This little known story takes place during the Great Airship Mystery of 1896-97. During this time, thousands were reporting sightings of huge airships all acrossed the country. Estimated speeds ranged from 5mph, to over 200mph. This was faster than anything currently known and still a few years away from the famous Wright Brother's first flight. An interesting incident occured in 1878, in Denison, Texas. The Denison Daily News printed the account of farmer John Martin. Mr. Martin claimed to have seen a dark disk in the sky. He described the object as a saucer...a term that wouldn't be associated with UFOs for nearly 75 years. The Great Airship Mystery all started in the fall of 1896. On Novermber 17, 1896, several hundred residents of Sacrimento, California were witness to a large airship (Of course, today we would refer to it as a UFO). This was a time when radio was non-existent and newspapers were slow. According to the Chicago Record, in April of 1897, some 10,000 people in Kansas City saw a great black airship. The object appeared swiftly and hovered over the city for about 10 minutes and flashed blue, white and green lights. Between April 15 and April 19 of 1897, the Dallas Morning News contained accounts of sightings from 21 different towns in Texas.
On the morning of April 17, 1897, a large silver cigar-shaped object was seen to slowly approach the town of Aurora, Texas. The object was reportedly heading in a northeastern direction when it struck Judge Proctor's windmill. Most accounts claim that the craft exploded, scattering debris and at least one body. Some accounts, such as was published in the Fort Worth Register, state that the pilot was not of this world and he was given a Christian burial in the Aurora Cemetery. The occupant was supposedly humanoid and small in size. There is mention in some accounts of strange hieroglyphs among the wreckage. Jim Marrs is one of the few researchers who has researched this case indepth, and according to his book, Alien Agendas, Etta and Brawley Oates bought Judge Proctor's property in 1945. Mrs. Oates said that nothing grew for years in that one spot where the spaceship is supposed to have hit. The Oates family also suffered from health problems such as cysts and goiters, supposedly caused by the drinking water from their well. A strange little headstone was the only marker for the little man, and upon excavation attempts, the locals are quick to put a stop to any digging in their cemetery. Originally, Bill Case used a metal detector at the supposed gravesite. He detected three metal areas that might have been wreckage pieces or personal possessions, but they mysteriously disappeared on a later visit. Today, the town is divided. Some believe that it was all a hoax, that Judge Proctor didn't even have a windmill. While others stick to the belief that a lone visitor crashed his vehical and was killed. Upon feeling sorry for him, they did the only thing they could and gave him what they considered to be a proper burial.
