The 1954 French flap:

Out of This World

More Flying Saucers Reported in France

By Robert N. Sturdevant

A cardboard-box salesman, Pierre Allo[?], told Paris reporters that he spotted a huge silver saucer in the sky round 4:30 p.m. yesterday as his taxi stopped for a red light near the Porte Dorée, at the eastern outskirts of the city.

Two other persons, Gilbert Bacon and Paul Julien, reported seeing the same thing but thought it looked more like a flying wing. All witnesses spoke of a screeching sound and a smoky tail which followed the object.

These were the last reports of out-of-this-world manifestations which have been pouring in from all parts of France for the last two weeks. A Deputy in the National Assembly has asked the Air ministry what it is doing to explain the so-called phenomena.

From Lille, it was reported that a retired miner, known as a local wag, had fabricated some hot-air balloons three yards in diameter which went aloft with the aid of gasoline-saturated straw attached to the bottom.

When the balloons went up and got caught in the wind they gave off a yellowish flare, to the consternation of people who saw them in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the jokster, one almost set a haystack on fire on landing, and the miner was arrested. He is charged with what French law calls "dangerous amusement."

A road-mender in middle France also was caught for playing a joke.

He had reported seeing a flying cigar alight in a field near his work, and claimed that when he approached the object he was paralyzed by a strange light. Afterward he pointed out three holes in the ground which he said were made by the object.

Gendarmes picked him up a couple of days later and perceived that the holes had been made by the road-mender's own hands. He was held for further disciplinary action.

A roadmender discovers a flying saucer in Haute-Marne

"A hairy little being was standing beside the machine," said the witness.

SAINT-DIZIER. - The affair of flying objects takes considerable proportions. There is a true epidemic of varied visions which nevertheless coincide strangely on some features.

We will leave it to others to settle down and we will confine ourselves whenever possible, to giving the testimonies in their integrity because we believe that in the face of these phenomena we are still at the stage of pure and simple observation.

No one can prove the non-existence of the flying objects and those who saw them assert their existence. The latter are of a certain number now, and most of them are honest people who are incapable of hoaxing. Among them is Mr. André Narcy, aged 48, father of 7 children, a roadmender at the Ponts-et-Chaussées for 19 years, living in Mertrud, near Wassy (the Haute-Marne). Mr. Narcy witnessed a strange appearance yesterday morning. An appearance that adds an element to the already voluminous file of the unknown flying objects. Mr. Narcy had left his house early to go on a motorcycle to a construction site of the Ponts et Chaussées between Voillecomte and Wassy. He took the road Laneuville to Rémy - Voillecomte and it is between these two villages that he saw the phenomenal thing. Let him speak:

"It was 7:15 a.m. while I was riding, I was approaching the old Tuilerie, a place where, on my left in the fields, I saw something of orange color, I thought it was a canvas on the ground or the tent of a camper, but suddenly my heart shocked and I realized that it was a machine, I stopped, put my bike against the barrier, passed under the barbed wire and ran into the pasture in the direction of the thing, the machine was posed on the ground at the bottom of a basin where once the clay was extracted for the tile factory now in ruins. By far, I had only seen the Flying Saucer's top, it now appeared to me in full. I was about 100 meters away and began to distinguish all the details when I saw a person standing next to the craft. He seemed to me entirely covered with hairs, or else he wore a tight coat of fur, and around his waist he wore a sort of broad orange corset, and on his head he had a kind of teddy-toque. He was motionless and seemed to look at me. I could not make out his face features. Suddenly I became aware that I was alone in front of him. I was afraid and stopped running. Making a gesture, I questioned him. Then he rushed into his machine very quickly. I could see clearly when he leaned in to enter through a round porthole, that he had arms. I had plenty of time to see the saucer accurately. It was spherical in shape with an approximate diameter of 10 meters. Below this sphere I saw a sort of spindle. The round porthole was between the sphere and the spindle. It closed on the little being and I saw a kind of smoke from one end of the spindle as there was a big vaporous eddy under the Saucer that rose vertically. Everything disappeared very quickly in the clouds. I had heard only a kind of rustling comparable to that of an electric motor."

Immediately, Mr. Narcy went back to his motorcycle and went to his job as soon as possible. There his comrades, seeing his pale face, asked him if he had been in an accident. M. Narcy recounted his adventure, and, accompanied by two others, Messrs. Louis Riel and Henri, returned to the scene. At the very spot of the apparition, the three men noticed that the morning dew no longer existed on a large surface where it had been dried. The grass seemed to have been packed on a square of 3 by 3 meters, all the approaches being clearly visible. This herb had a milky appearance. Besides, there were a dozen broad traces, like two hands each, round, deeper on one side than the other. The traces went to the ground. In the same land each trail was 50 cm apart, on the other, and these lands were themselves separated by 1 m. 50 approximately.

They were scattered in a straight line from the described quadrilateral. Higher up, it looks like the mysterious machine made six jumps before it came to rest. One of these traces seemed to indicate a skid on 40 centimeters...

ALWAYS
the saucers...

Mr. André Narcy, 48, roadmender, in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), went to work yesterday morning by motorcycle when near Voillecomte, at 7:15 a.m., he noticed in a field, at a place called "La Vieille Tuilerie", an orange object. As he got closer, he noticed that he was in the presence of an object unknown to him. The roadmender stopped his machine and walked to about a hundred meters from the object. It was then that he saw a small being about 1.20 m. nearby and dressed in a coat covered with hair. Mr. Narcy was very frightened and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. The latter, after turning to him, rushed into his craft which immediately flew vertically to get lost in the clouds.

The waltz of the saucers continues...

The roadmender of Metrud claims
to have seen, on the ground, in LANEUVILLE-A-REMY

A FLYING SAUCER
piloted by an "orang-utang"

The machine of 2 m. 50 height and 3 m. length
was green-orange with some yellow...

- "A flying saucer landed near Wassy!".
Such was the noise which ran Wednesday October 6, 1954, in the small city.

-"It's the roadmender of Mertrud who saw it, it was added".
What else to do, if not to go there, not see the saucer which didn't wait for us, but the Mertrudian.

In the absence of a Martian...

And wasn't this an opportunity to convince my friend Titin? We thus invited it to join our caravan.

-"I agree, he answered. A ride in the countryside can't hurt, even when it rains. But please note that I will believe in the flying saucers only when I see some, with my own eyes. And still it would be necessary that I am certain that, on that day, I was absolutely healthy, body and mind, and that the day before one had not partied before a good buddy's wedding."

Having said that, Titin climbed in the 11 HP Citroen, which started, in a thundering noise, whereas I pointed out to my friend that he was not considerate for the honourable witnesses of similar phenomena. Moreover, the continuation of the story was to show that the roadmender of Mertrud is a perfectly sober boy.

On the road
to Montier-en-Der

Wassy was to mark our first stop. Wasn't it from there that the news had spread? It was right to establish the starting point of our interplanetary documentation there, looking there for some possible original tips.

All that we could learn there, is that indeed, it was heard about the event. Nobody, except few people, had paid great attention to it. The roadmender of Metrud, Mr. Narcy, whereas he is known as an excellent boy, is also known as being endowed with an imagination which does not lack originality.

This is seomthing that we would hear in several more places. If, objectively, we are willing to bring back the statements which he agreed to give us in front of the gendarmerie of Wassy where he had been invited to go, it is important to provide the real atmos which surrounds the debate.

From Wassy, we then reached to the building site of the road of Montier-in-Der, where Mr. Narcy is employed, with several of his comrades, to repair the roadway.

-"What you did see?" did we ask to Mr. Narcy.

Whereas he had just taken his service at the building site bordering the road which crosses Laneuville-à-Rémy, Mr. Narcy according to his statements, has seen at 250 meters in front of him, whereas he arrived at the height of vast meadow populated with cows and horses, and located at the edge of a small wood, something like a cover extended on the grass. Puzzled, he rested his motorbike against a shrub cluster. Then, having raised the barbwire, he entered the meadow. Arrived at 200 meters approximately of the strange object, dissimulated partly by an accentuated declivity of the ground, he identified the object:

-"It was a saucer!"
-"What was, in your opinion, its dimensions?
-"Two meters fifty of height, and three meters wide.
-"What was its color?
-"Green-orange, with some yellow.

An orang-utang

-"Did you see its passenger?
-"Yes.
-"What did it look like?
-"You would have sworn it was an orang-utang of one meter 20 of height.
It did not have clothing but it was covered with hairs.

It was foggy

-"What time was -il?
-"07:15.
-"Was the weather clear?
-"There was fog.
I shouted: "Hey", claims Mr. Narcy. Then the orang-utang went up in its machine, which rose vertically, while letting a light smok escape beneath it. It disappeared quickly".

Mr. Narcy then rushed towards his building site, at 3 km from there. His excitement and its paleness intrigued his comrades extremely. They all told us so, unanimously.

At this point in time he gave the first account of his adventure.

Visit on the premises

We went onto the meadow at Laneuville-à-Rémy, with Mr. Narcy, police officers, and several witnesses.

Mr. Narcy re-enacted the successive scenes such as he claims to have seen them, and on a tone of perfect naturalness.

He precisely indicated the place where he says he has seen the machine and which is not exactly that which was indicated elsewhere [1]. It is within 50 meters of rather deep traces, inprinter in the ground, and which could have been caused by a plough shear (for example), that the saucer landed.

No evidence of this fact remained to be seen yesterday, for the eyes of curious who came in pilgrimage.

That astonished the eternal skeptics who claim that saucers and cigars must weigh a certain weight. Consequently, a serious packing should be observed in a ground deeply softened by the rain.

But with these celestial materials, shouldn't we expect everything, and that they play, indeed, with laws that govern gravity on our poor earth!

As regards conclusion

Titin, during all these reconstitutions, did not utter a word.

As we went up in the car, under a lashing rain, I ventured to challenge him.

-"So?", I said.
"So, he answered. I will wait to see, before giving my pronouncement. I am not convinced, but I breathed the good air, though a little wet. That's still something".

Titin, as I told you, is stuborn.

Let's wish that, to illuminate his intellect, a saucer and its pilot agree to "force land", some evening, at the corner of a wood - P.J.

Where the "saucer"
landed,the grass had a milky color
and one found
12 traces of round feet

Chaumont, October 7.

