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JULY 2, 1950, STEEP ROCK LAKE, ONTARIO, CANADA, A MAN AND HIS WIFE:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

A reader's story appeared in a factory and house magazine, The Steep Rock Echo, edited Mr. B. J. Eyton for the Steep Rock Iron Company, Ontario, Canada, of September 1950.

Its author claimed that in the dusk of July 2, 1950, he and his wife had drawn up their boat on the sandy beach of a tiny cove in Sawbill Bay, where they had gone fishing. Cliffs rise on all three sides of the cove. Small trees and bushes concealed them and their boat from the sight of anyone overhead, in a plane, had there been one around that evening. They had snacks and a thermos flask of tea, and, as the dusk was drawing on, they talked of going home. Suddenly, the air seemed to vibrate as if from shock waves from a blasting operation at the local iron mines. He recollected, however, that the mines were too far away for that and he climbed ten feet up on a rock, where was a cleft that gave onto the bay.

He was amazed at what he saw. As he peered through the cleft, taking care to make no noise, he could see out on the bay a large shining object, resting on the water. It was in the curve of the shoreline, about a quarter of a mile away, across the top end of some narrows. He got down from the cleft and sped back to his wife. She was startled as he came running up. "Why what on earth is the matter?" she asked. "Come and see if you see what I see," he said, grasping her by the arm. 'And make no noise or show yourself.' He drew her by the hand to the cleft and they both peered through it.

The shining thing was still resting on the water. It looked like two saucers, one upside down on the top of the other. Round the edge were holes like black ports, spaced about 4 feet apart. They could not see the under side, because the bottom of the thing was resting on the water, or close to it. On top were what looked like open hatches, and moving around over its surface were ten little figures. They looked queer, very queer. Rotating slowly from a central position, and about 8 feet up in the air, was a hoop-shaped object. As it rotated, to a point directly opposite to where they were peering through the rock-cleft. It stopped, and the little figures also stopped moving. Everything now seemed concentrated on the little opening through which they were peering. The couple was about to duck down, as they thought these midget figures might see them and take alarm, when, on the opposite side of the cove, a deer appeared, came to the edge of the water, and stood motionless.

They again peered through the cleft in the rock. The little figures and the previously rotating circle were aligned on the deer. But now the circle moved to the left. They ducked down, counted twenty, and took another peep. The thing was gyrating and the figures moving; but the deer didn't seem to trouble them. They ducked down, supposing that a ray had been projected towards the rock from the thing on the water, thinking the rock might be a barrier.

It looked as if the whole machine were worked from a central point below the circling ray. The operator was a midget figure on a small raised stand. He wore what seemed to be a red skull cap, or perhaps it was red paint, the caps worn by others were blue. The man estimated the figures were from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet tall, and all were the same size. They could not see their faces. In fact, the faces seemed just blank surfaces! The figures moved like automata, rather than living beings.

Over their chests was a gleaming metallic substance, but the legs and arms were covered by something darker. These figures did not turn around. They just altered the direction of their feet. They walked on the angle, or camber of the surface of the disk, and the leg on the higher side seemed shorter; so that it compensated for the slope. As the man looked, one of the midgets picked up the end or nozzle of a vivid green hose. He lifted it, while facing one way, and started to walk the other way. And now the air hummed in a high-pitched note, or vibration. Maybe water was being drawn in, or something was ejected.

Next time they peered through the rock cleft, they found that all the figures had vanished, and the machine was about 8 feet up in the air. The man noticed that the water of the lake, near where the thing had rested, was tinged with color combined of red-blue-gold. The man estimated the was about 15 feet thick at the center, and some 12 feet at the edges. It tilted at an angle near 45 degrees.

Then came a rush of wind, a flash of red-blue-gold and it was gone, heading northwards, and so fast that his eye could not follow it. It was now quite dark. and the couple decided to call it a day, got into their boat and went out into the bay where the saucer had rested on the water. The man had aligned two trees to estimate its size, which, he thought, was 48 feet.

He went back there again, on another day, and as they came through the narrows, he heard a rush or wind, and again something flashed above and beyond the trees. What it was, he could not see. His wife was scared. She said she would never go there again.

