Nebraska's 1897 UFO Mystery

In 1897, numerous reports of an unusual phenomenon in the sky described what some thought to be a UFO. A ship with multiple lights, sometimes said to have wings, was spotted at night, beginning in Nebraska and spreading across the United States. What was it? This episode searches for the answer through the 1979 Nebraska History Magazine article, “This Mysterious Light Called an Airship,” by Roger Welsch.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The following episode features ahistoric article from the
Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
valuable insight into the past, may content, expressions, or
viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles

(00:22):
written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
In 1897, numerous reports of an unusual phenomena in the sky
describe what some thought to bea UFOA ship with multiple lights
and sometimes said to have wings, was spotted at night
beginning in Nebraska, then across the United States.

(00:44):
This episode searches for the answer through the 1979 Nebraska
History Magazine article titled This Mysterious Light Called An
Airship by Rodger Welsh. A huge canoe shaped spaceship
like nothing seen before approaches the small Nebraska
town at incredible speed. It's brilliant headlight dazzles

(01:06):
onlookers who stand open mouthedbefore the approach of the
mysterious craft. It suddenly stops in mid air,
moves abruptly up, then down sideways, forward, then backward
at will in defiance of all knownlaws of physics.
Some viewers believe they can hear the murmur of a power
source, and others detect the voices, even the laughter of the

(01:30):
airships passengers. All agree that there is a red
light on the stern of the ship and a row of three lights on
either side, and a dim green light is seen by some.
The lights dim and glare, and intheir reflection the earthlings
can make out the silhouette of four large wings 2 on either
side of the ship's massive body.Suddenly, the craft shoots

(01:54):
upward and disappears toward thehorizon at incredible speed.
The townsmen are left bewildered, mystified, thrilled,
even terrified. Has some new power for flight
been discovered that was previously unknown to
civilization? Is it a mirage or a portent of

(02:14):
the apocalypse? Is it simply an elaborate hoax?
Witnesses of the strange visit take some comfort in knowing
that other Nebraskans have seen the ship.
But they also know that cynics will call them drunks, fools or
even charlatans. They, too, had thought the
earlier sightings of the ship have probably seen a brilliant

(02:37):
evening star, or maybe a vagrantcloud.
But now they know differently. It is no star, no cloud, no
hoax. It is an airship of an
appearance and performance previously unknown or imagined.
Its sources and purpose are unknown.
Whole communities see the ship, use modern communications

(02:59):
systems to trace the craft, but still there are no explanations.
Soon the Midwest is seized with the hysteria.
The craft is seen throughout thecountry and conversations turn
to the mystery ship. The post World War 2 flying
saucer scare. A futuristic television show?
A cheap comic book story? No, indeed, a story straight out

(03:23):
of Nebraska's history. A chapter that provides one of
the most exciting, if not frustrating episodes of that
history. Fiery wheels, airships, flying
saucers, and UFOs have been the subject of reports from Ezekiel
right up to the United States Air Force's Blue Book Project,
an extensive cataloging and analysis program for such

(03:46):
sightings, which lasted under various names from 1947 to 1969,
when it was terminated without convincing conclusions.
Today, J Allen Hynek, a former member of the Blue Book staff
and now one of its fiercest detractors, writes best selling
discussions on the UFO experience.
The phrases he coins, for example, quote close encounters

(04:09):
of the first, second, and third kinds.
End Quote. Have captured the attention of
popular culture markets too. Scarcely a week's newspaper
appear without official denials from world governments of their
role in the UFO phenomenon, reports of further sightings, or
speculations about the origin and nature of the saucers.
The purpose of this investigation, however, is not

(04:32):
to deal with the authenticity oreven the nature of the 1897
sightings, but to treat instead the nature of the newspaper
reports of the period. Charles Dana Wilbur's theory,
Rain follows the plow must be considered as a factor of plains
settlement, whether we now concur with the idea or not.
Similarly, whatever our current opinion of UFOs, we can scarcely

(04:56):
deny that 1897 was a year indelibly marked by reported
sightings of aerial phenomena. If nothing else, these reports
provide particular comfort for those who insist that there is
indeed nothing new under the sun.
The strange sequence of events opened on February 2nd, 1897 in

(05:16):
Hastings, where it was written. Quote.
Several Hastings people report that an airship or something of
the kind has been sailing aroundin the air West of this city.
It was first noticed sometime last fall when it was seen
floating in the air about 500 feet above ground, and after
standing nearly still for about 30 minutes it began to circle

(05:37):
about and then took a northerly direction for about two miles,
after which it returned to its starting place and sank into
oblivion. Since that time it has not been
seen until last Sunday evening, when it was observed standing
nearly still a few miles West ofHastings and seemingly about 800
feet in the air. At first sight it has the

(06:00):
appearance of an immense star, but after a closer observation
the powerful light shows by its color to be artificial.
It's certainly must be illuminated by powerful electric
Dynamos. For the light sent forth by it,
it is wonderful. At 9:30 last Monday night the
large glaring light was seen to circle around for a few minutes

(06:21):
and then take a northerly direction for about 3 miles.
Then it stood perfectly still for about 5 minutes and then
descended for about 200 feet, circling as it traveled in the
most remarkable speed for about two miles, and then slowing up
as it circled about for fully 15minutes, when it began to lower
and disappear as mysteriously asit had made its appearance.

(06:45):
A close watch is being kept for its reappearance.
End Quote. The Hastings sighting was first
reported in Nebraska, but not the first in the country.
A mysterious airship had been reported in Sacramento, CA the
year before and it had never been satisfactorily explained.
The February 3rd comment in the Norfolk News attributed the

(07:07):
unusual aerial sightings by hasting citizens to excessive
drinking. They wrote quote.
It would be interesting to know just what brand of liquor the
Hastings correspondent drinks that enables him to see airships
carrying powerful lights gyrating about through the
atmosphere. It must be a remarkable brand of

(07:28):
goods and if it would have the effect of enabling one to see
his pet mortgage floating away, we would be glad to try a few
gallons or so. End Quote.
On February 5th, 1897, the OmahaDaily Bee reported that the ship
had been seen at in a Vale about40 miles South of Hastings.