Mr. André Narcy, 48, a roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), was driving to work yesterday morning on a motorcycle when near Voillecomte at 7:15 a.m., he noticed an orange object in a field at a place called "La Vieille Tuilerie". As he got closer, he noticed that he was in the presence of a craft unknown to him. The roadmender stopped his machine and walked about a hundred meters from the object. It was then that he saw a small being about 1.20 m tall nearby and dressed in a coat covered with hair. Mr. Narcy was very frightened and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. This one after having turned towards him engulfed himself in his machine which flew away immediately vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the object was spherical, about ten meters in diameter. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft was right between the spindle and the body of the craft.

At the start of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle while a large vaporous eddy occurred under the apparatus.

Mr. Narcy immediately went to work, where he told his comrades of his adventure. With two of them, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned to the place, where he noticed that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky hue and was crushed on a square about three meters aside. In addition, 12 parallel tracks resembling footprints of round feet were distributed over a certain distance, suggesting that the craft had landed by a series of small jolts.

SHOULD WE BELIEVE IT?

Passengers of
the flying saucers
contact
the "Earthlings"

Saucers, cigars, discs, crowns, balls, lights, luminous streaks of various colors and all other flying objects were seen in Saint-Etienne, in several villages of Eure and Loir, at Heyrieux (Isère), Dieulanvallon (Côtes du Nord), Ajort (Calvados) and in Biarritz.

A strange testimony is that of Mr. André Narcy, 48 years old, roadworker in Mertrud (Haute-Marne). He was going to work yesterday morning on a motorcycle, when near Voillecompte, at 7:15 a.m., he noticed in a field at the place called "La Vieille Tuilerie" an orange object. As he got closer, he noticed that he was in the presence of an unknown object. The roadmaker stopped his machine and, by foot, reached a hundred meters from the object. It was then that he saw a small being about 1.20 m. tall and dressed in a coat covered with hair. Mr. Narcy was very frightened and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. The latter, after turning towards him, rushed into his machine, which immediately flew vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy the machine was spherical in shape, with a diameter of about ten meters. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft was right between the spindle and the body of the craft. At the start of the latter, a kind of flame went out of the spindle, while a large vaporous eddy occurred under the machine.

Mr. Narcy immediately went to work, where he told his comrades of his adventure. With two of them, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned to the place, where he noted that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky hue and was crushed on a square about three meters aside. In addition, 12 parallel tracks were distributed over a certain distance, suggesting that the craft had landed by a series of small jolts.

Two men go down
of a "flying tureen"

In addition, a farmer from Chaleix (Dordogne), Mr. Garreau said on his honor that he had seen a "flying tureen" land on his property. Mr. Garreau said that two perfectly normal men, dressed in khaki overalls, got out, shook his hand, and spoke an unknown language to him. Mr. Garreau, amazed, did not answer. The two men petted his dog and climbed back into the craft; which flew silently away at a dizzying pace.

At the place indicated by Mr. Garreau, it was found that the grass had been trampled.

In the Haute-Marne, a roadmender calls a "MARTIAN"... who climbs aboard his machine and runs away

In the Dordogne, a farmer saw a "flying soup tureen" and its two occupants

Chaumont, October 7 (A.P.P) - Mr. André Narcy, a 48-year-old roadmender in Mertrud (the Haute-Marne), went yesterday morning to work on his motorcycle when near Voillecomte at 7:15 a.m. he noticed in a field in the vicinity of the place called "La Vieille-Tuilerie" an orange-colored object. As he approached, he found that he was in the presence of a machine unknown to him. The roadmender stopped his machine and walked to about fifty meters from the object. It was then that he perceived in the vicinity a small being about 1 m. 20 in height and clad in a coat covered with hair. Narcy was very afraid and lay down on the ground and then called the character. The latter, after turning towards him, rushed into his machine; which immediately flew away vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the craft was spherical in shape with a diameter of about ten meters. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft was just between the spindle and the body of the apparatus. At the departure of the latter a kind of flame emerged from the spindle while a great vaporous eddy occurred under the machine.

M. Narcy went immediately to his work, where he told his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, Mrrs. Riel and Henry, he returned to the spot where he found that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky tint and was crushed on a square about three meters side. In addition, 12 parallel tracks resembling round foot prints were distributed over a certain distance, suggesting that the apparatus had landed in a series of small jolts.

A farmer from Chaleix (the Dordogne), Mr. Garreau, said yesterday that he had seen a "flying soup tureen" land on his property. Mr. Garreau said that two perfectly normal men dressed in khaki suits came down and shook hands with him and spoke to him an unknown language. Mr. Garreau, awestruck, did not reply. The two men stroked his dog and climbed back into the aircraft, which flew away noiselessly at a dizzying pace.

At the place indicated by Mr. Garreau it was found that the grass had been crushed.

In the Corrèze

At the Verdier (commune of Eyburie) several people saw, on the evening of October 1st, around 10 p.m., a ball of fire in the sky. For a few seconds it illuminated the landscape with a reddish gleam and appearing to follow the course of the Vézère. It disappeared in the direction of Uzerche.

***

Saturday, October 2, in broad daylight this time around 1:30 p.m. in the village of Espartignac, an 8-year-old girl, who was leaving her home to go to school, was frightened by a strange phenomenon. She immediately called her mother, who was able to ascertain the following fact: an object of cylindrical form, extremely brilliant, which seemed to rotate on itself at a very rapid pace, rose vertically in the sky, where it was to disappear.

A luminous sphere at the Ile de Ré

A mason living in the Island of Ré, Mr. Simonnetti, said he saw a luminous sphere about 12 meters in diameter, which oscillated about fifty meters from the ground.

The sphere, he said, had become

(Continued on page 2)

A ROADMENDER IN THE HAUTE-MARNE:

"I saw in a field an unknown craft and a small being covered of hairs"

Chaumont (A.F.P.).

M. Andre Narcy, 48-year-old roadmender in Mertrud (the Haute-Marne), went Wednesday morning to his work by motorcycle when near Voillecomte, at 07:15, he noticed in a field, at the locality [illegible line] an object of orange color, while approaching he noted that he was in the presence of an apparatus unknown to him. The roadmender stopped his machine and, by foot, arrived at a hundred meters of the object. At this point in time he saw in the vicinity a small being, approximately 1.20 meters tall and dressed of a jacket covered of hair. Mr. Narcy was very afraid and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. The latter, after having turned to him, entered in his apparatus which flew away immediately vertically to lose itself in the clouds.

A large vaporous whirl

According to Mr. Narcy, the craft was of spherical shape, had a diameter of ten meters approximately. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the port-hole by which the being entered the machine was just between the spindle and the body of the apparatus. At the start of the apapratus, a kind of flame came out of this spindle while a large vaporous movement occurred under the machine.

Twelve traces of round feet

Mr. Narcy went at once to his work where he told his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, Misters Riel and Henry, he returned on the spot where he noted that the dew did not exist any more on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky colour and was crushed on a square of approximately three meters side. Moreover, twelve parallel traces resembling prints of steps of round feet were spread at a certain distance, giving the impression that the apparatus had landed in a succession of small hops.

"INCANDESCENT BALL" IN THE SKY OF PERTUIS

Are we the only ones not to see "saucers"? This void is filled since the evening of the day before yesterday (and even before it seems).

Various phenomena were observed. Incandescent ball which pitched in the starry sky above the hill of Meyrargues to disappear at the vertical behind the railway station; object shining "on two floors" located during several hours in the same place; reddish kind of nacelle which quickly spun above the Lubéron towards the Alps at an indefinable altitude, etc..., etc...

Everybody (or almost everybody) saw "something"...

"THEY" REACH GREECE

Mitilini (Greece)

The mayor of Uryssi, close to Mytilene, claims to have seen during fifteen minutes, above the village, a pink and white flying saucer.

MYSTERIOUS LIGHT IN THE SKY OF BESSEGES

Bessèges (C.P.).

Tenants of the building located at the 6 of the Victor-Hugo street, in Bessèges, observed Wednesday evening, starting AT 10:15 P.M., a mysterious light in the sky.

This reddish gleam moved little by little and disappeared gradually at the end of ABOUT TWENTY minutes behind the mountain.

One of the witnesses, initially skeptical, had to convince himself that the light had obviously moved.

Two days before, the residents of a nearby house had also observed a phenomenon of the same kind.

A roadmender of the Haut-Marne sees a saucer and its (small) pilot

CHAUMONT. -- Mr. André Narcy, 48-year-old, roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), went to his work by motorbike when near Voillecomte, at 07:15, he noticed, in a field, at the place called "La Vieille Tuilerie", an object of orange color. While approaching, he noted that he was in the presence of a machine unknown to him. The roadmender stopped his machine and, by foot, arrived at a hundred meters of the object. At this point in time he saw in the vicinity a small being being approximately 1.20 m tall and dressed in a jacket covered of hairs. Mr. Narcy was very afraid and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. The latter, after having turned to him, went into his craft which flew away immediately vertically to lose itself in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the machine was of spherical shape, had a diameter of ten meters approximately. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the port-hole by which the being reinstated the craft was just between the spindle and the body of the apparatus.

At the start of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle, while a large vaporous movement occurred under the machine.

Mr. Narcy went at once to his work where he told his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, Misters Riel and Henry, he returned on the spot where they observed that the dew did not exist any more on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky colour and was crushed on a square of approximately three meters side.

Moreover, twelve parallel traces resembling prints of round feet were distributed on certain outdistances, letting think that the apparatus landed in a series of small hops.

A roadmender from the Haute-Marne
reportedly saw a "flying
saucer" and its pilot

Chaumont, 7. -- Mr. André Narcy, 48, roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), was on his way to work by motorcycle when near Voillecomte, at 7 a.m. there he noticed in an path, at a place called "la Vieille Tuileries", an orange object.

As he got closer, he noticed that he was in the presence of an object unknown to him. The roadmaker stopped his machine and walked to about a hundred meters from the object.

It was then that he saw nearby a small being about 1.20 m. tall and dressed in a coat covered with hair. Mr. Narcy was very scared and lay down on the ground, then he called the man. The latter, after turning to him, rushed into his machine which immediately flew vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the object was spherical, about ten meters in diameter. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft was right between the spindle and the body of the craft. At the start of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle while a large vaporous eddy occurred under the craft.