A day or two later, he spoke to a friend at the mine, and told him what he had seen. He suggested both go to the cove on a fishing trip. They had cameras, but after they stationed at the rock cleft for three evenings running, nothing happened; and on the last evening, they moved quickly along the shore. They patrolled the bay for three weeks, when, one evening, as they were in their outboard motorboat, and a strong wind was cutting across Sawbill Bay, chopping the water, they saw the disk. It was in the same spot. The man surmised that, as the wind was up from them, they could not hear their motor chugging. He swung the boat around into the wind, and his friend got the cameras out. But it is difficult to hold a motor boat into the wind on choppy water, while trying to take a photo. Indeed, the wind was so darned cold, that the man's fingers went numb, and he could not manage both the helm and a camera. The boat see-sawed up and down so much that his friend could not focus the camera.

Before they got close up to the saucer, he saw the little figures vanish into the hatches. They had seen the men. The rotating mechanism vanished, and the hose reeled in like a flash of green lightning-so fast did they work!

There came a regular blast of air and the saucer whizzed off like greased lightning. But the man's eye was quick enough to see that a little figure, close to the water's edge, was only half-way back to the hatch. He must have operated the end of the green hose, or suction pipe. Their own engine stalled and then ran hot; so they got home late, and their wives were terrified. They had to promise never to go saucer-spotting again.

The story then appeared in various newspaper and in Fate magazine, from where a number of UFO books authors picked it up a factual, without checking anything and generally providing only summarized versions.

One APRO ufologist in Canada verified the story before 1967 and discovered that it was what it looked like: a hoax.

The story had actually been invented by a Mr. Gordon Edwards, who did it as a joke, a satire of saucer-men stories. The information about that came from the personnel manager of the Steep Rock Iron Mines, and the editor of the mine's paper, the Steep Rock Echo, apparently had a good laugh when he read the presentation of the case in Frank Edwards' book, "Flying Saucers Serious Business."

This did not prevent flocks of careless ufologist to continue to propagate the hoax as factual, with few exceptions such as Robert Badgley and Jerome Clark. But today still, the story lives on.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. hw1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:

The author reproduces an article about a sighting of July 2, 1950 as it was published in a factory and house magazine, The Steep Rock Echo, edited Mr. B. J. Eyton for the Steep Rock Iron Company, Ontario, Canada, of September 1950.

Wilkins adds that Mr. Eyton told him:

"I have been unable either to verify or disprove this story, but about the time it was told and published in our magazine, men working in the mines here at Steep Rock, saw a flying saucer at night, and people in the nearby township of Atitokan told the local press that they had seen them in a region between Fort William and Port Arthur, a range of some 140 miles. In fact, one night the telegraphers of the Canadian National Railroads wired to each other to look out for a strange object in the skies, until it reached here. Then it turned back. Everybody is sure he saw a flying saucer that night."

[Ref. jn1:] JOHN NICHOLSON:

In an article about little green men, in a science-fiction magazine, John Nicholson wrote:

[Ref. fe1:] FRANK EDWARDS:

The author reports that on July 2, 1950 in Steep Rock Lake, a couple had gone like they often did in an isolated creek of Sawbill Bay, in a narrow and deep arm of the lake surrounded of near-surface rocks.

In the afternoon they had drawn their boat onto the beach, had eaten and drunk tea and rested is the natural air when the air started to vibrate. As this strange impression persisted, the man had climbed a rock, which was cut at its top by a narrow slit through which one could see without being seen.

Frank Edwards then cites extracts of the article of the Steep Rock Echo until the moment of the disappearance of the saucer.

[Ref. ob1:] OTTO BINDER:

[Ref. cl1:] CORAL LORENZEN:

Coral Lorenzen indicates that in addition to the story of saucer-men using a pipe told by Mr. Kiehl, another story with resemblances to it appeared in another sighting which also took place in Canada, on July 2, 1950.

A senior executive of the Steep Rock Iron Mines and his wife were on an outing at Sawtooth Bay on Steep Rock Lake in Ontario, and had beached their boat on a sandy shore where there was plenty of shade, had some tea and sandwiches, and sat back to relax.

There was suddenly a shock wave and the air seemed to vibrate. The man thought it might have been a dynamite blast but there had been no sound, so he decided to investigate and climbed up on a rock outcropping that protruded above the undergrowth and looked through a cleft.

He saw a large shiny apparently metallic object resting on the water about a quarter of a mile down the shoreline. It looked like two huge saucers stuck together, lip to lip, with what appeared to be round black-edged portholes around the circumference, where the "saucers joined." On the top of that craft appeared to be opened hatch covers.

