"LIGHTS IN THE SKY."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 574, 31 July 1909, Page 7

"LIGHTS IN THE SKY."

AND AEROPLANES. SJRANGE STORIES FROM. THE SOUTH,. ■ . __L—.'. •' UNBELIEVERS SCOFFED AT. ..., •{By Telegraph.—Snccia! Corrcsoondent.v i . Christcliuroh, July 30. . •- The"-■'•'airship"-, crano.vlias .readied-.CUirist-. church and tho country districts, and, from various 'parts of tli'o province; 'come more .or ; less /circumstantial, ''reports.;;pf lights- being ■. seen in tho -sky-.-Rangiora, Woodend, .-Lyttolton, Broken River, AVmslqw, 'ancl 'Cli'ristchurcli residents haVo. seon'"soine~ thing" which thfey :■ cannot •'oxplani. Tho ■ch'max 'was ;'reabheS list\'iiight,:.'when. ;hun-: dreds of people,, .on: leaving . tho theatres, frisked cricking 1 theirs neqks'.f by gazing .up at the red planot Mars, whioh is now approach-, ing. tWearth/andis 'extremely bright-in the oastorn ' sky in tho evening. Tho few nho declared tho' bright'■ light .to bo-merely a planet were scoffod at,by tho. majority.who wero at least certain, that it was a firo rol-. loon, though they were willing to bo-, liovo that it might bo an airship'. - :

; S iF;:pNE.MAif ;sbbs". ; an: airship.;-',', J .•'■"■'-;:'-. i (By.''Tel'eßra'ph. ; rPress A'ssotiation.)..' : : /F<yt '■; several;; nights '> mysterious -lights.diayej appeared, an.< the ; ! neighbourhood .of -,-t-hb Ka;. kariui Ranges,;andithese,haye been watched iby -large j: numbers ; of ipcople, several using glasses,.tutall/doubts,.-as-to. reality were set< :at rest this morning when-.Mr.;H;;. Di.Bailpy,; :a.settler-at Kauroo.Hill, and brother of the Magistrate.Vsa\v v :-the;-airship p clock;. His .attention. ,was,-dra\yn •, by ; something .-unusual by; the: rostiveness-. of his' ho.rse3 in ( a; yard, and;.on looking up;, ho. saw; what;-ho describes to ,a: .'"North :.Otago ; .Times'!-- .-rej: pdrWr+as' a :; shape like'ia ■.hoati-;iVith.:.a i flat. topi ; -speeding along • at.-, something! jhke-, 30 ; miles - ah hour. :or-.;'jnore. i -After. ...watclnng Mt for some time t?e.ran-in,'to obtain.his glasses but, 'by ..this\.tim6,'j the ..airship..had,..di.sap-.-■reared 'over. the- It;,was;al^o-seen by •several- rJeoplb ',at r.Mahenp, . and i: its reality, cannot .'therefore /.be' idoubted.--' "-; Jt .this -is the. same.:mysterious -'/something",- : that has- been seen ;in South'. Otago:,andv Southland, .-.the inventor-hiis: ai : machine -'that can. not. ; only; take long.;flights' b'ut'.thatVmovcs : at,a'great ratetpf; spee£> .'.The 'distance': between, the. two poiat-s : is!- about 200 roiles. - ; >. ; , : -;: -.V^

