Aerial Phenomena in Texas.

Daily News de Galveston (Texas), 6 octobre 1898, p. 6 s1Clark, J.: "aerial anomalies, Texas, 1898", Magonia Exchange, 29 juillet 2007

Garland, Dallas Co., Tex., Oct. 4.  A remarkable aerial phenomenon was witnessed last night at 9 o'clock by the people of Garland and vicinity, which affords much food for thought among astronomers and scientists. In this hour of unrest such an omen will be observed and hailed with delight by both army and navy, as it is a well known fact that superstition lurks upon shipboard as well as in the trenches.

A meteor descending from a point near the sky's center, traveling slowly in an easterly direction, suddenly changed its course and shot upward, when it burst, throwing into the air three distinct bodies, each taking its own course. The first one was a bright red, the second a white light and the third a bright blue. The red and blue lights soon died out, but the white one continued on its way a few seconds, when it burst, emitting a shower of stars, which were extinguished almost immediately.

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Sherman, Tex., Oct. 4.  George Campbell, aged 12 years, son of E. W. Campbell, who lives just north of the city, on the "Eighty-foot" road, was a witness to a startling phenomenon last night shortly after 9 o'clock.

He is a bright, intelligent little fellow, who said he didn't believe in ghosts; that his parents had never scared him with spook stories, and he is one of the best behaved scholars in the fourth grade at the Franklin school building. His story as told to a News reporter to-day is as follows:

"Last night papa and I were riding along in the 'Eighty-foot' road, about two and a half a miles north of town, when all at once everything got very bright. We saw a great ball of fire coming down toward the ground. It got within three feet of the ground and seemed to rest for a while and then it went back up until it got clear out of sight. There was a buzzing sound all the time."

George describes it as being about ten feet in diameter and that it hurt one's eyes to look at it. Although they were very close to it, he says that he did not feel any heat.

The point at which the strange light descended is rather low and swampy.

The fact that a rather low registration of the barometer has prevailed for the past few days may furnish to the scientific an explanation.