The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 7-Oct-54-Mendionde.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Sud-Ouest, of Bordeaux, of October 9, 1954, reported that a "Mr. Itehova" told them of the "misadventure occurred to Mr. Manès Gusurtia, residing at the Harrohandia house, in Mendionde."
The story related that this Mr. Gusurtia went to his work "the day before yesterday morning" so on October 7, 1954, when he saw at the bottom of a meadow a strange object which in the distance appeared to be shaped like a mushroom.
He approached and saw that there were actually two objects; they were red, about 2 meters in diameter, and there were two "little men of about 0.80 meters" next to them, who beckoned him to come near, stammering some incomprehensible sentences, then, showing him one of the craft by gesturing him to get inside, they entered the other and it flew away vertically without making any noise.
Mr. Gusurtia, the story claims, approached the other object, saw that there was a third little man inside; the door closed suddenly in front of him and the craft "flew away in the same manner than the first, by causing a slight gush of air."
The two craft stopped for a moment above the Ursuya, then "disappeared" in the East. It is claimed that Mr. Gusurtia alerted his neighbors, but they said they had not seen anything, however, they noticed that the grass of the meadow appeared to have been trampled and yellowed.
It is said that "Mr. Gusurtia is still very moved by what he has seen."
The Spanish newspaper El Diario Vasco for October 12, 1954, published exactly the same story, dating it from "Thursday before yesterday", not mentioning that it would come from second hand through "Mr. Itehova" and presenting the alleged witness as "a Basque guardian, Mr. Manes Guesurtia, from the Harrohandia House".
The story will come in 1978 by the French ufologist Jean-Luc Rivera to the US ufologist Ted Bloecher, it will be quoted by Alain Gamard with only the date, the source Sud-Ouest for October 9, 1954, and the place "Mendionde" by Alain Gamard in 1979. It will be completely ignored by the "usual" authors such as Aimé Michel, Jacques Vallée and others.
In 1979, the two "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker explained the case in their book "La Grande Peur Martienne" ("The Great Martian Scare"). They began by quoting the newspaper Sud-Ouest for October 9, 1954, by commenting that they found this story "plausible in the ufological context", and "moreover", made "credible" by a trace.
They then told that they went "to the country" and that the inhabitants of the country did not remember the story, but that the light came to them at the town hall of Mendionde, where an employee smiled while reading the story then burst out laughing since Mr. Gusurtia had never lived in the town and the house Harrohandia had never existed, since in the Basque dialect "Gusurtia" means "lie" and Harrohandia means "big mouth." Barthel and Bruker claim to have consoled themselves from their fruitless journey by enjoying Basque gastronomy...
The case will then be listed as a hoax by Michel Figuet in his catalog "Francat".
In 1997, ufologist Jean Sider explains that Barthel and Brucker claimed to have solved the hoax in Mendionde, but in reality, the day after its publication, the hoax had already been denounced in the same newspaper Sud-Ouest for October 10, 1954, and that it had been taken up in other newspapers such as Le Républicain Lorrain for October 10, 1954, on page 3. However, Sider does not say a word of the find or the meaning of the Basque words by Barthel and Brucker, and I do not know if it had already been given in newspapers that revealed the hoax.
This will not prevent Albert Rosales, Donald Johnson, Ted Phillips - seeing a case of "trace" in it - and others to publish the case on the Web as if it remained "unexplained".
I had some trouble checking the translation of the Basque words that would have been given to Barthel and Brucker, but in 2007, I was able to establish that "gusurtia" does mean "liar".
[Ref. sot1:] NEWSPAPER "SUD-OUEST":
Mr Itehova made us aware of the mishap of Mr. Manès Gusurtia, resident at the Harrohandia house, in Mendionde.
So Mr. Gusurtia went to his work, the morning before yesterday morning, when he saw at the bottom of a meadow a strange object, having as seen by far away the shape of a mushroom.
Having gotten closer, he notice on the grass not just one, but two objects, of red color, of about two meters in diameter, near which stood two small men of 0,80 meters approximately; the latter beckoned to him to come close, and uttered some incomprehensible sentences, then, showing him a machine they beckoned to him to go up inside, they penetrated in the other object and flew away vertically without making noise.
