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UFO sightings in Old Wild West?


Still Waters

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The new film "Cowboys and Aliens," starring Harrison "Indiana Jones" Ford and Daniel "James Bond" Craig, opens today and is likely to snatch the top spot at the box office this weekend. The anachronistic sci-fi thriller tells the story of extraterrestrials who attack a small New Mexico town in search of — well, I won't give away any spoilers.

Cowboys and aliens? Why not? Many people believe that alien contact is nothing new, and that Earth has been visited for millennia. Some, such as best-selling Swiss author Erich von Däniken, have suggested (based on flawed evidence and logic) that aliens built the pyramids in Egypt. Others believe that the giant drawings in the Nazca desert of Peru, in South America, were created by (or for) extraterrestrials in space ships. In fact, there's good evidence that the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca Indians, probably as part of ceremonial rituals.

But what about sightings and reports of aliens in the Old West? Surprisingly, there actually are a few reports of extraterrestrial encounters in the 1800s. In those days folks didn't use terms like "UFO" or "flying saucer" (that phrase didn't appear until 1947), but instead referred to spacecraft as "airships."

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The latest 'Ancient Aliens' delved into this topic.

(complete with 'a sneak peek' at Cowboys and Aliens, those clever marketing folks!)

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I live by Aurora and have heard all kind of stories ..not sure what to make of them..The one story that never made much sense to me was that it was all made up to get the railroad to come through the town..Im thinking I would of made up something like gold was found or somthing not a ufo

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I saw a program just the other night on TV about UFOs during the 1800s and what interested me was the UFO incident over the Great Falls, area, home of Malmstrom AFB, today, which has been involved in multiple UFO incidents and sightings, and the UFO sightings of huge winged objects over the Tucson area and Southern California during the 1800s.

People were shooting at these giant winged UFOs, over Tucson, and Southern Califonia during the 1800s, which were very simiilar to the boomerang objects in regards to the Phoenix LIghts.' over Arizona, the Lubbock Lights, over Texas, and the sighting of aircraft designer, Clarence Kelly, father of the SR-71 and U-2, where he saw a huge winged UFO off the coast of Southern California. The sightings of the 1800s were similar to the sightings of the 1900s. Additonally, triangular UFOs were reported during the 1800s over Europe as well.

Huge winged/boomerang objects were reported over Arizona and Southern California, and during the 1800s, and the 1900s, and trianguar UFOs were reported over Europe during the 1800s and 1900s as well.,

Clearly, a pattern has emerged in regards to UFOs of the 1800s and 1900s.

Edited by skyeagle409
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I was born in tucson ...never khew that ...I will have to read about that ..thanks for the info

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There have been strange things seen in the sky since we were able to keep record, doesn't surprise me that people in the wild west had ufo experiences too.

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I just saw "Cowboys and Aliens" today and it was an excellent movie. I highly recommend it--one of the best I've seen in a while.

Yes, I have heard of UFO sightings in the West during the 1800s, and even close encounters, crashes, abductions and all that. It's in the 19th Century that you start to really get similar things to "modern" UFO and alien reports, like these:

http://egotvonline.com/2011/07/28/7-old-west-ufo-encounters-that-actually-happened/

Phil Schneider claimed:

"There’s an unconfirmed story floating around regarding a U.S. Cavalry unit that encountered a UFO, and possibly even some pesky little aliens, in 1909. As the story goes, a Cavalry unit was in hot pursuit of a gang of Mexican bandits in the Southwestern U.S. in 1909. During their pursuit, the Cavalry unit came upon a cave that they’d never seen before, despite being familiar with the region. Upon entering the cave, they discovered a number of metallic, horseshoe-shaped flying vehicles, along with a small collection of “little grey demons”, which may have been aliens. The Cavalry unit’s horses were spooked by the ships and the creatures, and the Cavalry immediately left the cave. Upon returning the next day, the cave was empty and the ships and aliens were nowhere to be found."

