Source

THE AIRSHIP.

One Man Saw It in New Orleans' Last Flight.

From: April 21st.

At 1:30 o'clock this morning, panic on Canal Street in the vicinity of the new post office was caused by a unearthly yell of "There it is!" And as quickly as a flash, the man who saw it disappeared up a stairway, and the racket as he jumped four steps at a time could be heard a block away. He had seen the airship. He told his colleagues on the papers, and in an instant every window on both sides was filled by the next shift of printers, all searching in vain for the wonder, while the fortunate young man who saw it tried to describe it. He seemed very excited, but he managed to say that he saw it going in a northwesterly direction and it was about 50 or 60 feet long. It had a powerful searchlight which played around. As he described what he had seen, everyone craned their necks and looked and looked, but they looked in vain, for there was nothing to be seen but the blue ether of night, dotted here and there with a twinkling star, which sometimes startled their companions by saying it was the searchlight of the aerial wonder. As the moments flew by and nobody saw anything which could by any possibility be distorted into an airship, the laughter began to grow at the man who said he saw it. He denied the soft impeachment which was cast at his veracity by his co-workers, but it was hard to convince them. His general reputation for truth and veracity is such, however, that his friends cannot help but believe that he saw something, and as the airship was seen in the vicinity of Natchitoches yesterday, it is not unlikely that it may have come in this direction, the navigators bent on having a little fun at the expense of the people of New Orleans.

A young man connected with the Picayune claimed to have seen the airship here on April 1, but all he saw was the searchlight, as it was dark at the time. It was generally treated as an April fool joke, but the subsequent excitement caused by the alleged appearance of the strange craft in other cities leads to the belief that there may be some truth in it.

The two supposed navigators of the airship, Dolbear and Tillman, as they gave their names to the people of Stephensville, Tex., were supposed to have been in the city last night. Their names were registered at one of the hotels, but it was, in all likelihood, a hoax, as cards sent to their room failed to get any response.

Natchitoches, La., April 20. - Last night at about 2:30 o'clock, as a gay crowd were returning from a reception given by Company 1 at the Armory Hall, they were treated to a strange sight. Coming from the western heavens, that spectacle consisted of a massive airship, the first story being of balloon shape, and the latter part being conical or cigar-shaped. When first seen, it appeared as a faintly animated spark, which gradually grew brighter as it came nearer. After a few moments, its entire form was clearly perceptible, and it developed a semi-darkness. Its destination appeared to be northerly, and from its course, it seemed to be coming from Texas. It was evidently a machine of unique invention, as its movement was undulating and bore a striking resemblance to the movement of some huge bird. It remained visible, though about a thousand feet high, for nearly half an hour and was a rare curiosity to those who had the good fortune to witness the phenomenon. The remarkable fact in connection with its visitation was that as its course neared the city, the light that illuminated it suddenly became low and did not rise again until the city was left in darkness.