The man quickly scrambled back to his wife and brought her back to the niche so that she could see the object too. They saw about ten small figures, three-and-a-half to four feet tall, moving about. The man describes a hoop-shaped object which rotated slowly, protruding from the top to about 8 feet above the "deck". When it appeared to be pointed at a "location directly opposite the two observers it would stop and so would the "little men." The man and his wife got the distinct impression that the concentration was on their location and ducked behind the rock.

This hooplike contraption seemed to be operated by one of the figures on a prominence directly below it. This "being" had a bright red apparatus on its head while the rest of the figures on the superstructure were wearing blue headpieces of some type.

The man estimated that the size of the saucer was approximately 48 feet in diameter, using the size of two trees on the opposite shore as points of reference, he estimated it was about 15 feet thick at its highest point and about 12 feet thick at the edge. He described the little men as having shiny metal of some kind on their chests and dark clothing of indeterminate color, but no features were noticed because of the distance of about 1200 feet.

The two observers agreed that the tiny figures moved like automatons and did not turn as normal beings do, but changed direction laboriously as though it was a difficult task, and turned their feet before turning their bodies.

Two bright green hoses extended into the water, and during the sighting, a distinct humming sound could be heard. The witnesses thought that water was being taken into the ship with one hose and that it was being discharged back into the lake through the other.

Each time the rotating hoop pointed in their direction, the man and wife would duck behind their rock shelter. The last time they ducked, when they stuck their heads out again, about 20 seconds later, the figures and the hoop were missing, and the object began to rise from the surface of the water. There was a rush of wind as it took off at about a 45-degree angle, whereupon it vanished quickly into the sky.

The water was tinted red with a slight gold cast where it had rested.

Coral Lorenzen notes that just like in the Kiehl sighting, a vivid green hose is involved, the craft is resting on water, and the occupants of the craft seem sensitive to the presence of people or animals, and deer are involved in both cases.

She comments that the case was published in the Steep Rock Echo, house organ of the mining company, and later in Fate magazine, "from which so many latter-day UFO "experts" glean much of their material", the skeptic is tempted to assume that perhaps Kiehl read the Fate account and got an idea for his story. But she is not satisfied at this idea because when "plagiarism of ideas is involved, the plagiarist generally adheres as closely to the original story as possible in order to give an air of authenticity to his tale."

She speculates that the movements of the Steep Rock creatures would be logical if the figures on the craft were living beings equipped with, for instance, magnetic shoes, that would give the appearance of moving about clumsily and with great effort.

Coral Lorenzen notes the fact that in both incidents the object and occupants were a considerable distance from the observers.

She indicates that some doubt has been cast upon the authenticity of the Steep Rock case by an APRO member in Canada who claims that the story was written by a Mr. Gordon Edwards, who did it as a joke. The information about Edwards came from the personnel manager of the Steep Rock Iron Mines; and the editor of the mine's paper, the Steep Rock Echo, purportedly had a good laugh when he read the presentation of the case in Frank Edwards' recent book, "Flying Saucers - Serious Business."

[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

In his catalogue of UFO landings, Jacques Vallée indicates that on July 2, 1950 in Steep Rock Lake, Canada, in a story strangely similar to that of Mr. Kiehl, a man and his wife saw a double saucer with portholes and a rotating antenna come to rest on the surface of the lake.

Ten figures, 1.20 meters tall, dressed in shiny clothing, emerged and walked on deck like robots "changing direction without turning their bodies."

Their faces could not be seen. One of them wore a red cap, had darker arms and legs and "seemed to be their chief." They immersed a hose in the lake, then took off. Fishermen later reported a green moss forming on the lake.

Vallée indicates that his source is "Wilkins U."

[Ref. hb1:] HENRI BORDELEAU:

This author indicates a "fantastic adventure lived by a couple in 1950", at the Lake of Steep Rock, Ontario, Canada. He gives a French translation of the story as told by author Frank Edwards.

He comments that the story has details which were known to the general public only much later, and "this fact, it seems to me, encourage us to totally believe the story."

[Ref. cp1:] CLAUDE POHER:

Claude Poher included the case in the form of digital codes in a listing of UFOs observations with statistical aims:

Sawbill Bay (Ontario) - Canada
2742510009195197000EJZ0010004310221502003000829010011005004000000000010000000000

[Ref. fr1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The authors indicate that many world cases show beings which were seen drawing water from a river or a lake, among those case is the following; which they quote from the Vallée catalogue.

On July 2, 1950, in Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada, a couple saw a saucer land on the lake. It had portholes and a rotary antenna, like a goniometer.

