Craze of 1896 Yet stories abounded that some "mystery man" had "Would anyone be greatly surprised, if it did constructed an aerial leviathan in a secret turn out to be a successful airship...? This is workshop and was now testing it. In an age of wonders..." Sacramento the DAILY RECORD interviewed an attorney named Collins who claimed to represent The OMAHA WORLD HERALD, April 1897 the inventor. A storekeeper at Rogers Park, Illinois, claimed to have snapped photos of the craft in flight. During 1896 and -7, stories about a mysterious airship swept the United States. In tiny hamlets In some cases a check of old city records con- and in great cities, local dailies reported the firms the identity of "witnesses." George Scott vessel's progress, its takeoffs and landings, and really was California's Assistant Secretary of its_ majestic flight over the countryside^ By..all_ State. He reportedly became jio excited on-seeing ~a"ccount's, thousands of-people' saw the Great Air- -the'""aerial-vi'fitor"-that he "persuaded"his ship. constituents to climb the stairs into the dome of the state capital to get a better look. And yet most of this whole story probably never Many news items exclaimed that "half the town" •• happened. saw the thing. The SAINT LOUIS POST DESPATCH would report that "thousands of people are lining After a flurry of activity, the "Airship" stories the streets here, watching intently for the disappeared as quickly as they had begun. The airship." At tiny Everest, Kansas, "the full entire episode was preserved, without further power of the (Airship's) arc-lamps was turned embellishment, in the crumbling pages of long- on... and the city... was flooded with light." forqotten dailies. But the "Airship" holds Picturesque as these stories may be,- latter-day valuable lessons for the study of early aero- researchers usually don't find anyone who nautics, particularly in relation to the contem- remembers actually seeing an "Airship." porary press, and the public's perception of flight. Often the praise or ridicule which the "Airship" 8 t Thousands of St. Looiaaaa cited OT«T the »«ial Visitor. THB SASTB TOB AX SOV» XOITBAT xnoir. tj I— Raise of laenlsery/ Heart, t CL Ontllnet of the Craft O Tlilble. I I— on o TMTLMOgT 0» BtAJTT UlilUt o_ XDDIO TBS MT1T»-- Pnfewor* Coafes* They An Ponied by th* Ippeanaee. of Xo, Voaua dnn Zzpnnd Tucday The Air Ship As Photographed In Chicago. Vha th. SMTOS VOI Be -From th« ChlcMffo TlnM Ifmld. Wttchrf Vn cf Ttataf*. many ye*r» u that of the so-called Ma 17 thouia.ndm.have seen what they call an airship, or a balloon, with varioua colored LOOKED OBLOHG_AT MT. CARROLL, ILL lights attained, but apart rrom o> %.wi»y»>»- tlvely few persons no one c»n say he ha» aecn Alrshlii •! Tli*l 1'olnf \\ •• Moiioai the thing closely enough to describe It. \\r»t •< • rvrrlflo Ilitl* of For the purpose of ascertaining something Bprrd. definite from those Who really saw the stron- ger In tbe clouds I have Interviewed several Mour t c«rrull. Ill, April 0— ISp-tUI J— men Among thosa who talked waa Walter llumlrt-ds uf p»r»oii« on th<* *tree:s (onlKht McCsnn. a newsdealer In Roger* Park, who -l'»r«on« »ho>r hontsl} tnij iruihfulntu Trying to SO!T« th« Mystery'of the took a snap shot at the object when It waa I in L-A)uii'J OHpult— \ l»n»J Hie alrnh'p within five or six hundred fe«t of the earth atom * 40 u rloik It i nine from tht north- "I had read for several days about the air- ! iu»i and «lim oppon.tr thl* city changed Strange Thing Seta ia j l'« roiir** uiiJ »>nt rtu» rteii at a ter'iflc ship," jsajd he. "I laughed over It and wai >l"-0 It HH» In «'trhi nl Irax trrt nr.Inuu*. the Sky. sceptical on the subject. On Sunday morhlng, 11 mix and ulilunK In »tiapo u.nJ rarrlcd a at half-put 'flve o'clock, I saw a strange tf'01 rt-.| l'i;lii In length It did not appear looking object In the sky doming; from thr t<> be ovrr >'Kht or trn fiet. and t»o or south. It looked like a big clgur. It carmj t irce fitt liliru Bo many people saw U FLYING MACHINE OR STAR? nearer, and I saw at a,glance thtt It was net t.irn- U no Juputlng th» fact th»l sorne- a, balloon. Quick a* a nasb I realized It was II.Ing unuiUHl apprarvd. the much talked at airship. CAVOUT A SNAP »UOT. ' 8coraj bf Pereons^HaTB Washed It, aad ' My boy ~w~3n~~£icarn»-a not lon3~Bjfb~ln /A eff (Jor\Jt /^roo[o^nA^ . l~h Ck •H«.\ s KFRBS^WS;$mAntenia;Iexai;Tuei by Kevin D. Randle Texas, and spotted several men standing around a large, cigar-shaped craft. He went over to talk to them and learned they were ot long ago, I had the opportu- theories. Although many of the tales have on their way to Cuba to bomb the Spanish. nity to appear on the late night since been shown to be jokes, there are a They had landed to make some repairs and radio show, Coast-to-Coast. I few that are repeated in the UFO literature soon took off. Their immediate destination bring this up only because, ap- with such regularity, and almost with such was the Ozarks, where they planned to train parently, the next night the host awe, that it is necessary to provide, once for their self-designed mission. had on Jim Marrs, who talked again, all the information about them so In fact, there were dozens of stories of abouNt the Aurora, Texas, airship crash of , that we can work to remove them from that the Great Airship landing throughout the 1897. I wouldn't have known this, but same literature. The two most famous, and South and the Midwest in March and April someone who heard my interview the night probably the most reported, are the Aurora, of that year. One of the earliest appeared before mentioned to me in an email that , Texas, UFO crash that had been the subject in the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette. Marrs had talked about Aurora and sug- of that email correspondence and the According to the story, a large, cigar-shaped gested that it was a real event. That person Alexander Hamilton story of an airship and craft had landed on the Union Station in wanted to know if Marrs was correct and calf-napping that occurred about two days the "wee morning" hours and several lo- if there is anything to the story of the crash. after the Aurora events. cals were taken on board. Charley Jordan And this provides us with an oppor- quickly made his story known to the news- tunity to examine one of the major prob- Typical Airship Accounts paper and even signed an affidavit attest- lems in UFO research. No case ever dies, Back when I lived in Texas, I didn't live ing to the reality of his flight. He was de- no matter how many times it is exposed as all that far from Aurora. I was interested in scribed by reporters as "never telling but a a hoax. This is true even when those ex- UFOs even then, and I prowled the