(07:49):
It had been spotted several times, once by a pious party of
10 returning from a prayer meeting, and this obviously was
a slap at the Norfolk cynic who accused those who believe they
had seen the craft of drinking. This sighting was more detailed,
including a description of the lights along the side of the
ship. The onlookers heard the sounds

(08:10):
of the engine and voices of laughter of the passengers,
observers reported. Quote.
It seemed to be conical shaped and perhaps 30 or 40 feet in
length with a bright headlight and six smaller lights 3 on a
side and seemed to have two setsof wings on a side with a large
fan shaped rudder. End Quote.

(08:33):
The modern reader might assume that Nebraskans were seeing a
dirigible balloon, but such craft were only in the
development stages in Europe andthe East, and could scarcely
have been independently developed on the plains or have
flown there on a jaunt. The speeds and control of the
craft as described in the reports were not to be reached

(08:54):
by engineers for some time round.
Hot air balloons were well knownat the time and had been used in
the Civil War 30 years before, but in no case did they have the
kind of maneuverability of this ship that could circle, make
right turns, fly upward, attain great speeds, and hover
motionlessly. On February 8th, 1897, the York

(09:18):
Daily Times reported that an honest citizen and his daughter
had spotted the lights of the mystery ship and called in a
witness who swore on a Bible that he had seen what he had
claimed. Four days later, the Falls City
Journal noted A spaceship reported from Elwood, KS and
editorialized Quote, our people never saw such things in

(09:40):
Nebraska, End Quote, suggesting that the mania had not reached
any sizable proportions in its first two weeks.
On the same day, the Hastings Tribune wished that someone in
the area would create one of therumored spaceships, which
scientists theorized was possible.
Next, the ship turned up at low altitude over Omaha.

(10:04):
While nothing could be discernedregarding the form of the
airship, the lights were in evidence.
It was seen by several people, the chief witness being Thomas
Hazel of 26th and H Streets. Quote.
Who holds a responsible positionwith the Hammond Packing Company
and is considered trustworthy inevery respect?
End Quote The Beatrice Daily News reported on February 16th

(10:27):
that five men had spotted the ship over that city that night
before moving slowly and very perceptibly to the West.
However, the light hearted nature of the report suggests
that the rumors were still not being taken seriously by all
editors. Quote.
Dick Grant has come perilously near a description of the

(10:48):
machine in solemnly asserting that it had a tail.
Walt Scott thinks it had two eyes, while Charlie Dempster
will not venture more than one whopping big eye.
End Quote. The craft now returned to
central Nebraska, and appeared nearly every night between
Hastings and North Platte. One report had sparks falling

(11:11):
from its sides that at North Platte and another alluded to
the California ship, suggesting that this might be the same
craft which had crossed the mountains, a feat no balloon of
the time could have accomplished.
City Clerk Charlie Prescott of Carney spotted the ship and
reported it to the Daily Hub editor, who published the report

(11:31):
on February 19th but refused to take it seriously, noting that
he had once been gullible himself.
However, the same editor swallowed his pride the next day
and ran a story in serious intent that the ship had been
spotted by reputable people and there could no longer be doubt
that something was paying nocturnal aerial visits to the

(11:52):
town. Indeed, sightings seem to have
affected even social life. Several airship parties will
watch for the strange phenomena each evening from now on in an
effort to be made to get more accurate descriptions.
Now reports were coming in frequently enough and with
sufficient reliability that theyhad to be taken seriously.

(12:15):
Efforts were now begun to explain the phenomena.
It was written. Quote.
William Weidner is another candidate for fame.
He has come forward with one more explanation in reference to
the mysterious light down at Juanita, about 55 miles distant
from York, there is a station agent who is such in name only

(12:37):
in as much as his railroad duties take but a small part of
his time. This man the neighbors call a
kite crank. He flies kites of a new and
remarkable kind, known to kite specialists as box kites.
They are built on an entirely different plan than for which
small boys usually construct high Flyers.

(12:58):
They are tailless, and look at adistance more like a box than a
kite, but a closer examination would reveal considerable
differences between them and boxes.
The affairs, in short, are merely a series of planes built
one over the other, and which are so arranged as to afford at
least possible resistance to theair from an upward pressure.

(13:20):
The things soar aloft with wonderful ease.
At night the kite flyer attachesa light to a kite and sends it
up to startle and puzzle people for miles and miles around.
The nature of this light is not very well known.
It is intensely brilliant and, Mr. Wiedner says, looks much
like an arc light. Whether or not this light could

(13:42):
be seen from Juanita by people of York is a question.
But there is a possibility, and a strong one too, that a bright
light raised to an elevation of a couple 1000 feet could be seen
over 50 miles on a bright night,although it's apparent elevation
from here would not be so great as stated by those who saw the
light a few nights ago. End Quote.

(14:05):
Nor, one might add, would it explain fantastic speeds and
traverse across the zenith. Even though the spaceship matter
had begun to snowball in 16 dayssince the first report, some
editors continue to use the ideaas a target for their wit.
The editor of the Carney Daily Hub, for example, wrote that now

(14:26):
the light in the sky was seen every night over the city and
remained unexplained. But he also wrote, quote, Chief
of Police Julian is the last gentleman who claims to have
seen the airship. He says he saw it rise in the
West, sail toward the east and light near Durley Hall.
Janitor Eck refused to confirm the story of his chief and the

(14:49):
night police object to making affidavits to anything the chief
says. End Quote The Beatrice Daily
Express carried a story about a second sighting in that city on
February 23rd. Writing Quote.
It has the appearance of a greatly magnified star, with
luminous rays shooting out unevenly across the disk.

(15:09):
There is no suggestion of an airship about it, but it has
rather the resemblance of the frame of an open umbrella.
Without the cover it is Venus, and the swaying motion and
peculiar rays are the results ofatmospheric conditions.
End Quote. On February 26th the Grand
Island Independent carried an article from another sighting

(15:31):
there, but explained it as the brilliant showing of Venus, the
Evening Star. The Independent reported that
the airship had attracted much attention, but the Hastings
Tribune had the same date. Scoffed.
Quote. Oh, that airship people see on
high at night isn't in it with the midnight slaying crowd.
End Quote. Now the craze was three weeks

(15:54):
old, but there had been over 20 appearances of the craft
reported in southern Nebraska and in northern Kansas.
Editors felt obliged to print the reports and rumors, but
described the luminous objects as kites or the planet Venus.
They did not like the feel of the stories, however, and
continued to balance news reports with ridicule.

