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October 4, 1954, Saint-Perdoux, Lot:

Reference for this case: 4-oct-54-Saint-Perdoux.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

In the national newspaper Samedi-Soir for October 14, 1954, I read:

"Or, the 96-centimeter man, wearing a wide leather belt, shoes and underpants, who climbed into the air with two pear-shaped boxes placed under each arm. surveyed by Mr. Lacambre, forestry worker at Saint-Pardoux [sic] (Lot), on Monday, October 4, at 8:10 am, and the witness even determined by footprints that the little man shoes of [size] 21..."

This case will then be listed by the French ufologist Alain Gamard, who gave only the date, October 4, 1954, the hour as "08.10 o'clock", the place as Saint-Perdoux in the Lot, the name of the witness as Mr. Lacambre, and his source as the newspaper Sud-Ouest, for October 7, 1954.

In 1979, the "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker indicated in their book "La Grande Peur Martienne" ("The Great Martian Scare"), that Mr. Lacambre in Saint-Perdoux in the Lot had told:

"I was Monday morning at 8:10 at 200 meters of my house when I saw on the edge of a brook a man of small size (90 centimeters approximately) brown, naked head, carrying a broad leather belt, and panties. I ran home to get my shotgun...

I came back to the spot. The small man was bending, and from the hollow of his hand, he drank a mouthful of water, then he collected stones. He slipped them under his belt. I approached within a dozen to meters. He spoke a language to me which I did not understand but I heard the sound "orten" or "ortin"...

Then as he was provided under each arm with an object in the shape of a pear having the volume of a sugar box, he flew away vertically; in three seconds I saw him no more.

The display was rather fast, but having located the exact site where he had been, I noticed that the trace of his shoes, it is a size 21.

I circumvented with a branch the exact site where the small man came down.

I am at the disposal of anyone to tell what I saw and to show the site and the trace of shoe."

Barthel and Brucker then say that Mr. Lacambre still laughs today at the good joke he played to journalists, but that the gendarmes had not laughed, and that it is thanks to the intervention of the mayor that he escaped charges.

A little later in 1979 also, from Sud-Ouest of October 7, 1954, the two ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean Louis Ruchon indicated in their catalog that on October 4, 1954, at 08:10, Mr. Lacambre had seen at the edge of a stream 200 meters from his home a small brown being, about 90 centimeters tall, strangely dressed, wearing a wide leather belt, wearing leather shoes and a pair of underpants. Under each arm he reportedly carried a pear-shaped object. The witness had returned home to pick up his shotgun, came back stealthily and found this little being bowed and taking a sip of water in the hollow of his hand. Then, the being picked up pebbles that he put in his belt. Mr. Lacambre approached up to 12 meters and heard the creature pronounce "ortou" or "ortin", then the being flew vertically and disappeared from view in 30 seconds.

Subsequently, Michel Figuet would note in different versions of his "Francat" catalog that the case was a joke, according to Barthel and Brucker, and according to a letter he received from Mr. Bosc (likely Pierre Bosc, a French field investigator ufologist).

Ufologists Alain Gamard, Jacques Scornaux, and CNEGU then gave the case as explained.

However in 1997, Jean Sider did not accept the explanation. He assured in his book on the French wave of 1954, after having given the Figuet and Ruchon, that "the Barthel-Brucker-Figuet trio claims that it is a hoax", that Figuet leaned only on Barthel and Brucker, but "since they have been caught in the act of lying many times", they are no longer credible. He believes that if it was a hoax, there would have been a staging of a "saucer at a minimum, because it was the saucer that fueled the topics of conversation and some headlines of the various newspapers of the time, so that it "became an indispensable support for a hoax to work at maximum."

He argued that "there would not have been the episode of the shotgun because it would have given a bellicose image, unfavorable for a hoax, of the witness in the eyes of the public."