"Many people attribute the term “flying saucer” to Kenneth Arnold, a pilot who used the term to describe an object he encountered while flying a plane in 1947. But the term was used almost 70-years earlier in a Denison Daily News article about a strange object that Texas farmer John Martin spotted on a recent hunting trip. Martin, a reputable local farmer, was out hunting one morning when he suddenly noticed a strange, shiny object in the sky. As he watched it, the object gradually moved closer to him. When the object silently flew overhead, Martin clearly saw the craft and later described it as dark and saucer-shaped, using the term “flying saucer” for lack of a better explanation. Despite Martin’s solid reputation, nobody else saw the craft and no evidence of its existence was ever unearthed."

Edited by TheMcGuffin
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"Over 60 years before alien abduction claims became mainstream, two people were nearly abducted in Lodi, California. Colonel H. G. Shaw, along with his friend Camille Spooner, had a close encounter with previously unknown entities, traveling with their UFO in 1896. Shaw was in charge of putting together an exhibition to be displayed at a Fair in Fresno. Shaw and friend were traveling by horse and carriage in route to Stockton, when their horse froze with fright.

Three Tall Aliens:

To the two men's shock, they saw the cause of the horse's actions: three tall alien looking beings. They had small delicate hands at the end of their spindly arms.

They had no hair on their heads, yet a soft, light fuzz over their bodies. Large eyes made their small mouths and ears appear even smaller. The two eyewitnesses would later tell authorities that the beings had a "strange" type of beauty to them.

Egg-Shaped, Glowing Lamps:

All of the beings carried with them a bag of some kind with a hose which they often stuck in their mouths, obviously to breath with. Although there was still some daytime left, the beings also carried with them egg-shaped lamps which glowed. This glow would later illuminate a waiting spaceship.

Abduction Attempt Thwarted:

As the men watched the aliens, the beings were communicating with each other by a type of chant, and no English words were heard by Shaw and Spooner. The men would tell authorities that the aliens made an attempt to abduct them, but that the large difference in mass between the human and alien body thwarted the effort.

Lighter Than Air:

Soon, the three alien beings made a move toward a nearby bridge. Using their other worldly lamps, the aliens lighted up the bridge, showing a nearby craft. The UFO was of a cigar shape, and it hovered quietly over the water. The beings seemed to be almost lighter than air, as they moved toward their craft. It seemed that the aliens would almost leave the ground as they walked on the earth.

Cigar-Shaped UFO:

The beings entered the hovering cigar UFO in a most unconventional way also. They sprung up from the ground and above their craft, and then floated down into the craft through an unseen entry. Soon, the object flew away. Shaw later told investigators that, in his opinion, the craft had come from Mars, a common theory for the time. This unusual case occurred on November 25, and was reported by Jenny Randles, in "Alien Contacts and Abductions."

http://ufos.about.com/od/ufofolkloremythlegend/p/lodicalifornia.htm

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Phil Klass the typical "skeptic" in denying all such stories, but what if they were true?

"In 1985 Fate, a popular monthly magazine on anoma-

lies and the paranormal, printed an account dictated

by an elderly woman, Pearl Chenowith, who had died

the year before. Her granddaughter Shannon Gra-

ham, who submitted the story, expressed confidence

in its accuracy.

Her granddaughter Shannon Gra-

ham, who submitted the story, expressed confidence

in its accuracy. Mrs. Chenowith claimed that in Au-

gust 1896, when she was nine years old and living on a

Howell County, Missouri, farm, she and her family

saw a “large saucerlike shape" with blinding lights. It

hovered over their property for an extended period

of time one evening. The next morning the family

made a sickening discovery:

n a large patch of bumed grass were three of

our steers lying dead on the ground. . . . [T]hey

had been completely drained of blood. The

only marks on them were some dried blood on

their throats from two puncture holes in the

jugular vein; these looked as if they had been

made by a two-tined fork.

She added, “Later that week, when the newspapers

came from St. Louis . . . [t]here were several stories of

just such incidents all over Missouri that night”

(Chenowith, 1985).

In fact, the St. Louis newspapers

of August and September 1896 contain no such

accounts. Unless Mrs. Chenowith had the date wrong,

it is possible that her memory played a trick on her

and fused the Hamilton yarn with modern reports

(see below) of alleged UFO links with cattle mutilations."