Mr. Narcy went immediately to his work where he told of his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned to the place where he noticed that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky hue and was crushed on a square about three meters aside. In addition, 12 parallel tracks resembling round footprints were spread over a certain distance, suggesting that the craft had landed by a series of small jolts.

Limoges. -- A farmer from Chaleix (Dordogne), Mr. Arreau, said on his honor that he saw a "flying tureen" land in his property. Mr. Garreau stated that two perfectly normal men, dressed in khaki overalls, got out, shook his hand and spoke an unknown language to him. Mr. Arreau, amazed, did not respond. The two men petted his dog and climbed back into their craft, which flew silently away at a dizzying pace.

At the place indicated by Mr. Garreau, it was found that the grass had been trampled.

La Rochelle. -- A mason living on the Island of Ré, Mr. Simonetti, saw a luminous sphere of about 12 meters in diameter, which oscillated at a fifty meters from the ground.

The sphere, he said, turned red, turned blue and rose vertically very quickly.

Two other inhabitants of the Ile de Ré have witnessed the same phenomenon.

Two Parisians on vacation in the town of Mouchamps, Mr. and Mrs. Laroche, claimed to have seen, at nightfall, an incandescent sphere.

Dijon, 7. -- Mrs. Thérèse Fourmeret, 23 years old, living in Poncey-sur-l'Ignon (Côte d'Or), saw a craft land in a meadow not far from her home. She said that, frightened, she had been careful not to observe this phenomenon any longer and had taken refuge with neighbors. The gendarmerie noted very clear traces on the ground at the place indicated. Clods of grass had been torn off and thrown within a four-meter radius.

Rouen. -- Mr. Landrin, attendant of the Waters at Duclair (Seine-Inférieure), who was walking with his wife, was blinded by a beam of light. When he opened his eyes, he saw a ball which disappeared a few minutes later.

Finally saucers, cigars, discs, crowns, balls, glow, luminous trail of various colors and all other flying objects were seen in Saint-Etienne, in several villages of Eure-et-Loir, in Heyrieux (Isère), Dieulanvollon (Côtes du Nord), in Ajort (Calvados) and in Biarritz.

The Chronicle of the Saucers

If one were to draw conclusions from the saucer appearances that have been multiplying for some time, at least one would appear with obviousness: the "Uranids" seem to ignore taylorization!

Of all the nacelles used by them that landed on Earth in the sight of various witnesses, not one is like the others. Some are mounted on crutches, others

(Continued on 5^th page)

The chronicle of the 'flying saucers'

(Continued from the first page)

do not have a landing gear. Their shape varies, from the pot to the cigar, through the traditional saucer, and their diameter is never the same, ranging from 1 m 50 to 12 and 15 meters.

As for the occupants of these pods, they are often very different in appearance: covered with hair say some, tiny, very tall, similar to humaans. Enough to get lost!

Here is a new list of appearances that will once again show our readers the diversity of interstellar craft and the multiplicity of faces of their passengers.

PERIGUEUX. -- A farmer from Chaleix (Dordogne), Mr. Garreau, said on his honor, to have seen a "flying soup bowl" land on his property. Mr. Garreau stated that two perfectly normal men, dressed in khaki suits, came down, shook hands with him and spoke an unknown language. Mr. Garreau, stupefied, did not answer. The two men stroked his dog and climbed back into their craft, which flew away noiselessly at a vertiginous pace. At the place indicated by Mr. Garreau, it was found that the grass had been trampled.

LA ROCHELLE. -- A mason living on the island of Ré, Mr. Simmonetti, said he saw a luminous sphere some 12 meters in diameter that oscillated about 50 meters from the ground.

The sphere, he said, turned red, turned blue and rose very quickly vertically. Two other residents of the Island of Ré claimed to have witnessed the same phenomenon.

Two Parisians on holidays in the commune of Mouchamps, Mr. and Mrs. Laroche, have said they saw, at dusk, an incandescent sphere.

DIJON. -- Mrs. Thérèse Fourneret, 23-year-old, living in Poncey-sur-Lignon (Côte d'Or), saw, Monday evening, a craft land in a meadow not far from her home. She said that, scared, she had been careful not to observe this phenomenon any longer and had taken refuge at neighbors'. The gendarmerie revealed very clear marks on the ground at the indicated place. Clods of grass had been torn off and thrown on a radius of four meters.

ROUEN. -- Mr. Landrin, a water officer at Duclair (Seine-Inférieure), who was walking in the company of his wife, was blinded by a beam of light. When he opened his eyes, he said, he saw a ball that disappeared minutes later.

CHAUMONT. -- Mr. André Narcy, 48, roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne) was going Wednesday morning to work on a motorcycle when near Voillecomte, at 7:15 a.m., when he noticed in a field at the place called "la Vieille Tuile", an orange object. As he approached, he found that he was in the presence of a craft unkown to him.

The roadmender stopped his machine, and by foot came a hundred yards from the object. It was then that he saw near it a small creature about 1m20 tall, dressed in a fur coat covered with hair.

Mr. Narcy was very frightened and lay down on the ground, then he called the individual. The latter, after turning to him, rushed into his machine that flew away vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the craft was spherical in shape, about 10 meters in diameter. Under the sphere was a sort of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft was just between the spindle and the body of the craft. At the departure of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle while a large vaporous swirl occurred under the machine.

Mr. Narcy immediately went to work where he told his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned to the place where he found that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface.

The grass had a slightly milky hue and was crushed on a square about three meters apart. In addition, twelve parallel tracks resembling round footprints were spread out over a distance, suggesting that the apparatus had landed with a series of jolts.

Finally saucers, cigars, disks, crowns, balls, glows, luminous trails of various colors and all other flying objects were seen in Saint-Etienne, in several villages of Eure-et-Loir, in Heyrieux (Isère), Dieulanvollon (Côte du Nord), in Ajort (Calvados) and in Biarritz.

THE "FLYING SAUCERS"

-- Nevers, 8. -- Several residents of Corbigny (Nièvre) said they saw on the night from Wednesday to Thursday, in the sky, a luminous object in the shape of a cigar, carrying at its lower part two discs. The crat was moving at high speed.

For his part, an office worker claims to have observed a large, luminous disc of orange-yellow color with a dazzling clarity at the back.

-- Châteauroux, 8. -- Two residents of Montlevicq saw a flying saucer moving slowly in the sky above the woods of Boulogne. Some 30 kilometers away, in Saint-Plantaire, other people said that they had seen a luminous object the size of a soccer ball.

-- Orthez, 8. -- In the Lapoustelle district of Orthez, near the Moncade tower, a very brilliant disc was seen in the sky by about twenty people, this disc took on a red color, stopped for a moment and then disappeared.

-- Saint Brieuc, 8. -- Glowing globes were seen in the sky by two traders from Saint-Bihy, near Quintin (Côtes-du-nord); consumers of a drinking establishment went out to observe the same phenomenon.

-- Montargis, 8. -- An employee of a Cholette company said he saw a luminous oval cigar moving around at great altitude.

Other people, working in vineyards would also have seen an identical craft.

In Dordives, two residents said they had seen in the sky a bizarre object which was moving at high altitude, rising quickly disappeared westbound.

A "Martian" in a cloak

Chaumont, 8. -- Mr. André Narcy, 48, roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), was on his way to work on Wednesday morning by motorcycle when, near Voillecomte, he noticed an unknown orange-colored vehicle in a field.

A hundred meters from the object, he saw nearby, a small being, being about 1.20 meters tall, dressed in a cloak covered with hair. Mr. Narcy was very scared and lay down on the ground. Then he called the individual who, after turning to him, rushed into his craft which immediately flew away vertically to get lost in the clouds.

According to Mr. Narcy, the craft was spherical, with a diameter of about 10 meters. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the porthole through which the being entered the craft, was just between the spindle and the body of the craft. At the start of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle while a large vaporous eddy occurred under the apparatus.

Mr. Narcy went immediately to his work where he narrated his adventure to his comrades. With two of them, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned to the place where he noticed that the dew no longer existed on a certain surface. The grass had a slightly milky hue and was crushed on a square about three meters aside. In addition, 12 parallel tracks resembling round footprints were spread over a certain distance, suggesting that the craft had landed in a series of small jolts.

RAIN OF FLYING SAUCERS IN FRANCE

Testimonies on the flying saucers seem to become increasingly precise. Various people in the same area announce the same phenomenon and one can say that one has assisted for a few days to a true rain of flying saucers, cigars or discs on the entire France. A farmer of Chaleix (Dordogne) Mr. Garreau affirmed on his honor to have seen a flying soup tureen land in his property. Mr. Garreau declared that two perfectly normal men covered of kaki suit descended, shook hands with him and spoke a language unknown to him. Amazed, Mr. Garreau did not answer, the two men caressed his dog and went up in their apparatus which flew away without noise at a vertiginous pace. A luminous sphere 12 meters in diameter was seen in the Island of Ré by a mason, Mr. Simonetin. The sphere, he said, became red after having hovered within 50 meters of the ground, it changed to blue and rose very quickly vertically. The craft was also observed by two Parisian on holiday. Mrs. Thérèse Fourmeret, 23 years, inhabitant of Poncey-sur-l'Ignon (Côte d'Or) saw Monday evening a craft land in a meadow not far from her residence. She declared that frightened, she had taken greeat care not to observe this phenomenon longer and had taken refuge at neighbors'. The gendarmerie noted very clear traces on the ground at the indicated place. Turfs had been torn off and projected in a radius of four meters.

In Duclair (Seine-Inférieure) Mr. Laudrin, employee of the water supplies who was walking with his wife, was dazzled by a ray of light, when he reopened the eyes, he saw a ball that disappeared a few minutes later.