(16:16):
Immediately following an articleabout a sighting in Carney, The
Hub, tongue in cheek, ran this on March 4th.
Quote. While on the question of strange
lights, the Hub reproduces an extract from a letter published
in Good faith by the Women's Gazette of Beatrice by Anton
Pallardy, a scientist from the Black Hills who recently had

(16:39):
been visiting in Beatrice. February 26th, 1897.
To the editor. The airship which has been seen
over Grand Island, Hastings and Beatrice is no myth.
It is a reality where it was built.
I dare not tell you more than that your readers know that to
the northwest of Nebraska is a weird, lonely, and strange

(17:03):
country known as the Malvay Terez.
There are canyons, caverns, nooks, and crannies in these
Badlands that are so secret and remote from the ordinary
pathways that men can and have lived there uninterruptedly for
years, with nothing to molest ormake afraid.
It is from these mauve Therese the airship comes.

(17:26):
With my three companions. I have sailed over Nebraska in a
line from the Forks of the Plat along the Little Blue Valley,
and thence to Manhattan, KS, generally at night, returning to
the move Torres in the early morning.
It was necessary that we should become familiar with the earth
configurations lying under our aerial track.

(17:47):
Hence I am in your city to make some necessary investigations in
order that we may obtain a titleto the route over which we
propose to operate our ship. For prudent reasons I dare not
describe our ship in detail to you.
Those who have seen it know its general appearance to be
something like a very large umbrella with a transparent

(18:09):
covering. This large umbrella is
immediately above a pair of wings.
These wings are expanded and contracted at the pleasure of
the engineer. Suspended above and attached to
the wings are two very thin aluminum balloons containing the
new gas helium. Immediately between the wings is

(18:29):
another smaller umbrella like affair that can be made to
revolve very rapidly for a purpose I dare not disclose to
you. This, then, is the airship in
brief, and its description will correspond with the observations
of those who have obtained a good look at it.
Sign. Anton Pallardy.
End Quote. The March 2nd, 1897 Omaha World

(18:53):
Herald carried a series of humorous explanations from
various walks of life. A jailer said.
Quote, there's different kinds of the red liquor, that which
makes you see snakes and that which makes you see balloons and
airships. And quote, a railroader who felt
that someone had probably mistaken train lights for a
vision, and a cowboy who felt that some fellow must have just

(19:16):
wandered off the range into a Buffalo wallowing got a little
mixed up on the way as the herd was drifting.
The greatest cause for skepticism was that no one had
seen this airship on the ground and that it only appeared at
night. The Adams County Democrats said.
Quote, the airship, which is reported to have been seen by so

(19:38):
many people, does not materialize very fast.
It is funny what some people seeafter dark.
We have heard of people seeing snakes, but seeing airships is a
whole new deal and must be caused by water diluted 40 rod.
End Quote. There had now been nearly 30
sightings. The Lincoln State Journal noted

(20:00):
that some residents felt the airship was a sign that the
world was coming to an end. Serious reports were frequently
accompanied with the statement, like that in the March 5th
Hastings Tribune quote. We know Bert to be a total
abstainer, and we don't believe that he could stand on his head
for five hours. End Quote.

(20:21):
The editor of the Beatrice DailyExpress heaped ridicule on the
editor of the Wymore, Arbor State, for giving credence to
the rumors. Quote.
The Arbor State of Wymore swallows the whole of the hoax
and implicitly believes in the airship, even going so far as to
profess to have seen it. Believing all these things, the
editor of the Arbor State has the audacity to write editorials

(20:44):
on gumption. End Quote.
One gets the impression that newspapers were caught in a
dilemma. They didn't want to believe the
nonsense. And yet there were reports from
reliable witnesses. The Lexington Pioneer started a
story on March 6 in a way that was clearly meant to draw forth
from the sophisticated reader. Unknowing smile, they wrote.

(21:07):
Quote. Al Abel.
The grocery men alleges that he saw the airship Tuesday at night
last. It had a brilliant headlight and
was the site to inspire one withterror.
Al was so overcome with astonishment and wonder that he
walked off the sidewalk near hisresidence and tore off the bow
and stern of his pantaloons. End Quote.

(21:29):
However, a few lines later, the writer feels compelled to note
that all the people who had seenthe wonderful ship are strictly
temperate in their habits, and their stories ought to be
credible. Now the stories began to pour in
from across the state. McCook, Fremont, Clarks and
Papillion cynics became converts, it was written.

(21:51):
Quote, people may talk as they please about the strange light
that has been reported seen in the sky so often of late and
claim that those who have seen it don't know a star from an
airship until they are Gray headed.
But they won't make CW Hodges believe anything of the kind
until Thursday morning. He was one of the scoffers and

(22:13):
didn't take much stock in airships, but he talks about it
now in a serious manner. He has seen something himself.
What it was he doesn't pretend to say, other than a very bright
light, and is now willing to believe that other people have
not been fooled by the stars. End Quote.
The descriptions of the airship remain constant through these

(22:36):
first five weeks of reports. No one else had heard noises
from the ship, but the headlightand the side lights remain.
It's still hovered and darted and moved with great speed.
The ship was seen moving toward all quarters of the compass
upwind as fast as downwind. The author plotted on a map
reported flight directions from the 150 sightings used for this

(23:00):
paper, and there was no pattern other than that most flights
were toward the Northwest. There were plenty of
explanations, but none of them very plausible.
Quote A gentleman said that lastyear someone had predicted that
Carney would be destroyed by an aerial visitor who had dropped
down from the clouds, begin to work in certain streets and

(23:22):
exterminate the town. The name of the false prophet
was not given, but the fact of such idol prophecies are
repeated shows of what strange speculations are indulged in
over the strange light scene. All descriptions practically
agree, a fact which would tend to convince the skeptical that
there must be something besides bad whiskey in the airship