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=es&rlz=1W1IRFA_en&q=cache:y9jC7Ipu0lgJ:http://www.ignaciodarnaude.com/ufologia/Clark,Jerome,Animal%20Mutilations.pdf+Cattle+Mutilations+1896,Howell+County,Missouri&ct=clnk

Edited by TheMcGuffin
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I just saw "Cowboys and Aliens" today and it was an excellent movie. I highly recommend it--one of the best I've seen in a while.

Yes, I have heard of UFO sightings in the West during the 1800s, and even close encounters, crashes, abductions and all that. It's in the 19th Century that you start to really get similar things to "modern" UFO and alien reports, like these:

http://egotvonline.c...ually-happened/

Phil Schneider claimed:

"There's an unconfirmed story floating around regarding a U.S. Cavalry unit that encountered a UFO, and possibly even some pesky little aliens, in 1909. As the story goes, a Cavalry unit was in hot pursuit of a gang of Mexican bandits in the Southwestern U.S. in 1909. During their pursuit, the Cavalry unit came upon a cave that they'd never seen before, despite being familiar with the region. Upon entering the cave, they discovered a number of metallic, horseshoe-shaped flying vehicles, along with a small collection of "little grey demons", which may have been aliens. The Cavalry unit's horses were spooked by the ships and the creatures, and the Cavalry immediately left the cave. Upon returning the next day, the cave was empty and the ships and aliens were nowhere to be found."

"Many people attribute the term "flying saucer" to Kenneth Arnold, a pilot who used the term to describe an object he encountered while flying a plane in 1947. But the term was used almost 70-years earlier in a Denison Daily News article about a strange object that Texas farmer John Martin spotted on a recent hunting trip. Martin, a reputable local farmer, was out hunting one morning when he suddenly noticed a strange, shiny object in the sky. As he watched it, the object gradually moved closer to him. When the object silently flew overhead, Martin clearly saw the craft and later described it as dark and saucer-shaped, using the term "flying saucer" for lack of a better explanation. Despite Martin's solid reputation, nobody else saw the craft and no evidence of its existence was ever unearthed."

Thanks for the link! :tu:

The 1865 Great Falls, incident was very interesting and was featured on that TV program. An indian chief was holding in his hand, an object with hieroglyphics on the side. The object he was holding reminded me of the I-beam mentioned by Jesse Marcel, Jr., but was a bit larger.

Edited by skyeagle409
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I was born in tucson ...never khew that ...I will have to read about that ..thanks for the info

I was sent TDY to Davis-Monthan AFB, in January 1970, from Hill AFB, UT for two months. Davis-Monthan AFB has been involved in another UFO incident as well, which involved a B-36.

Early in the 1952 UFO sighting wave two discs approached and paced a B-36 bomber in the vicinity of Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona. On May 1, 1952, Major Rudy Pestalozzi, a base intelligence officer, along with an airman, looked up as a B-36 flew overhead and saw two shiny discs overtake the bomber, slow to its speed and position themselves alongside.

The bomber crew, startled by the experience, made an unscheduled landing at the base and were interrogated at length by Major Pestalozzi, who happened to be the base UFO officer. Members of the flight crew had crowded into the starboard blister aft of the wing and looked down at a slight angle to see the closest disc, which was lens- or double-disc-shaped and about 20-25 feet in diameter. After about 20 seconds, the objects peeled off at an angle of 70-80 degrees from the flight path of the B-36 and sped away.

Major Pestalozzi sent a comprehensive report of the incident to Project Blue Book. Within the next two months the summer 1952 UFO sighting wave reached a crescendo, generating national headlines and stirring up major Government interest, as radar repeatedly detected UFOs, and jet interceptors engaged in cat-and-mouse pursuits.

My link

UFOs were reported during the Wild West days of the 1800s in Arizona and elsewhere and it is interesting that the new movie involves cowboys and UFOs.

.

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I'm looking forward to watching this movie. I don't think that it even remotely validates the ETH in any way, but it sure does look like a fun romp. Besides, it has one of my favorite actors of all time in it. Harrison Ford is awesome.

