Historic monster reports in Nebraska

1. 1897
2. Omaha Daily Bee Feb. 6, 1897 · Page 1

   Prayer-meeting crowd hears voices from the sky

   Inavale, Nebraska · Feb. 4, 1897

   Inavale residents said the airship already reported near Hastings had been seen over their town several times. On a dark night, ten or twelve people coming home from prayer meeting described a cone-shaped craft thirty to forty feet long and said they heard voices. It was one of the first reports of the 1897 Midwestern wave.

   “Thirty to Forty Feet Long and Conical in Shape”

3. The Topeka State Journal. Topeka, Kansas · March 19, 1897 · Page 2

   A ball of fire crosses Omaha

   Omaha, Nebraska · March 15, 1897

   On a Monday night, large numbers of Omaha people saw a big light pass over the city in a way that suggested someone was steering it. A citizen of North Loup wrote in to say the light had come from his direction. The excitement lasted all week.

   Also printed in 1 other paper

   • The Ravalli Republican., Stevensville, Mont., March 31, 1897, p. 1
4. The Topeka State Journal. Topeka, Kansas · March 29, 1897 · Page 1

   Omaha sees it for the third time

   Omaha, Nebraska · March 29, 1897

   On a Sunday evening, reputable Omaha citizens watched the mysterious light for the third time, visible for about half an hour as it hovered over the city. Nearly every paper in the Midwest carried the dispatch.

   Also printed in 15 other papers

   • The Wichita Daily Eagle., Wichita, Kan., March 30, 1897, p. 5
   • The Madison Daily Leader., Madison, S.D., March 30, 1897, p. 2
   • The Copper Country Evening News., Calumet, Mich., March 30, 1897, p. 1
   • The Herald, March 30, 1897, p. 1
   • The Seattle Post-intelligencer., Seattle, Wash. Terr., March 30, 1897, p. 3
   • The Record-union, March 30, 1897, p. 8
   • , March 30, 1897, p. 1
   • Kansas City Journal., Kansas City, Mo., March 30, 1897, p. 1
   • Evening Journal, March 30, 1897, p. 6
   • Watertown Republican., Watertown, Wis., March 31, 1897, p. 2
   • The Guthrie Daily Leader., Guthrie, Okla., March 31, 1897, p. 2
   • Phillipsburg Herald., Phillipsburg, Kan., April 1, 1897, p. 8
   • The Corvallis Gazette., Corvallis, Or., April 2, 1897, p. 1
   • The Evening Times., Washington, D.C., April 5, 1897, p. 4
   • The Islander., Friday Harbor, Wash., April 8, 1897, p. 1
5. The Evening Times. Washington, D.C. · April 5, 1897 · Page 4

   A light hanging from a canoe-shaped bag

   Nebraska and Kansas approx. · April 4, 1897

   A widely reprinted Omaha dispatch said a light had floated over Nebraska for months and was being hotly debated. Some described it hanging from a canoe-shaped bag, and rumour credited a German inventor. The story ran in at least sixteen papers.

6. The Red Cloud Chief April 16, 1897 · Page 1

   Footprints where it landed near Red Cloud

   Red Cloud, Nebraska · April 12, 1897

   A dozen Red Cloud residents watched a large white light, some saying red and green too, travel northwest late on Monday night. Another account said the ship had landed in a field and that a party who reached the spot found a man's footprints.

7. Union County Courier. Elk Point, Union County, D.T. · May 6, 1897 · Page 1

   Passing over Ponca

   Ponca, Nebraska · May 2, 1897

   The mysterious airship was reliably reported to have passed over Ponca, according to a South Dakota paper across the Missouri.

   Also printed in 1 other paper

   • Union County Courier., Elk Point, Union County, D.T., May 6, 1897, p. 2
8. Barbour County Index. Medicine Lodge, Kan. · July 7, 1897 · Page 1

   A wild man caught asleep in the Nebraska pines

   Pine forests of Dawes and Sioux counties, Nebraska approx. · July 1897

   A wild man who had haunted the pine forests of Dawes and Sioux counties was captured while asleep. He seemed to know nothing when the insanity board examined him.

   Also printed in 3 other papers

   • Barton County Democrat., Great Bend, Kan., July 8, 1897, p. 2
   • The Iola Register., Iola, Allen County, Kansas, July 9, 1897, p. 6
   • Western Kansas World., WaKeeney, Kan., July 10, 1897, p. 7

Other states

• California 25
• Connecticut 6
• Illinois 7
• Kansas 7
• Massachusetts 12
• New Jersey 13
• New York 9
• Washington 5
• West Virginia 5
• Wisconsin 5

All historic encounters

Newspaper pages: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (US newspapers published before 1927 are in the public domain). Text search: American Stories (Dell, Bryan, Carlson and others, CC BY 4.0). Summaries are our own. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).