few lies and then only about things of im- posing it range from the skeptics to the be- morgues of various newspapers searching portance." lievers in extraterrestrial contact. And it for stories of the great airship. There were He was accompanied by W. R. Boyd, continues even when no evidence for the lots of these stories from Texas, including whose whole purpose in going along, ac- reality of the case has ever been found... or interviews with the crews of some of the cording to the newspaper story, was to "get none was found until people began to re- airships and even repeated tales of the air- as high as possible so that he could learn alize they could get their names in the ship's destruction. ' about the condition of the post office." newspaper or their faces on television if • Typical of the airship sightings was that The airship's crew confessed that they they said something to confirm the case. told by Patrick Barnes to the Fort Worth were tired from their long journey, though The stories of the flight of the Great Air- Register, "which hardly cares to repeat it." they offered no revelations about their ship of 1897 provide us with proof of both He claimed that he was traveling near Cisco, home base or their purpose. They did 34 FATE / March 2003 promise to lecture about the trip soon, and the topics to be discussed included the un- likely subject of hell. The problem for Cedar Rapids was , $^^j1 « that, the very next night, the airship crashed '' f'2 i zx^ff&tf'?*] • •'' ! ^^ ~^mm in Waterloo, Iowa. Those in Cedar Rapids, hi? who couldn't produce any physical evi- I'M! dence of their adventure, quietly faded from sight, while crowds flocked to the Wa- terloo fairgrounds, where they could see a large, twin-cigar-shaped object. A heav- The airship as it was described by those who saw it on the ily accented "professor" claiming to be from ground in Waterloo, Iowa Later, it was all revealed to be a joke. San Francisco told of their perilous flight across the United States that ended in seen. And finally, most importantly, no one wished it had. I learned that T. J. Weems, tragedy when their leader fell into and ever produced those documents or bits and the famed Signal Corps officer, was, in fact, drowned in the Cedar River. pieces of the wreckage, though there had the local blacksmith. I learned that Judge The whole story unraveled late in the been tons of it, at least according to the Proctor didn't have a windmill, or rather day when the professor was recognized as newspaper report. that was what was said then. Now they sug- a local man. The joke was admitted, and The story died at that point, and then gest that he had two windmills. I wandered the "ship" was removed from the fair- was resurrected in the 1960s by UFO re- the graveyard, which isn't all that large grounds, but not before hundreds had the searchers who stumbled onto the airship (something just over 800 graves), and chance to see it and interview members of tales which had been dormant for about six found no marker with strange symbols the crew. decades. Suddenly the story of the tragedy carved on it, though there are those who reappeared, and Aurora, Texas, was now on suggest a crude headstone with a rough air- The Aurora Crash the map with those scientists, researchers, ship on it had been there at the time. I The Aurora crash story, as it was told and tourists finally making the trek. found nothing to support the tale and went just days later, suggests that the airship ap- A large number of people, including away believing, based on my own research peared about dawn on April 17,1897, came Hayden Hewes of the now defunct Inter- and interviews, that this was another of the in low, buzzed the town square, and then national UFO Bureau; Jim Marrs, who had airship hoaxes. continued north toward the farm owned most recently suggested the story was real; Metal collected by all those others, at the time by Judge Proctor. There it hit a and even Walt Andrus, the former Inter- when analyzed here, turned out to be noth- windmill and exploded into a shower of de- national Director of the Mutual UFO Net- ing strange or unusual. Some of it was later bris, damaging the judge's flower garden work (MUFON) at various times jour- analyzed in a Canadian lab, and their re- and house, not to mention his windmill. neyed to Aurora in search of the truth. They sults mirrored those of American labs. The townspeople i ushed to die scene and all reported a strange grave marker in the Isn't it interesting that none of the metal found the badly disfigured body of the pilot. Aurora cemetery They found strange metal supposedly gathered by the town's residents T}. Weems, a Signal Corps officer (the 1897 with metal detectors, and they gathered re- has ever surfaced. The metal analyzed was equivalent of an intelligence officer), ports from long-time Aurora residents who always recovered by researchers with metal thought the pilot was probably from Mars. remembered the story, remembered see- detectors. Isn't it interesting that the strange Being good Christians, and apparently ing the airship, or remembered parents grave marker has since disappeared and that because no one had anything else to do, talking about the crash. There was also dis- there is no real photographic record of it. they buried the pilot after a short memo- cussion of government attempts to sup- There should be, for all the research that rial service that afternoon They also gath- press the data To them, that made the story has been done. The single picture that has ered several documents covered with a of the crash real turned up showed not an airship but a strange writing found in the wreckage and The problem here is that I beat most coarse triangle with circles in the center. picked up tons of matei lal, including silver of these people to Aurora by several years And isn't it interesting that there were never and aluminum that came from the airship. to conduct my own investigation. I talked any followup reports from Aurora. First the All that evidence has long since disappeared. to some of those same long-time residents, big splash with the crash and then nothing And that's it No follow-up stories as who told me in the early 1970s that noth- foi more than 60 years. tourists flocked to Aurora No mysterious ing had happened. I talked to the histori- scientists arriving to inspect the wieckage. ans at the Wise County Historical Society Another Fishy Story No Army response, though one of their (Aurora is in Wise County), who told me Which also sums up nicely the Hamil- own was on hand lo leport what he had that it hadn't happened, though they ton calf-napping story that followed the March 2003 / fMf. 35 they would carry over the city They soon