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P.M.—Due northwest, 2,000 ft.; 61 N. Lat., 33 Long. Descending. Dense fog. Drizzling ‘spods.’’’ If this message was not a complete hoax these figures would have placed the Saratoga over Greenland. * The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus-Leader commented hopefully on April 21: ‘There were no names or other useful information on the card, but it is expected that by it the persons operating the aerial navigation scheme may be located. The lunch box was either dropped from the airship and lodged in the branches of the tree or was placed there to hoax people. “Many persons looked at the strange find yesterday. It was not generally denounced as a hoax, because as some observing men pointed out, anyone who had fancy airship cards printed was going to unnecessary expense to carry out a joke, while the package could just as well have been placed in some busy thoroughfare. “Who, indeed, would go to such elaborate lengths to pull off another airship joke? Perhaps the Chicago prankster—if a prankster was respon- sible—was trying to outdo another prankster in Appleton, Wisconsin, who had planted a similar note only two days before.” The Grand Rapids, Michigan, Evening Press of April 16, 1897 carried this article: “Appleton, Wisconsin, April 15—Many persons in this city declare that they saw an airship pass over the city last Sunday night. Last night on the farm of N. B. Clark, north of the city, a letter was picked up attached to an iron rod eighteen inches long sticking in the ground. The letter, which was not signed, is as follows: “Aboard the airship Pegasus, April 9, 1897—The problem of aerial navigation has been solved. The writers have spent the past month cruising about in the airship Pegasus and have demonstrated to their entire satisfaction that the ship is a thorough success. We have been able to attain a speed of 150 miles an hour and have risen to a height of 2,500 feet above sea level. “The Pegasus was erected at a secluded point ten miles from La- fayette, Tennessee, and the various parts of the machine were carried overland from Glasgow, Kentucky to that point, being shipped from Chicago, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. We have made regular trips of three * Greenland is the world’s only source of natural cryolite, important in the manufacture of aluminum, a substance that plays an important role in the UFO mystery. The Grand Deception / 87