The San Francisco call., 1896-11-19

nv emp,oyes-men of undoubted veracity
4 am certain that this can by no posi-
biity have been fake, but that gen.
uine airship passed over the city last
evening. l watched the light until it
passed ont of sight thirty minutes later.
1t was travelling unevenly toward the
southwest, dropping now nearer 10 the
earth and now suddenly rising into the
air again as il the force that was whirling
it through space was sensible OF the
danger OF collision with objects upon the
earth. l, OF course, have no idea as to its
destination or purpose. / can only say
that 1 am fully convinced by what | have
heard that it was something out OF the
ordinary"
G. C. Snyder. foreman of the streetcar
barn. states: 81 am fully convinced that
an aerial vessel of some description passed
over this building last night about 6: 80
o'clock. At the time my attention was
called to il the craft was at too great an
elevation for me to distinguish its form,
but 1 distinctly saw the searchlight,
which was going directly into the wind,
and from its movement judged that it was
attached 10 a vessel of some description
which was laboring as a seagoing vessel
will in heavy sea and head wind.
also find that hundreds OF the residents
in this portion of the city saw the light,
and there are hundreds who claim that
they heard the voices of the occupants of
the visitor"
Charles Lusk, secretary of the company,
also states thai he saw the light travelling
over the city.
Huh hho- hot oil 1,ka
failed to catch a glimpse Of this aerial
visitant, as he was engaged in his Office
downtown when it passed over, buG he
stated to THE CALL representative that
upon arriving at his residence in the up
per portion of the city his daughter told
him that she had seen a brilliant white
light, seemingly at a great elevation,
which had come toward The city from the
east and passed directly over it. moving
in southwesterly direction. She said if
certainly was not meteor. as IL was
different shade OF light and moved too
slowly and nnevenly, and she was at a
loss to account for il.
Z. E. Briggs, notorman on one of the
streetcars running to Oak Park, saw the
light of the travelling airship, and at the
request of the occupants of his crowded
vehicle he stopped his car for a moment.
He says that while they could not discern
the form of the airship, yet the voices OF
the occupants were plainly heard. He
had been informed by man who resided
in the vicinity of East Park, where the air
vessel had been first seen, that it was a
genuine airship, cigar or egg shaped, and
that it had at least four occupants. When
the vessel passed over his car he judged
that the occupants were singing, but they
were at such a height that neither he nor
his passengers were enabled to distinguish
the words or the tune, as they came in
broken snatches. as though borne on gusts
of the night wind.
When II. w. Marsh saw the travelling
light it was at least five miles away. He
thought that it was attached to some
aerial vessel, owing TO its wavering mo-
ton through the atmosphere.
E. Caverly saw the light, but refused to
be interviewed on the subject, evidently
deeming it TO be uncanny.
NJ. I. Shelly, gentleman of undoubted
veracity. saw the airship's light. and at
one time, when the craft careened some
what so as to partially sbscure the light,
he caught sight OF the vessel itself, which
he declared to be a cigar-shaped recep-
ticle, with what seemed to be dark wall
above it.
Hundreds of similar interviews could be
obtained. In this connection the Evening
Bee publishes the following account:
Startled citizens last night living at
points OF the city along a rough diagonal
line, yet far distant from each other, de.
clare that they not only saw the phenome-
non but they also heard voices issuing
from it in midar-not the whispering OF
angels. not the sepulchral mutterings O:
evil spirits, but the ineligible words and
the merry laughter of humans. At those
intervals where the glittering OBJ iect. as if
careless of its obligation to maintain a
straightforward course. descended dam
gerously near the housetops voices were
heard in the sky saying:
"'Lift her up, quick; you are making
directly for that steeple.'
''Then the light in the sky would be
seen obeying some mystic touch and as
cendiDg to a conside erable height. from
which it would take up again its south
westerly course. The light sailed along
the line of X street, so it appeared from
those in the eastern part of the city,
although it appears that after il had
passed Fourteenth street it was waited far
south of *. Laughter and words sound
ing strange in the distance, though fairly
lntelligibie, fell upon the ears OF pedes-
trians along the course of the light who
nad paused 10 look up at the novelty.
Last nights Bee contained a. teieqram
from New York announcing that man
had perfected an airship and would on
! Friday OF this week, accom- panied BY one
or two friends, ascend from vacant lot in
the metropolis and go directly to Caliior-
MIA, which he promised to reach in two
days. The description furnished in the
telegram included an apparatus which was
electrical, to supply light and power for
the astonishing contrivance.
'it is not regarded as likely, in view of
the announcement contained in the dis
patch, that last night Sacramento was
overswept by this aerial ship.
But here is the incident-here the
49, .@IA