A roadmender of Mertrud (Haute-Marne), Mr. André Narcy, claims to have approached within less than one hundred meters a flying saucer posed in a field close to Voillecomte. He saw near the machine a small being, high of approximately 1,20 meters who was dressed of a kind of cape covered with hairs. Mr. Narcy challenged the strange character who did not answer him and threw himself in his machine which flew away vertically. According to Mr. Narcy, the machine was of spherical shape, of a diameter of ten meters approximately. Under the sphere was a kind of spindle and the port-hole by which the being returned in the machine was just between the spindle and the body of the apparatus. At the start of the latter, a kind of flame came out of the spindle while a large vaporous movement occurred under the machine. On the spot he noted that the dew did not exist any more on some surface. The grass had a slightly milky colour and was crushed on a square of approximately three meters side. Moreover, twelve parallel traces resembling prints of round feet were distributed at a certain distance, letting think that the apparatus had landed with a succession of small sudden starts...

According to the account of the "witnesses"

The average Martian measures from 1 meter to 1 meter 20 wears a motorcycle helmet and does not speak French

The most recent testimonies of the strange passengers of saucers, cigars, and various apparatuses that landed in different regions of France agree on one point: the supposed Martians are small and different from those who appeared in Portugal and measured 2 m. 50.

We summarize the witnesses report that can give an idea of what might be the "average Martian":

Mr. Marius DEWILDE, 34, metallurgist in Quarouble (Nord), saw two beings measuring one meter, with wide shoulders, but apparently without arms. They were dressed in diving suits and fitted with helmets. They pointed at the witness a ray that paralyzed him for a few seconds.

Mr. Pierre LUCAS, a baker in Loctudy (Finistère), saw an "individual" measuring 1 m 30 come out of a saucer and patting him on the shoulder uttering unintelligible sounds. His face was oval and hairy and his eyes were "the size of a raven egg".

Mr. André NARCY, 48 years old, a roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne), saw a 1.20-meter-tall being disembarking from a saucer "dressed in a coat covered with hairs".

Mr. Antoine MAZAUD, from Bugeat (Corrèze), saw a "medium-sized" being wearing a motorcycle helmet.

M. Lucien BORDET, storekeeper, 9 rue Lapérouse, Paris, saw at the Bois de Boulogne three "beings" of 1 meter in height, dressed in luminous outfits and wearing helmets whose portholes concealed their eyes. One of them, who appeared to be the chief, had "six rotundities on the abdomen".

MERTRUD

THE SAUCER
of Mertrud

We willingly insert in its full text the letter we address Mr. Narcy Mertrud who was innocently joked by one of our editors about the "flying saucer" he said seeing. Mr. Narcy Rest assured, our staff has never wanted to harm himself "individual dignity". And as our correspondent puts us all in his "box", what we want to be fair benefit our readers, we see ourselves as left to him.

Mr. Editor.

I was very flattered to read your article on my story about the flying saucer. I thought your newspaper was a news bulletin, but I realize that it is rather an editorial gossip rag. I do not doubt that your reporter (a would-be Rouletabille) is a being of superior intelligence, however the lessons of politeness and tact had missed him.

If I'm a joker I did not cause in anyway harm on the individual dignity of anyone. In your article "Pigeon Fly" today I can assure you that this was not a flight of canards I've seen because in this group the "Haute-Marne-Libérée" was missing.

On the other hand if information is distorted through the phone I think your own phone must be in trouble because if the person I saw looked like a monkey I did not say it was one, no more than I said he was a Martian.

I urge you to take steps to retract the misleading statements you published in your articles.

Waiting to read you. Greetings, Sir.

NARCY.

[...]

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, carrying a broad leather belt, shoes and panties, which rose in the airs 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 shoesize 21 [Europe standard]...

What to think of the assertion of 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 (Vienna), 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. widows 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.

HAUTE-MARNE

THE 2 WITNESSES DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER...

[Caption of the "Martian" sketch:] Such is the Martian represented by Narcy and Oldut. Our designer has carefully reconstructed it from the descriptions and sketches made by these witnesses.

[Left:] First witness: Grégoire Oldut, 63, farmer. Honourably known. His testimony supports that of Mr. Narcy. We give him the floor: "Leaving my land of the "Bobottes", I set off on the road to Wassy. Suddenly, behind the curtain of trees of the "old tile factory", I see a gold disc in the sky. Am I dreaming? Not at all! The orange spot plunges from the sky and, after a few leaps in the grass, lands. I could not believe my eyes. A one-meter-tall creature comes out of the infernal machine. Suddenly the "bipedal" stranger goes back on board. The apparatus rises and disappears... "

[Right:] Second witness, André Narcy, 48, roadmender in Mertrud, 15 km from Wassy. He says: "It was at 7 a.m. that I saw a saucer and its passenger. The mysterious machine, orange, 10 m in diameter, rested in the field of the "old tiles". I was 100 m. away. The pilot, standing near his craft, was looking at me! He was covered in hair and barely measured 1.20 m. I waved at him. Immediately, he entered the saucer through a window and flew off vertically. "Everything" disappeared very quickly in the clouds. I then noticed in the grass some skid marks caused by the craft."

[Below:] No copying on one another, our reporters point out, seating Narcy and Oldut back to back. The good faith of the two witnesses appears, moreover, to be full and complete. They have never seen each other before. It is our reporters who have just introduced one to the other for the first time and, since then, they have been monitoring them closely. The result is extraordinary. Their sketches resemble each other in a wonderful way. Their descriptions of the passenger also coincide. Narcy and Oldut didn't lie.

WASSY-MERTUD

The "FLYING SAUCER"
and its "HAIRY PASSENGER"

existed only in the brain
fertile in "jokes" of Mr. NARCY

No offense to our colleague who,
on his side had found traces of the craft

This outcome had to happen, despite a media campaign orchestrated by one of our colleagues who, with much ease, taking the worst "canards" for reality and, more importantly, gets angry "in writing" when other journalists refuse to ride the same dead horse.

So then, a few days ago, Mr. Narcy, roadmender in Mertrud, arrived late for work, a little excited by the haste with which he had returned to his post.

His comrades, intrigued by his pale face, asked him a few friendly questions.

Prankster by day and night, Mr. Narcy, in a flash, found an explanation quite in the mood of the times.

Not far from an old tile factory, near the road to Laneuville, he saw and approached a flying saucer and his hairy pilot.

And Mr. Narcy to tell the details of this sensational adventure.

Even better, with two friends, he returned to the scene to, naturally, discover no valid trace.

But it is useless to review the details of a case that all the Haute-Marne residents know about.

Warned by a grateful roadmender to whom he had offered an issue of his newspaper, our colleague we talked about earlier jumped on the case.

Not content with what he was told by Mr. Narcy (which he also took as gospel) and as a good "winemaker" who believes in the harvest only when he sees it with his own eyes, our colleague secretly went to the (approximate) site of the saucer's landing, and stronger than the others, found the traces left by the craft.

A review by more serious people allowed to say that it was, on the one hand, cuts made in the ground by a plow and, secondly, hoof prints of cows and horses.

Based on the persistence of Mr. Narcy in his story, our colleague would not budge from his position and, ironically, told about it.

Unfortunately for him and his future as an inventor, an epilogue to this story is nothing like in its infancy.

The police was, as it should, seized of the matter.

Their investigation quickly enabled to establish that Mr. Narcy could not, in any way, see a flying saucer near the "Old Brickworks" at 7:15 a.m. that day, for the excellent reason that at this hour and date, he was not there (it's not for us to tell where it was then).

Saturday, during a visit by representatives of the law, Mr. Narcy had to admit, very nicely actually, that his "saucer" story was pure imagination.

He had told it to "trick" his workmates, with no other intention.

When the story leaked out, he found himself caught up in it and kept his words to avoid ridicule.

But everything has an end.

The Mertrud "saucer" has its end... Popular common sense had, actually, dealt with that since its alleged onset.

Why would a certain gentleman absolutely want to believe he is better than the others?

He still has enough tricks up its sleeve to give you the explanation and get away with the honors of war of the worlds.

THE ROADMENDER
DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING

Dijon Oct. 18

Ten days ago, Mr. André Narcy, 47, a roadworker in Mertrud arrived at work breathless: "I saw a flying saucer", he says, giving much details: an orange colored object stopped in a field, a small being dressed in a coat of hair. A nice vertical start of the mysterious craft. Besides, Mr. Narcy was able to show the place. With two of his comrades, MM. Riel and Henry, he returned there. All three declared that in fact the dew had dried on a certain surface, that the grass had taken "a slightly milky hue," that there were traces of "round feet," etc...

In short, questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy has just admitted that he had made up this story from scratch to excuse his late arrival at work.

FLYING SAUCERS

A veterinarian meets a "Martian"

Dieppe, 18. -- At nightfall, while driving through the town of Baillolet, by car, on the R. N. 316, Mr. Henri Robert, doctor-veterinarian in Londinières, saw four craft which were flying one above the other, at around [???] meters of altitude. Mr. Robert said that one of them came to his car, that he felt a strong electric shock, and that the engine of his car stopped.

The veterinarian then saw on the road, a strange figure, about four feet tall. The headlights of his car went out. When they re-ignited, a cylinder, about three meters long, took off from the roadside and headed north.

Mr. Robert told his story to the gendarmes of Londinières.

Chatellerault, 18. - Saturday evening, around 8:30 p.m., three firefighters, Captain Huguet, Lieutenant Doussineau and Warrant Officer Berreau, saw moving in the sky, towards the castle of Targe, a large disc projecting sparks, and followed by a very long luminous trail. They stopped their car. The disc, they say, passed over them and they heard a hissing sound.

The grass is burnt...

Toulon, 18. -- Two Toulon residents, Mr. Rappelini, bar owner, and Ottaviani, mechanic of the Merchant Marine, claim to have seen a saucer on Thursday evening landing in the Chemin Long district, near Hyères, and give an absolutely identical description of it.

The General Intelligence Air Brigade went to Toulon and heard at length from the two witnesses, who drew a detailed sketch of the mysterious craft.

Sunday morning, the General Intelligence inspectors went to the place where the two witnesses said they had seen the saucer land. They found there a large circular trace where the grass is burned.

In the sky of Orly

Paris, 18. -- Two employees from Orly airport, MM. Raymond Castelle and Charles Sirest, told the air police that they had seen, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, around 9:30 p.m., a flying saucer cross the sky of Orly from east to west, fast "like a jet plane". When above the commune of Paray-Vieille-Poste, that is to say along the west-east runway, the mysterious craft which, according to witnesses, was moving at an altitude of 300 meters, immobilized for ten seconds by turning on itself and emitting rays which were intensely reflected on the ground.