Mr. Gusurtia approached the other object, saw a third small man inside; the entry door closed suddenly in front of him and the machine flew away in the same way that the first, causing a light wind.
They stopped one moment above Ursuya, then disappeared in the East.
Having informed his neighbors, those stated not to have seen anything, but noted that the grass of the meadow appeared to be flattened and yellowed.
Mr. Gusurtia is still very moved by what he saw.
[Ref. edv1:] "EL DIARIO VASCO" NEWSPAPER:
Esta vez ha sido un casero vasco, el señor Manes Guesurtia de la casa Harrohandia, quien ha estado a punto de descifrar el enigma de las extrañas aeronaves. Su sorprendente relato es, sin quitar punto ni coma, el siguiente: Anteayer jueves, cuando se dirigía a su trabajo, vio en medio de un prado, un extraño objeto que de lejos tenía forma de una seta. Al acercarse pudo comprobar que no era uno sino dos los aparatos de color rojo y de unos dos metros de diámetro y junto a ellos había dos hombrecillos no mayores de ochenta centímetros. Al ser descubierto por éstos le hicieron señas para que se acercara, balbuciendo algunos sonidos ininteligibles. Luego le mostraron uno de los aparatos gesticulando como si le invitaran a entrar en él.
Los pequeños tripulantes se metieron en el otro que, sin hacer ruido, despegó del suelo de forma vertical. El señor Guesurtia se dirigió al aparato pudiendo ver dentro de él a un tercer hombrecito pero la puerta de entrada se cerró bruscamente y el aparato se lanzó al espacio en la misma forma que el anterior. Los dos objetos se detuvieron un instante encima de Ursuya, desapareciendo luego con dirección Este.
Guesurtia puso el hecho en conocimiento de sus vecinos los que, examinando el lugar donde habían estado posadas las misteriosas máquinas, comprobaron que la hierba del prado aparecía machacada y amarillenta.
El señor Guesurtia, dice la información que acabamos de traducir, no ha salido aun de su asombro.
I.e.:
This time it is a Basque guard, Mr Manes Guesurtia of the Harrohandia house, who was on the point to decipher the enigma of the strange flying machines. His amazing story is, without removing neither a point nor a comma from it, as follows: the day before yesterday, Thursday, when he was going to his work, he saw in the middle of a meadow an unknown object; which in the distance, had the shape of a mushroom. While approaching, he managed to realize that it was not one, but two apparatuses of red color and some two meters in diameter and with them, there were two small men not taller than eighty centimeters. Being discovered by the latter, they stammered some unintelligibles sounds and made gestures so that he approaches. They then showed him one of the apparatuses while moving the arms as if they invited him to get inside.
The small crew members entered the other apparatus; which rose from the ground vertically, without making noise. Mr. Guesurtia looked towards the other apparatus and could see a third small man, but the entry door was closed quickly and the apparatus sprang towards space in the same manner as the first one. The two objects stopped one moment above Ursuya, and then disappeared in the direction of the east.
Guesurtia reported the fact to his neighbors, whom, checking the place where the mysterious machines had been posed, noted that the grass of the meadow appeared crushed and yellowish.
Mr. Guesurtia, says the information that we have just translated, did not yet recover from his amazement.
[Ref. tbr1:] TED BLOECHER:
(Jean-Luc Rivera is the source of these items submitted by Ted Bloecher: Translations by Lex Mebane. Summarized by Mildred Biesele.)
Sud-Ouest, October 9,1954: M. Manes Guesurtia of Mendionde (Basses-Pyrenees) was on his way to work on the morning of October 7, 1954, when he noticed at a distance a strange object that seemed to be shaped like a mushroom. Walking across the field towards it, he saw on the grass two red craft about 2 m in diameter. Beside them stood two little men about 80 cm tall. The two little men gestured to him, indicating that he should enter one of the machines. They entered the other one, and it rose into the air without a sound. Looking through the open door of the other object, M. Guesurtia saw a third little man. Suddenly the door was closed and the second object also took off, displacing a slight current of air. Neighbors said that they saw nothing, but they found the grass on the prairie crushed and yellow.
[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:
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October 7th., 1954: morning. Mendionde (Basses-Pyrénées).
Witness: Manès Gusurtia.
Refs: Sud-Ouest 9.10.1954.