Ten small silhouettes dressed in shiny suits emerged walked on the bridge like robots, one of them dressed differently seemed to be the chief.

They immersed a pipe in the lake then took off.

The authors note that this case is oddly similar to that of Mr. J Kiehl, in August 1914.

[Ref. cc1:] GILBERT CORNU AND HENRI CHALOUPEK:

The authors indicate that one unspecified afternoon of July 1950, a director of the iron mines of Steep Rock in Ontario in Canada had a picnic with his wife near a lake of the area of Sawbil Bay when he was intrigued by vibrations of the air similar to those which follow explosions of dynamite. They then saw a large shiny object on the surface of the lake, similar to two saucers joined together by their edges. Above, ten small beings walked slowly, turning around what seemed panels of a hatchway. They moved like automats, the body covered with a stuff of metallic appearance. A continuous humming was heard and the scene gave the impression that they were pumping water by a pipe while emptying another substance in the lake by another pipe. The machine suddenly took off, "similar to a saucer of 150 meters approximately of diameter, which is terribly impressive; it went by like a flash on a trajectory at 45° and disappears!"

The authors indicate that the source is H. Bordeleau in "J'ai percé le mystère des S. V.", page 138, Montréal, Canada.

[Ref. jc1:] JEROME CLARK:

Jerome Clark indicates that a hoax about little men in UFOs originally appeared in the September/October 1950 issue of the "Steep Rock Echo", the mimeographed house organ of Steep Rock Iron Mines, Ltd., of Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, in the shape of a detailed letter to the editor by anonymous correspondent.

The correspondent claimed that on July 2, while picnicking on the shore of a cove in Sawbill Bay, he and his wife saw a flying saucer on the water.

Jerome Clark cites an extract of the letter, and notes that the story was cited from time to time in the literature over the next two decades, for example by Ted Bloecher in 1956, by Frank Edwards, by the Lorenzens in 1967, by Harold Wilkins, Nicholson in 1958, Vallee in 1969.

Clark notes that nobody bothered to investigate the story, until the mid-1970s, when Robert Badgley, a Scarborough, Ontario, member of the Tucson-based APRO, found that Steep Rock employee Gordon Edwards had written the tale, which was entirely fictitious, to entertain readers of the magazine and to satirize belief in little green men from flying saucers.

[Ref. ro1:] JEAN-PAUL RONECKER:

The author indicates that the behavior of UFO occupants is sometimes even incomprehensible, like in the case of the small humanoids of the Lake Ontario in Sawbill Bay, in July 1950, who did not stop turning around on their saucer posed on the water, seeming to follow the rhythm of the movement of a central object in the shape of a hoop.

[Ref. lg1:] LUIS GONZALES, FIRSTHUMCAT:

Luis Gonzales indicates that sources Magonia catalogue case 80, the Steep Rock Echo, September and October 1950, UFO Occupants and Critters by John Bent Musgrave, 1979, cases 10 and 11 and UFOs Over Canada by John Robert Columbo, pp. 32-41, 1991, published about a hoax of 2 July 1950 in Steep Rock Lake, Sawbill Bay, Ontario, Canada.

He indicates that the story, strangely similar to that of Mr. Kiehl in August 1914, a man and his wife saw a double saucer with portholes and a rotating antenna come to rest on the surface of the lake.

Ten 1.20 m tall figures dressed in shiny clothing, emerged and walked on deck like robots changing direction without turning their bodies. "Their faces could not be seen. One of them wore a red cap, had darker arms and legs and seemed to be their chief." "They immersed a hose in the lake, then took off. Fishermen later reported a green moss forming on the lake. Later the same month, the same man plus a male companion saw something similar."

[Ref. sc1:] SCOTT CORRALES:

Scott Corrales wonders whether there is something of special in the lakes of Ontario that draws ufonauts. He indicates that researcher John Robert Colombo mentions a received letter of an employee of the mine of Atikokan which after having benefited of a day of fishing on July 2, 1950 in the bay of Sawbill, saw a strange object at a distance of a quarter of mile along the rocky coast. The object is described as "carrying the shape of a circle and in rotation", and operated by characters of four feet tall with heads covered by blue caps, except for one who was in red and appeared to be their chief.

One of the beings carried a pipe of brilliant green color and appeared "to absorb the same volume of water that it discharged."

Corrales comments on that if a vehicle hypothetically entitled to cross sidereal distances is obliged to use pipes to clean its internal systems, or to restock itself with water for his fusion engine, one should not be surprised to read cases where UFO occupants use buckets to carry out their tasks.