began to receive reports from the citizens describing the airship When one of the most distinguished men of that town came forward to report that he had not only seen the airship, but had heard voices from it, the newspaper staff was convinced that all the tales were faked While their conclu- sion might seem premature at the time, The airship as it was described flying over parts of California in 1897 later evidence would suggest that they weren't all that far off the mark Aurora crash by two days According to the around the cow's remains literature, Alexander Hamilton was a widely The newspaper, as well as other men in Bull Market for Bull respected resident of little LeRoy, Kansas town, attested to the honesty of Hamilton, Maybe part of it was the way many Jerry Clark reported that Hamilton had suggesting they all believed his well un- such stories were reported in 1897, espe- been a lawyer, had served in the Kansas leg- believable tale These men included an at- cially those about the airship The editors islature, and was a very successful stock torney, a doctor, a justice of the peace, a of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, upon learn- dealer Those who knew him suggested that banker, and even the postmaster If no other ing the airship had landed in nearby Wa- he was an honest man report from 1897 was to be believed, this terloo, wired their counterparts at the Wa- According to the reports, including that one certainly had all the credibility that terloo Courier asking for 500 words but no in the Yale's Center Farmer's Advocate, those others lacked crap They didn't mention that their own Hamilton heard a disturbance among his And, like the Aurora crash, here was an story, carried a day earlier, was now clearly cattle on Monday April 19 and got out 1897 report that seemed to mirror its mod- a hoax They just ignored that fact In other of bed to check Hovering over his cow lot ern counterparts A UFO hovering over a words, the newspapers were having some was the airship It was, according to Hamil- ranch, an animal that disappeared and was fun with the airship tales too ton, cigar-shaped, about 300 feet long, with later found mutilated with no sign of any- In fact, that seems to cover the vast ma- some kind of a glass encased carriage one being in the field with it Unlike the jority of the airship stories The men telling under it Inside were six strange looking modern reports, Hamilton saw the airship them had ulterior motives for telling them beings who were at least human enough steal the animal rather than just vague, mys- Maybe theyjust wanted to join the fun, or that Hamilton identified two men, a tery lights glowing in the distance maybe theyjust wanted to see their names woman, and three children In the early 1970s, Jerry Clark managed in the newspaper Maybe they thought no The craft hovered until the crew spot- to track down the relatives of Hamilton one would be harmed, and, of course, no ted Hamilton, his tenant Gid Heslip, and and interviewed an elderly woman, who one was Other news, more important Hamilton's son Then a great turbine wheel, remembered Hamilton returning from news, finally pushed the tales of the air- about 30 feet in diameter, that had been re- town, chuckling about the story he'd in- ships from the newspapers and little was volving slowly below the craft, began to vented because it would be published in thought of them for decades spin faster As the airship climbed to 30 feet, the newspaper While that evidence might The final, fatal blow for the airship and it paused over a three-year-old heifer that not convince a true believer, an article that Aurora crash comes from the original re- was caught in a fence Hamilton and his appeared in the Atchison County Mail on porter, H E Hayden, a stringer for the Dal- son found a cable from the airship wrapped May 7,1897, should do it Hamilton told las Morning News, who claimed to have in- around the cow and tried to free it from the reporter, "I lied about it" Those who vented the story in a vain attempt to put the cable but couldn't Instead, they cut the signed the affidavit about Hamilton's ve- 1 his dying community back on the map He fence The cow and ship began slowly ris- racity were members of the local liars club hoped to draw attention, and people, to ing and then disappeared in the distance What this tells us is that the newspa- Aurora, Texas He was successful The prob- The next day, Hamilton went in search pers, which had to suspect the truth if not lem was that he succeeded 60 years too late, of his missing cow but could find no trace know it outright, didn't mind printing the and those who arrived only wanted to learn of it Instead, a neighbor, identified in the wildest tales of the airship Proof of this about the airship, not settle down to re- reports as Lank Thomas, had found the re- comes from Burlington, Iowa, in what was build the community as he had hoped mains of a butchered cow several miles described, even in 1897 as one of the from the Hamilton spread He picked up "meanest and most discouraging [airship] Kevin D. Randle is a well-known UFO re- the remains and took them into LeRoy for stories of the entire lot" Members of the searcher and author of such books as Inva- identification Thomas said he could not newspaper staff launched hot air balloons sion Washington UFOs Over the Capital find any trace of a track in the soft ground made from common tissue paper so that (Harper Mass Market, 2001) 36 FATE / March 2003 UFO ~IO1 SU| I Hunting Debris mi 1897 UFO sei Of Spaceship" an! Puzzles Metal Expert SO! AURORA. Tex. (UPI) - \ Etta Pegues thinks it's all a AURORA, Tex (AP) — An on the property for 26 years de big hoax, but an investigating unidentified flying object with her husband She said not is | team Is busy searching for crashed into a farm windmill, even weeds will grow where wi remains of a spaceship re- exploding in a ball of flaming Kelley's detectors indicate ported to have crashed Into metal fragments, according to there is metal iml Judge J.C. Proctor's windmill newspaper accounts in this Kelley dug up more than a be 76 years ago. North Texas area dozen pieces of the strange ms The pilot's badly-dis- ': Hayden Hewes, director of metal at depths of from two to mo| N~ the "International UFO Du- membered body was buried in 14 inches All were a dark ' reau" in Oklahoma City says a grave about a mile away brown on one side but appeared cat ; als group Is not taking any Date of the news reports- to have a protective grey coat- tog March 19, 1897 ing on the other side. •', chances. tio( \ "We,are continuing to check A professional" treasure hunt- "This metal looks so different COl er unearthed metal fragments I honestly don't know what it