[Ref. tbw1:] TED BLOECHER AND DAVID WEBB:
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1954 Addenda
Oct. 7, 1954 Morning Near Mendionde (Basses-Pyrénées), France Type A,B
M. Manes Guesurtia, a Basque, going to work, discovered in a prairie two red mushroom-shaped objects about 6 ft in diameter. Beside them were standing two little men only 2.5 ft. tall, who made signs to the witness to approach. After uttering some incomprehensible sentences, the little men indicated by signs that M. Guesurtia should enter one of the vehicles. They entered the other one, and flew off vertically without sound. The witness approached the remaining UFO and saw inside it a third little man; the door was suddenly shut in his face, and the object flew off like the other one, displacing a slight current of air.
Traces were found: The grass of the prairie was crushed down and yellowed.
Investigator: M. Itohova, for Sud-Ouest.
Source: Sud-Ouest (pub. at ?), Oct. 9, 1954.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors indicate that the following account was published in the newspaper "Sud-Ouest" for October 9, 1954:
"Mr Itehova made us aware of the mishap of Mr Manès Gusurtia, resident at the Harrohandia house, in Mendionde."
"So Mr. Gusurtia went to his work, the morning before yesterday morning, when he saw at the bottom of a meadow a strange object, having as seen by far away the shape of a mushroom."
"Having gotten closer, he notice on the grass not just one, but two objects, of red color, of about two meters in diameter, near which stood two small men of 0,80 meters approximately; the latter beckoned to him to come close, and uttered some incomprehensible sentences, then, showing him a machine they beckoned to him to go up inside, they penetrated in the other object and flew away vertically without making noise."
"Mr. Gusurtia approached the other object, saw a third small man inside; the entry door closed suddenly in front of him and the machine flew away in the same way that the first, causing a light wind."
"They stopped one moment above Ursuya, then disappeared in the East."
"Having informed his neighbors, those stated not to have seen anything, but noted that the grass of the meadow appeared to be flattened and yellowed."
"Mr. Gusurtia is still very moved by what he saw."
The two authors say that they found this story "plausible in the ufological context", and "credibilized" by a trace, "moreover".
They say that they went to this area and that the inhabitants did not remember the story, but that all became clear at the Mendionde town hall, where an employee smiled by reading the account then burst into laughter because Mr. Gusurtia "had never lived in the village" and "the Harrohandia house had never existed", since in the Basque patois "Gusurtia means lie and Harrohandia means big mouth."
The two authors add that although they came to the Basque Country for nothing, they were relieved of their disappointment by tasting the gastronomy of this country.
[Ref. mft1:] FRANCAT, MICHEL FIGUET:
07.10.1954
Mendionde
Hoax, the Press and B.B. p. 50 to 53.
[Ref. mft2:] FRANCAT - MICHEL FIGUET:
| 10/07/1954 | Mendionde | hoax, press and B.B. p. 50 to 53 |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
October 7th. Mendionale [sic], France, (no known hour)
"Little men and a flying mushroom."
The French newspaper Sud-Ouest published this story: "M. Manes Guesurtia of Mendionale [sic] (Basses-Pyrenees) was on his way to work on October 7, 1954, when he noticed at a distance a strange object that seemed to be shaped like a mushroom. Walking across the field toward it, he saw on the grass two red engines about 2 meters in diameter. Besides them stood two little men about 80 centimeters tall. The two little men gestured to him, indicating that he should enter one of the machines. They entered the other one, and it rose into the air without a sound. Looking through the open door of the other object, M. Guesurtia saw a third little man. Suddenly the door was closed and the second object also took off, displacing a slight current of air. Neighbors said that they saw nothing, but they found the grass on the prairie crushed and yellow." 69.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
French ufologist Jean Sider notes that skeptical ufologists Barthel and Brucker claimed to have solved the hoax of 1954 in Mendionde in the Basque country, whereas shortly after its publication, the hoax had already been denounced. Jean Sider expresses serious doubts on their assertion to have traveled to the site as in other cases, he demonstrated that they investigated by phone, not by going on the premises.
Jean Sider is ironical about the fact that Barthel and Brucker set up a whole production to make believe that they had to spend much time on the case. They are betrayed when they indicate to have investigated in the same manner than in the case of Ygrande, by letters and phone calls in the latter case, and not by a trip to the place.