(23:44):
theory. During the past few months there
have been several reports regarding an individual in the
state who is working on an airship.
The inventor has been located somewhere near Hastings, but he
has succeeded in keeping his identity pretty well concealed.
They say he does not want his airship invention to be stolen
by unprincipled individuals. Some declare the spaceship

(24:08):
portends dire disaster for the country.
JH McCarty of the Night Tower atthe Portal station is firmly
convinced that the light seen inthe east is either either a
mammoth kite or an airship of some kind.
End Quote. Nor did the scoffers relent in
their attacks. It was written.
Quote A reporter wishing to get an idea of the airship from an

(24:30):
expert this morning interviewed Tom Cass and found him a walking
encyclopedia of knowledge on thesubject of aerial travel.
Learning that he was to be interviewed, Mr. Cass threw
caution to the winds and talked as freely and unreservedly as a
phonograph. Did you ever see an airship?
Queried the reporter. Never in my waking hours, was

(24:52):
the reply. What do you do?
Should you see one? Well, that depends.
If I were near a newspaper man, I would keep my mouth
continually closed. If you saw one, do you think you
would do anything you might afterwards be sorry for?
Was the question the reply. I might.

(25:12):
If I should see an airship with snakes for passengers, I would
probably take the Keely cure. Well, what if there were no
snakes? I would question the integrity
of my eyesight. What do you think this airship
is that everybody is seeing? And talking of one of Norris
Brown's air castles that floatedbeyond his reach and got away,

(25:35):
Do you think anyone has ever seen it?
Yes. Charlie Bessie saw it.
Do you want this interview published?
No End Quote. Father William Rigg, professor
of astronomy at Creighton University, Omaha, argued Quote.
I am satisfied in my own mind that the alleged airship seen
about a month ago was the planetVenus.

(25:57):
I remember the night very well. It was cold and the clouds were
being blown along in riffs, and this will account for the
deception of the star appearing to move.
The last airship was undoubtedlya balloon, which some wag had
sent up to enjoy the fun the next morning.
It does not seem probable that when such men as Maxim and

(26:19):
others who have been working on the theory of aerial navigation
for years and so far have failedto solve the Riddle, that some
fellow in the backwoods has beenable to solve the matter.
End Quote. The airship had now been
cruising Nebraska skies for two months, and new sightings
scarcely raided a column inch. The World Herald jokingly

(26:41):
suggested that perhaps the con man who had last year built
several 100 people of $0.25 eachon the pretense a flying in an
airship had repented and was fulfilling his pledge, but was
afraid to land until his safety from the mob was assured.
From the Auburn Granger, April 9th, 1897, came a story that is

(27:04):
baffling in light of some of thefact that the author's name is
given and there is attestation of his character.
They wrote quote, James Southard, a farmer on the
bottoms north of Peru, was in Auburn on Wednesday and made
this office a call. Mr. South or tells a story which
a great many will doubt, and were it not for his reputation

(27:26):
as a truthful man, we would hardly care to repeat the story.
He has resided in Peru precinct for the past 20 years and has
always been known as a truthful and honest citizen.
Sometime during Monday a number of cows belonging to Mr.
Southard strayed away from his farm and were not missed until
evening. A hunt for the missing cattle

(27:48):
resulted in Mr. Southard findinghimself several miles from home
when darkness came on. He soon became lost and wandered
about for some time in the densegrowth of the willows, becoming
all the time more confused as tohis whereabouts.
About two O clock in the morninghe saw a light on a bar in the

(28:08):
river, and finding a place wherethe bar ran into the bank, he
made his way to the light. Imagine his surprise when he
found that he had stumbled on tothe airship which has attracted
so much attention, and has been the occasion of a great deal of
speculation as to what it reallywas.
Of late a number of men were moving about the ship or

(28:29):
machine, and seemed considerablysurprised when Mr. Southard
appeared. Nevertheless, they were nothing
loath to talk when he had explained how he came to be
there. Something had gone wrong with
the Searchlight on the ship, andnot daring to proceed in the
darkness, the ship had been brought down to the ground.
It is a cigar shaped about 200 feet long and 50 feet across at

(28:52):
the widest point, gradually narrowing to a point on both
ends. Mr. Southard was allowed to
examine as much as he pleased, and all his questions were
answered. At each end of the ship is a
large steel snail shell shaped device.
This, he was informed, was the apparatus by which the strange
machine was propelled. Large gasoline engines caused

(29:16):
whichever one of these in use torevolve rapidly and to bore onto
the air, dragging or pulling theship along at a wonderful rate
of speed. The craft is loaded with several
tons of dynamite and is bound for Cuba.
Spanish troops are being massed in the cities for transportation
to the Philippine Islands, and it proposed to sail over these

(29:38):
cities and drop the dynamite into camps of the soldiers and
on the transport ships. Besides destroying the camps and
transport ships, it is proposed to destroy the Spanish Navy.
They expect to sail or fly for Cuba yet this week and reach
there by Sunday or Monday. When they do, Spain is likely to
hear something drop. End Quote.

(29:59):
This is the most extended and bizarre explanation of the craft
and the most detailed sighting. One must admire the ingenuity of
either the spaceships engineers or Mr. Southard's imagination,
for it was not until a year later that airship engineers in
France used a 3 1/2 horsepower gasoline engine.

(30:20):
The techniques of bombardment from airships, as described by
Southard, were not to mature foranother 20 years.
We are thus faced with the same dilemma confronting Nebraska's
editors. It seemed unlikely that such an
airship could have appeared in Peru, NE, and yet it seemed
unlikely that a farmer could have come up with such an

(30:41):
accurate description without prior knowledge.
Perhaps Southridge reports were inspired by writers like Jules
Verne, whose works were widely circulated in 1897.
In April, there were additional sightings northward to the Black
Hills, eastward to Chicago, and South into Kansas.
The cynics and mirth makers smirked, requesting samples of

(31:05):
the whiskey that brought such hallucinations.
The Wilsonville Review editor heard a voice from a spaceship
shout. Weaver ET Roth erbecubus.
This transcribes to subscribe for the review when spelled
backwards. An open letter was sent to the
Omaha Trans Mississippi Exposition stating quote.

