Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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SCIENCE
VOL. 4, NO.4
OCTOBER, 1971
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees, in accordance with
the laws ofthe state of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the five Trustees, and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our society is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists, as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is u.s. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the Society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $5, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The society contracts-- with individuals, and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the Society.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion, as yet, of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities, as of now, cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The Society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July, 1965, until the end of March 1968, the Society issued only
a newsletter, on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were, however, entitled PURSUIT-vol. 1. No.3 and No.4, dated June and september, 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2, No. 1. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January, April, July, and October. Back issues, some
available only as xerox copies, are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an order form.
Vol. 4. No. 4
October. 1971
PURSUIT
THE J 0 URN A L 0 F THE SOC lET Y F O.R THE
INVESTIGATION OF THE UNEXPLAi"NED
DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF "THINGS ,
THAT ARE CUSTOMARILY DISCOUNTED
CONTENTS
78
Editorial
Chaos !!!9 Confusion
Those Farnborough Tracks Again
On Bells
On Hunting Poltergeists. by Walter J. McGraw
Ontology
On Time Anomalies. by R. J. Durant
Chemistry
That Non-Rusting Pillar in India
Astronomy
The Planet "Vulcan"
Geology
How Big Can a Crystal Be?,
Biology
Arkansas Has a Problem
More on Jack Ullrich's Loch Ness Photograph
A Sea-Monster off New Zealand
Department Q! Loose Ends
Current Pursuits
~ from Q!!r Director
Comment by our President
Book Reviews
Index - 1970-1971
79
80
80
81
82
85
86
87
89
95
95
96
97
98
99
100
102
THE
GEOLOGY
TANGIBLE,S
VI
EARTH SCIENCES
Palaeontology;
Ethology and
Ecology.
MATTER
Atomics, Molecular
ChemIstry, Crystallography.'
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
PERFORMANCE
Theoretical P.hysic., Nucleonic
ClaSSical Physics. Electric.,
E '.ctromagn_Iicl. Magnetic I,
TECHNOLOGY AND
THE USE FUL ARTS
MechaniCS.
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
Cultural Anthropology and
Ethnology rArchaeology is a
technique), Pre-History,
MENTAL CONCEPTS
LogIc and E pl.temalog,;
Psychology; Eth,c, and A
,h.,.c I, Comparative Inl.ll.genc .. ;
Paraps),chlc s.
EXISTENCE
MEASUREMENT
N~rnb.rl Quanti';.
Arithmetic. Algebra.
Georne"y. Trigonometry,.
Calculus. Topology. Theory
of Gam Probability, Co.
inCidence.
THE:
INTANGIBLES
Eyerything in ellistencer including -existence- itself, and thus all oJ ou~ p~S5ible concepts and all knowiedge
that we possess or will ever possess, is contained within this wheel. Technologies ond the useful arts lie
within the inner circle, having acce .. to any or all .of the ten major departments of organized knowledge.!
From the KORAN: -Acqui .. e knowledge. Itenables its possessor to know right from 'wrong; it lights the way to
heaven; it is our friend in ttle desert r our society in solitude; our cOlI!panion when friendless; it guides ius to
happiness; it lustains us in misery; it is an ornament among friends, and an armour against enemtes. - .
The Prophet.
78
79
E~ITORIAL
Old people as they are called, come in two classes: the worn-out and dejected, who rarely live very
long after retirement from an active life, or who become "vegetables" if they do; and that extraordinary
breed who" having made their peace with life and death, have a keenness of mind and enthusiasm about
everything that makes most of our current teen-agers and "under-30s" look like a bunch of zombies. These
latter oldsters have lived through an incredible period of technological advance and 'sociological' change
and have come to accept the inevit'ability of change, and even to enjoy it. They are our real "teen-agers"
in mind, spirit, and approach. (This writer once met Dr. Victor Heiser, then 94, who had just been appointed to a Presidential Commission to study the resurgence of leprosy, properly Hansen's Disease, in
areas where it was thought, to be under control; he described his plans as if he had at least another 40
years in which to complete his project. He was alive!) The 'actual' teen-agers and those a bit older seem
to have a tendency to forget that one day they too will be middle-aged, and even, with luck old. They
apparently do not seem to realize just how much they can gain from the experience and, yes, the wisdom
of "these ancient ones". (In all of this we are talking only of the so-ocalled "western World"; in other
cultures, the 'ancient ones' are still honoured, respected, and, for the most part, cared for.)