For any that have access to HULU, I highly recommend watching Jimmy Kimmel Live Season 9 : Ep. 97 which features Harrison Ford. In addition, there was a separate clip of him "telling off Chewbacca" worth watching. Hilarious. :lol:

As for the idea of actual UFO sightings in the Old West go however, I don't really agree with the interpretations provided in the recent Ancient Aliens episode. For example, the suggestion that certain accounts about giant birds were anything other than accounts of giant birds is downright laughable. There certainly isn't any correlation to the Phoenix Lights, Lubbock, or any other recent "supposed" triangular craft sightings. One has only to look at contemporary hoaxed photos of these giant birds to understand that. They were all hoaxes of course, but enjoy the photos anyway... (Hopefully these will work...)

thunderbird4.JPG

thunderbird.jpg

thunderbird5.JPG

Thunderbird3.jpg

If the images don't work, I got them all from this link. I've seen a couple of other similar images too, but this should give you a general idea at the very least.

Big birds were a hot topic back in the day. Probably because of dinosaur bones that had been dug up by prospectors and what-not.

(Edit: Added that the above HULU suggestion was regarding Jimmy Kimmel Live...)

Edited by booNyzarC
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I love how the mainstream press takes the word of a debunker like its proven fact but honest people are either loons or lying. It's interesting that people have thought about life coming here from other worlds for thousands of years and it says something about us that they would have been less shocked by it then we people in 2011 would be.

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I'm looking forward to watching this movie. I don't think that it even remotely validates the ETH in any way, but it sure does look like a fun romp. Besides, it has one of my favorite actors of all time in it. Harrison Ford is awesome.

For any that have access to HULU, I highly recommend watching Jimmy Kimmel Live Season 9 : Ep. 97 which features Harrison Ford. In addition, there was a separate clip of him "telling off Chewbacca" worth watching. Hilarious. :lol:

As for the idea of actual UFO sightings in the Old West go however, I don't really agree with the interpretations provided in the recent Ancient Aliens episode. For example, the suggestion that certain accounts about giant birds were anything other than accounts of giant birds is downright laughable. There certainly isn't any correlation to the Phoenix Lights, Lubbock, or any other recent "supposed" triangular craft sightings. One has only to look at contemporary hoaxed photos of these giant birds to understand that. They were all hoaxes of course, but enjoy the photos anyway... (Hopefully these will work...)

thunderbird4.JPG

thunderbird.jpg

thunderbird5.JPG

Thunderbird3.jpg

If the images don't work, I got them all from this link. I've seen a couple of other similar images too, but this should give you a general idea at the very least.

Big birds were a hot topic back in the day. Probably because of dinosaur bones that had been dug up by prospectors and what-not.

(Edit: Added that the above HULU suggestion was regarding Jimmy Kimmel Live...)

The objects presented on the program of the 1800s were not birds

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The objects presented on the program of the 1800s were not birds

And don't forget all those alien and UFO stories by Ambrose Bierce, one of the originals in the sci fi field--or was it all just fiction?

"AN EXPLANATION FROM THE TOMB

In the diary of the late Hugh Morgan are certain interesting entries having, possibly, a scientific value as suggestions. At the inquest upon his body the book was not put in evidence; possibly the coroner thought it not worth while to confuse the jury. The date of the first of the entries mentioned cannot be ascertained; the upper part of the leaf is torn away; the part of the entry remaining follows:

"...would run in a half-circle, keeping his head turned always toward the centre, and again he would stand still, barking furiously. At last he ran away into the brush as fast as he could go. I thought at first that he had gone mad, but on returning to the house found no other alteration in his manner than what was obviously due to fear of punishment.

"Can a dog see with his nose? Do odours impress some cerebral centre with images of the thing that emitted them?...

"Sept. 2. — Looking at the stars last night as they rose above the crest of the ridge east of the house, I observed them successively disappear — from left to right. Each was eclipsed but an instant, and only a few at a time, but along the entire length of the ridge all that were within a degree or two of the crest were blotted out. It was as if something had passed along between me and them; but I could not see it, and the stars were not thick enough to define its outline. Ugh! don't like this."

Several weeks' entries are missing, three leaves being torn from the book.