(31:27):
My identity up to date has been unknown but I will come to the
front row IE if you guarantee me3,700,000 square feet of space.
I am the famous airship constructor and will guarantee
you positively of this fact in aweek.
The airship is my own invention and I am in Omaha.

(31:49):
Man I wish it to be held as an Omaha invention.
It will carry 20 people to a height from 10,000 to 20,000
feet. I truly believe I have the
greatest invention and discoveryever made.
We'll see you April 17th, 1897 at the headquarters.
Signed AC Clinton. End Quote.

(32:10):
The exposition directors took the note with a grain of salt,
but did show up at the suggestedmeeting place.
AC Clinton, signer of the note, did not appear.
Throughout April, descriptions of the airship remained fairly
constant. A few saw flames and fireballs
or heard muffled engines, but usually the ship was canoe

(32:30):
shaped, had the customary 4 wings, moved smoothly, quickly
and apparently under full control of the pilot.
The Hastings Republican editor remained caustic.
Opening 1 news story with the line quote.
Another man has had snakes in his head and is seeing airships
and other things. End Quote.

(32:51):
But in Omaha, World Herald editorial of April 10th gave
some credence to the airship phenomenon.
They wrote quote. A number of newspapers that are
now making merry over the foolishness of the people who
have mistaken Venus for an airship may soon be called upon
to announce that they knew all this time that an airship had

(33:13):
been perfected. In this day and age it is not
the part of wisdom to decry an alleged invention.
Bulk called Cyrus McCormick a fool when they learned that he
was trying to invent a machine that would bind grain as fast as
cut. The man who invented the
telephone was laughed at when hesaid he had a machine that would

(33:33):
carry articulation over hundredsof miles of wire.
And the world stopped whirling when Edison invented the
phonograph. Now we have the kinetoscope, the
teleautograph, the electric motor, and the hundred other
things that are forbearers wouldhave thought impossible or of
the devil. And why not an airship?
Of course, Maxim the great inventor has failed to make a

(33:56):
successful one, but our greatestinventions were not made by
skilled inventors. That mysterious light may be the
long sought for navigator of theair.
If it is, the fact is not surprising.
End Quote. The population of young Nebraska
was only a bit over 1,000,000 in1897, and the fact that several

(34:17):
1000 people had now seen the mysterious ship represents A
substantial proportion. Every day the newspapers carried
notices of new visits to towns that had previously not had the
chance to view the wander, whileother towns like Hastings and
Omaha had sufficient reason to establish a schedule so common
was the night visitor. It was clearly established that

(34:40):
some airship sightings were purehoaxes, for example, the Wymore
Arbor State, which had previously been a firm proponent
of the reality of the craft, emitted on April 16th.
Quote The airship seen by the Exarbons at Omaha Monday night
is now declared a balloon, and the guilty man who sent it up
had confessed to the joke. End Quote The Fremont Herald

(35:03):
noted on April 18th. Quote It has developed that the
Waterloo, IA airship is a most cleverly constructed fake, about
40 feet long, 20 feet wide, 12 feet high, put up by a practical
joker during the past week and brought out Thursday night.
End Quote Perhaps the most difficult task for the
researcher is separating tongue in cheek newspaper reports from

(35:25):
those intended to be objective. For example, the following
report from the April 16th, 1897issue of the Albion Weekly News
is clearly a spoof. They wrote.
Quote. Last Sunday Burt Disher and
Marcus Bullock went to Cedar Rapids to endeavor to find out,
if possible, at what point the Flying Machine landed after

(35:47):
leaving Saint Edward on Thursdaynight.
Mr. Disher is very reticent in regard to the matter, but Mr.
Bullock, who likes nothing better than to see his name in
print, gave us a history of the trip.
Soon after leaving the Rapids tocome home about 3:00, when about
3 miles this side of that place,we observed a bright light in
the sky which seemed to be rapidly nearing the ground.

(36:10):
It soon began to take on form and finally we could see what
the thing was like. It was about 37 feet and three
inches long and 11 feet and 13 inches wide.
In shape it looked a great deal like Jake Long's and Connie
Egan's hats. It struck the ground about 3
inches from us and we went over to where it was.

(36:31):
When we arrived all we could find was a man standing there.
We asked him where his airship was, and putting his hand in his
vest pocket, he brought out a queer looking arrangement which
he informed us was the ship, andthat whenever he landed he
compressed the machine so that people could not find it.
Bert gave him a cigarette and wecame home.

(36:53):
End Quote. On the other hand, what is 1 to
make of a report like the following from the Table Rock?
Argus, April 16th, 1897. They wrote.
The mysterious airship was seen in Table Rock Tuesday night by
reputable citizens. It was going from the southeast
to the northwest and seem to be about 20 by 40 feet in size and

(37:17):
so brilliantly lighted that it lighted the sky for a great
distance around it over Table Rock.
It was going very slow, seemingly almost at a
standstill, as though something unusual was transpiring on it.
There were windows in the side, and the passengers seem to be
hurrying to and fro about its compartment.

(37:38):
Just how many persons were aboard could not be ascertained
even with the aid of a powerful glass brought into operation.
But there were at least 2 ladiesin the company, one of whom
seemed to have her hands fastened as though chained to
the seat and the other seemed tobe waiting on her, while the
figure of a man holding a huge revolver and sitting directly

(38:00):
opposite her left the impressionon the minds of onlookers that
there was foul play aboard. Suddenly the windows darkened
and at the same instant the shipshot out of space so rapidly
that in the space of a few seconds it was out of sight and
the awe stricken crowd looked ateach other terror stricken.
It is safe to say most of them fell into a disturbed slumber

(38:23):
when they went to sleep, while visions of the beautiful
prisoner on the mysterious airship build their dreams.
Those who vouch for this story are among the most reliable
citizens and are not given to imbibing bug juice and lay no
claims to vivid imaginations. And the Argus gives the story
for what it's worth. End Quote.
Checking only a limited number of Nebraska papers.