Then, Figuet and Ruchon's version without any explanation appeared on the Web, published by Donald Johnson, Albert Rosales, Ted Philips, Luc Chastan and others, and even the "skeptics" Godelieve van Overmeire and Peter Rogerson, then in the 2017 book on close encounters in France by Julien Gonzalez.

Reports:

[Ref. ssr1:] NEWSPAPER "SAMEDI-SOIR":

[...]

Must we go on?
Do we need to mention the furry being, bearing for it around the size a broad corset of orange color, seen close of a saucer by Mr. Narcy, in edge of the road of Wassy (Haute-Marne), October 5 with 7 a.m.. 15 of the morning?

Or also, the 96 centimeters man, wearing a broad leather belt, shoes and underpants, who rose in the air thanks to two boxes in the shape of pears, placed under each arm. This being was seen by Mr. Lacambre, forestry workman in Saint-Pardoux (the Lot), on Monday, October 4, at 8:10 a.m., and the witness has even determined from the footprints that the small being fitted shoe size 21 [Europe standard]...

What to think of the claim by Mr. Garreau, who swears "on his honor" to have seen a "flying soup tureen" landed in his property, and two perfectly normal men get down of it, who shook hands with him and cuddled his dog before leaving as quickly as they came...

And this handworker of Lavoux (Vienne), Mr. Roger Barrault who, on Saturday October 9, at 7 p.m., was paralyzed by a luminous ray emanating from a "diver" high of 1 m. 50, fitted with boots, with shining eyes, and carrying a heavy moustache...

And the cigar posed in a clearing, in Diges in Yonne, near which Mrs. widow Gaffroy [sic, Geoffroy] saw a man, from the back, in combination and capped of a khaki bonnet...

And Mr. Jean Labonne, of Bergerac, who, on October 2, at 10 p.m., saw a metal mushroom in his garden. "Who's there?" he shouted when distinguishing a shade. "What do you want from me?" But the shade climbed in the mushroom which rose in the airs at an extraordinary speed.

Even in England which started to worry and almost become indignant that not the least saucer, not the least "cigar" or cigarillo, had made the honor of an appearance to the people which had won the battle of Trafalgar. This gap has been just been largely filled by the sensational revelations of an ornithologist, Mr. Cedric Allingham, who claims to have met, on February 18, in the north of Scotland, not a Martian, but a Venusian with whom he had a lengthy and difficult conversation!

This Venusian measured about 1 m 73, he short brown hair, and his skin seemed tanned. He was completely wrapped in a kind of combination which had the appearance of a armored coat. In his nose were two small tubes joined by a metallic wire... Mr. Allingham managed to touch the saucer whose metal was slightly warm, and he finally took the leave of Venusian, not without having offered him his pen, which the man carefully put in a pocket of his combination and after having taken on the run a photograph of the strange character. This rather fuzzy image is, it should be acknowledged, rather unrevealing. One sees the silhouette of a man seen from the back, walking slightly curved, and that, without a little imagination, could easily be matched with the silhouette of any earthman.

Lastly, with the latest news, it is a true avalanche of Martians that comes falling on our grounds.

In Pournoy La Chétive, in the Moselle, three children were roller skating, when a round machine, of 2.50 meters of diameter, lands close to them. A man left from there, holding in the hand a lit lamp which dazzled the children.

He was dressed of a black cassock "like that of our priest", and after having said some unintelligible words, he flew away in his saucer.

In the island of Oléron, for the first time, it was two Martian girls who put foot on the ground. It is Mr. Martin, a colonial teacher on holiday, who brings their description to us. They carried small boots and leather gloves, as well as brilliant helmets. They were extremely pretty and nicely agreed to sign an autograph to the teacher.

I would take a whole book to bring back all the cases in detail. But all these good people swear to god that they invent nothing. Their entourage echoes that. Him, to invent such a story? A family man known for his respectability... A boy who never drank any drop of alcohol in his life? Come on!