THE OPINION OF AN ITALIAN SCIENTIST
ON THE
"FLYING SAUCERS"

Rome, 17. -- Many Italians having observed "disks", "saucers", "cigars" etc... flying in the sky of the peninsula, the "Giornale d'Italia" interviewed professor Antonio Eula, Chair of Aerodynamics, at the University of Rome.

This eminent scientist about the possible origin of the so-called spacecraft of other planets, said in particular: "We do not fully know the mysteries of our solar system. Astronautics, when it can be put in practice, will perhaps allow us to penetrate them. But we know from now on that beings similar to us cannot exist on the planets currently known. If there are, they can only be profoundly different. So is it absurd to speak of Martians capable of human activity."

In response to another question, Professor Eula said he did not believe he was authorized to exclude, in an absolute manner, that it could be "experimental devices intended for military use, and protected by an impenetrable secrecy." In conclusion, the professor said: "If this last hypothesis corresponds to reality, the time will come when their secret will be revealed, because no secret of a technical nature can be preserved indefinitely."

To excuse his delay, a roadmender invents a saucer story

Dijon, 18. -- Ten days ago, Mr. André Narcy, 47, a roadworker in Mertrud, arrived at work breathless: "I saw a flying saucer", he affirmed. And he gave a lot of details: an orange colored object posed in a field, a small being dressed in a fur coat. A nice vertical start of the mysterious craft. With two of his comrades, MM. Riel and Henry, he went back there. All three declare that in fact the dew had dried on some surface, that the grass had taken "a slightly milky hue", that one saw traces of "round feet", etc...

In short, questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy did admit that he had put together this story from scratch to excuse his late arrival at work.

The roadmender had arrived
late for work...
because [he] saw
A "flying saucer"

Dijon, 18. -- 10 days ago, Mr. André Narcy, 47, roadmender in Mertrud, arrived at work breathless:

"I saw a flying saucer," he said. And to give a lot of details: an orange colored object stopped in a field, a small being dressed in a coat of hairs. A nice vertical start of the mysterious craft.

Besides, Mr. Narcy was able to show the place. With two of his comrades, MM. Riel and Henry, he went back there. All three stated that the dew had indeed dried on a certain surface, that the grass had taken on a "slightly milky hue", that traces of roud footprints were visible, etc...

In short, questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy and has just admitted that he had invented this story from scratch to excuse his late arrival at work.

And the round
continue...

A veterinarian in Seine-Inférieure, three firefighters in Vienne, two airport workers in Orly, saw various flying saucers. The veterinarian also saw "a strange 1.20 m. tall figure.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

The saucers

(Continued from the first page)

Dieppe. -- At nightfall, as he crossed by automobile, the town of Baillolet, on R. N. 314, Mr. Henri Robert, doctor - veterinarian at Londinières, saw four craft which were flying one above the other, at around 300 meters of height.

Mr. Robert claims that one of them zigzagged past his car, that he felt a strong electric shock, and that the engine of his car stopped.

The veterinarian then saw a strange figure, approximately 12.0 m tall, on the road. The headlights of his car went out. When they went on again, a cylinder about three meters long took off from the edge of the road and headed north.

Mr. Robert told his story to the gendarmes of Londinières.

Three firefighters, Captain Huguet, Lieutenant Doussineau and Warrant Officer Serreau saw rise in the sky, towards from the castle of Targe, a large disc projecting sparks and followed by a very long luminous trail. They stopped their car. The disc, they say, passed over them and they heard a hissing sound.

Paris. - Two employees at Orly airport, MM. Raymond Castel and Charles Sirest told the Air police that he had seen a flying saucer cross the sky of Orly from East to West, "at the speed of a jet plane".

Reached above the town of Paray-Vieille-Poste, that is to say on the edge of the west-east runway, the mysterious craft which, according to witnesses, was traveling at an altitude of 300 meters, stopped for ten seconds turning on itself and emitting rays which were intensely reflected on the ground.

AN M. P. ASKS
A WRITTEN QUESTION

Paris, 18. -- Following numerous appearances of flying apparatuses of unknown type, currently reported in all regions of France, Mr. René Dejean, deputy of the Ariège (socialist) addressed to the president of the Council a written question asking him in particular:

- "Whether or not a service has been set up to collect the existing documentation on this topic and to study the nature and origin of these craft.

- "Whether the information currently gathered is fit to absolutely exclude the hypothesis of craft piloted or controlled by living beings of a species of beings of unknown origin.

- "Whether, on the contrary, the government has enough information to attribute the production of these craft to the industry of a foreign state.

- "Whether in the latter case the international agreements signed by France already allowed consultations relating to the use of such craft in a possible conflict."

authorities duly noted three deep imprints in the ground.

On October 5 at 7:16 a.m. another roadworker named Gustave Narcy was bicycling to work near Wassy near Paris when he noticed an unusual looking creature climbing out of a 30-foot cigar. Mr. Narcy's description was very precise. The stranger was 3 feet 11 inches tall. His body was covered with hair. He was wearing a large orange corset and a helmet made of plush. A moment of mutual staring ensued after which Mr. Narcy said good-morning. The stranger, apparently unreassured, scrambled back into his fuselage and flew away. An investigation of the spot revealed skid-marks on the grass and a strange milky substance.

Reports like these are run-of-the mill, chosen at random from literraly hundreds of similar incidents that have been brought to public attention within the last few weeks. The stories have an interesting mixture of variety consistency. The flying whatnots are always luminous by day or night. They are described as saucers, mushrooms, cigars, barrels, spheres and chamber pots. The pilots vary in size as well as wardrobe, ranging in size from dwarfs to giants. In all cases, the visitors have been pictured as mannerly but timid. In several cases the use of harmless weapons has been reported - in several others the intruders have shown an interest in collecting vegetable and mineral specimens near at hand.

The scientists have come up with plenty of explanations. A report from Russia that the past summer has been unusually hot on Mars has led to the journalist deduction that the Martians are coming over for a breath of fresh air. The summer in Western Europe has been anything but hot. In Africa, the vice-president of the Astronomic Association of Nairobi suggests that Mars in conducting a geographic survey of the Earth, concentrated presently on Europe and Africa. Professor Herman Oberth, the German scientist who designed the V-2, has a theory that the unearthly visitors are really intelligent plants called "Uranides", millions of years more advanced than human beings. The politicians are also getting into the act: in France Jean Nocher, Gaullist deputy from the Loire District, has formally demanded an investigation by the Secretary for Air.

All of which, probably, proves very little. Except that people in Europe today have more serious things to worry about than rearming the Germans. And that if Mr. Pre of Locronan is daft, he has, at least, plenty of company.

After the saucers and the cigars

A "FLYING MELON" IN THE SKY OF ALSACE

STRASBOURG. -- After the cigars, the brushes, the barrels, it is now the "melons" that make their appearance in the sky of Alsace. Indeed, several people, among them pilots of the flying-club of Strasbourg, claim to have seen Saturday evening a shining machine, having the shape of a melon, and leaving a trace of two meters of white-orange colour, that flew above the area of the Bas-Rhin.

This machine is said to have been seen almost at the same hour in Strasbourg, Haguenau and Wissembourg.

The "melon" evolved at a high altitude and moved according to some in a south-eastern direction, according to the others in an East-West direction.

A similar phenomenon was observed in Niederhalslach (valley of the Bruche).

An unknown apparatus flies over a soccer game

CHAUMONT. -- During more than one hour, Sunday afternoon, the 400 witnesses of the soccer game in Langres could follow the evolutions of an unknown apparatus which was at very high altitude.

Some believed that it was a weather-balloon, which, say the others, appears not very probable, for before disappearing, the machine moved in opposite direction of the wind.

In addition, in Chaumont, a mechanic, Mr. Auguste Poulot and his three children noticed at the beginning of the night the passage of a flying cigar.

The "saucer" seen by the roadmender was only an alibi as he was late for work

DIJON. -- Ten days ago, Mr. André Narcy, aged 47, roadmender, arrived at his work very breathless: "I saw a flying saucer", he claimed.

And he gave much details: a machine of orange color stopped in a field, a small being dressed of a hairy cape, a beautiful vertical take-off of the mysterious apparatus. Moreover Mr. Narcy could show the place. With two of his comrades, Misters Riel and Henry, he went back there. All three stated that indeed the dew had dried on a great surface, that the grass had taken "a milky colour", that one saw traces of "round feet", etc...

In short, questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy comes to acknowledge that he made up this story entirely to excuse his late arrival at work.

A written question to the government

FOIX. -- Following the many appearance of flying machines of unknown type currently reported in all the areas of France, Mr. Rene Dejean, deputy of Ariège (socialist) addressed to the president of the Council a written question asking him among other questions:

- "Wether were created or not a service missioned to gather the existing documentation on this matter and to study the nature and the origin of the said machines.

- "Whether the information currently collected and gathered makes it possible to absolutely exclude the assumption of machines piloted or controlled by living beings of unknown species and origin.

- "Whether the government has, on the contrary, sufficient information to allot the production of these machines to the industry of a foreign country.

- "Whether in this last case the international agreements signed by France already allowed consultations relating to the use of such machines in a possible conflict.

SCIENCE

Martians over France

One morning last October, Jean Narcy, a road mender of Haute-Marne, France, was riding to work on his bicycle. In a wheat field he saw a little whiskered man just under 4 ft tall, who wore a fur coat, an orange corset and a plush cap.

"Bonjour, [Hello]" said Mr. Narcy.

The little man muttered something like "I'll be seeing you." Then he jumped into a small (10 ft. in diameter) flying saucer, took off with a buzzing sound and disappeared into the clouds.

With Narcy's "Hairy Martian" as a starting point, the French press run wild, and a deluge of Martians have been raining down ever since. They have come in flying cigars, crowns, comets, winged mushrooms, even a flying chamber pot. Unlike Americans who have seen flying saucers, the French "sighters" paid little attention to the vehicles. They were interested in the people from space.

The Martians were anything but standardized. One who stopped Mr. Roger Barrault near the town of Lavoux had brilliant eyes, an enormous moustache, wore rubbers and spoke Latin. Another asked Mr. Pierre Lucas, a Breton baker, for a light. He was bearded and had a single eye in the middle of the forehead. Mr. Lucas could not remember what language he spoke.