me' f the area, even though It could at the site Wednesday and ex- ? have hern a hoax." reports is. The fragments are small, claimed: "In more than 25 thin and jagged as if torn apart Hewes. "We are especially years of recovering metal and ju< V looking tor any metal piece by an explosion They look thi treasure of all kinds . . I've something like modern aircraft « of the UFO that might have never seen metal like that tw covering is *. gone down nearby wells, "But, they are not aluminum, and we are searching the Frank Kelley's new, deep- tin, iron, steel or any alloy I ce •': cemetery for the pilot's probe metal detector not only know," he said to / „ grave." ' gives off electronic response at Accounts of the UFO crash / Hewes and Us group were the crash site but at the grave were printed in Dallas and Fort (Clr. 0 1 Stories continue of outer space alie/ ^ yn buried in Aurora Cemetery Several scattering debris over several digging not authorized by the years ago i LoVeme Odom acres of ground, wrecking the courts. The UFO group did not heard stories *-.<• windmill and water tank and seek a court order to dig. a b o o t a destroying the judge's flower Metal detectors were used by spaceman garden. the UFO hunters. They claimed being buried "The pilot of the ship is sup- the signals received from the in Wise posed to have been the only one grave matched those recorded at County. This aboard, and while his remains are the crash site. They also made the spaceman badly disfigured enough of the claim, based on the signals from was sup- original has been picked up to the metal detectors, that the posed to be show that he was not an inhabitant person buried there was not an someone or of this world. inhabitant of this world. something "T.J. Weems, the U.S. signal Local citizens said the grave from outer T" ~ 7~^" service officer at this place and an contains the body of an itinerant space, i Contact authority on astronomy, gives it farm worker named Carr, who can't re- as his opinion that he (the pilot) had died of spotted fever about the member the whole story. Can you was a native of the planet Mars. time of the alleged spacecraft find-out anything about this for "Papers found on his person — crash. me?—T.W. evidently the records of his travels After all investigations were — are written in some unknown completed in 1973, it is still not In 1973 a visit was made to the hieroglyphics, and cannot be de- known who or what is buried in Aurora Cemetery in Wise County ciphered. The ship was too badly that unmarked grave in the by officials of the International wrecked to form any conclusion as Aurora Cemetery. UFO Bureau from Oklahoma City. to its constrictive or motive (Sources: Denton Record- They were there to investigate the power. Chronicle filqs and Dallas Morn- possibility of an outer space alien "The town is full of people today ing News.) buried there. who are viewing the wreck and Contact solves problems, gets The group said they were look- gathered specimens of strange answers, tracks down the facts ing for witnesses to the crash of a metal from the debris. The pilot's and guards your right to know. spaceship in 1897. They were funeral will take place tomorrow. Write Contact, P.O. Box 369, checking out a legend .that a Signed, S.E. Hayden. Denton, Texas 76201, or call 387- cigar-shaped spacecraft crashed During this investigation by the 3811, Ext 211, between 10 a.m. and into a windmill on a Judge Pro- UFO officials in 1973, Wise County 5p.m. Monday through Friday. ctor's farm on April 17, 1897. It historians said the entire Hayden Because of the large number of was said that the people of .the story was fiction. Most citizens letters received each week and town of Aurora cleaned up the said they thought the story was a limited space, not every question wreckage and buried the pilot in hoax. can be answered. the town cemetery. The Dallas Dr. Tom Gray", a physicist from For information on "people Morning News carried a story Ptorth Texas State University, was services" offered in Denton about the incident the next day. asked to analyze some samples of County, call the Information and The entire story, written by S.E. metal that had been dug up near Referral Service, 566-2688. The Hayden follows: the site of the windmill where the service can refer you to the "AURORA, WISE COUNTY, spaceship crashed. He found the appropriate agency to help with TEXAS. April 17 — About 6 metal to be somewhat different jourproblegt. o'clock this morning the early from most metals, but said risers of Aurora were astonished "Given the fact the earth is struck at the sudden appearance of the by meteorites of all shapes and airship which has been sailing sizes on occasion, it would be throughout the country. difficult to rule on the origin of the "It sailed directly over the metal." public square, and when it The UFO group wanted to dig L. reached the north part of town into the grave that was said to be collided with the tower of Judge where the little spaceman was Proctor's windmill and went to buried. The cemetery association pieces with a terrific explosion, got an injunction to stop any UFO POTPOURRI ut-Q PILOTS REPORT NEW WAVE OF a southerly direction for about two minutes" Just as he reported the UFO SIGHTINGS encounter to flight controllers in an- ticipation of making an emergency landing, the UFO disappeared from view. Newspaper accounts of UFOs In late July scores of people in appear almost daily in various parts Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, described a of the world. Many of these ac- reddish and rounded object hover- counts are considered less than ing at an altitude of 7,000 feet above credible because of the background the city. Two Zimbabwean Hawk jet or educational level of the witness- fighters were scrambled from the es. However, there remains a signif- Thomhill Air Base. The pilots had icant number of highly credible UFO visual contact with the UFO as they encounters - many of them report- tried for an intercept Suddenly, the ed by pijpts. object climbed -vertically 'at high " The new wave of pilot reports is speed, easily avoiding the approach- both exciting and puzzling. For ex- ing jeta The Air Commodore report- ample, the Chinese newspaper, ed that the UFO then followed the People's Daily, reported that a Chin- jets as they returned to Thomhill, ese Boeing 747 jetliner encount- and hovered over the base for sev- ered, a large, bright unidentified fly- eral minutes before flying east ing object over the city of Gansu on And if that is not enough, Iranian June 11, 1985. The UFO and the antiaircraft batteries fired on a UFO aircraft were both flying at an alti- over northeastern Tehran in early tude of 32,800 feet when the inci- August