So what? Should it be concluded from this that they really saw strange beings, hairy, helmeted, in boots, speaking an incomprehensible language? Do we need to have faith to this story of mysterious green ray which paralyze human beings? Are their accounts, on the contrary, totally invented? Do they rest on a serious basis exaggerated thereafter?

Nothing, absolutely nothing in the current state of the collected information which was made available to the public allows to conclude in the sense of the authenticity. The investigations were led as if it were a question of "checking" the statements of the witnesses and not in the spirit to eliminate all the assumptions leading to plausible and relatively simple explanations. These assumptions are numerous, they go from the joke to the hallucination not to mention the optical illusion. To eliminate them, one would need extremely thorough police information, doubled, in all the cases, of a thorough psychological investigation.

Then only the facts would remain, logically unexplainable, which would constitute the true file on the Martians. One would then notice that this file is extremely thin, if not non-existent, and that in this business, there is much, far too much, literature.

[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:

October 4th., 1954: 08.10 hours. Saint-Perdoux (Lot).

Witness: M. Lacambre.

Refs: Sud-Ouest, 7.10.1954.

[Ref. tbw1:] TED BLOECHER AND DAVID WEBB:

Scan.

54-44 Oct. 4, 1954 0810 Saint-Pardoux, France Type E

M. Lacambre, a forester, reported seeing a little man 3'2" tall, wearing a wide leather girdle, boots, and a slip, who rose into the air by virtue of 2 pear-shaped boxes beneath his arms. Footprints were left.

Investigator:

Source: Paris Samedi-Soir, 10/14/54.

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two ufologists indicate in their book that on October 4, 1954, at 08:10, Mr. Lacambre saw at the edge of a brook within 200 meters of his residence, a small being of approximately 90 centimeters in height and oddly dressed. It was brown, carried a broad leather belt, leather shoes and carried underpants. Under each arm he carries an object in the shape of a pear. The witness returned at his place to take his shotgun. Coming back stealthily, he found the small being bent, drinking drinks a water mouthful in the hollow of its hand. Then it collected stones which it put in its belt. Mr. Lacambre approached up to 12 meters and heard the creature utter: "ortou" or "ortin". It then flew vertically and disappeared from sight in 30 seconds.

The witness found traces of shoes of size 21 (European standard).

The authors indicate that the source is "Sud-Ouest" for October 7, 1954.

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

The two authors indicate that Mr. Lacambre told:

I was Monday morning at 8:10 at 200 meters of my house when I saw on the edge of a brook a man of small size (90 centimeters approximately) brown, naked head, carrying a broad leather belt, and panties. I ran home to get my shotgun...

I came back to the spot. The small man was bending, and from the hollow of his hand, he drank a mouthful of water, then he collected stones. He slipped them under his belt. I approached within a dozen to meters. He spoke a language to me which I did not understand but I heard the sound "orten" or "ortin"...

Then as he was provided under each arm with an object in the shape of a pear having the volume of a sugar box, he flew away vertically; in three seconds I saw him no more.

The display was rather fast, but having located the exact site where he had been, I noticed that the trace of his shoes, it is a size 21.

I circumvented with a branch the exact site where the small man came down.

I am at the disposal of anyone to tell what I saw and to show the site and the trace of shoe.

The authors indicate that this was published in the newspaper Sud-Ouest for October 7, 1954 and that the case occurred in St-Perdoux in the Lot.

They add that Mr. Lacambre laughs still today at the good joke he played on the journalists, but the gendarmes had not laughed, and that it is thanks to the intervention of the mayor that he was not in trouble.

[Ref. bbr2:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

After investigation, our deductions are identical [= "sinister joke", "grotesque, absurd and meaningless"] for the following cases: Hennezis, Monbazens [sic], Saint Pardou le Neuf [sic], Fréjus and many others.

[Ref. mf1t:] MICHEL FIGUET:

CASE Nr CLASSIFICATION DATE HOUR PLACE ZIP CODE CREDIBILITY SOURCE
126 CE3-a 04 10 1954 08.10 Saint-Perdoux 46 100 C5 E Joke EF

[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:

04. 10. 1954 Saint-Perdoux letter by Mr. Bosc to the author in the context of the "Francat" cleansing and B. B. p. 81-8 2. It was a hoax of Mr. Lacambre.