Paralysing Pygmies. As the Martian invasion of France proceeded, the invaders became more bizarre. A troup of pygmies in plastic helmet gamboled down a railroad track near Quarouble and transfixed Mr. Dewilde with "a paralyzing beam of light." Some Martians were blue, others were yellow or pink. A traveling salesman of the Côte du Nord saw a wonderful sight: a deep rose flying cigar from which stepped a zebra-stripped Martian. As he alighted, he changed color, chameleon-like, from yellow to green.

The Martians marched en masse into French affairs. Cartoonists welcomed them delightedly (see cuts). As they multiplied, they even gained respectability. Le Figaro reported: "Counsellor General of Alpes Maritimes greets flying saucers' first appearance on the Côte d'Azur." France Soir announced that "a daily flying-saucer service seems to have been established between Marais-Poitevin and La Rochelle." A man from space even made the social columns of Paris-France: "Mustached Martian spends weekend at Vienna." Angry deputies asked questions in Parliament. Air Force Authorities (even as in the US) were badgered for explanations.

Before the many-colored Martians rained down on France, fames Swiss Psychiatrist C. G. Jung was asked what he thought about the saucer epidemic.

"Something is being seen," said Jung. "What is seen may be, in the case of a single observer, a subjective vision (hallucination). In the case of many observers, it may be a collective vision. such a psychic phenomenon... could be a spontaneous reaction of the subconscious to the present conscious situation; the fear of an apparently insoluble political situation in the world... At such times eyes turn heavenwards ... and miraculous forebodings of a threatening or consoling nature appear from on high."

No More Dreams. Dr. Jung blames the U.S. air Force for mishandling the saucer epidemic and for permitting irresponsible journalists to pump it for bits of sensational-sounding information. He does not believe that the saucers are space ships. Those that are not hallucinations, he thinks, are probably misinterpretations of physical objects or effects. But he was willing to speculate about the effect on the human race of an invasion by beings from another world.

"Should the origin of the phenomenon turn out to be an extraterrestrial," said Dr. Jung, "it would prove an intelligent interplanetary link. The impact of such a fact on humanity is unforeseable. But, without doubt, we would be placed in the very questionable position of today's primitive societies that clash with the superior culture of the white race. All initiative would be wrested from us. As an old witch doctor once said to me, with tears in his eyes: We would 'have no more dreams.'

Our sciences and technology would go to the junk pile. What such a catastrophe would mean morally we can gauge by the pitiful decline of the primitive cultures that takes place before our eyes. The capacity to manufacture (interplanetary space ships) points to a technology towering sky sky high over ours."

"Just as the Pax Britannica made an end to the tribal warfare in Africa, so our world could roll up its Iron Curtain and use it for scrap ... This might not be so bad. But we would have been 'discovered' and colonized."

Men From Mars All Over

Flying Saucer Reports Sweep France

By CROSBY S. Noyes

PARIS (NANA) -- Readers of the classified-ad columns of the Brest Telegram blinked recently at the following notice:

Reward - Offer of 10 milions francs ($28.000) to anyone who brings me a live inhabitant of the planet Mars. Contact Pre at Locronan (Finistere).

It may be that M. Pre has his tongue in his cheek and a good deal less than 10,00,000 francs in his pocket. But considering what is going on in Europe these days, you never know...

Cedric Allingham, in his interest had been more mercenary cleaned up. Allingham is a Scots. He is also a professional ornithologist and an amateur astronomer. His big chance came last Feb. 18, about 3:30 p.m., in the course of a stroll between Lossiemouth and Buckle in Scotland. The flying saucer landed on the heath only a few yards away.

"A magnificent machine," Allingham reported later. "About 50 feet wide and 20 feet high. Made of metal, shinier than aluminum. As I walked over, a trap in the lower part opened and a man jumped out gracefully. I waved at him and he waved back. Then we just sort of stared at each other for a while.

"We both looked pretty much alike - about 5 feet 8 inches, around the same age (32), short, dark hair. Clothes, of course, were quite different. He had on a sort of tunic covering him completely to the neck, leaving only his hands free. One thing especially caught my attention: his nose, or rather two small tubes which emerged from his nostrils, connected by a metal bar no thicker than a match.

- * -

THINKING FAST, Allingham decided that his responsibility both as a scientist and an earthling required him to take the conversation initiative. By way of an obvious opening gambit, he pointed a questioning finger toward the sky.

"The man nodded affirmatively and smiled," Allingham related. "He had a charming smile. I said 'Mars' and he repeated 'Mars' in a voice which can't be described but could be compared to the sound of spring water."

After this promising beginning, the conversation lagged. Further questions produced little in the way of new information about life on Mars or the working of flying saucers. It was established, however, that the Martians had also made trips to Venus and had landed on the moon. Finally, the Martian, who showed an astonishing lack of curiosity about Allingham, decided it was time to leave.

- * -

BEFORE GOING, however, he agreed to a few snapshots of himself and his machine. Unfortunately, for all his knowledge of bird lore, astronomy and interplanetary small talk, Mr. Allingham turned out to be no great shakes as a photographer. His developed film showed only the blurred but surprisingly human-looking back of the retreating space traveler. The picture of the saucer has all the definition of a badly poached egg.

Although Allingham has written a book about his experience and stood the best chance of earning Mr. Pre's reward, he has no corner on the Martian market. Within recent weeks, European newspapers have been flooded with scores of hardly less intriguing reports.

On the night of Sept. 10, near Quarouble in northern France, an oblong machine about 10 feet long landed on a railroad track a few yards from the house of a farmer Marius Dewilde. Two small man-like creature emerged, dressed in costumes that looked like divers' suits. As M. Dewilde walked toward the machine, he was paralyzed by a green light. By the time he recovered, the machine was high in the sky. Further investigation showed symmetrical scrapes on the wooden railroad ties, suggesting that the object had rested on a tripod undercarriage.

The same evening a farmer named Antoine Mazaud of the plateau of Millevaches in southern France turned in a similar report to the local authorities. Walking home, Mazaud had found himself suddenly face to face with a small, mysterious stranger, wearing something that looked like a crash helmet. Farmer Mazaud prudently extended his pitchfork. The stranger, on the contrary, held out his hand in a gesture of friendship, walked up, uttered a few sounds and kissed Mazaud on the cheek. Before the farmer could recover his poise, the amiable intruder had climbed the roadside hedge and entered a cigar-shaped contraption which took off with a faint buzzing sound.

- * -

ON SEPT. 24 at 10 a.m. in the Gardunha mountains near the Spanish border, three Portuguese peasants were startled by a fast-flying sphere which landed in a field 200 yards from them. This time, two tall creatures emerged in shiny metallic outfits and started collecting grass and stones in a brightly polished box. Spotting the peasants, they strolled over and invited the men by gestures to climb into their machine, where moving shadows could be seen behind the semitransparent center section. When the offer was declined, the strangers disappeared through a hatch. A few seconds later, the sphere took off vertically and rapidly disappeared.

On Oct. 8 at 7:15 a.m., a roadmender named Gustave Narcy was bicycling to work near Wassy, a Paris suburb, when he noticed an unusual looking creature climbing out of a 30-foot cigar. Narcy's description was very precise. The stranger was 3 feet 11 inches tall. His body was covered with hair. He was wearing a large orange corset and a helmet made of plush. A moment of mutual staring ensued after which Narcy said good-morning. The stranger apparently unreassured, scrambled back into his fuselage and flew away. An investigation on the spot revealed skid-marks on the grass and a strange milky substance.

- * -

REPORTS LIKE these are run-of-the mill, chosen at random from literally gundreds of similar incidents that have been brought to the public attention within the last two weeks. The stories have an interesting mixture of variety and consistency. The flying whatnots are always luminous by day or night. They are described as saucers, mushrooms, cigars, barrels, bananas, spheres and chamber pots. The pilots vary in size as well as wardrobe, ranging from dwarfs to giants. In all cases, the visitors have been pictured as mannerly but timid. In several cases the use of harmless weapons has been reported - in several others the intruders have shown an interest in collecting vegetable and mineral specimen near at hand.

The scientists have come up with plenty of explanations. A report from Russia that the past summer has been unusually hot on Mars has led to the journalistic deduction that the Martians are coming over for a breath of fresh air. The summer in western Europe has been anything but hot. In Africa, the vice president of the astronomic association of Nairobi suggests that Mars is conducting a geographic survey of the earth concentrated presently on Europe and Africa. The politicians are also getting nto the act: in France, Jean Nocher, Gaullist deputy from the Loire district, has formally demanded an investigation by the Secretary for Air.

All of which, probably, proves very little. Except that people in Europe today have more serious things to worry about than rearming the Germans. And that if M. Pre of Locronan is daft, he has, at least, plenty of company.

Photos caption:

HATLIKE SPACESHIP SKETCH (Right) was drawn in dirt by Jean Narcy to describer craft he says landed in a field near Wassy. From it emerged a little whiskered man in fur coat and orange corset.

On Oct. 5 at 7.15 a. m. a roadmender named Gustave Narcy was bicycling to work near Wassy, a Paris suburb, when he noticed an unusual looking creature climbing out of a 30-foot cigar. Narcy's description was very precise. The stranger was 3 feet 11 inches tall. His body was covered with hair. He was wearing a large orange corset and a helmet made of plush. A moment of mutual staring ensued after which Narcy said good morning. the stranger, apparently unreassured, scrambled back into his fuselage and flew away. An investigation on the spot revealed skid-marks on the grass and a strange milky substance.

All over France the saucerians appeared to be friendly creatures, if somewhat timid. Except for a paralyzing ray, aimed at humans who got too nosey, it seemed they were trying to harm no one.

A hairy creature three ft. tall, and wearing a large orange corset with a plush helmet, quickly scrambled into a 30 ft. cigar-shaped thing and flew away when a Frenchman, Gustave Narce [sic], said "good morning" to it. This was on October 5 at 7:17 in the morning when Narce was riding a bicycle to work near Wassy and saw the saucerian climbing out of the craft. They stared at one another for a moment before the creature took flight.

October 5, 1954: Mertrud (Envir. de, à10 km au SDSO de Wassy, sur rte. Wassy-Mertrud--Haute-Marne):(disque diamètre 10 m + nain poilu

198

Oct. 05, 1954, 07:15 A.M., Mertrud (France).

