The Airship That Stole a Calf
During the great airship scare of 1897, a Kansas farmer swore that a cigar-shaped craft had lassoed one of his calves and carried it away.
What was reported
In the spring of 1897, newspapers across the United States reported mysterious airships with bright lights crossing the night sky. One of the most famous accounts came from Kansas, where a respected farmer swore that an airship had hovered over his farm one night, with strange beings inside it.
A cable from the craft caught a young heifer by the neck and hauled it up into the air. The next day, a neighbour found the animal's remains in his field, with no tracks around them. Several local worthies signed a statement vouching for the farmer's honesty.
Explanations offered
Decades later it came out that the farmer had made the story up for a local liars' club, and his neighbours had joined in the joke. It's one of many tall tales printed during the 1897 airship wave, a time when newspapers competed to print the most exciting airship stories.
- When
- April 1897
- Where
- Near Le Roy, Kansas, USA
- Witnesses
- A Kansas farmer and his neighbours, as reported in newspapers
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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