[Ref. jsx1:] JACQUES SCORNAUX:

17) Saint-Perdroux [sic] (Lot, France), October 4, 1954.

One Mr. Lacambre would have seen around 8 o'clock, near his home, a person of 90 cm in height, oddly dressed, who, having drunk in a stream, picked up pebbles, uttered an understandable word and flew away vertically. This being, who carried under each arm an object in the shape of a pear, would have left traces of shoes of size 21. Such is the account that Michel Figuet gave without comment in his book (21, pp. 116-117), but Barthel and Brucker have since discovered that it was a joke played by Mr. Lacambre to journalists (82, pp. 81-82) and this conclusion is shared by Alain Gamard (15, 25) and Michel Figuet (22).

Reference 82 is given as "Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, La grande peur martienne, Nouvelles Editions rationalistes, 1979." ([bbr1])

The other references were indicated in LDLN #267-268 on page 30 and were given as:

21. Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France, Alain Lefeuvre pub., 1979.

15. Alain Gamard, Footprints associated to humanoids sightings in the world, Sept. 1981 (typewritten document that Mr. Gamard kindly sent a copy to me).

25. Alain Gamard, Traces et humanoïdes en France, Bulletin du GESAG, #71, March 1983, pp. 12-18.

22. Michel Figuet, Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (Listing 800-1982), LDLN n° 255-256, Sept.-Oct. 1985, to n° 263-264, May/June 1986.

[Ref. cnu1:] "CIRCULAIRE CNEGU":

In a list of "explained cases of Francat", this bulletin included:

"10/04/54 St Perdroux [sic] (46)"

Note: in the next issue of this bulletin, an errata indicated that "St Perdroux" is "St Perdoux".

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

Ufologist and author Jean Sider indicates that on October 4, 1954, at 8:10 in St. Perdoux, in the Lot, Mr. Lacambre was on the edge of a stream, 200m from home, when he suddenly saw a small being of bizarre appearance.

He went home to take a shotgun, and back at the scene, observed the little creature. He saw it bent down, busy drinking water from the creek with his hand. Then the little figure picked stones he placed in his belt, it seemed.

Mr. Lacambre moved closer to a dozen meters, and heard him utter a strange word: "Ortin" or "ortou." Under each arm, a pear-shaped object was discernable, no bigger than a box of sugar. Suddenly, the being flew vertically and disappeared in thirty seconds. Footprints, shoe size 31, were found on site.

Jean Sider indicates that the source is "Figuet, p.116-117."

He comments that "the trio Barthel-Brucker-Figuet says this is a hoax," Figuet relying solely on Barthel and Brucker, but "as they have been caught lying repeatedly," they are no longer credible. He adds that if it was a hoax, there would have been a staging of a "saucer at least", because it was the saucer that fueled conversation topics and newspapers headings of the time, so that it became an "indispensable support for a hoay to be effective."

He adds that there would be no episode of shotgun because it would have given an aggressive image to the witness, unfavorable for a hoax, in the public opinion.

Finally, he cites a US case in September 1954 when John J. Swain, 12 years old, saw near Boldwater, Kansas, a small humanoid who joined a UFO by flying, where the police then found triangular traces and footprints on the spot, without specifying the shoesize. (Citing Lorenzen, Flying Saucer Occupants, New York, Signet Books, 1967, p. 28)

He concludes from all this that the case of St Perdoux "may be genuine."

[Ref. jsr2:] JEAN SIDER:

The author comes back on the case further in his book. He indicates that on October 4, 1954 at 08:10 in Saint Perdoux, in the Lot, Mr. Lacambre experienced a close encounter of the third kind and found traces of shoes of size 31 on the site.

Jean Sider indicates that his source is "Figuet, p.117".