Iran's Islamic Republic dent occurred. News Agency quoted a source at the The pilot described the object as Joint Staff Command as saying the 30 feet in diameter, encircled with shining object flew from west to east brilliant light and having an extreme- over Tehran at 8:15 p.m. on August ly bright spot radiating from its cen- 5th. There were no reports that the ter. He said, "the object traveled UFO had been hit or downed. extremely fast, pacing the aircraft in BY JOHN F. SCHUESSLER P. O. BOX 58485 HOUSTON, TEXAS 77258-8485 Silence»• broken on UFO crash By BILL CASE crashed Into Judge Proctor's windmill Aviation Writer and exploded. An Aurora farmer-rancher told The "It wasn't a windmill," he said. "It Dallas Times Herald Saturday' his late was a wooden windlass built over the father was an eyewitness to the crash well about IS feet high used to haul up of an unidentified flving object at a well the sump. But it was destrojed " site outside the North Texas hamlet Stephen's father apparently was the April 19. 1897 only eyewitness t-> the highly publi- "During the years I was grow ing up cized UFO crash. He said there had he told me the story many times." C. been numerous reports of so called C. (Charlie) Stephens, 83, said in an 'airships" in the Aurora-Rhome-New- exclusive interview. ark area of \Vise County in North Tex- "My dadd), Jim Stephens, said he as during that period. was putting the cows out to pasture on Investigators for The Midwest UFO our ranch about 4 a.m. three miles Network (MUFONi and International south of Aurora when he noticed a ci- UFO Bureau and Times Herald report- gar-shaped airship with a white light ers have been questioning Aurora resi- pass over." dents and digging around the well on "It was very low and just went property now owned by Brawley Dates straight ahead until it crashed at a for pieces of unidentifiable metal wreck- well site on a high hill on Judge J. S. age without much success. v Proctor's farm. He said there seemed Wednesday Fred N. Kelley, a scien- to be an explosion and a fire that lit tific Texas treasure hunter and lost op the dp for several mitrat A metal locator from Corpus Qirtsti, vis- *Tbe next day my father rode a ited the site with highly sophisticated horse into Aurora to look at the scene metal detectors and/unearthed about 12 and said It loolnd Ura • man ef torn nitre* of HghtwHfftit metal which he . metal and burned nibble. said, "I cnn't k]p*lfy M any mPtnl Stephens, who stlO ranches actively, I've ever seen ••takf I've been in the bad declined to discuss until Saturday business 25 yeajgiV'.' '' the crash even with close friends, re- Times HeratyU reporters also re- porters or UFO investigators during covered some M the same type of the three months they have been seek- t fragments Saturday. They will be ana- ing details to verify the crash. lyzed to d&eriAine their origin. They He said he nad lived all his life in resemble no 'known metal and were the quiet valley where he was born dug out 'ft the well when it was and "just didn't want to get involved." cleaned ip UK. by Aurora Town mar- "I have nothing to say," he had re- shal H. RJdel! peatedly told questioners since March. Working * iotfependcntly, i epni ters His story, however, varied from and UFO inve;-;galors lorr'el a re- publfehcd reports printed in Dallas and mote grave In thn Aurora Cemetery in Fcrt Worth papers after the ballvhooed which they bflie e- the UFO pilot moid nt The story by correspondent might h.ivo been-biiried. H E Havdi-n said the UFO pilot's dis- Both Hdyden Hone- of the ILTOB r-.<. nbc;rd Ijrdy WBS lecmered from and iiensurr hiyittr Krlley vid their tr cra=h By HERM NATHAN astronomy, gave it as his opinion that hotels. was left crippled. the pilot was a native from the planet Hayden, in addition to writing for the Boll weevil, fire, disease, railroad mars. Papers were found on this big Dallas newspapers, was something failure ... one by one, Aurora residents person .. evidently a record of his of a luminary with his local columns. were giving in, loading their belongings S.E. Hayden filed 86 years ago a travels .. and are written in some Mrs. Pegues believes-based on and heading out. newspaper report that a cigar-shaped unknown heiroglyphics and cannot be reading his other literary efforts, As a modern writer may put it,' not spaceship smacked into a Aurora deciphered' The ship was too badly particulary his poetry-that Hayden was even a Martian would be caught dead (Wise County), Texas, windmill. wrecked to form conclusions as to its quite an egoist. in Aurora in 1897. Hayden, chronicling the ill-starred construction or motive power. In the 1890's, bad things started But in April of that year, statewide trekker from outer space for Dallas and The town is full of people today who happening in aurora and this may newspapers began printing eerie Fort Worth newspapers on April 18, are viewing the wreck and gathering explain about Hayden reporting about dispatches now believed to be the 1897, wrote: specimens of strange metal from the the man from outer space. work of practical-joking railroad men "The airship which had been seen debris. The pilot's funeral will take Overplanting of cotton had depleted with access to the telegraph. From all previously was sighted over Aurora place tomorrow.' The story traveled the land and erosion carried away the parts of texas .. Forney, Mansfield, early on the morning of the fatal crash around the world ... and it is topsoil, Then boll weevils invaded Whitney, Tioga, Waxahachie, Denison, (April 17) travelling a much lower Beaumont and Garland .. came reports resurrected every so often. You can Wise County in great, decimating 1 attitude and only about 10 to 12 mph. find straight - faced recounting of it in armies. Times were getting hard. The of a 'mysterious flying object seen m "In the north part of town, it collided most UFO publications. sought-after railroad went bankrupt the sky. with Judge J.S. Proctor's windmill and Adding some credibility is the Texas and a fire burned down the west end of During this disastrous period in went to pieces with a tremendous Historical Commission Marker erected town. All these events played havoc Hayden's life and Aurora, he then explosion. Parts scattered over acres in 1976, commemorating it as'legend', with the town's economy and with wrote the story that he may have of ground. The windmill, a watering not fact. Hayden's livelihood. thought would put Aurora back on the trough and the judge's flower garden Wise County historian Etta Pegues Hundreds of graves there were filled map ... about a spaceman, and a were destroyed.' believe that the story began not in by an 1890's epidemic of what they windmill and Weems, 'U.S. signal Hayden reported