A roadmender, Mr. Narcy, saw an object near the road between Voillecomte and La Neuville. In a report to police, he stated he saw a hairy dwarf wearing an orange tight-fitting jacket climb aboard the craft, which consisted of a cigar-shaped section under a flat disk. Between the two sections was a kind of porthole through which the entity entered the object. Traces were found at the spot. (38, 39) (Le Parisien, 7 octobre 1954. Combat, l'Aurore, France-Soir, 8 octobre 1954; Journal du Dimanche, 10 octobre 1954).

Oct 05, 1954

076 0715

France, Mertrud. A road mender named Narcy saw a strange object on the road. A small hairy creature approached it, got in, and it took off. Traces were found on the road. (APRO)

October 5, 1954, 07:15. Mertrud (Haute Marne)

A roadmender, Mr. Narcy, saw an object near the road between Voillecomte and La Neuville. In his report to the police, he said he saw a hairy dwarf, dressed in a sort of orange jacket, who went back on the ship, one of its sections was shaped like a cigar under a flat disk. Between the two sections was a window through which the entity entered the object. Traces were found there.

198 5-10-54 Mertrud

09/10/1954 Mertrud près de Voillecomte (Haute Marne)

Vers 07 h. 15, alors qu'il se rendait à son travail, M. NARCY, un cantonnier remarrqua un objet orange posé dans un champ. Il s'en approcha à une centtaine de mètres et aperçut près de l'engin un petit être de 1,20 m vêtu d'une houpelande à poils. le témoin l'interpella, mais l'être se précipita dans son appareil qui aussitôt décolla à la verticale (Centre Matin du 08/10/54)

SEULEMENT VOILA:

Le 07/10/1954, Mr. Narcy de Mertrud avouait avoir inventé son histoire pour se faire excuser un retard à son travail. Il fut hélas exceptionnel que la presse publia ce démenti.

32. Encounter at Mertrud (Haute-Marne), October 6, by M. Andre Narcy: Clermont Ferrand Liberte, October 8; Crosby S. Noyes, in the Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, October 18; Life Magazine, November 1; Time Magazine, October 25.

Let us now try to look in detail at cases that are similar in their description. If the "little green man" has been successful, we have to admit that it is not the most common in the visions of saucer pilots. On the other hand, we are in the presence of several cases where, in broad outline, the portrait of our mysterious visitors resembles that described by Mr. Lucas (Loctudy affair).

Arrived among the first on the scene, it was two journalists from the weekly "Radar" who were the first to collect the testimonies of the two observers of Wassy.

Let us quote this publication:

"It is forbidden to copy one over the other, our reporters point out, making Narcy and Oldut sit back to back. The good faith of the two witnesses appears to be full and complete. They had never met before. It was our reporters who just brought them together for the first time and since then they have been watching them closely. The result is extraordinary. Their sketches are marvelously alike. Their descriptions of the passenger also coincide. Narcy and Oldut didn't lie."

First witness: Grégoire Oldut, 64 years old, farmer. Honorably known. His testimony supports that of Mr. Narcy. We give him the floor: "Leaving my land of "Babottes", I set off on the road to Wassy. Suddenly, behind the curtain of trees in the "old tile factory", I see a gold disc in the sky. Am I dreaming? Not at all! The orange spot plunges from the sky and, after a few leaps on the grass, lands. I cannot believe it. A one-meter-high creature comes out of the infernal machine. Suddenly the "bipedal" stranger comes back on board. The craft rises and disappears... ".

Second witness. André Narcy, 48 years old, roadmender in Mertrud, 15 km from Wassy. He testified as follows: "It was at 7 a.m. that I saw a saucer and its passenger. The mysterious craft, orange, 10 m in diameter, rested in the field of the "old tile factory". I was 100 m away. The pilot, standing near his craft, was looking at me! He was covered in hair and was barely 1.20 m tall. I motioned to him. Immediately, he entered the saucer through a porthole and flew vertically. "Everything" disappeared very quickly in the clouds. I then noticed in the grass some skid marks produced by the craft."

This sighting took place on October 5.

But in this case, a grain of sand comes to make the mechanics creak: "On 10/7/54, Mr. Narcy, from Mertrud, confessed to having invented his story to be excused for being late in his work. It was unfortunately exceptional that the press published this denial." 7 Let us denounce here the lightness of the journalists of the time, their obvious lack of sincerity, their dishonesty,

7. Info Ovni n° 0.

in short, the pernicious way in which they treated the information: because the event having taken place on the 5th, the denial having been published on October 7th, the weekly "Radar", which devoted itself almost exclusively to the problem has published on October 17 the text that we just quoted. This state of affairs will not prevent J. Guieu from maintaining in his second edition of "Black out on the flying saucers" 8 (which he will sign on October 23, 1972) on page 133: "Let us recall that La Presse Magazine and Radar are the only weeklies to have had the courage to publish each week, during the resurgence of flying saucer activity in 1954, a long series of intelligent and objective articles on this problem."...

Tell me who you hang out with, I'll tell you who you are...!

A N H type "Martians"

10/05/1954 Loctudy (Finistère)

Around 4 a.m., Mr. Paul Lucas, a bakery worker, was in the bakery when he saw in the courtyard of the bakery a circular craft 2.50 to 3m in diameter near which a 1.20m tall being was standing, who approached the witness and touched his shoulder while uttering incomprehensible words... He had an oval face covered with dark hair and huge eyes... (J. Giraud; "Centre Matin" of 10/07/54)

A hairy "Martian"! The whole of France burst out laughing! The only brake on this hilarity was that Mr. Lucas did not long remain the only witness to have observed such a being. Similar apparitions multiplied. These "Martians" belonged to type A N (humanoids and small) but they had a new characteristic: hair! Hence the "H". They were observed on:

10/05/1954 in Mertrud (Haute Marne) ... "The 1.20m being seemed dressed in a coat covered with hair..."

10/09/1954 in Pournoy la Chétive (Moselle) ... "The 1.20m being had a hairy head and big eyes..."

10/09/1954 in Lavoux (Vienne) ... "The being measured 1.50m, he was housed in a diving suit, his legs didn't have heels and his head looked like a tuft of hair with glowing eyes..."

10/12/1954 Montluçon (Allier) ... "A being covered with hair or wearing a long coat of hair..."

14/10/1954 Lewarde (Nord) ... "A small being with large oblique eyes and a body covered with furs..."

24/10/1954 Les Egots (?)... "A man with long hair and a hairy face whose eyes were as large as those of a cow..."

Seven appearances of "Hairy Martians" in twenty days, it was a bit too much for the fact to be considered only as a hallucination or a drunken rambling... Especially since similar beings had been observed in Caerphilly (Wales) in 1909 on May 18 to be quite precise. A fact is therefore certain, the "Martian" of the A N H type exists, but a difficulty arises: in half of the cases, it is the face which is hairy; in the other half, it is the whole body which seems to be covered in fur... A question therefore arises: is it natural hairiness (hair, beard, bristles...) or is it some equipment (diving suit, spacesuit, balaclava, etc.)? The answer cannot yet be provided. We believe that the hairiness observed on the faces is natural and that the one observed on the bodies is artificial (outfit). Otherwise, and in the latter case, it would be necessary to assume that the "Hairy Martians" are naked!

AS A MATTER OF FACT: M. Narcy made up this story as an excuse for being late at work. The press published this confession.

-For the HAUTE-MARNE, five observations: two in October 1954, one in 1956 and two in 1975. Two other cases could be added to it.

It is first of all the observation of MERTRUD, October 10, 1954, where a roadmender going to his work claimed to have seen a small hairy being, dressed in a jacket or an orange corset, the little pilot hurriedly entered a sort of cigar with portholes, placed on the ground, which took off immediately at the approach of the witness. Milky traces were found on the spot by the Gendarmerie.

The continuation of this affair and the investigation carried out at the time in a climate of saucer psychosis and of suspicion towards the numerous witnesses of similar cases, suspicion supported by a press eager for sesnational and not embarrassed for turning these witnesses to the public eye, made this "encounter" considered a hoax fabricated by the witness to excuse a delay in work.

(We plan to study this case in a future issue).

HUMANOIDS IN HAUTE-MARNE AND MEUSE

by René THOME (group 5255)

For the first time, we are going to open a file dedicated to the humanoid beings observed in our two departments.

To our knowledge, we have, in our investigations or archive, seven cases where such beings were observed. These cases are distributed geographically as follows:

For the HAUTE-MARNE, five observations: two in October 1974, one in 1956 and two in 1975. Two other cases could be added.

It is first of all the observation of MERTRUD, on October 10, 1954, where a road mender going to work claims to have seen a small hairy being, dressed in a jacket or an orange corset. The little pilot hurriedly entered a sort of cigar with a porthole, posed on the ground, which immediately took off as the witness approached. Milky traces were found on the spot by the gendarmerie.

The follow-up to this affair and the investigation carried out at the time in an atmosphere of saucer psychosis and suspicion towards the many witnesses of similar cases, suspicion supported by a press eager for sensation and not embarrassed to ridiculing these witnesses in the eyes of the public, caused this encounter to be considered a hoax fabricated by the witness to excuse a delay at work.

Case #15

October 6, 1954 in Mertrud (52) - (CP: T6).

A roadmender, Mr Narcy, going to his work, sees an object close to the road connecting Voillecomte and Laneuville. A small hairy being, dressed of a jacket or an orange corset, returns precipitately in a kind of cigar with port-hole, posed on the ground, which takes off at once at the approach of the witness. Milky traces are found on the spot by the gendarmerie. (Ref.: J. Vallée, Barthel. Ch. Garreau, M. Figuet, Liberté de l'Est for 10/9/54, Républicain Lorrain for 10/7/54, Info OVNI #0, Viamana 21 #10-11, magazine #2 du groupe 5255).

Details:

According to M. Figuet: actually, Mr. Narcy would have invented this story to have an excuse for being late at work. The press published this denial.

According to Viamana #10-11 p.28: questioned again by the gendarmerie, Mr. Narcy would have acknowledged that he had invented this story entirely as an excuse for his late arrival at work.

Seen again recently by the investigators of group 5255, the witness, wearied by the curious people, would have invented these denials to get some peace.