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

3961: 1954/10/04 08:10 1 2:03:00 E 44:40:20 N 3333 WEU FRN LOT 9:6

St PERDOUX,FR:OID/STREAMBED:PUTS WATER>BOTTLE+PEBBLES>BELT:^+VANISHES:r217p181

Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 116 : MOUNTAINS

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1954, on October 4, in France in Saint Perdoux at "8:10 Mr. Lacambre sees at 200 m from his place, at the edge of the brook, a small oddly dressed being. He is small (90cm), brown, carries a broad leather belt, leather shoes and wears panties. Under each arm he carries a pear-shaped object. The witness returns home to get his shotgun. Returning furtively, he finds the small being bent, drinking water from the hollow of its hand. Then it collects stones which it puts in its belt. Mr. Lacambre approaches up to 12 m and hears a sound uttered by the creature: "ortou" or "ortin". It then flies away vertically and disappears in 30 seconds."

She indicates that the source is "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: 'Ovni, Premier dossier complet...' Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 116-117".

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

On this Day

October 4

[...]

1954 - At 8:10 a.m. Mr. Lacambre, a forester, saw a little man or dwarf in a streambed 200 meters from his house in St-Perdoux, Lot, France. The being wore a wide leather belt or girdle, boots, and a tunic. He put water in a bottle, and some pebbles in a belt pouch; he then rose up into air and vanished. The creature had two pear-shaped boxes under his arms that may have assisted his ascent. Footprints were found at the site. (Source: Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, pp. 116-117).

[...]

[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

105.
Location. Saint Pardoux France
Date: October 4 1954
Time: 0810A

M Lacambre, a forester, reported seeing a little man 3'2" tall, wearing a wide leather girdle, boots, and a slip, who rose into the air by virtue of 2 pear-shaped boxes beneath his arms. Footprints were left.

Humcat 1954-72
Source: Humcat quoting newspaper source
Type: E

[Ref. tps1:] TED PHILLIPS:

10/04/54 0810 France, St. Pardoux: M Lacambre, a forester, reported seeing a small being 3 ft tall which rose into the air by virtue of 2 pear-shaped boxes beneath his arms. Footprints were found.

[Ref. cft1:] "WATERUFO" WEB CATALOGUE:

10-04-1954

"SAMEDI-SOIR" NEWSPAPER:

Must we go on?

...Or also, the 96 centimeters (tall) man, carrying (sic-wearing) a broad leather belt, shoes and panties (sic-underpants), which (sic-who) rose in the airs (sic) thanks to two boxes in the shape of pears, placed under each arm. This being was seen by Mr. Lacambre, forestry workman in Saint-Pardoux [sic- Perdoux1] (the Lot), on Monday, October 4, at 8:10 a.m., and the witness has even determined from the footprints that the small being fitted shoe size 21 (Europe standard)...

...Then only the facts would remain, logically unexplainable, which would constitute the true file on the Martians. One would then notice that this file is extremely thin, if not non-existent, and that in this business, there is much, far too much, literature.

MICHEL FIGUET ET JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two ufologists indicate in their book that on October 4, 1954, at 08:10, Mr. Lacambre saw at the edge of a brook within 200 meters of his residence, a small being of approximately 90 centimeter[s] in height and oddly dressed. It was brown, carried [sic-wore] a broad leather belt, leather shoes and carried [sic-wore] underpants. Under each arm he carries an object in the shape of a pear. The witness returned at [sic-to] his place to take his shotgun. Coming back stealthily, he found the small being bent, drinking drinks a water mouthful in the hollow of its hand [bent over the brook drinking water from his hands]. Then it collected stones which it put in its belt. Mr. Lacambre approached up to 12 meters and heard the creature utter: "ortou" or "ortin". It then flew vertically and disappeared from sight in 30 seconds.

MICHEL FIGUET:

During a purification of his UFO close encounters in France, FRANCAT, Michel Figuet received a letter of [sic-from] Mr. Bosc who informed him that the case was a hoax devised by its witness, Mr. Lacambre.