"Sept. 27. — It has been about here again — I find evidences of its presence every day. I watched again all last night in the same cover, gun in hand, double-charged with buckshot. In the morning the fresh footprints were there, as before. Yet I would have sworn that I did not sleep — indeed, I hardly sleep at all. It is terrible, insupportable! If these amazing experiences are real I shall go mad; if they are fanciful I am mad already.

"Oct. 3. — I shall not go — it shall not drive me away. No, this is my house, my land. God hates a coward....

"Oct. 5. — I can stand it no longer; I have invited Harker to pass a few weeks with me — he has a level head. I can judge from his manner if he thinks me mad.

"Oct. 7. — I have the solution of the mystery; it came to me last night — suddenly, as by revelation. How simple — how terribly simple!

"There are sounds we cannot hear. At either end of the scale are notes that stir no chord of that imperfect instrument, the human ear. They are too high or too grave. I have observed a flock of blackbirds occupying an entire tree-top — the tops of several trees — and all in full song. Suddenly — in a moment — at absolutely the same instant — all spring into the air and fly away. How? They could not all see one another — whole tree-tops intervened. At no point could a leader have been visible to all. There must have been a signal of warning or command, high and shrill above the din, but by me unheard. I have observed, too, the same simultaneous flight when all were silent, among not only blackbirds, but other birds — quail, for example, widely separated by bushes — even on opposite sides of a hill."

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/abierce/bl-abierce-damned.htm

Edited by TheMcGuffin
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I'm looking forward to watching this movie. I don't think that it even remotely validates the ETH in any way, but it sure does look like a fun romp. Besides, it has one of my favorite actors of all time in it. Harrison Ford is awesome.

Classic Selections From Bierce's DEVIL'S DICTIONARY:

ABSURDITY, n.

A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

ALLIANCE, n.

In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

DEFAME, v.t.

To lie about another. To tell the truth about another

DENTIST, n.

A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket

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I believe that the show ancient aliens just did a show on this LOL

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The objects presented on the program of the 1800s were not birds

I propose that there were no objects and that these "stories" about giant birds were probably just fantastical tales told over the camp fire.

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I'll take Irrelevant References for 600 Alex...

The answer:

Classic Selections From Bierce's DEVIL'S DICTIONARY:

ABSURDITY, n.

A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

ALLIANCE, n.

In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

DEFAME, v.t.

To lie about another. To tell the truth about another

DENTIST, n.

A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket

Um... what is someone's attempt to subtly call me a cynic?

:unsure2:

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UFOs have been seen and reported from all over the world for centuries... SO WHAT!

I still havent seen anything that convinced me that one of them where made by ET.

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I'm looking forward to watching this movie. I don't think that it even remotely validates the ETH in any way, but it sure does look like a fun romp. Besides, it has one of my favorite actors of all time in it. Harrison Ford is awesome.

Cowboys & Aliens is very entertaining and has some great action sequences. Harrison Ford is better than I've seen him in a while but still meh. I guess you like him for his older movies. Hollywood Homicide anyone? Daniel Craig, on the other hand, :tu:

Super 8 was the better of the two summer alien movies, imo.

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Cowboys & Aliens is very entertaining and has some great action sequences. Harrison Ford is better than I've seen him in a while but still meh. I guess you like him for his older movies. Hollywood Homicide anyone? Daniel Craig, on the other hand, :tu:

Super 8 was the better of the two summer alien movies, imo.

Yeah, I appreciate his older movies far more than his recent work. :lol:

I haven't seen Super 8 yet but I plan to.

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I'll take Irrelevant References for 600 Alex...

Um... what is someone's attempt to subtly call me a cynic?

Subtly?

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Subtly?

Oh I understand. Suggesting that a Hollywood movie doesn't validate the ETH is very cynical. Yep. Bad cynical skeptic booN. :hmm:

Makes perfect sense to me... :rolleyes:

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Oh I understand. Suggesting that a Hollywood movie doesn't validate the ETH is very cynical. Yep. Bad cynical skeptic booN. :hmm:

Makes perfect sense to me... :rolleyes:

I think you realize that's not what I said, but no matter.

I see you're up late again. Or is it early down there?

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