18) Near Voillecomte (Haute-Marne, France), October 5, 1954.

Going by motorcycle to his work in Mertrud (where the observation is often located by mistake), Mr. André Narcy would have seen around 7 a.m. a discoidal object ten meters in diameter posed in a field, as well as a small being 1.20 m high, which seemed to be dressed in a long-haired overcoat. The witness having called him, the being turned around, looked around him, then entered the UFO which immediately took off. One is said to have found on the spot a square of 3 m side where the grass was crushed and, "inside this one, 12 parallel traces resembling imprints of round feet."

Garreau and Lavier, who report this case to us (83, pp. 31-33), imprudently comment that this landing and that of Villers-le-Tilleul on October 4 (21. p. 117; 83, pp. 24 -25) "authenticate each other mutually" since the witnesses could not have known of each other's accounts and both describe a small being wearing a long-haired garment. In addition, these two landings are separated by a distance equal to three times the side of the grid "discovered" by the authors, and another landing (Vron, October 18) is distant from Voillecomte by seven times this side of 43.2 km. Garreau and Lavier therefore go so far as to add that it "would therefore seem that this terrestrial distance corresponds to an extraterrestrial unit of measurement". I write "imprudence", because, despite these impressive geometrical confirmations (at least for those who have no notions of calculating probabilities), the case of Voillecomte has every chance of being false (but I will be careful to infer anything about the value of the cases of Villers-le-Tilleul and Vron...). At this time when all of France was talking about flying saucers, Mr. Narcy would have invented this story to excuse being late at work. A denial was published in the press, but it remained curiously unnoticed for a long time by ufologists, who nevertheless eagerly browsed the Newspapers.

9. Mertrud (Haute Marne), October 6, 1954. B&B version: Story invented by the witness as an excuse for being late to his workplace. (p.74). Version Group 5255: The witness would have imagined the story of the hoax to get some peace. (version obtained from Mr. Narcy's own mouth unlike B&B who relied on press clippings). LDLN 267/268.

Midget being in 'Thing'

Paris, AFP, Radioteletype in English to the Americas, Oct. 7, 1954, 14000 GMT--2

(Text)

Chaumont--A road worker near here reported today having seen one of the occupants of a "flying saucer" dressed in a "hair covered cloak".

Andre Marey [sic], 48, of Mertrud, Haute-Marne, said he was walking along a road yesterday morning when he saw an orange-colored "thing" which he first took to be a tree whose leaves were turning for the fall. As he approached, Marey said he saw next to the 'thing' a small "being", less than 4 feet tall, dressed in the coat. Marey said that when he called, the "being" turned and entered the "machine" which rose vertically in the air.

Marey said the machine was spherical in form, and about 30 feet in diameter. Underneath the machine was a sort of spindle, Marey said, and between the spindle and the body of the machine was a "port hole" by which the being entered. A flame shot from the spindle as the machine took off, Marey said. Marey said he told his fellow workmen about the incident, and two of them returned with him to the site. All three said they found that the grass had turned slightly milk-colored, and there were round inprints of small legs where the machine had stood.

October 8th. Mertrud, France, (no known hour)

"Flying red knob."

The report from Mertrud on the 8th was little bit different. A being, an estimated four feet in height, jumped into his machine when spotted and flew away. Larger than mostUFOsbeing reported(30 feet in diameter), the object in question was ball-shaped, orange-colored, and sported a single leg that protruded from the bottom. The witness called the UFO a "flying- red knob." 82.

• 82. Wilkins, Harold T. Flying Saucers Uncensored. p.232.

Case nr9:

On Wednesday October 6, 1954, at 7 lt, a roadmender from Mertrud Mr. Narcy, going to his work by motorbike by the road connecting Voillecomte to Laneuville (52) sees a circular object of 10m in diameter placed in a field.

A little being, dressed in a long-haired dust jacket or an orange corset, rushes into the craft which takes off immediately at the approach of the witness. Milky traces are found on site by the gendarmerie.

According to the press, a second witness would have seen the machine, it is Mr.Oldut (see photos, page 4O, of the two witnesses on their knees drawing two very different machines!).

Explanations: according to M Figuet: Mr. Narcy would have invented this story to be excused for being late for his work! (the press published this denial) According to ADRUP, again questioned by the gendarmerie, the witness admitted that he had fabricated this story from scratch to excuse his late arrival at his job. Revisited in the 1980s, the witness reportedly declared to the investigators of GROUP 5255 that he would have invented this denial to have peace.

Sources: Républicain Lorrain for 10/7/54. La Liberté de l'Est for 10/9/54, Ch.Garreau "Face aux Extraterrestre" Mame 1972 pages 31-32. J.Vallée "Chroniques des apparitiions extraterrestres" page 292, Barthel and Brucker pages 74 to 76 in "La grande peur martienne" (1979); Info Ovni nr0, Vimana 21 nr10-11, review of the GROUPE 5255 nr2; Radar for 10/17/1954: J.Guieu "Black out sur les soucoupes volantes" page 133, newspaper L'Alsace for 10/19/54 (denial by the witness Mr.Narcy), L'Ardennais for 10/08/1954 page 5.

42 - October 6, 7:15 a.m., Mertrud, Haute-Marne.

Mr. André Narcy, 48 at the time.

Case reported in detail chapter II, case n°39.

At the height of Laneuville-à-Rémy, the witness saw an object three meters long and two meters fifty wide, into which a hairy dwarf, one meter twenty high, rushed. The UFO was sighted by two other witnesses, apart from Mr. Narcy.

Local source: La Haute-Marne Libérée, Chaumont, October 8, 1954, p. 5 (O.D. 21).

Another source: Le Républicain Lorrain, October 9, 1954, p. 6 (Witness: Mr. Grégoire Odut).

Note: Figuet, p. 665, puts this case in the hoaxes, deceived by sources having settled the case from fallacious elements.

WITNESS N°33

October 5, 1954 seven hours fifteen Mertud the High Marne. Mr NARCY roadmender saw a hairy dwarf who returned in a curious vessel resembling a cigar located under a flat disc between the two was a port-hole being used as door by which the dwarf engulfing himself in. Traces, were found at the place indicated by the good man. Information published in Le Parisien on 10/7/54 Combat L'Aurore and France Soir10/8/54 Sunday Newspaper 10/10/54.

126.

Location. Mertrud France

Date: October 5 1954

Time: 0715A

Road mender Andre Narcy was motorcycling to work when he noticed an orange colored object in a field. Approaching, he saw it to be a 10-meter disc with a large dome on top. He walked up to within 100 yards, and observed a 4-foot tall being dressed in a very hairy overcoat. Narcy called to him, but he re-entered the craft and took off, causing an extensive "wash." At the spot the grass was found crushed within a 3-meter square, and had a milky color. 12 parallel tracks of spherical prints were also found.

Humcat 1954-70

Source: Jacques Vallee

Type: B

3990: 1954/10/06 07:20 5 4:52:00 E 48:29:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HMR 9:3

nr LANEUVILLE,FR:HAIRY 120cm FIG by 10M SPHERE:JET TAKEOFF!:GND TRCS:

Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 52 : PASTURE

1954/10/05 MERTRUD, MARNE, FR: Man late for work finds a NEW excuse.

10/05/54 0715 France, Mertrud: Road mender Andre Narcy was motorcycling to work when he saw an orange object in a field-a 10m disc with a large dome He walked to within 100 yards and saw a 4 ft being who entered the object, which took off causing a considerable disturbance.

At the spot the grass was found crushed within a 3m square, and had a milky color. Twelve parallel tracks, spherical in shape, were also found.

Examples of testimonies reporting hairy beings

[... Other cases ... ]

Tuesday October 5, 1954 in Mertrud (France) and Loctudy (Finistère).

[... Other cases ... ]

October 5 1954, 0715hrs.

MERTRUD (HAUTE MARNE : FRANCE)

A road mender, Mr Narcy, saw an object near the road between Veillecoate [sic] and La Neuville. In a report to police he said he saw a hairy dwarf wearing an orange tight-fitting jacket, climb aboard an object which comprised a cigar shaped section under a flat disk. Between the two sections was a kind of porthole, through which the entity entered the object. Traces were found at the site. According to Jacques Bonabot citing research by Jimmy Giraud and Mr Dubois this story was a hoax. Jacques Vallee in FSR 10, 3 p22 also labelled it a hoax.

Vallee Case 198, citing Le Parisien 7 October 1954 + Combat + L’Aurore + France Soir 8 October 1954, Journal du Dimanche 10 October 1954.

*Oct. 5, 1954 -Mertrud, France. A road crew member, Mr. Narcy, saw an object near the road between Voillecomte and La Neuville at 7:15 a.m. In a report to the police, he stated he saw a hairy dwarf wearing an orange tight fitting jacket climb aboard the craft, which consisted of a cigar-shaped section under a flat disk. Between the two sections was a kind of porthole through which the entity entered the object. Traces were found at the site. (Source: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 218, case # 198).

Location: Mertrud France

Date: October 5 1954

Time: 0715A

Road mender Andre Narcy was motorcycling to work when he noticed an orange colored object in a field. Approaching, he saw it to be a 10-meter disc with a large dome on top. He walked up to within 100 yards, and observed a 4-foot tall being dressed in a very hairy overcoat. Narcy called to him, but he re-entered the craft and took off, causing an extensive “wash.” At the spot the grass was found crushed within a 3-meter square, and had a milky color. 12 parallel tracks of spherical prints were also found.

Source: Jacques Vallee 198.

October 5 1954. 0715hrs.

MERTRUD (HAUTE MARNE : FRANCE)

A road mender, Mr Narcy, saw an object near the road between Veillecoate and La Neuville. In a report to police he said he saw a hairy dwarf wearing an orange tight-fitting jacket, climb aboard an object which comprised a cigar shaped section under a flat disk. Between the two sections was a kind of porthole, through which the entity entered the object. Traces were found at the site. According to Jacques Bonabot citing research by Jimmy Giraud and Mr Dubois this story was a hoax. Jacques Vallee in FSR 10, 3 p22 also labelled it a hoax.

• Vallee Case 198 citing Le Parisien 7 October 1954. + Combat + L'Aurore + France Soir 8 October 1954.
• Journal du Dimanche 10 October 1954.)