(38:45):
Between April 16th through the 22nd, sightings were reported at
Clark's Clay Center, Havelock, Harrison, Lyons, Hastings, NE
City, North Platte, Portal, Juanita and Franklin NE Vasila,
Waterloo and Jefferson in Iowa Pier, South Dakota, and one
location in Illinois. Papers consulted were the Omaha

(39:08):
World Herald and B Hastings Republican, Nebraska City News,
North Platte Telegraph, University Place Times, and the
Juanita Herald. The phenomena was now nearly
three months and 150 sightings old, and while the reports of
the craft were proliferating, explanations were keeping pace.

(39:29):
Stromsburg had a visit from an aircraft on April 13th, but the
excitement died down when it wasfound that pranksters had
launched a hot air balloon quotewith a rod across the bottom to
which were attached to lanterns and quote.
It was worth noting that witnesses claimed that they had
seen the huge body and the rudder and wings of the craft,

(39:49):
as had been reported at other sightings.
Witnesses of the visit to Harrison near the Wyoming border
on April 18th reportedly were able to discern the form of the
ship and could so clearly see two passengers that they
tentatively identified 1 as Albert Whipple, who had
disappeared from Crawford after robbing the Crawford Baking

(40:10):
Company. Whipple had told a friend that
he was working on an airship andthat someday he would startle
the world. Many believed this solved the
mystery that it was really an airship, and that it's inventor,
a fugitive from justice, was afraid to land in daylight and
make his wonderful invention known.
Lest anyone be impressed by the certainty of this account, it

(40:33):
should be noted that another witness asserted that the ship
resembled a huge man with wings.Others were so certain that it
was a metaphor that a party set out to the Butte, where it had
disappeared, to search for the pieces.
By now the existence of something had become so
accepted. The editor of the Fremont Herald
read another's assertion that there was no ship and everybody

(40:57):
should have known it, and wondered what he had been
drinking. But thousands of Midwesterners
who believe wholeheartedly in the mystery airship must have
done so more in spite of plausible explanations than
because of them. They wanted to believe, and
reports continued to pour in with bewilderingly diversity.

(41:17):
The North Platte Daily Telegraphcarried an article on April
20th, 1897, that the airship hadagain been spotted and an
explanation was advanced for itspresence.
John Lemasters, a local Craftsman and inventor, told
Telegraph reporters that he had been visited a week before by
two mysterious looking gentlemenwho made a bargain with him to

(41:40):
devise a working model of an idea that they had wanted to
enlarge on. Lemasters agreed to the
arrangement and in secrecy they drew their plans for him and he
executed them in miniature. Described by Lemasters as a box
3/4 inch square with four windows, one on each side of
red, green, amber and white colored glass.

(42:02):
Over each window and arm 6 inches long, projected to which
was attached a fan or wing like attachment.
The men complimented Lemasters on his work and lack of
unwelcome inquisitiveness. They packed the box silently,
folded their tent, and disappeared.
The Lincoln Evening Post on April 21st, 1897, proclaimed

(42:24):
that the Riddle had been solved and that the countless thousands
who have watched the Ariel specter in its travels over the
Mississippi Valley can feel assured that they were not
suffering hallucination of sightor guilty of drinking a poor
brand of bitters. The Post had come into
possession of a letter dated April 20th, 1897, addressed to

(42:46):
the editor into whose hands thisnote falls, and sent from the
airship Pegasus. It read Quote.
The great problem of aerial navigation is at last solved,
and a mighty stride forward is at hand for humanity.
After having traveled twice across the American continent, I

(43:07):
have completed the half of the third journey from the southern
part of West Virginia to the Pacific Coast.
I do not wish to describe the mechanical workings of my air
machine until I file letters patent in Washington and the
larger cities of Europe. Suffice at this time to say that
the prime sustaining agency is along Oval balloon pointed at

(43:29):
both ends and containing 30,000 cubic feet of a certain gas, not
hydrogen. The whole airship wane when
balloon inflated not more than 2500 lbs with a supporting power
of 1200. After having worked on for
almost three years on my place in southern West Virginia,

(43:49):
thought to be a crazy recluse bythe simple Mountaineers, I have
been rewarded beyond all of my most sanguine hopes.
In the length of time that I have been afloat, about 42 days,
I have lived seemingly a whole century of ordinary life.
Nor would I forgo this rapturousdelight for that of a whole
century of ordinary existence. At noon today I rose to an

(44:14):
elevation of nearly 2500 feet insearch of a more direct current,
but found none so favorable as the one I'm in now.
I can choose my current, and should I find all against me, I
can make good headway with the propeller.
I experience at times considerable discomfort with the
cold and dampness, but do not find any difficulty in breathing

(44:37):
at the high altitudes, with the exception of a slight
constriction of the chest. I do not approach the earth
except during the night time. Sometimes passing over cities
and towns. The people seem to catch sight
of the ship when I drift near the earth.
I wonder what they think it is. Do they realize that it is the
Pegasus, the first to navigate space?

(44:59):
Signed JF Califan, captain of the Pegasus.
End Quote. The envelope in which the note
came had the request written on it that it be delivered to the
editor of the largest newspaper in whatever town that it
happened to be. Since it had been mailed at
10:30 that morning, the editor assumed that the envelope had

(45:19):
been found and mailed earlier that day.
The writing was written hurriedly in pencil, but, as the
editor observed, showed the captain to be thoroughly
educated. Another smaller note, tucked
into a corner of the envelope, was in a feminine hand quote,
evidently put in without the captain knowing it.

(45:40):
It read darkly. Another letter is dropped,
haunted, but nothing more was found.
Unregenerate skeptics continued to suggest that whatever airship
there might be was made of such stuff as came out of a whiskey
bottle, while others found the occasion to lampoon Nebraska's
rising Democratic politician. They said the craft was a

(46:02):
project of the government, most likely buoyed by hot air
generated by such experts as William Jennings Bryan.
The Ainsworth Star journal of April 22nd, 1897, anticipated
crop dusters by some decades in suggesting possible agricultural
applications of such an aircraft, they wrote.
Quote, don't get too high from the ground or let your machine

(46:25):
run faster than a mile a second.You may not hit the right spot
when sewing grain. Don't sew on days when the wind
is blowing harder than at a rateof a mile a minute, or your
grain may drop on someone else'sfarm.
All fields should be at least 5 miles long and six rods wide.
By making them in that shape, you can save time and seating.