Jean Sider indicates that if they had checked the Press of the time, they would have realized that the alleged on-site investigation was useless, since the newspaper Le Sud-Ouest for October 10, 1954, and other newspapers afterwards such as Le Républicain Lorrain for October 10, 1954 on page 3, had already explained that the case was only a hoax.
[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
131.
Location. Near Mendionde Basses Pyrenees France
Date: October 7 1954
Time: morning
M Manes Cuesurtia [sic], a Basque, going to work, discovered in a prairie two red mushroom shaped objects about 6 ft in diameter. Beside them were standing two little men only 2.5 ft tall, who made signs to the witness to approach. After uttering some incomprehensible sentences, the little men indicated by signs that M Cuesurtia should enter one of the vehicles. They entered the other one, and flew off vertically without sound. The witness approached the remaining UFO and saw inside it a third little man; the door was suddenly shut in his face, and the object flew of like the other one, displacing a slight current of air. Traces were found; the grass of the prairie was crushed down and yellowed.
Humcat 1954-25
Source: M Itehova for Sud Quest [sic] Newspaper
Type: A & B
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Donald Johnson indicates that on October 7, 1954, two red mushroom-shaped objects, 6 feet in diameter, landed in the morning in Mendionde, France. Two little men, 2.5 feet tall, stood beside it, speaking an unknown language and gesticulating to the witness to come closer. However, when he did they shut the door in his face, and the UFO took off straight up. The grass at the site was crushed and turned yellow.
Donald Johnson indicates that the source is: David F. Webb and Ted Bloecher, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports, case A1689.
[Ref. tps1:] TED PHILLIPS:
10/07/54 France, Mendionde: Manes Cuesurtia saw two red objects, mushroom-shaped, in a field. They were 6 ft in diameter.
Standing near the objects he saw two small beings 2.5 ft tall which soon entered one of the objects and flew away vertically without sound. Grass was crushed down in a circular pattern and yellowed.
[Ref. jvo1:] "GARA" NEWSPAPER:
The newspaper issues a summary on "The Guesurtia case", indicating that in October 1954, the newspapers "Sud-Ouest" and "El Diario Vasco" published a case in Mendionde, "Manes Guesurtia", who saw a saucer landing and various beings. In 1979, two investigators tried to confirm this but the witness never existed.
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 7 October 1954 in the morning in Mendionde, France, "Two red mushroom shaped objects 6' diameter. two little men 2.5' tall stood beside, unknown language, gesticulated to witness to come. But shut door in face, took off and ascended rapidly. Traces grass yellow crushed."
The website adds: "Two red mushroom-shaped objects, six feet in diameter, landed this morning in Mendionde, France. Two little men, 2.5 feet tall stood beside it, speaking an unknown language and gesticulating to the witness to come closer. However, when he did they shut the door in his face, and the UFO took off straight up. The grass at the site was crushed and turned yellow."
And: "Flying discs were observed. They departed by rapidly flying straight up until lost to sight. Traces found. Two red domed discs, about 10 feet across, were observed by one experienced male witness on the prairie (Guesurtia). No sound was heard. Two 2.5-foot-tall dwarves were seen."
And: "M Manes Cuesurtia, a Basque, going to work, discovered in a prairie two red mushroom shaped objects about 6 ft in diameter. Beside them were standing two little men only 2.5 ft tall, who made signs to the witness to approach. After uttering some incomprehensible sentences, the little men indicated by signs that M Cuesurtia should enter one of the vehicles. They entered the other one, and flew off vertically without sound. The witness approached the remaining UFO and saw inside it a third little man; the door was suddenly shut in his face, and the object flew of like the other one, displacing a slight current of air. Traces were found; the grass of the prairie was crushed down and yellowed."
And: "Vallee rating: AN3: Anomalies with associated entities. i.e. ghosts, yetis, spirits, elves and other mythical/legendary entities."
The sources are given as: "Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database".
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:
October 7 1954, morning.
