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1906, Mitchell, South Dakota, USA, Herbert DeMott:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

The Democrat-Herald newspaper, of Albany, Oregon, for August 27, 1973, reportedly told that in 1906, a boy named Herbert DeMott, from Mitchell, South Dakota, allegedly boarded an airship that had landed near his family's well.

The boy claimed: "As I approached it, a door rolled back and I was welcomed inside. Its two occupants sat inside on camp stools." They looked like ordinary human beings and they spoke fluent English, but they would not tell him where they were from.

The boy claimed the outer shell of the craft was filled with helium gas, and "when the lever was moved the magnetism from the Earth was cut off. In this fashion the ship was able to ascend."

He claimed that the occupants took water from the farm's horse trough "for use in manufacturing electricity."

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. cf1:] JEROME CLARK AND LUCIUS FARISH:

The authors indicate that in 1906, a boy named Herbert DeMott, from Mitchell, South Dakota, allegedly boarded an airship that had landed.

The object had come to rest near his family's well. The boy recalled: "As I approached it, a door rolled back and I was welcomed inside. Its two occupants sat inside on camp stools."

They looked like ordinary human beings and they spoke fluent English, but they would not tell him where they were from.

The boy told: "The outer shell of the craft was filled with helium gas, and when the lever was moved the magnetism from the Earth was cut off. In this fashion the ship was able to ascend."

He claimed that the occupants took water from the farm's horse trough for use in manufacturing electricity.

[Ref. bh1:] ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND GEORGE S. HOWARD:

The authors indicate that in 1906, in South Dakota, USA, Herbert V. DeMott, 9 years old, watched a craft land near a well, he approached it, and "a door rolled-back and I was welcomed inside."

The occupants were ordinary-looking men, who "sat on camp stools", and he was told that the craft's outer shell contained "helium gas, and when the lever was moved the magnetism from the earth was cut off," which enabled the vessel to rise.

The occupants took water from a horse trough for use "in making electricity."

The authors indicate that the source is the Democrat-Herald, of Albany, Oregon, for August 27, 1973.

[Ref. wu1:] "WATERUFO" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that the case occurred on ??-??-1906, in Mitchell, South Dakota, at an unknown time:

Herbert V. Demott, 10, saw a "craft" come down near the well. "As I approached it, a door rolled back and I was welcomed inside." The two occupants, who looked like ordinary men, "sat on camp stools;" they conversed with him, but did not divulge their origin. "The outer shell of the craft was filled with helium gas, and when the lever was moved, the magnetism from the earth was cut off, allowing the craft to rise." The pilots drew water from the horse trough "to be used in making electricity."

The source is indicated as "Humcat 1906-2. Source: Phenomena Research Reporter, # 3", with thanks to Chris Aubeck for bringing it to attention.

Other references are indicated as Ted Bloecher investigation files, August 27, 1973, newspaper clipping; Saga Magazine UFO Report, July 1974, p. 36; A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies by George Eberhart, #0298, 1980.

[Ref. mm1:] MICHIGAN MUFON WEBSITE:

The web site indicated that in 1906, a boy of Mitchell, South Dakota, named Herbert DeMott was the witness of the landing of an airship and went on board. The family must also have seen the object. According to the boy's statement, a door on the object opened and two occupants who were sitting on camping stools welcomed him. They appeared completely normal and spoke fluent English, they however did not want to reveal where they came from.

They explained Herbert that the hull of the ship was filled with helium and if you actuated a lever, the terrestrial attraction force would thus be cut off. The occupants took water from the farm horse's basin; which they needed in order to produce electricity.

[Ref. js1:] JEAN SIDER:

The author indicates that in 1906 in Mitchell, South Dakota, the USA, Herbert V. Demott, 10-year-old, moves towards the well of the residence of his parents. He sees suddenly an apparatus go down and land not far from there. He decides to approach the machine, and as he is near, a door opens by fading inside the aerial ship. He is invited on board, where two men of the ordinary type "sat on collapsible chairs". They speak to the boy but do not say anything about their origin. According to what the latter believed to understand the external hull of the apparatus is filled with helium, and when a lever is actuated terrestrial attraction is cancelled, this is what makes it possible for the machine to rise in the airs. When the pilot draws water in the feeding trough of the horses, he claims that is "to make electricity."

Jean Sider indicates that the source is "Strange Magazine, #10, 1992, p. 6, article by J. Clark, according to The Albany Democrat-Herald, Oregon, August 27, 1973."

Jean Sider comment on that the nonsense "of the allegations of the entities is again obvious", suggests that it is a "Screen scenario?" and that if this is the case, "an abduction could have occurred."

[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in 1906, in Mitchell, South Dakota, USA, there was a "Close encounter with a an unidentified craft and its occupants. An unidentified object at close range and its occupants were observed by one male witness at a house (Demott)."

The sources are indicated as "Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Bloecher, Ted R., Ted R Bloecher investigation files; Eberhart, George M., A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1980, ISBN:0-313-21337-2".

Points to consider:

I speculate that the original source is not the 1973 article but a 1906 article from the same newspaper or another local newspaper, republished in 1973.

The tale is clearly the sort of tales told between 1896 and 1913 in the US newspapers. The "technology" descriptions for the airship is clearly indicative of the imaginary nature of the story.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Tall tale.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [---] ? Article in the newspaper Democrat-Herald, Albany, Oregon, USA, August 27, 1973.
• [cf1] * "The Phantom Airship of 1913", article by Jerome Clark and Lucius Farish, in Saga's UFO Report, Volume. 1, #6, page 36, July 1974.
• [---] ? Saga Magazine UFO Report, USA, page 36, July 1974.
• [---] ? Phenomena Research Reporter, #3.
• [---] ? "HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports", compiled by David F. Webb and Ted Bloecher, CUFOS, USA, circa 1978.
• [---] ? "A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies", book by George Eberhart, Greenwood Press publisher, USA, page 298, 1980.
• [---] ? Article by Jerome Clark in Strange Magazine, USA, #10, page 6, 1992.
• [bh1] * "UFOs and Alien Contacts - Two Centuries of Mystery", book by Robert E. Bartholomew and George S. Howard, Prometheus Books publisher, New York, USA, page 285, 1998.
• [mm1] * Michigan MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) website, (page disappeared), circa 2003, at www.mimufon.org
• [---] ? Chris Aubeck.
• [wu1] Record of the WaterUFO website, by Carl Feindt, at www.waterufo.net/item.php?id=134
• [js1] * "Les Extraterrestres avant les Soucoupes Volantes", book by Jean Sider, JMG publisher, France, page 173, 2007.
• [ud1] * "In 1906 - Mitchell, South Dakota, USA", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf08/uf0/080696.htm

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This page was last updated on July 22, 2008.