In November of 1896, the skies of northern California played host to unexplainable lights moving west to east past San Francisco, Sacramento and beyond.
Thousands witnessed these strange lights and the dark, oblong shape above it. George Scott, an assistant to the Secretary of State of California took other capitol workers and government officials onto the state capitol’s observation deck to watch.
Newspaper headlines told of a “Flying Airship”, “Mysterious Lights” and a “Wandering Apparition” in the sky. Many blamed swamp gas or a hoax. One report quoted R.L. Lowery, a former street railway employee who claimed to have heard a voice from above call, “Throw her up higher; she’ll hit the steeple.” When he looked up he saw two men seated on a bicycle-like frame, peddling. Above them was a “cigar-shaped body”. Eventually people began to forget about it.
Then the “airship” returned. This time sightings were made as far away as Washington State and Canada. The newspapers again went wild, alleging the work of mad scientists.
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