MENDIONDE (BASSES-PYRENEES : FRANCE)
Mr Manes Guesurtia was on his way to work when he noticed, at a distance, a mushroom shaped object. He walked across the field towards it and saw, on the ground, two red machines about 2m diameter. Beside them stood two little men about 80cm tall, who gestured to him, indicating that he should enter one of the machines. They entered the other one and it rose into the air without a sound. Looking through the open door of the other object Manes saw a third little man. Suddenly the door was closed and this second object also took off, displacing a slight current of air. Neighbours saw nothing, but grass in the field was crushed and yellow.
Jean-Luc Rivera in MUFON UFO Journal 130 p,16 citing Sud-Ouest 9 October 1954.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 7, 1954 - Two red mushroom-shaped objects, six feet in diameter, landed this morning in Mendionde, France. Two little men, 2.5 feet tall stood beside it, speaking an unknown language and gesticulating to the witness to come closer. However, when he did they shut the door in his face, and the UFO took off straight up. The grass at the site was crushed and turned yellow. (Source: David F. Webb and Ted Bloecher, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports, case A1689).
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Location: Near Mendionde Basses Pyrenees France
Date: October 7 1954
Time: morning
M. Manes Cuesurtia, a Basque, going to work, discovered in a prairie two red mushroom shaped objects about 6 ft in diameter. Beside them were standing two little men only 2.5 ft tall, who made signs to the witness to approach. After uttering some incomprehensible sentences, the little men indicated by signs that M Cuesurtia should enter one of the vehicles. They entered the other one, and flew off vertically without sound. The witness approached the remaining UFO and saw inside it a third little man; the door was suddenly shut in his face, and the object flew of like the other one, displacing a slight current of air. Traces were found; the grass of the prairie was crushed down and yellowed.
Source: M Itehova for Sud Quest Newspaper
[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:
The author indicates that there was a false close encounter of the third kind in Mendionde, Pyrénées-Atlantique, on October 7, 1954, in the morning at an unknown hour:
M. Gusurtia went to his work when he saw a strange object in the shape of a mushroom at the bottom of a meadow. He approached and noticed on the grass two red objects two meters in diameter, near which stood two small beings of about 0.80 meters.
They waved at him and spoke incomprehensible words. The two beings waved to him to get into one of the craft and they penetrated into the other one which immediately flew away noiselessly. The witness approached the other craft and saw in it a third small being. The entrance door of the craft then closed suddenly in front of him and the craft took off immediately at the vertical. The witness told his neighbors who noticed that the prairie grass had been trampled and yellowed.
Julien Gonzalez indicates that in reality it was a journalistic hoax revealed the very next day.
The sources for the explanation are given as Sud-Ouest for 10 October 1954; Jean Sider, "Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste", pages 65-66.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Mendionde | France | Morning | CE III |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 7 1954. Morning.
MENDIONDE (BASSES-PYRENEES : FRANCE)
Mr Manes Guesurtia was on his way to work when he noticed, at a distance, a mushroom shaped object. He walked across the field towards it and saw, on the ground, two red machines about 2m diameter. Beside them stood two little men about 80cm tall, who gestured to him, indicating that he should enter one of the machines. They entered the other one and it rose into the air without a sound. Looking through the open door of the other object Manes saw a third little man. Suddenly the door was closed and this second object also took off, displacing a slight current of air. Neighbours saw nothing, but grass in the field was crushed and yellow.
Evaluation - Possible hoax
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Hoax.
In the Basque-French dictionary "Vocabulaire de mots basques Bas-Navarrais", by Mr. Salaberry, 1856, the word gusurtia does not exist more than the word harrohandia. These words are also not in the database of the Banque de Terminologie Publique Basque Euskalterm, 2007. But I finally discovered the word gusurtia in the dictionary www.euskomedia.org/PDFAnlt/literatura/07133214.pdf page 177 where it indeed means "liar."
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Mendionde, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, hoax, occupants, landing, Manes Guesurtia, Gusrtia, Itehova, Harrohandia, language, gestures, communication, take-off, landing, objects, fast, manoeuvers
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 7, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 23, 2008 | First formal version. Additions [tbr1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 14, 2010 | Addition [tps1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | August 14, 2013 | Addition [prn1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 7, 2014 | Additions [tai1], [nip1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | December 19, 2016 | Additions [lgs1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | February 20, 2017 | Addition [jgz1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | December 6, 2019 | Additions [agd1], [mft2], [prn2], Summary. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | September 1, 2021 | Addition [tbw1]. |