[Ref. jb1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jerome Beau indicates that on July 2, 1950, on Lake Ontario, at Sawbill Bay, whereas a couple had a luncheon on the beach, the air started to vibrate, and they saw by hiding a disc posed on the lake, with port-holes in crown, and a central "mast" finished by a hoop like a goniometer.

Beings were walking in a round at regular intervals on the edge, they stopped to look in the direction of the witnesses, but actually they were looking at a deer above them.

The beings returned inside and the disc tore itself off the water vertically, leaving under a reddish water with gilded reflections.

Jérome Beau indicates that the source is "Lob and Gigi."

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates that at Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada, on July 2, 1950, in the evening, after feeling a blast like vibration, Mr. and Mrs Gordon Edwards looked at the lake and saw a large shiny object on the water, less than 1/4 mile away.

It looked like "one saucer upside down on another," with round portholes around the edge. A hatch on top was open; about 10 "queer little figures" less than 4 feet tall were visible. A hoop shaped antenna was slowly rotating. The topmost figure wore a red skullcap; the others dark blue; all had "a shiny metallic substance over the chest," and appeared to lack faces. Moving like automatons, they seemed to be drawing water through a bright green hose and discharging it through another. When the witness next looked, the beings were gone and the craft was about 8 feet up; it appeared about 48 feet wide and 15 ft thick. It tilted to 45 degrees and took off northward, with a blast of wind.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Gordon Evans.

[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1950, on July 2, in Canada in "Sawbill Bay (Ontario), Steep Rock Lake", "JOURNALISTIC HOAX: In the September and octobre 1950 issue of the magazine 'The Steep Rock Echo', internal magazine of an important mining company, the small hoax concerning a couple which would have seen a flying saucer hovering above water of a Canadian lake was initiated. The cover of the magazine was illustrated and one saw there "approximately ten small odd silhouettes" working around a pump which drew water, which extracted something from it before rejecting water in the lake. The silhouettes measured between 100 and 120 cm, did not have faces but were dressed of something of metal shining on the chest, darker towards the ends. The majority carried helmets of a dark blue, but others had a red helmet. They were moving like automats. The main witness of the account ensured he came back on the spot later with a friend and to have met these strange beings again. At this occasion they saw how all these small silhouettes, except one, disappeared one by in the hatchways from the apparatus. The black saucer left at high speed, with a small silhouette always outside, it rose to a good height to enter inside. A few years later the story appeared in Fate magazine and finally in Frank Edwards's book "Flying Saucers – Serious Business". The investigators could show that it was a hoax, moreover acknowledged with a wealth of details by the journalist Gordon Edwards."

Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that the sources are: "Sources: Catálogo MAGONIA nº80 ; The Steep Rock Echo, Septiembre y Octubre 1950. ; John Bent Musgrave, UFO Occupants & Critters (1979), casos nº10 y 11. ; • John Robert Columbo, UFOs Over Canada (1991), pp. 32-41; Fundación Anomalía - Catálogo de los primeros casos de humanoides clasificados por países (FIRSTHUMCAT) Luis R. González Manso - España".

She adds that the "ufologic version" is: "A couple had gone as usual to an isolated creek of Sawbill Bay, a narrow and deep arm of the lake, surrounded of slightly emerging rocks. In the afternoon they had pulled their boat onto the beach, had eaten and drunk tea and rested in the open air when it started to vibrate. The strange impression persisting, the man had climbed a rock, which was cut at its top by a narrow slit through which one could see without being seen. 'I saw a large shining object floating on the water in the curve of the opposed shore, within less than 40 m of the entry of the most distant pass. I went down at full speed and while trying to keep my calm I told with my wife what I had seen. We climbed together on the rock. The thing was still there: it resembled two large saucers joined together by the edges. On the circumference there were port-holes bordered of black and separated by one meter. As the base was in the water one could not see the lower part. At the top there were like open hatchways and on the surface ten strange small beings turned slowly in a round. An object in the shape of a hoop swivelled around a central point at 2,50 m approximately in the air. As it was just opposite us it stopped and the small beings imitated it. All seemed to converge on the slit by which we looked. Instinctively we hid. Throwing a glance over my right shoulder I caught a movement in the bushes. A deer went down for drinking. The circle or the hoop and the small beings faced the deer. The hoop started to turn again did not stop any more on the deer. My wife and I were hiding, we felt that the rock protected us from the hoop. The latter was operated by a being which stood on a small platform. It had a a sharp red helmet or cranium. All the others had dark blue helmets. All were the same size of approximately 1 m. All were dressed the same and carried on the chest something shining which appeared metallic and something darker on the arms. They moved like automats and did not turn like us, but were to stir up the feet to change direction. I looked at one of these beings catching the end of a flexible tube of a very sharp green and raising it, while it was in a certain position and had his feet do a half-turn to be able to go in the reverse direction. At the same time my wife and I heard a regular humming sound. They seemed to draw water with a pipe and to reject something with another pipe there. We were to hide again because of the hoop and when we looked at again, all had disappeared from the surface of the object and it started to rise above water. It was to approximately 2,50 m in height. The water where it had been posed was of a reddish blue with gilded reflections. The thing seemed to have a 4,50 m thickness in the center and 3,50 m on the circumference. There was a gust of wind at the time when it slipped by at approximately 45° and disappeared quickly in the distance. By comparing it with two trees of the opposite shore I would evaluate its diameter as of 14,50 m approximately.'"

