Page Content (OCR)
a small town in Iowa. Soon the invention will be given to the public. An immense stock company is now being formed and within the next year the machines will be in general use.”” The motive power was supposedly “condensed electricity.” Mr. Nichols, the newspapers said, was ‘‘a man of unquestioned veracity.” This ‘“‘invention”’ story spread, as you will see, and appears to support the possibility of an unexpected hoax. But before we explore the hoax question, there are two more contact cases that deserve examination. An apparently well-known and highly reputable man identified as “Ex-Senator Harris”’ said that he had been awakened at 1 A.M. Wednes- day, April 21, 1897, by a strange noise, and he was astonished to see the celebrated airship descending on his property outside of Harrisburg, Arkansas. He stepped outside and was met by the craft’s occupants, conversing with them as they busied themselves “taking on a supply of fresh well water.” Senator Harris said there were two young men, a RS en S| woman and an elderly man on board. “The old gentleman,” the Senator is quoted as saying (Harrisburg, Arkansas, Modern News, April 23, 1897), ‘“‘wore a heavy set of dark, silken whiskers, which hung down near his waist. He had jet black eyes and a deep, firm expression.”’ Whereas the airship occupants did not seem especially informative in the other contact cases of the period, this elderly gentleman talked his head off. He seemed to be familiar with the newspapers in St. Louis, Missouri, and referred to a story which had appeared in the St. Louis Republic “about twenty-six years ago.”’ Here’s the way Senator Harris quoted him: In that paper there was an account of a scientific invention made by a gentleman whose name I will not mention, by which the laws of gravitation were entirely and completely suspended. He was offered big sums of money for it by several syndicates in this Country and also had large offers from Paris, London, and many other places. During the time he was considering offers he had the invention securely locked in a safety deposit vault in New York City. Before he had accepted any of the offers he was taken violently ill, and after lingering a few weeks died, leaving his invention in the vault. This man was my uncle, and he had partially confided the secret to me, but not sufficiently for me to do anything without the original invention. After the lapse of about nineteen years I managed to secure the original, and having plenty of money at my disposal and having devoted my time and talent during the past seven years to experimenting, I have an airship which is almost perfection, but I am not quite through experimenting, and so I continue to travel at night 78 / Operation Trojan Horse