(46:47):
Never use less than 12 cultivators or about 10 disc
harrows at one time. In that way, by using log chains
and fastening your cultivators to your airship, you can put in
your crop by making one round trip.
The whole thing may be accomplished by one man, 12
cigars and a pint of whiskey. No stop is needed for food or

(47:08):
water. End Quote.
And the April 22nd, 1897 Northern Nebraska Journal of
Ponca kept its readers abreast of the controversy by publishing
abstracts of editorial comment from daily newspapers around the
country, some of its scathing, none of it written by true
believers. While the cynics became more

(47:30):
vocal, the believers became morecredulous.
The disclosure of hoaxes now andthen must have disillusioned a
few proponents of the yes, thereare so airships faction, but
there is evidence that occasionally scoffers saw the
light. Written Quote.
For some time the papers have been given accounts of the

(47:50):
airship floating through space in different parts of the
country. We have read these accounts and
in our superior wisdom laughed at the idea of people being so
far carried away by their imagination as to mistake a
brilliant star for an airship. But pride goeth before a fall,
and we are humiliated, for out of the mouths of our own people

(48:12):
we are condemned. On Tuesday night, the mysterious
airship was seen hovering over our little city by several
citizens. End Quote.
The April 25th, 1897 issue of the Omaha World Herald might as
well have been labeled Airship Edition, for it carried 3 major
and totally contradictory articles on the airship mystery.

(48:33):
The first, issued by His Royal Majesty King Exarbin, the third
King of Quivaria, the Omaha's fictional monarch, pronounced
the aerial light indeed real andfabricated by his court for the
wonder of his subjects. His Sublime Majesty said it was
of aluminum and could carry 20 men.

(48:53):
The second, a more serious treatment of the phenomenon,
recalled that a Clinton, a case inventor by nature, violin maker
by necessity, had two years previously submitted to
prominent Omahans plans for an airship and power source, which
he now obviously put into application.
The World Herald noted the similarity between his name and

(49:15):
that of AC Clinton, an applicantto Omaha's Trans Mississippi
Exposition for space for his airship, and suggested that the
letter had perhaps been genuine.The third article in the World
Herald carries an account of a flying machine that is more
easily disposed of. It read Quote in the office of

(49:36):
GW Suex, the Omaha patent solicitor, may have seen plans
of an airship that, it would seem, very nearly solves the
problem of aerial navigation. The invention is that of Henry
Heinz, of Elkton, SD. In this connection it would be
not at all strange if it turned out that the people of Nebraska

(49:57):
reported to have seen an airship, had really seen the
Heinz airship, as Elkton is little more than 200 miles from
Omaha. The invention, as described by
Mr. Suex is thought to be very nearly duplicated, though
mechanical means the flight of abird.
The invention embodies an elongated aerial car, entirely

(50:18):
enclosed, provided with a steam engine to drive a shaft provided
with a buoyant propeller. Extending upward from this
aerial car are 10 hollow posts which are secured at their upper
ends to an elongated cigar shaped balloon which is to be
propelled point forward. Upon these 10 posts are 10
parachutes so arranged that theyreciprocate in a vertical plane.

(50:42):
They are in belt connection witha driving shaft within the car
and are made to operate alternately.
It would not be at all surprising if inventor Heinz had
constructed an airship which could be made commercially and
profitable. End Quote.
Yes, it would have been surprising the solicitors
enthusiasm to the contrary, manyimaginative airship builders

(51:05):
applied this principle to various craft and some of them
attained A heady altitude of 12 inches in between the bone
jarring Bronco like leaps that the vertically driven Pistons
occasioned. And a few managed to bounce 10
or 15 feet in random directions before the navigator decided to
abandon the craft and rescue hisspine, or before the would be

(51:28):
aircraft collapsed in a jerking pile of broken machinery.
The airship dominated conversation, political,
religious, social, military and casual.
In Grand Island, it was suggested that the city siren be
blown at the next sighting to alert the entire population.
The crowning of new nights in the pageantry of Ex Arbin and

(51:48):
Omaha centered on the airship theme.
The Democrat leaning World Herald theorized that the reason
the craft never landed was that it had failed to find a good
Western Republican. For the election of 1900, the
Hastings Daily Republican suggested that the airship be
added to Uncle Sam's Navy, in view of the fact that it had

(52:08):
never yet run aground. The Beaver Valley Tribune,
apparently dissatisfied with thestate government, reported that
the airship was seen in Lincoln,and the man who was engineering
the green light held his nose asthey passed over the Capitol
building. An Arkansas preacher, according
to the Fremont Herald, said thatthe airship was the temple of

(52:28):
the Tabernacle of the testimony,and that the third Angel is now
pouring out from his vial upon the rivers and the fountains of
the water. This explained to his
satisfaction. Recent floods prolonged and
clear sightings of the craft in Nebraska city's Bluffs provided
new grist for the enthusiasts mill they wrote.

(52:48):
Quote Instead of being cigar or balloon shape, it is said to be
the exact shape of a shad minus head and tail.
The metal is aluminum bound around within thin strips of
steel. On each side of this are two
large wings which are fixed to knuckle and socket joints.
The wings can be moved up or down, backward or forward, or in

(53:09):
any direction. This makes the ship rise or fall
without any loss of gas. 2 motors, one electric and the
other NAFTA, give the motive power.
It is said that from the stern there is a propeller at least
nine feet in diameter, which hasa maximum revolution of 900
turns a minute. The shad shaped portion is
filled with hydrogen gas, havinga pressure of 27 lbs and the

(53:32):
lifting capacity of 1800 lbs. The passenger car underneath the
ship is 9 feet long, 4 feet wideand three feet deep.
It is made of bamboo and aluminum strips which combine
strength and lightness. The navigator is said to carry
provisions in the shape of canned goods and compressed
biscuits. Aluminum vessels comprise the

(53:52):
culinary utensils. Several presumably truthful
citizens of that section who were in the city today have
given the foregoing account of the vessel.
They say that they came upon thevessel resting on top of a bluff
in a cleared place in the timber6 miles South of the city, last
Wednesday night. Two men were at work on it and

(54:13):
explained that they had been compelled to return to earth
because the machinery was out oforder.
One of the men said his name wasProfessor Charles Davidson.
He is alleged to have said that the vessel left Sacramento a
month ago and has been since sailing all over the country and
quote the reality now began to catch up with the airship

(54:34):
mystery. Experimenters were everywhere
with schemes, ideas and some minor successes with small
lighter than air objects, and the Wilbur and Orville Wright
age of heavier than air motorized craft was only six
years hence. A Professor Barnard gave
exhibitions at the Nashville, TNExposition with his airship.