Godelieve van Overmeire en indicates that the source is: "Frank Edwards: 'Les S.V. affaire sérieuse' - trad. Laffont 1967 - p. 144 à 146".

[Ref. mk1:] MARTIN KOTTMEYER:

Martin Kottmeyer indicates that in the September and October 1950 issues of The Steep Rock Echo, the house organ of a major mining corporation, a little yarn started about a couple who saw a flying saucer floating in a Canadian lake. On the deck they saw "about ten queer looking little figures" working on a hose that was drawing up water, possibly extracting something, and discharging it again. The figures were 3½ to 4 feet tall, faceless, and dressed in outfits that were shiny metallic in the chest area, but darker over the limbs. Most wore dark blue caps, but one had a red skull cap. Oddly, they moved like automatons. The teller said he brought a friend to the same spot and, at a later date, saw it again. They startled the crew and the little figures all rushed through hatches, save one. The saucer abruptly took off with one figure still outside. It fell off about half way across the Bay.

The story resurfaced in Fate magazine some years later and eventually in Frank Edwards' Flying Saucer - Serious Business. Edwards regarded the witnesses as credible and the tale as a seminal benchmark case. In his words, "the strange experience at Steep Rock Lake was to recur many times in the ensuing years."

Subsequently researchers established it was a hoax, fully confessed by its author Gordon Edwards, with fullest details of the confession and a reprint of the original article that can be seen in John Robert Columbo's UFOs Over Canada Hounslow, 1991, pp. 32-41.

[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 29 May 1950 in daytime in Sawbill Bay, Ontario, Canada, "Type 2.1 Nautical UFO. 4' tall shiny clothes, hose in lake." And: "Close encounter with a an unidentified craft and its occupants. An unidentifiable object and its occupants were observed at close range. A 4-foot-tall dwarf, wearing a shiny suit, was seen."

The website indicates that the source is Pereira, Jader U., Les Extra-Terrestres, Phenomenes Spatiaux, Paris, 1974.

[Ref. ud2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in mid-1950 in Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada, there was a "Close encounter with a an unidentified craft and its occupants. One object was observed by more than two witnesses at a lake. Explanation: Hoax."

The source is indicated as "Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, APRO Bulletin, APRO, Tucson".

[Ref. ud3:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 2 July 1950 at dusk in Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada, "A double saucer with portholes and a rotating antenna, on a lake, with ten figures, 1.20 meters tall, on the deck. Explanation: Hoax."

And: "Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada . A man and his wife saw a double saucer with portholes and a rotating antenna come to rest on the surface of the lake. Ten figures, four feet tall, dressed in shiny clothing, emerged and walked on deck like robots "changing direction without turning their bodies." Their faces could not be seen. One of them wore a red cap, had darker arms and legs and seemed to be their leader. They immersed a hose in the lake, apparently extracted water, and then took off. Fishermen later reported a green moss formed on the lake."

And: "In a story strangely similar to that of Mr. Kiehl (Aug, 1914), a man and his wife saw a double saucer with portholes and a rotating antenna come to rest on the surface of the lake. Ten figures, 1.20 meters tall, dressed in shiny clothing, emerged and walked on deck like robots "changing direction without turning their bodies." Their faces could not be seen. One of them wore a red cap, had darker arms and legs and "seemed to be their chief." They immersed a hose in the lake, then took off. Fishermen later reported a green moss forming on the lake."