Reference for the above text is: URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog, with an old URL

[Note by Patrick Gross: This is a copy someone made of my own website...but of course my updates are not reflected in it.]

UFOCAT PRN - 106459

UFOCAT URN - 022545 Computerized Catalog (N=3076), #1364, by Jacques Vallee, no © date

UFOCAT URN - 077969 Newspaper clipping, article in the national newspaper "Samedi-Soir", October 14, 1954

UFOCAT URN - 106459 J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, October 1954, p. 7

UFOCAT URN - 115386 HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports, A0273 by D. Webb, no © date

UFOCAT URN - 171919 *U* UFO Computer Database by Larry Hatch, # 03761, © 2002

Note 1: There is some confusion as to the correct spelling of the name of the town. The newspaper clipping has Saint-Pardoux, and while there are several towns which contain this name, none of them is located in the department of Lot, which is indicated in the text. There are two towns, however, named Saint-Perdoux, and one of them IS located in the department of Lot.

Europe - France, Midi-Pyrénées

Saint-Perdoux Latitude 44-40-25 N, Longitude 002-02-55 E (D-M-S) (populated place)

Reference: http://geonames.nga.mil/ggmaviewer/

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan notes in his database that in the Lot in St Perdoux on October 4, 1954 at 08:10 hours, "This Monday morning, 200 meters of his residence at the edge of a brook, the witness sees a small oddly dressed being. It is a being of small size (90 cm), brown, naked head, wearing a broad "leather" belt, fitted with "leather" shoes and wearing panties. The witness goes away to get his shotgun. Returned on the spot furtively, he finds the small being bent and drinking water from in the hollow of its hand, then it collects stones which it puts in without its belt. The observer approaches up to twelve meters and hears the little man pronounce a sound: "ortou" or "ortin". Under each of its arms, an object of the volume of a box of sugar and in the shape of a pear is visible. It then flies away vertically and, in thirty seconds, disappears. The witness found traces of shoes, shoe size 21."

Luc Chastan indicates as source: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 4 October 1954 at 08:10 in "St- Perdoux", France, "Unintelligible language.Forester saw little man 0.9m tall, wore wide leather belt or girdle, boots, slip. Rose into air, had two pear-shaped boxes under his arms. Footprints found."

The website adds: "At 8:10 a.m. Mr. Lacambre, a forester, saw a little man or dwarf in a streambed 200 meters from his house in St-Perdoux, Lot, France. The being wore a wide leather belt or girdle, boots, and a tunic. He put water in a bottle, and some pebbles in a belt pouch; he then rose up into air and vanished. The creature had two pear-shaped boxes under his arms that may have assisted his ascent. Footprints were found at the site."

And: "Apparition of a small humanoid seen, left traces. An unidentified object at close range and its occupants were observed by one experienced male witness on a river (Lacambre). One 3-foot-tall dwarf was seen."

The sources are indicated as: "Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); CUFOS, J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies; Newspaper Clippings; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:

October 4 1954, 0810hrs.

SAINTPERDOUX (LOT : FRANCE)

Mr Lacambre saw, near a brook 200m from his house, a little man, 90cm tall, with a brown, bare head, wearing leather breeches, shoes, belt and smock. Lacambre got out his hunting rifle and returned to the site. He saw the little man scooping up water with his hand from the brook, and picking up pebbles, which he put in his belt. As Lacambre got close, the little man said something like “ortin” or “ortou”. It had under each of its arms a pear shaped object the size of a sugar box. It flew away vertically and disappeared in 30 seconds. Lacambre saw size 21 footprints at the site.

Alain Gamard citing Sud-Ouest, 7 October 1954.