that the men who Mars, but in the mind of Hayden. called 'spotted fever.' It may have, in Service officer, an authority on ventured onto the scene saw the pilot, Today Aurora's population is 376, fact, been" meningistis. The residents astronomy' and his opinions of the 'a little man' who appeared to be the but it was once a thriving town, its didn't know the cause; many of them 'little man's' Martian origins. lone occupant. Hayden went into great wealth revolved around cotton. blamed the water supply. Hayden's Mrs. Pegues finds many factual detail in his account of the adventures Hayden made his living as cotton wife and two~so"ns died of 'spotted holes in Hayden's story. She has been of the otherwise - undocumented alien: buyer.. Aurora then claimed two fever.' unable to find any survivor of that era -'T.J. Weems. U.S. Signal Service lawyers, one undertaker, a brass band, Another of Hayden's sons was who ever saw Proctor's property officer at this place and an authority on three cotton gins and a couple of blinded by the disease; yet another adorned with a windmill, and Weems did exist but he was only the village hlacksmith . Hayden's newspaper story'did not ' succeed drawing the citizens back. In 1966, someone stumbled across an ancient clipping of Hayden' s account and sent it to a Dallas newspaper columnist known for his humor. Again the tale of the stogie- shaped object was flying once again. ." Excitement ran high when bits of 'strange metal' were found in Aurora, until an expert examined them and pronounced them to be an alloy frequently used in the 1920s for stove lids. Interest peaked again in the mid- 1970s, fanned by diligent mediawa coverage of quotable UFO groups, which descended with more 'in- vestigations.' By day, curiousity-seekers came into town and clever entrepreneurs sold them pieces of rusted tin cans and other aged alloys, telling them they were Pieces of the True Spaceship Reporters harried the older residents, some of them in rest homes, for 'memoirs' concerning the spaceship. .By night, vandals stole or defaced tombstones until cemetery-association members began nightlong vigils to ward off trespassers and to prevent exhumation. . Then the. UFO groups lost interest, newsmen found other stories to cover. Though rumor and tradition keeps the spaceman tale alive in Aurora, nobodyn seems to be unable to pin- Local legend says a spaceman is buried here, in the Aurora, Texas, cemetery. point the site of the grave with any 1' " ? i • ii i * o i» i 'j '• i •• f«»* «.1 n |.; I! • -t c sji» .1J > < «• J«. ( precision. 12-Twas Weekly MagMlne/TVb1chid[ •'pietidmber 4 ?'D««^ber 10.198$' •,.*/••••.--: J---,"".:.^.'-?.-'/^I}:TIJ~V:.V " -.-Yr"i*="f-''Y-;/"'"''-'?- ' toe legislt .5, I struck, the astronauts complet- .'circuits failed in a way, that l 1 Ground1, «d man*fir^orbita} .survey.j f .blocked the'flow of eyen solar tiqnally m Skylab's 'as- the earths resources-?*'17,114'. cell generated power through it, of educatii mile an hour pass that athered to conserve fi the second such failure in 1 of a new' 'formation in the United States Skylab. Four other, batteries ' • Pro\ bargaining md renewed were knocked out-temporarily, I's resources Coast and continued across and had to be restored to the • Provic the day.- Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. system by remote control from within whi . , But to aim the station's the ground. In all, the space regulate alt •ing awakened cameras earthward, the craft station was without one third of , Walker P e 10 had to be f° «p t " t'PPed nose-down so its power for a little more than pending in rles fete • ^s soiar panels no longer faced an hour. grant tax Houston, jf yje sun ancj (.0^,} not produce "It's that one revolution cuts in th working Ists working eiectricity. Skylab carries bat- without getting any power and medii t had found teries to take over in such (from the sun or the turned off me the new Minority situations, but the battery batteries) that eats your Choate, D^ system partially failed. lunch," said flight director Neil bill that \ )lied Robert One of the craft's 18 battery Hutchinson. • , . , Plans t -Jl-lookirsg-at, and modi :oncern cohcentra ninate some itill haven't income g UFO advocates study The gf »-- " quipped Kerwin. slief in come for he day off 1897 'airshi — this •ippen said, policy." ts will be AURORA, TevjXUPI) - A Ql^year old woman says she Walker lule Friday favored 1 ient work remembers the night on April 19, 1897, her parents went to a right ( strike. j developed the spot where an airship crashed into Judge Proctor's "Not ii •dnesday of strike foi tteries that well and the pilot was buried in the community cemetery. volved in erated from he repliec •d Skylab's "That crash certainly caused Walker by another a lot of excitement," Mary of his n mi ded a new Evans said Wednesday. "Many with one just when people were frightened. They didn't know what to expect. session tl 3d to be January- That was years before we had any regular airplanes or other lawmakers sis added got down t plans for a kind of airships." "I would o free the UFO advocates have combed ing," Walk •ating wing the Aurora area with metal tier by half detectors, radiation meters and auts were other scientific devices in re- PHYSICIST TOM GRAY cent months in an attempt to . . . examines metal sample nd Paul J. get some tangible evidence to ey may be file with a court order to ex- one pince and said it was television hume the body of the alleged unusual because it was 75 per opei airlock on pilot. Pieces of metal taken cent iron but lacked many of an in a day from the area have been sent the properties common to iron. By JA rs can see to various scientists and The professor. Dr. Tom Gray. WASHINC to open the metallurgists for examination. said it \\HS not magnetic and mer White A physics professor at North was shiny and soft instead of Ehrlichman lew troubles Texas State University tested dull and brittle like iron. Nixon—wit! Watergate dally cor ! ro; o af e K_ TO TO! ^ 3 O- aST «5>' £» _0 - |ll!P:iE0<0 ~ 3 < & 3 en . go* ., C/> C i«* "< *£L -£. — ™? ?§ Q. 355 Q. 3 - 3 S 5' 35T-ra tV 3 w >-»i n- < TEXAS £ OT OS . .