Up in the Air not far away, something strange is here today.
It was a chilly March day in 1897 on a farm outside of Sioux City, Iowa. The owner of the farm, Robert Hibbard, walked out of his barn and stopped short. What in the world was this? Was he seeing things? Floating above his barnyard was a huge airship. That’s what he called it. Probably today we would describe it as a steampunk version of the Goodyear blimp. Not something that Robert had ever seen drifting above his cows.
If that wasn’t weird enough, hanging down from it was a long rope with an anchor on the end. Before he knew what was happening, the anchor caught his pants and started dragging him into the air. Kicking and yelling, he flew for several dozen yards going higher and higher until he managed to tear himself free. Flopping into the mud, Robert was not pleased. Being dragged into the air by his pants wasn’t on the morning agenda. He watched as the weirdness floated silently away. Had that thing been trying to snag him? It was a distinct possibility.
He reported the insane experience to the local authorities. But who in the world would believe such a lunatic vision? Well, actually, in 1897, a lot of people across the United States. The first sightings of what was called the “marvelous airship” took place in November of 1896 in San Francisco. Hundreds of people saw what they described as a huge, elongated object that carried brilliant searchlights and, most incredibly, was able to fly against the wind. But in early 1897, the weird thing vanished from the San Francisco sky.
Then began sightings across the country. The bizarre airship was seen above Omaha, Milwaukee, Chicago and many other places. Large crowds gathered to watch it. And the thing put on quite a performance. It would hover and drop some kind of probes. At great speed, it could change course and altitude. It would circle, land and take off. At night, it would sweep the countryside with powerful search lights. When the airship was low enough, the crowds could see what looked like people inside. But they were odd. Some of them were extremely short, like dwarves. Thousands across America witnessed the show. Let me share an eye witness account. It’s the testimony of two men, Constable Sumpter and Deputy Sheriff McLemore of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
“While riding northwest from this city on the night of May 6, 1897, we noticed a brilliant light high in the heavens. Suddenly, it disappeared and we said nothing about it as we were looking for people and didn’t want to make any noise. After riding four or five miles through the hills, we again saw the light, which now appeared to be much nearer the earth. We stopped our horses and watched it coming down, until all at once it disappeared behind another hill.
“We rode on about a half mile, when our horses refused to go any farther. About a hundred yards distant we saw two persons moving around with lights. Drawing our Winchesters, for now we were thoroughly aroused to the importance of the situation, we demanded, ‘Who is that and what are you doing?’ A man with a long, dark beard came forth with a lantern in his hand and, on being informed who we were proceeded to tell us that he and the others, a young man and a woman, were traveling through the country in an airship.
“We could plainly distinguish the outlines of the vessel, which was cigar shaped and about 60 feet long and looking just like the cuts that have appeared in the papers recently. It was dark and raining and the young man was filling a big sack with water about thirty yards away and the woman was particular to keep back in the dark. She was holding an umbrella over her head. The man with the whiskers invited us to take a ride, saying he could take us where it was not raining. We told him we believed we preferred to get wet. Asking him why the brilliant light was turned on and off so much, he replied that the light was so powerful that it consumed a great deal of his motive power. Being in a hurry, we left and upon our return about 40 minutes later nothing was to be seen.”
There are dozens and dozens of such reports. And they get even stranger. This one was in the April 28th edition of the Houston Post: “Merkel, Texas, April 26 some parties returning from church last night noticed a heavy object dragging along with a rope attached. They followed it until in crossing a railroad it caught on a rail. On looking up, they saw what they supposed was the airship. It was not near enough to get an idea of the dimensions. A light could be seen protruding from several windows, one bright light in front like the headlight of a locomotive.
“After some ten minutes, a man was seen descending the rope. He came clear enough to be plainly seen. He wore a light blue sailor suit and was small in size. He stopped when he discovered parties at the anchor and cut the rope below him and sailed off in a northeast direction. The anchor is now on exhibition at a blacksmith shop.”
What in the world was going on? Observers heard massive machines driving the things. Where did the energy come, the burning of coal or wood? It would have taken a huge amount. If it was electricity, how did they get it and how was it stored? In 1897 the industrial/technological revolution was in full swing, but the airship exhibited technology far beyond anything that was known. It was easy for people of that period to imagine that it was something wonderful and new and they’d probably be flying on it soon. And it was so entertaining. One report talks about orchestra music coming from it along with the roar of the engine. The record player had been invented in 1877, but speakers big enough?
Were some of these reports hoaxes? Very likely. But there were just far too many from reliable sources all over the country to say that every report was a hoax. At a certain point, the marvelous airships just vanished from the sky. No airship base was ever revealed, no factory where they could have been built was found. No one ever came forward to talk about having built them. No new technology was presented to the world. Needless to say, there have been the usual attempts at naturalistic explanations, including writers in our day who claim it was secret government research back in 1896. Really? Does that make sense? Secret government experiments that flew over cities and played orchestra music? My experience is that government activities are not that entertaining.
So what should we make of all this in our search for Patterns of Supernatural Phenomena? Let’s start by defining the term “supernatural”. The word comes from the Latin supernaturalis, meaning beyond nature. The adjective form of supernatural describes anything that pertains to or is caused by something that can’t be explained by the laws of nature. In popular use, the word has come to mean ghostlike, intangible, ephemeral, something that you can’t touch or hang onto. Consequently, we think of the supernatural as something that can’t be “real”.