TWO MINERS SEE THE "SHIP " j ' Core, July 30 < Two • dredgo. hands engaged on. tho night , shift'on Syndicate No. 2 dredge were ac- , corded a viow-of the. "airship" at 5,a.m.,.at close ".quarters... They j stato that i-.the,,;;. ship ; lowered through the mist and circled, round ■ the' vicinity,' and "that "two' 1 : figufqV :,":.were ; . plainly discernibio on board, felie was carry-:. ing\ : liglit« ( at,bitli-;pnds,. ; After-,tlie-visitors. _ had i ihahbeuyred shoj.'shot: upwardsf-A yel-, low-glare was noticed-and the "ship" tiav- j elled .in ; a:south-easterly direction. ~, f , "WITH A HEADLIGHT ATTACHED." ■ i Gore, July 30 .Tho reported, airship t has been scon hero ; •fori five nights. v;:|At Mander iyill^llast\/nieEt:' , . ■o'clock.passing,at a great height^and travel-. lmg::South,- with a hcadhght attached.: • JDST "A BALL OF ELECTRICITY " Timaru, July 30 t iA- my-storious light, alleged to bo an .air--, ship,. passed! over -Timaru; at lO last . evening.- 'Tho harbourmaster (Captain Tait), interviewed this morning, • said ho.' had seen ! .fheilightj-,-and ; it : Avasv-nothing more tlianva ball : oi concentrated electricity, ---known. :w ■■ .sailors asc !'Jaclt\in the - Lantern'!—a ifre',quent •'acckipipauinient foggy ...weather:; : >A FIEE tfA&LOON t'ij: g os DuncdlnpoJulJ'SO •-r: A: possible explauatfon-cof-the-'-inysterious • aerial .'lights,: seen-here on-several evonings . Was found.til-night,-• when thdHiiris of a-fommon toy fire balloon fell • in, k Xork Placer and was quickly seized by a .crowdTof youths. "A MESSAGE FROM MAES." (Dy Tcleuraph—Preas- .ABBOciation.) . , , Groymouth, Julj 30 7 '• A .good deal. of' escit-ement; and interest. 'waa 'manifeated by passengers' on,'the:Hokitika train . approaching Greymouth _on jThucsevening,'! when they,'jvere-: informed ' by' tho-- guard that tho mysterious, light- was visible The engine-driver (M'Millan), wheni approaching * tho "Toremakau . Bridge, notiofxl -a large light''out-.to-.sea.- It'"did not remain. stationary, : but ; was moving ' up:, and down,- and -advancing 'towards' GrejTiiouth Harbour.':..He and the fireman/kept watch•inc- it: until' thoy arrived :1 at ; tho i : Nelson Creek Station,'- tfheri s 'the ;mysterious' object came nearc»r to tho shore, and. descended 1 b'toiken'r: He!:&«a/?iiinicM' ted with tho -gtiard.;, ; who.'.at''.once;'nptilifid the passengers, and; they.'browdorlout on to the platform, aud watched- tho mystonouß..ob-. .]€< it ior-'/afow .-minutco,-;' rising andSfajling every now and thou. . Tho light \\a3 at times obscured, .-'but "cam 6 again ' prominently . into view. • Tho object appeared to be making m . the\ direction of the Greymoutn.. Bar :against a strong- wind, and wjuin .tho tiain, diow up ; ati'.the, Grey tho light Muld._ bo seen hfeading in the direction of' Point 'Ehzibeth.': Th 6 ojbject beliaved; in- a most myste.ribus 1 ' marinfer, and., all - sorts of * conjectures ; Were ~made; . One 'passenger .advanced>tho ; theory that it might bo. "a' message .from' Mars." The object , was watched with in--1 tercst by a largo orowd until -it disappeared from view in tne.north.- .-Whatever the ob- ' -jeet: is,:.'it'i isj creating - no,, end . of interest m tho town.. • .. • ' Wcstport, July 30. . A resident.of tho Bullcr distriot tho other: ' -mbrning ,at (four.-, o'clock, saw^,a : mysterious ' ' object four. times. It was .floating- over Mount Rochfort, and sorcowhat resembled .a lire'balloon, but was too-far off for him to ; judge";,accurately'Avhat.it-was. : ' "DISTINCTLY VISIBLE IN THE, MOONLIGHT " . . .. ..-Oamaru, July 30.' - Confirmation of the airship havings been ■seeni near is ooming to hand. .-.lt • was-'distinctly , visiblo to , two /persons on . Wednesday 'night in. t-he bright - moonlight. who hatched it for some timo as it circled ~ round- near'; Where' 'they were standing;- - ' ' CHILDREN ON THE SUBJECT Invorcarglll, July 30. Thero is nothinc convincing tb roport with regard to the airship,. Tho "Nows 1 ' to-night 'publishes- a statement that 23 children;'at ' a * local school saw a'.sbip in daylight'yesterday .'. aftern6oii- and prints - two diagrams ' : drawn by children. -The two are' not\a bit alike, and the testimony of .the children need.not be taken, very seriously. A rumour ' gained ourrency this afternoon that an tele-, ' grjim had come to the "Southland Times" I.- office announcing tho capture .of, tho airship '- at' WaUcdka,-'ftndV'up't6 : the .present; over a hundred people, have made inquiries at tho : office. The story.'has'ho foundation in fact.

, OTHER STORIES. . - ... .: Dunedln, July 29., 'Several people both ill the city and. country districts", assert'that they saw, strange lights in the air, oither last night or'early this morning or this evening, but their statements have added nothing in the direction of solution' of the question of whether an airship" is hovering about theso parts or "not. Two young, men,; resjding in Mornington, havo for tho. past few months been building an aeroplane which, is ; now practically completed, with the oxception that the inventors have not securod a motor, for-it..

, , Invoroarglll, July 29. ' - Stories of lights in tho sky continue to poiir in, ahd spcoulation whots itsappetite.. Nothing, however, has been seen to justify any further appearanco of an ''airship," and now that the sending up of fire balloons has been invested with a now joy, the difficulty of ascertaining tho origin of what was originally seon has been increased.