2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Nebraska may have had its own Roswell in 1884
John Wenz
Issue date: 3/19/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Very few people have heard of Max, Neb. A cursory look at the Google Map of the town shows just how small it is - under 20 blocks, a blip in southwest Nebraska. It's just eight miles from the seat of Dundy County: Benkelman, population 914.
But Max, the blip it may be, is the closest town to an incident in that occurred 1884.
The Nebraska Nugget reported, "About 35 miles northwest of Benkelman, Dundy County, on the 6th of June (1884) a very startling phenomenon occurred. It seems that John W. Ellis and three of his herdsmen and a number of other cowboys were out engaged in a roundup. They were startled by a terrific whirring noise over their heads, and turning their eyes saw a blazing body falling like a shot to Earth. It struck beyond them, being hidden from view by a bank."
One of the herdsmen, Alf Williamson, was burned as he approached the craft, which had created a split in the ground as it dragged to a stop. He was taken back to Ellis' home and treated for his burns.
E.W. Rawlins, the brand inspector for the district, came to inspect it.
The Nebraska State Journal reported on the event in 1887, saying, "One piece that looked like the blade of a propeller screw, of a metal of an appearance like brass, about 16 inches wide, three inches thick and three-and-a-half feet long, was picked up by a spade. It would not weigh more than five pounds, but appeared as strong and compact as any known metal. A fragment of a wheel with a milled rim, apparently having had a diameter of seven or eight feet, was also picked up. It seemed to be of the same material and had the same remarkable lightness."
The lack of physical evidence means there's nothing much left today, and John Buder, a field researcher with the Mutual UFO Network of Nebraska, said that the people of Dundy County shy away from talking about the event.
Most of his investigation into it has been research. He first stumbled across the story in a tourist's guide to Nebraska. From there, he's found it in multiple books on the subject.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 8
scott d. ramsey
posted 3/19/07 @ 11:57 AM CST
John,
Excellent article on the possible UFO crash. I have investigated the alledged UFO crash outside of Aztec, New Mexico on March 25th, 1948. I have spent 20 years working on the story. (Continued…)
Jonathan Hughey
posted 3/19/07 @ 1:48 PM CST
Amazing report. This report, and others like it from the 19th century and past, may be some of the most compelling evidence available. Back in that time period there would have been almost total innocence regarding alien craft and the hoaxing of such. (Continued…)
Haythrower
posted 3/19/07 @ 2:51 PM CST
It is comical that this is some of the most compelling evidence available for proof of UFOs! However, I can't disagree with that claim.
As a kid growing just a ways down the Republican Sand Strip (formerly the Republican River when water still flowed there), we had many more UFO stories to go with that one. (Continued…)
John Wilks Boothe
posted 3/20/07 @ 12:02 PM CST
SPAM
David
posted 3/20/07 @ 8:49 PM CST
Great article, and more light on the findings of "UFO" proof. The Aurora (hoax) ufo hitting the water tower was a big disappointment to me as I had been researching it also, from laptop. (Continued…)
Nick Url
posted 3/21/07 @ 3:44 AM CST
"It was the second UFO crash Buder knows of, and the first to be recorded in newspapers of the time. "
I just wanted to point out that Missouri Democrat October 19, 1865, ran an interesting crash storywhich is nearly 20 years earlier than the one Buder mentions. (Continued…)
Wade Meyer
posted 3/30/07 @ 1:22 PM CST
Great article, I often thought about Nebraska as could have an important UFO sighting because of a few very good sightings near there. One to the north of there and a half dozen to the South and southeast of there. (Continued…)
Real Alien Pictures
posted 3/21/08 @ 1:48 AM CST
Cool thats a new one to me. I've read about countless UFO crashes and sightings but this one has yet to come up. Theres like a million web pages about Roswell but non on this nice job Im gonna see if I can find some more information. (Continued…)
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