Captain James Hooton's Airship sighting 1897 (described in the Arkansas Gazette as "the well-known Iron Mountain railroad conductor")

A fascinating and classic example of an Airship sighting from the famous wave throughout America during the 1890's. This Particular example was cited in Jacques Vallee's famous book "Passport to Magonia: from Folklore to Flying Saucers" "I had gone down to Texarkana to bring back a special, and knowing that I would have some eight to ten hours to spend in Texarkana, I went to I lonian (Arkansas) to do a little hunting. It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I reached that place. The sport was good, and before I knew it, it was after 6 o'clock when I started to make my way back toward the railroad station. As I was tramping through the bush my attention was attracted by a familiar sound, a sound for all the world like the working of an air pump on a locomotive. I went at once in the direction of the sound, and there in an open space of some five or six acres, I saw the object making the noise. To say that I was astonished would but feebly express my feelings. I decided at once that this was the famous airship seen by so many people about the country. There was a medium-size looking man aboard and I noticed that he was wearing smoked glasses. lie was tinkering around what seemed to be the hack end of the ship, and as I approached I was too dumbfounded to speak. He looked at me in surprise, and said: "Good day, sir; good day." I asked: "Is this the airship?" And he replied: "Yes, sir," whereupon three or four other men came out of what was apparently the keel of the ship. A close examination showed that the keel was divided into two parls, terminating in front like the sharp edge of a knife-like edge, while the side of the ship bulged gradually toward the middle, and then receded. There were three large wheels upon each side made of some bending metal and arranged so that they became concave as they moved forward. "I beg your pardon, sir," I said, "the noise sounds a great deal like a Westinghouse air brake." "Perhaps it does, my friend: we are using condensed air and aeroplanes, but you will know more later on. "All ready, sir," someone called out, when the party all disappeared below. I observed that just in front of each wheel a two-inch tube began to spurt air on the wheels and they commenced revolving. The ship gradually arose with a hissing sound. The aeroplanes suddenly sprang forward, turning their sharp end skyward, then the rudders at the end of the ship began to veer to one side and the wheels revolved so fast that, one could scarcely see the blades. In less time than it takes to tell you, the ship had gone out of sight." Captain Hooton adds that he could discover no bell or bell rope about the ship and was greatly shocked by this detail, since he thought "every well regulated air locomotive should have one." Images generated with GPT-5.6 Sol