^ PRESS CLIPPING BUREAU to-T O 2 5 VJ DALLAS = c 1910 McKmney, TX Courier Gazette (Cir. D. 6,512) (Cir.S. 6,819) AURORA, Texas (NEA) - the dead spaceman is a hoax. The body was thought to be aluminum, and the oddity is There's almost nothing to do At the same time, residents the ship's pilot. It was that it was said to be buried in this 'north Texas farm admit the hoax is founded on identified as being dressed in too deeply to be of modern community. The nearest city a vague fact; records in- a blue uniform, not unlike a origin. Aluminum was not in is Dallas, 45 miles to the East, dicate that something of this sailor suit.' Weems told common use in 1897. and the nearest beach is on sort may indeed have hap- Hayden the corpse was badly The spaceman theory is i the Gulf Coast, down towards pened here. mangled, but, happily, "The supported by the only man in /Mexico. The only business in The year was 1897. And men of the community Aurora who personally town is a service station — though the first flight of the gathered it up, and it was remembers the crash. and it's not open much Wright brothers was still given a Christian burial in the Charles Stevens was just a anymore. eight years away, people Aurora cemetery." child then, but he says his Yet each summer, when across America were sighting The grave is said to have father saw something fall into Americans are touched by propelled objects in the sky. been small and round. It is Judge Proctor's property; warm weather wanderlust, For example, several Texans also said to have been and, he adds, "There might hundreds of tourists motor reported seeing a cigar- distinguished with a hand- have been two or three into Aurora. They bring their shaped vehicle, lighter than made stone which was in- spacemen,! don't know." sun glasses, their cameras air, cruising low over cowboy ' scribed with a drawing of a It's unlikely that anyone -and their_walking shorts, and country. , cigar-shaped object. Aurora will ever know the truth. The they stay for a few hours, or a" -No one-in-Aurora-paidLat-Lresidents say the marker was spaceman's gravestone was! few days, prowling roads and tention to the sighting "not really handmade;'-am observing natives as if it were reports. This was a bustling that the inscription closely grave itself has been erro'ded} Tampico. region at the time, growing resembled the scrape of a and lost. Rest in peace,' They aren't looking for a with the nation, and there was plow. whoever you are. i ,goo_d_time, however. little pause for nonsense. The residents concede the They are looking for the Then, on April 9 of that year, crash of 1897 probably oc- man from outer space. reportedly at 6 a.m., a UFO curred. But that's as much The tourists in Aurora are allegedly slipped from the credence as they'll allow the UFO watchers. They believe heavens and exploded in the story of the dead spaceman. this wide spot in the road is a middle of town. They believe the town was hit shrine to their convictions. The record of the occasion by a meteorite, and Weems Many years ago, they say, a was compiled by a Dallas and Hayden embellished the great space ship fell from the newspaper correspondent moment; they say Hayden sky and crashed here; the named F.E. Hayden. He was a well-known writer of pilot of the craft was sup- apparently got most of his satirical fiction. posed to have been killed and information from Aurora This local opinion was then buried for the ages in resident T.J. Weems. The bulwarked a few years ago by this place. latter told the former that the Dr. Alfred Krause, a Texas The tourists, then, come to crash was observed and researcher; he dug at the find the body, or what's left of verified by numerous early crash site and found nothing it. They search the reported risers in the community. more extraterrestrial than a crash site, on a hill begind the Hayden wrote that the UFO 1932 license plate. As for the gas station, and they study was a space craft, and spaceman's grave, it's 'of- the grave markers at smashed into property ficially" occupied by an Aurora's small cemetery. If belonging to J.S. Proctor, a itinerant named Carr who even a bit of bone can be judge. He quoted Weems as died of yellow fever. found, they say, it will change saying the explosion lit up the True believers have theirt the course of human thought. morning sky, and left debris own side of it, of course. For( A bit of bone? Most locals over three ares. Weems one thing, some visitors have; snicker up their sleeves at the added there was a body reported finding "odd visitors. The opinion among among the debris, and it vtns metals" at the crash site. One townsfolk is that the story of "not...of this world." piece of metal , was' i I AURORA, Texas (NEA) — There's almost nothing; from the sky and crashed here; the pilot of the,craft to do in this north Texas farm community. was supposed to have been killed and then buried for The nearest city is Dallas, 45 miles to the east, and the ages in this place the nearest beach is on the Gulf Coast, down towards The tourists, then, come to find the body, or what's Mexico. The only business in town is a service station left of it They search the reported crash site, on a hill — and it's not open much any more behind the gas station, and they study the grave Yet each summer, when Americans are touched by. markers at Aurora's small cemetery. rm weather wanderlust, hundreds of tourists motor If even a bit of bone can be found, they say, it will o Aurora. They bring their sunglasses, their change the course of human thought. meras and their walking shorts, and they stay for a A bit of bone? Most locals snicker up their sleeves at j w hours, or a few days, prowling roads, and the visitors. The opinion among townsfolk is that the] iserving natives as if it were Tampico. story of the dead spaceman is a hoax At the samel time, residents admit the hoax is founded on a vaguel ' They aren't looking for a good time, however. fact; records indicate that something of that sort mayj They are looking for the man from outer space. indeed have happened here. The tourists in .Aurora are UFO watchers. They The year was 1897. And though the first flight of the believe this wide spot in the road is a shrine to their Wright brothers was still eight years away, people bonvictions. across America were sighting propelled objects in thj Many years ago, they say, a great space ship fell sky. For example, several Texans reported seeing cigar-shaped vehicle, lighter than air, cruising lov over cowboy country. J. No one in Aurora paid attention to the sighting reports. Then, on April 9 of that year, reportedly'at 6 a.m., a UFO allegedly slipped from the heavens and exploded in the middle of town. The record of the occasion was compiled by a Dallas newspaper correspondent named F.E. Hayden. 