Source

MANY SEE AN AIRSHIP

Reputable Citizens of Several States Declare That Aerial Navigation Is Solved

BIRMINGHAM, IOWA, April 16. — William Walters, living near this city, is responsible for the statement that he and several others saw an airship settle down on the meadow a mile from this city this morning. They ran toward it, but when within one hundred yards, it rose gracefully into the air. Two men were plainly seen in the car. The machine was one hundred feet long and twenty feet broad in the center, tapering to points. When it rose, it made a whirring sound like a circular saw.

CLARKSVILLE, IOWA, April 16. — Two local warehouse men, three merchants, and four city officers saw an airship last night. They say it was about a mile high and traveled from east to the northwest. The citizens are watching for it tonight.

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, April 16. — The citizens of Russelville, the county seat of Logan County, say they saw an airship last night. Mayor Andrews, City Clerk McCutchen, James McCutchen, the oldest and wealthiest merchant in the city, and Dr. Charles Fortband, men of unquestioned standing, declare they saw the strange aerial cruiser circle around the city for ten minutes before sailing off to the west.

WATERLOO, IOWA, April 16. — This section is much excited over an airship or flying machine, which was first observed here at daybreak today. The stranger in charge says it is a flying machine and that he landed here to make repairs. He will resume his voyage tomorrow. He keeps all the people at a distance of several hundred yards from the machine, and therefore many do not credit his story but think it's a fake designed to create a sensation. Just what object the man has to gain is a mystery, as he has not asked for money from the hundreds who have visited the field to take a look at the thing. It is about forty feet long and constructed like a giant cigar, with winglike attachments on the side and a steering apparatus in the rear. The whole is surmounted by a cupola or lookout chair on the roof. The queer craft appears to be built of canvas, subjected to a heavy coat of varnish. The pipe leading from the cone of the thing constantly emits vapor, as if the motor power were steam. The man in charge is a stranger in this section and carries a rifle to keep the people from too closely examining the machine. He secured permission from the farmer on whose land he is to keep his machine for a few days. The man says he is on a voyage around the world but was forced to alight for repairs, and that if the people do not believe he can fly through the air, they can wait a day or two, and he will give them a very startling free exhibition.

Late tonight the owner told a straight story of how, in company with a Mr. Stormont, he left San Francisco on March 20 and gave every detail of the voyage up to the time of landing. It is said now the whole affair is a hoax, and the machine was built by a local wag for the purpose of creating a sensation.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, April 16. — An airship visited St. Louis again last night. This time its bright searchlight was not only seen by thousands, but the object was observed through a telescope, and the outlines of the craft were seen. A person who caught an excellent view of the strange visitor and brought it near the earth by means of a powerful lens is Dr. Leo Caplan, the throat specialist. Caplan is one of the leading men in the profession, and his word is implicitly relied on.