This article was published in the daily newspaper The Evening Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday, April 16, 1897.
Warning: the airship stories must not be taken at face value as "UFO sightings." Evaluation of such stories is under way here.
Says the Airship is a Moonshine Product
That Explains the Birth Place of the Marvel
It Was Put Together in Tennessee From Material Shipped From Three States
Appleton, Wisconsin, April 15 -- Many persons in this city declare that they saw an airship pass over the city last Sunday night [April 11, 1897]. Last night on the farm of N. B. Clark, north of the city, a letter was picked up attached to an iron rod eighteen inches long sticking in the ground. The letter, which was not signed, is as follows:
"Aboard the Airship "Pegasus", April 9, 1897 – The problem of aerial navigation has been solved. The writers have spent the past month cruising about in the airship "Pegasus" and have demonstrated to their entire satisfaction that the ship is a thorough success. We have been able to attain a speed of 150 miles an hour and have risen to a height of 2,500 feet above sea level."
"The "Pegasus" was erected at a secluded point ten miles from Lafayette, Tenn., and the various parts of the machine were carried overland from Glasgow, Ky., to that point, being shipped from Chicago, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. We have made regular trips of three days each from Lafayette to Yaukon, and no harm has come to the "Pegasus" thus far."
"Within a month our application for the patents for a parallel plane air ship will be filed simultaneously at Washington and the European Capitals. The ship is propelled by steam and is lighted by electricity, and has a carrying power of 1,000 pounds."