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Location: Saint Pardoux France

Date: October 4 1954

Time: 0810A

M. Lacambre, a forester, reported seeing at the edge of a brook a little man 3’2” tall, wearing wide brown leather girdle, boots, and a slip. Under each arm the small entity carried an object in the shape of a pear. Surprised, the witness runs back to his cabin and grabs a shotgun. Upon returning he sees the small being, bending over the brook drinking water from his hands, it then collects some stones, which he puts in his belt and when Mr. Lacambre approaches to within 12 meters from the humanoid he hears the humanoid emit a sound similar to “ortou” or “ortin”. The humanoid then flies up vertically and disappears. Footprints were found at the site.

Source: Figuet/Ruchon 1979

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

*Oct. 4, 1954 - At 8:10 a.m. Mr. Lacambre, a forester, saw a little man or dwarf in a streambed 200 meters from his house in St-Perdoux, Lot, France. The being wore a wide leather belt or girdle, boots, and a tunic. He put water in a bottle, and some pebbles in a belt pouch; he then rose up into air and vanished. The creature had two pear-shaped boxes under his arms that may have assisted his ascent. Footprints were found at the site. (Source: Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, pp. 116-117).

[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:

The author indicates that there was a close encounter of the third kind in Saint-Perdoux, the Lot, on Monday morning October 4, 1954, at 08:10 a.m.:

Mr. Lacambre, 200 meters from his home, at the edge of a stream, saw a being of a size of 90 cm, brown, bare head, wearing a wide "leather" belt, shoed with "leather" and wearing panties. He went to get his hunting rifle and came back to the place furtively. He found the little creature bent and drinking a sip of water in the hollow of his hand, then picking up pebbles that he put in his belt. The witness approached up to twelve meters and heard the little man utter a sound: "ortou" or "ortin". Under each of his arms a pear-shaped object of the volume of a sugar box was visible. It then flew vertically and disappeared in 30 seconds. Mr. Lacambre found traces of shoes, size 21.

The sources are indicated as Sud-Ouest for October 7, 1954; Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, "OVNI: le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France", pages 116-117; Jean Sider, "Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste", pages 181-182.

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded this case 4 times:

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19541004 04.10.1954 St Pardoux France CE III
19541004 04.10.1954 St. Pardoux France CE III
19541004 04.10.1954 St. Pardoux France 10.00 CE III
19541004 04.10.1954 St. Pervoux [sic] France

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

October 4 1954. 0810hrs.

SAINT-PERDOUX (LOT : FRANCE)

Mr Lacambre saw, near a brook 200m from his house, a little man, 90cm tall, with a brown, bare head, wearing leather breeches, shoes, belt and smock. Lacambre got out his hunting rifle and returned to the site. He saw the little man scooping up water with his hand from the brook, and picking up pebbles, which he put in his belt. As Lacambre got close, the little man said something like "ortin" or "ortou". It had under each of its arms a pear shaped object the size of a sugar box. It flew away vertically and disappeared in 30 seconds. Lacambre saw size 21 footprints at the site.

Explanations:

Map.

Hoax by the alleged witness.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Saint-Perdoux, Lot, Lacambre, hoax, belt, leather, shoes, arms, boxes, pears, forester, footprints, stream, gun, curved, water, pebbles, language, vertical

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross September 4, 2005 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross March 15, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [jsr2], [goe1], [djn1], [lcn1], [uda1].
1.1 Patrick Gross April 22, 2009 Addition [bbr1].
1.2 Patrick Gross February 14, 2010 Addition [tps1].
1.3 Patrick Gross August 13, 2013 Addition [prn1].
1.4 Patrick Gross October 8, 2014 Additions [tai1], [nip1].
1.5 Patrick Gross October 14, 2014 Additions [jsr1], [cft1], translation corrections in the translation of [ssr1] based on [cft1].
1.6 Patrick Gross February 13, 2017 Additions [ubk1], [jgz1].
1.7 Patrick Gross November 9, 2019 Additions [agd1], [bbr2], [mft2], [jsx1], [cnu1], [lhh1], [prn2].
1.8 Patrick Gross August 29, 2021 Addition [tbw1].

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This page was last updated on August 29, 2021.