In our materialistic age, many don’t believe something is real if it can’t be tested and replicated using the scientific method. While that method has given the world many wonders, it has blinded us to a host of anomalous events that will not fit into a test tube. This includes very tangible phenomena which we might call supernatural technology. In our journey, we will search for patterns of phenomena that repeat themselves in various forms throughout history right up to our day.
The first pattern is found in the accounts just given. We could call it, Culture Specific Shock and Awe. Phenomena such as the weird airships refer observers to the known, while taking them straight into the bizarre and unknown. Weird presentations like these have appeared throughout recorded history. Whatever is behind them wants to shock and awe human observers, but only within the parameters of a current belief system.
Obviously, people of the 1890s were very familiar with locomotive power. Also, they had seen people float around in balloons with no control over them. It was a time of burgeoning technological invention, so that is the context into which the experience was presented. In centuries past, such phenomena would have been viewed as angelic or demonic. Many people believed that some fairy populations lived in the sky.
By 1897, the entire category of what would have been called “supernatural manifestations” had vanished in the dawn of a materialistic age. I contend that whenever they occur and however they appear, there is a purpose behind them. And it isn’t to entertain us. Whatever creates these manifestations desires to overwhelm the human race with its own superiority.
Through eons of history, the response to such presentations has been terror leading to enslavement under a pantheon of frightening pseudo-deities. In our modern scientific era, the bizarre airships were a prelude to a different form of aerial phenomena that would appear a few decades later. When it arrived, it would be defined as extraterrestrial visitations by beings from other planets. Why? Because by that time, science fiction literature had created such a possibility and expectation. The phenomena always meets and then tries to redefine a culture.
Some of the strangest words ever written are found in the New Testament. In his letter to the tiny church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote these words in chapter six verse 12: “For our struggle is not against blood and flesh.” The Greek word translated struggle is palay. It means a vicious close-quarters fight. In military terms, a hand-to-hand battle. War doesn’t get more personal than that.
Strangely, Paul says that this hideous fight is not against people, as violent and dangerous as they can be. He tells us that it’s against the kingly rulers, the world archons of evil, and hosts of beings under their control that constantly attack us. This strongly implies a whole range of supernatural creatures with varying degrees of power. Who are these vicious beings and how do we fight them? We’re going talk a lot more about that. But let’s think for a moment about military conquest.
When a vast force wants to utterly conquer a weak population with minimal effort, it will put on a display of power that will shock and awe, creating such fear that no attempt to resist will be made. The target nation will be thrown into chaos. For years, strategically placed hidden agents will have been doing everything possible to prepare for the final invasion. Their goal will have been to disrupt and nullify any attempt at an organized response. They will use lying propaganda to put the target into a trance of fear. Then they will offer hope if everyone just cooperates by not resisting. Through it all, they will completely misrepresent their intentions. In the final days before the invasion, hidden agents will use citizens whom they control to wreak havoc increasing the fear and disorganization.
In our world, the preparation for an ultimate supernatural conflict has been going on for thousands of years, but I contend that in the past 150 years it has entered a new phase and time is speeding up. There are specific reasons why I say that, which we are going to talk about in future chapters. The enemy that the Apostle Paul warned us about has always viewed humans as cattle for sexual abuse, sacrifice and slaughter. So what will they do to human cows in the future? What they have done in the past and are doing right now, only far, far worse. And most people are blind to all of it.
Let me end this chapter with another little airship story that appeared in the Houston Post on April 22, 1897. Mr. John M. Barclay of Rockland went to bed. About 11 PM he was awakened by the barking of his dog. Going outside he saw something totally unexpected. I quote from the article: “It was a peculiar shaped body with an oblong shape with wings and side attachments of various sizes and shapes. There were brilliant lights that appeared much brighter than electric lights. It seemed perfectly stationary about five yards from the ground. It circled a few times and descended into a pasture adjacent to his house. He took his Winchester and went down to investigate. As soon as the ship, or whatever it was, alighted the lights went out.
“The night was bright enough for a man to be distinguished at several yards. About 30 yards from the ship he was met by an ordinary mortal who requested him to lay his gun aside as no harm was intended. Whereupon the following conversation ensued: Mr. Barclay enquired, ‘Who are you and what do you want?’ The response? ‘Never mind about my name, call it, Smith.’ The man requested some tools and other items and offered money for them. Barclay said, ‘What have you got down there? Let me go and see it.’ The man replied, ‘No, we cannot permit you to approach any nearer.’
“Barclay procured the items and gave them to the man who asked him not to follow him to the vessel. As he walked away, Barclay called and asked where he was from and where he was going? The man replied, ‘From anywhere, but we will be in Greece day after tomorrow.’ He got on board and there was again the whirling noise of engines and the thing was gone as Mr. Barclay expressed it, like a shot out of a gun.
This story and others are found in Passport to Magonia by astrophysicist, Dr. Jaques Vallee. Many frightening things have been seen in the skies above Earth. And they have appeared long before what we call UFOs. We will talk much more about them in upcoming essays.
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