'He apparently got most of his information from Aurora resident T J Wgems. . „ . The latter 'told the "former that the crash was observed and verified by numerous early risers in the community Hayden wrote that the UFO was a space craft, and smashed into property belonging to J S. Proctor, a judge. He quoted Weems as saying the explosion lit up the morning sky, and left debris over three acres. JWeems^added there was-a body among the debris, and it was "not. . . of this world." The body was thought to be the ship's pilot. It was identified as being dressed in a blue uniform, not unlike a sailor suit. Weems told Hayden the corpse was badly mangled, but, happily, "the men of ther community' gathered it up, and it was given a Christian burial in the Aurora cemetery." The grave is said to have be.en small andjound It is also said to have been distinguished with a hand-made stone which was inscribed with a drawing of a cigar- shaped object. . -»Auf6?a4"rigs"idents say the marker was not really handmade, and that the inscription closely resembled the scrape of a plow. The residents concede the crash of 1897 probably occurred But that's as much credence as they'll allow the story of the dead spaceman. They believe the town The cemetery at Au was hit by a meteorite, and Weems and Hayden spaceman is reputed embellished the moment; they say Hayden was a well- own writer of satirical fiction. :al opinion was bulwarked a few years ago by use, a Texas researcher; he dug at the found nothing more extraterrestrial :ence plate. fe spaceman's grave, it's "officially" occupied'Bf' an itinerant named Carr, who dieid of yellow fever. True believers have their own side of it, of course. For one thing, some visitors have reported finding "odd metals" at the crash site. One piece of metal was aluminum, and the oddity is that it was said to be buried too deeply to be of modern origin. Aluminum -w,as not in common use in 1897 f •• Additionally, Uftf.spaceman theory 4s supp'ofted-by the only man in Aurora who personally remembers the crash Charles Stevens was just a child then, but TtXAs '•RESS CLIPPING BUREAU DALLAS Established 1910 Terrell, TX Tribune (Cir. D 5,061) 3> Tom Tiede supposed to have been killed with the nation, and there yTris ;5 another in a series of and then buried for the ages was little pause for non- i cemetery." anicles regarding events in this place. sease. Th^n, on April 9 of „. /e is said to have TOM TIEDE from America 's pastf / The tourists, then, come to that year, reportedly at 6 been small and round. It is find the body, or what's left a'.m., a UFO allegedly also said to have been distin- _AURORA, Texas fNEA) - of it. They search the re- slipped from the heavens \ * guished with a hand-made irere's almost nothing to do ported crash site, on a hill and exploded in the middle \ stone which was inscribed in this north Texas farm behind the gas station, and of town. with a-drawing of a cigar- community. The nearest they study the grave mark- \- shaped object. Aurora resi- city isDallas, 45 miles to the' ers at Aurora's small ceme- The record of the occasion des.*.1' "ay the marker was £ast,Tnd the nearest beach tery. If even a bit of bone can was compiled b/£i Da'las nW! .'colly handmade, and • on the Gulf Coast, down be found, they say, it will newspaper correspondent -^rds "*ic\i> (• The only named F.E. Hayden. He ap- that the inscription closely change the course of human resembled the scrape of a ,-iess in town i<: a service thought. parently got most of his — and it's not open information from Aurora plow. THE WAY IT WAS anymore. A bit of bone? Most locals resident T.J. Weems. The The residents concede the snicker up their sleeves at latter told the former that I C- crash of 1897 probably metals" at the crash site. Vet each summer, when UFO watchers consider Aurora occurred. But that's as •jnencans are touched by the visitors. The opinion the crash was observed and One piece of metal was alu- among townsfolk is that the verified by numerous early a shrine to their convictions. much credence as they'll minum, and the oddity is --arm weather wanderlust, According to published reports allow the story of the dead -•-ndreds of tourists motor • story of the dead spaceman risers in the community. that it was said to be buried is a hoax. At the same time, at the time, a spaceship spaceman. They believe the too deeply to be of modern r.:o Aurora. They bring Hayden wrote that the town was hit by a meteorite, .r.c.r 'u.n glasses, their cam- residents admit the hoax is UFO was a space craft, and allegedly crashed in the middle origin. Aluminum was not in founded on a vague fact; of town at 6 am. on April 9, and Weems and Hayden em- common use in 1897. ^ras and their walking "smashed into property be- bellished the moment; they :"iorts, and tliey stay for a records indicate that some- longing to J.S. Proctor, a 1897. There was a body among Additionally, the space- thing of this sort may indeed say Hayden was a well- man theory is supported by ew hours, or a few jajs, have happened here. judge. He quoted Weems as the debris. Townsfolk burled it known writer of satirical '."c-viling roads a;:d observ- saying the explosion lit up in the town's small cemetery. fiction. the only man in Aurora who •g natives as if it were The year was 1897. And the morning sky, and left personally remembers the though the first flight of the This local opinion was crash. Charles Stevens was " ampico. debris over three acres. bulwarked a few years ago Visi^ht jsijothers was ( still ,• JVeemcflr.Jded there was a just a child then, but he ^ffs '7he> aren't looking for a eight years away, people b> Li. Alfred Krause, a his father saw something "•d time, however. body among the debris, and Texas researcher; he dug at across America were sight- it was "not...of this world." fall into Judge Proctor's 7he> are looV.i^g for the ing propelled objects in the the crash site and found property; and, he adds, •J • :rom outer space. The body was thought to nothing more extraterres- sky. For example, several "be the ship's pilot. It was "There might have been two :"he tourists in Aurora are Texans reported seeing a trial than a 1932 license or three spacemen, I don't ~O watchers They believe identified as being dressed plate. As for the spaceman's cigar-shaped vehicle, lighter 'in a blue uniform, not unlike know." ~ *" y*an_s:r cruicisg^lwv— avc? grave,_it's "officially" occi'^_ _ _No_ one-known.—A.-sd-'ii'S' •* lo r —Hi—Sdiior -'Stri r."SV elnfis^'dlor*' pielT'Dy an itinerant named J cowboy country. Hayden the corpse was unlikely that anyone ever -?r> si s ..; ' they say, a No one in Aurora paid Carr who died of yellow •s=: space - .[> fell from , badly mangled, but, happily, fever. will. The spaceman's grave- attention to th.... e sightin__„ 0g "The men of the community stone was stolen years ago, ": ssy and crashed here; True believers have their and the grave itself has been s pilot of the craft w-as reports. This was a bustling - 'gathered it up, and it was own side of it, of course. For region at the time, growing ,|iven a Christian burial^ erroded and lost. Rest In one thing, some visitors peace, whoever you are. have reported finding "odd (NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN /