John A. Keel WHY UFOS

Whatever the case, thousands of people throughoutNew England observed UFO-type phenomena thatChristmas week, and most believed that they werewatching the wonderful invention of a local man. Theobjects flew orderly patterns over specific geographicpoints and performed maneuvers, which automaticallyruled out convenient natural explanations. Morgan andTillinghast were never given the promised model to backup their earlier claims. Like so many of the modern UFOcontactees, they were used.The 1910 Sightings"Three huge lights of almost uniform dimensions"appeared over Huntington, West Virginia, early on themorning of Friday, December 31, 1909. A farmer namedJoseph Green thought they had fallen on his land, but athorough search failed to find any trace of them.Then at 9 A.M. on the morning of Wednesday, January12, 1910, thousands of people saw an unusual flyingmachine passing directly over Chattanooga, Tennessee, atgreat altitude. The chugging of an engine was clearly heard.That same night an airship passed over Huntsville,Alabama, traveling at high speed, according to the reports.At 11 A.M. the next morning "a white dirigible balloon"reappeared over Chattanooga, heading from south tonorth. It was again seen the following day at noon, thistime coming from the north and heading southeast.The most interesting sighting of 1910 took place directlyover New York City that summer. They are significantbecause of their similarity to the sightings of Scandinaviain 1934, which we will discuss shortly.At 8:45 P.M. on the night of Tuesday, August 30, 1910,"a long black object" flew low over the island ofManhattan, accompanied by the sound of an engine.Hundreds of people stared upward in amazement as theobject approached Madison square and the MetropolitanLife Insurance Company tower. The New YorkTribune (August 31, 1910) reports:The vague bulk, as it came into nearer view, took on thesemblance of a biplane. It swung past the tower, then turnedand described one graceful circle after another around theilluminated structure, its outlines standing out clear in thelights from many windows.