And: "A flying disc was observed. Angel hair was found. One green-red saucer, about 80 feet across, was observed by two witnesses, a married couple, at a lake for a few seconds (Edwards, G; Harvey, C). A noise was heard. Ten 4-foot-tall dwarves, each wearing a shiny suit and red cap, were seen."

And: "After feeling a blast like vibration, Mr. and Mrs Gordon Edwards looked at the lake and saw a large shiny object on the water, less than 1/4 mile away. It looked like "one saucer upside down on another," with round portholes around the edge. A hatch on top was open; about 10 "queer little figures" less than 4 ft tall were visible. A hoop shaped antenna was slowly rotating. The topmost figure wore a red skullcap; the others dark blue; all had "a shiny metallic substance over the chest," and appeared to lack faces. Moving like automatons, they seemed to be drawing water through a bright green hose and discharging it through another. When the witness next looked, the beings were gone and the craft was about 8 ft up; it appeared about 48 ft wide and 15 ft thick. It tilted to 45 degrees and took off northward, with a blast of wind."

The sources are indicated as Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, APRO Bulletin, APRO, Tucson; Lorenzen, Coral E., Flying Saucer Occupants, Signet T3205, New York, 1967; Poher, Claude, Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Temoignag, Author, undated; Data-Net Report, Data-Net Report; Edwards, Frank, Flying Saucers - Serious Business, Lyle Stuart, New York, 1966; Hill, H. Edward, Catalog Through 1950, (in 5HHL); Wilkins, Harold T., Flying Saucers on the Attack, Ace Star A-11, New York, 1967; Canadian UFO Report, John, Canadian UFO Report; Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Cramp, Leonard G., Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, Isle of Wight, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Binder, Otto, What We Really Know About Flying Saucers, Fawcett T1863, Greenwich, 1967; Rogerson, Peter, World-Wide Catalog of Type 1 Reports; Phillips, Ted R., Ted Phillips investigation files; Phillips, Ted R., Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, Chicago, 1975; Eberhart, George M., A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1980, ISBN:0-313-21337-2; Newspaper Clippings; Civilian Saucer Intelligence-New York; Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database.

Points to consider:

This story, which is nothing more than a reader's letter to a magazine, without the least checking at this time nor later, presents all the hallmarks of a pure fiction, probably inspired by the news of the passage of a flying saucer - perhaps a simple meteor - in the sky at the time.

It does not require much thinking to understand that at a distance of 1/4 of miles, i.e. 400 meters, it is absolutely impossible to distinguish details like a pipe or feet that "change direction"!

Although the mention of a hoax is already published in Coral Lorenzen's book in 1967, many authors of UFO books simply chose to publish the story with no mention of its dubious nature.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Invention.

Sources references:

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

• [---] ? Article in the Steep Rock Echo, Steep Rock, Ontario, Canada, September/October 1950.
• [---] ? Article in an unknown newspaper, September 18, 1950.
• [---] ? Article in an unknown newspaper, September 24, 1950.
• [---] ? Article in an unknown newspaper, October 1950.
• [---] ? Article in the magazine Fate, USA, February/March 1952.
• [hw1] * "Flying Saucers On The Attack", book by Harold T. Wilkins, Ace Books publisher, pp 244-248, 1954.
• [jn1] * "Little Green Men", article by John Nicolson, in the science-fiction magazine Fantastic Universe, USA, May 1958.
• [---] ? "World-Wide Catalog of Type 1 Reports", compiled by Peter Rogerson, case #215, in Merseyside UFO Bulletin, 1960?
• [---] ? Article in the ufology bulletin Civilian Saucer Intelligence-NY Newsletter, USA, page 4, June 1963.
• [---] ? Ufology bulletin APRO Bulletin, Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), USA.
• [fe1] ? "Flying Saucers - Serious Business", book by Frank Edwards, Bantam books, USA, page 166, 1966.
• [---] ? "UFOs and Anti-Gravity: A Piece For A Jig-Saw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, U-K., page 250, 1966.
• [---] ? "Flying Saucers Fact and Fiction", book by John Nicholson, Lancer Books, USA, pp 161-166, 1968.
• [ob1] * "What We Really Know About Flying Saucers, book by Otto Binder, Fawcett Books, page 108, 1967.
• [cl1] * "Flying Saucer Occupants", book by Coral Lorenzen, Signet Books, USA, pp 22-26, 1967.
• [fe1] ? "Les Soucoupes Volantes, Affaire Sérieuse", book by Frank Edwards, French translation of "Flying Saucers - Serious Business", Robert Laffont publisher, pp 144-146, France, 1967.
• [jv1] * "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages", article by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit - Contact Lecteurs (LDLN), France, N.100 bis, page 4, juillet 1969.
• [jv1] * "Passport to Magonia - On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, 1969.
• [hb1] ? "J'ai Percé le Mystère des Soucoupes Volantes", livre par Henri Bordeleau, Société Nefer Enregistrée éditeur, Montréal, Canada, 1969.
• [hb1] ? "J'ai Percé le Mystère des Soucoupes Volantes", livre par Henri Bordeleau, page 138, Robert Laffont éditeur, France, 1970.
• [---] ? "Les Extra-Terrestres", booklet by Jader U. Pereira, Phénomènes Spatiaux, GEPA, France, 1974.
• [---] ? John Magor Investigation Files, May 1969.
• [---] ? Data-Net Report, May 1970.
• [cp1] ? "Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Témoignages d'Observations d'UFO", by Claude Poher, private publication, 1971.
• [jv1] * "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-Terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoel publisher, France, 1972.
• [---] ? "HUMCAT: Catalog of Humanoid Reports", compiled by David F. Webb and Ted Bloecher, circa 1975.
• [---] ? "Physical Traces Associated With UFO Sightings", compiled by Ted Phillips, case #39, CUFOS, USA, 1975.
• [---] ? "Catalog Through 1950", compiled by H. Edward Hill, case #377.
• [---] ? "1950 Steep Rock", investigation report by Robert Badgley, in the ufology bulletin APRO Bulletin, page 5, November 1977.
• [---] ? "UFO Occupants and Critters", book by John Bent Musgrave, cases 10 and 11, 1979.
• [---] ? "Etudes Statistiques Portant sur 1000 Témoignages", by Claude Poher, France.
• [fr1] * "OVNI - Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, page 100, 1979.
• [---] ? "A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies: Primary Access to Observations of Ufos, Ghosts and Other Mysterious Phenomena", book by George M. Eberhart, Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1980.
• [---] ? "Catalog Through 1950", compiled by H. Edward Hill, case #380.
• [---] ? "Computerized Catalog (N=3173)", compiled by L. Schoenherr, case #0273.
• [cc1] * "Ephémérides des Années d'Espoir de l'Ufologie - 4", article by Gilbert Cornu and Henri Chaloupek, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit (LDLN), #253-254, pp 33-34, July-August 1985.
• [---] ? "UFOs Over Canada", book by John Robert Columbo, pp 32-41, Dundurn Pr Ltd., 1991.
• [---] ? Canadian UFO Report.
• [jc1] * "The UFO Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition - The Phenomenon from the Beginning", book by Jerome Clark, Omnigraphics publisher, USA, page 506, 1998.
• [ro1] * "BA BA Extraterrestres Volume 2", book by Jean-Paul Ronecker, Pardès publisher, France, page 62, 2001.
• [lg1] * "Catalogo de los Primeros Casos de Humanoides Clasificado por Paises" (Firsthumcat), compiled by Luis R. Gonzales Manso, Fundacion Anomalia, Spain, 2002.
• [ac1] * "Una Curiosa Afinidad: OVNIS y Agua", article by Scott Corrales, circa 2003, at www.mundomisterioso.com/article.php?sid=1337
• [go1] * "Chronologie OVNI", web page by Godelieve van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999, revised 2007?, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/a1950.htm
• [jb1] * "1950", web page by Jérôme Beau, circa 2003, at www.rr0.org/1950.html
• [ar1] * "1950 Humanoid Sightings", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2004, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1950.shtml
• [mk1] * "Varicose Brains, Part 3: Headhunt", article by Martin Kottmeyer in the skeptical ufology bulletin Magonia, U-K., #44, March 2007.
• [mk1] * "Varicose Brains, Part 3: Headhunt", article by Martin Kottmeyer on the Magonia blog, U-K., January 16, 2009, at magonia.haaan.com/2009/headhunt
• [ud1] * "29 May 1950 - Sawbill Bay, Ontario, Canada", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2007, at www.ufodna.com/uf01/uf5/015462.htm
• [ud2] * "In Mid- 1950 - Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2007, at www.ufodna.com/uf10/uf3/103059.htm
• [ud3] * "2 Jul 1950 - Steep Rock Lake, Ontario, Canada", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2007, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf8/188963.htm

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