(54:55):
It was considered the most wonderful invention of the age.
Once, after floating to a landing 12 miles east of town,
he issued this statement. Quote.
I find I can manipulate the machine right or left, even in a
light wind. This is certain.
I cannot go directly against a wind of 8 miles an hour with
muscular power as at present arranged, but by cutting across

(55:17):
obliquely I can make progress inthe direction desired.
End Quote. The Hastings Republicans sniffed
that the Nashville craft invariably was brought back on a
lumber wagon. It was more complimentary to the
less ambitious experiments of Professor Lloyd McLean of nearby
Juanita, who sent aloft and airship kites and flags.
Quote Lookout for Mclean's airship July 3rd.

(55:40):
The local committee are negotiating with Professor
McLean with view of securing hisflock of kites.
As a July 3rd feature. He will float a 30 foot flag at
a height of 1000 feet. McLean is the original airship
inventor. End Quote The down to earth
Hastings Tribune could not, however, let the spaceship
frenzy rest without poking fun one last time at the true

(56:02):
believers, they wrote. Quote Wednesday night at the
westbound train number 3 Burlington had run about 5 miles
West of Kennesaw. Engineer Johnson saw a red light
which was being swung to and froacross the track as a warning of
danger. Cautiously approaching the
light, he came to a dead stop. During these days of washouts it

(56:22):
does not take much of A danger signal to stop a train.
An engineer, Johnson wondered ifthere had been a cloudburst in
the vicinity. He was soon relieved of any
fears upon that score by a man with a red light approaching the
engine and asking whether he could borrow a bushel of coal.
Johnson asked what in the world he wanted to do with so much
coal. Out upon that houseless piece of

(56:44):
Prairie, the man said, Just lookout the South side of your cab,
and you will see the airship, about which there is so much
wonder these days. Sure enough, there was the
mysterious wonder. Mr. Johnson had no time to stop
and examine the machine, but told the fireman to fill the
man's basket with coal. While the filling of the basket

(57:05):
was going on, the engineer of the airship asked, What kind of
coal do you use? Mr. Johnson replied, Why,
Newcastle, of course. Where?
Upon the engineer of the airship, said Newcastle be
damned, do you suppose I could trust myself up a mile in the
air and depend on that stuff forsteam?
Well, not much. I'm sorry to have stopped you.

(57:26):
I will go out to a farmers fieldand get some corn stalks and
straw. So long, old man, End Quote.
And so long it was to the Nebraska Mystery Ship.
What indeed was the phenomenon? Was it a fake?
The Hastings Tribune hinted darkly on May 7th Quote The
Tribune is on the ground floor to know that this is the biggest

(57:48):
fake ever published. End Quote.
And it should be remembered thatthe first news reports of the
airship in Nebraska came from Hastings.
Was it merely A trumped up storyon a slow Newsday that exploded
into hysteria? It seems unlikely that the
airship could have been a prototype of a dirigible or

(58:09):
airplane. Where could it have taken off
and where could have it landed? Tennessee reports indicated the
Nashville craft was unmaneuverable even in the hands
of the best engineers. European flying machine
developers had attained nothing that could approach the
described characteristics of theAmerican airship, which moved in
all directions under total control and could fly swiftly or

(58:32):
even against the wind, if witnesses could be believed.
Was it purely a figment of an imagination?
Hundreds of people saw the ship at the same time and concurred
in descriptions. Independent descriptions were
virtually identical. The ship's course was traced
with the Telegraph. In the incomplete data
discovered, there were nearly 200 sightings reported.

(58:55):
It seems only appropriate that some credence be given this mass
of evidence, much of it volunteered by persons who faced
cruel ridicule. Other possibilities lie open,
and although unattractive to thescientist and historian, they
are all the more tantalizing forthe folklorist.
And yet the material is not, to my mind, the stuff of folklore.

(59:19):
What is perhaps most fascinatingabout the 1890s flying saucer
scare is that accounts of them were not passed on to the next
generation. One would think tales of the
supernatural extraterrestrial, if that makes up what they were,
could be the kind of material that makes up the legend, the
wander tale or belief tale, But that has not been the case in

(59:43):
the investigation. I have yet to find a single
airship narrative in oral transmission.
They died with the people who experienced them.
Of the thousands of people that I've mentioned to this, not a
single one had heard of the Flying machine syndrome, except
from newspaper research. Why should something so

(01:00:04):
controversial that captured the imagination of a large audience?
Fade away so totally. There are at least three
possible explanations. One, as noted, the wonder of
fantasy, or at any rate mystery,was eclipsed by the unlikelihood
of reality. 2 The mood of the time may have been, as it is

(01:00:24):
today, very difficult for witnesses reporting flying
saucers. Such was the case centuries ago
when sailors reported the impossible feat of sailing
against the wind or three. Whatever it was that people
observed may have ceased to appear.
Yet perhaps the field of folklore is nonetheless the
place for the study of the phenomenon.

(01:00:46):
Folklorists have long examined the occult and the mysterious,
whether truly folklore or not, as background for the
traditional tale. Moreover, folklorists have
rarely been reluctant to approach what is labeled by
others as superstition. For folklore, the substance as
well as the field proceeds from the view that there are things

(01:01:06):
that we do not know, while the popular practitioner of
scientific methodology has all too often suffered from the
arrogance of not realizing that most scientific statements are
ultimately only these and subject to revision.
Thank you for listening to the Nebraska History Podcast.
To learn more about Nebraska History Magazine, to listen to
more podcasts, or to support ourpodcast by becoming a member of

(01:01:30):
the Nebraska State Historical Society, go to
history.nebraska.gov/podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to
the podcast and get notified when we release new episodes on
your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, I'm Chris
Goforth.