There is a "generation gap" in that the middle generations of ~oday, unless exceptionally fortunate,
were both mis-educated in school and taught at home that "money .is everything"; this latter possibly
stemming from the "easy money" days of world war II. Both the 'very' young and the 'very' old have
recognized this, and are inclined to look on the current middle-aged as the truly "los~ generation". However, this is as unrealistic as condemning all scientists for the sins of some; something which neither
Charles Fort- nor SITU - has ever done.
There is today not just a revolt but a revulsion against what is collectively called "science", and
especially among young people; but it seems to stem from a semantic misunderstanding more than from
anything else. There are, in fact', three 'classes' of "scientists": the philosophical scientists [e.g.
Einstein] (they used to be called "riatural philosophers"); the "working" scientists or experimenters
(e.g. Crick and watson]; and the technologists. These last, no matter how brilliant and inventive, are
really glorified mechanics who take the theories of the philosophical and working" scientists, and
:igure out how to "make them work". That is their job. The philosophical scientists do not usually
care whether their theories are 'applied' or not; they are simply curious about the Universe in all its
ramifications - and please note that most early scientists, many of whom made discoveries of incalculable value, were what are today called "amateurs", a term that was once highly complimentary, and
which indeed stems from the Latin verb "to love". In this day and age the word is ordinarily used to indicate some stumblebum who doesn't know what he's talking about.
There are stuffed-shirts among the true scientists -both philosophical and experimenters- but the
technologists, who are responsible for the application of scientific discoveries and thus, in goodly measure, for the current status of our' culture, should be left out of this wrangle about "Science". Their job
really constitutes the Charge of the Light Brigade: all too often with similar results, one might add. But,
short of making it illegal to think -or to publish what one thinks- we would seem to be stuck with this
attitude.
It is the "stuffed-shirts", to whom we object. I believe it was Linus Pauling who once said, "If you
know too much' about what !!!!. be, you are likely to miss what ~". It is those chaps; who won't believe
in Loch Ness 'monsters' until one is b9ttled and plunked down in front of them, who make bold -and
often fatuous- pronouncements, usually without having been to the scene of the "crime", or even having
done so much as made a phone call to find out what facts there might be. These personages are more to
be pitied than scorned, though they will, if they read this, probably foam at the mouth at such a suggestion.
They are in the middle ranks of their institutional 'pecking order' - not yet being able to afford to be big
enough to care not a wit if others think them balmy for even considering the possibility of the unexplained"
- and who, therefore, have to do their fortean 'homework' sub rosa, until they achieve tenure, or whatever
status of security they are looking for.
But the true realists, because of long experience and vast informal as well as formal education -and
education in its very broadest sense- 'are the "living" oldsters, and especially in the fields of Philosophy, science, and 'Technology. If you young people, who make up a large proportion of our membership,
really want to,know what's what, go to somebody who is what you would probably call an "antique". You
will probably find that tie has a far more open mind than you do; and he is a lot better educated. The
"middle class" chap is not deliberately against reality; he is simply scared and so tied up in administrative red-tape - you know: "publish or perish"- and a host of other nonessentials, that he hasn't time
'
to think. A goodly number of these poor souls may eventually 'recover'. ,
Over and over again we have heard college teachers yearning for retirement, not because they disliked
teaching -and some were good teachers- but because "then, at last, I'll be able to do what I really want
to do". Like investigating falls of fish from the sky, perhaps?
Marion L. Fawcett
80
8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. without fail. 'It's r~ally quite
baffUng,' said a postal engineer.- . . .
This might be some kind. of poltergeist :manifestation; we do have reports of such regularly occurring
'events' which apparently are p,oltergeisti9 in nature
(or POMs, as the writer prefers to call them). There
really is not enough informatlon availabl~ as yet to
risk a diagnosis, but one must assume that no purely
mechanical fault causes this phenomenon ~nless one
wishes to insult a host of British enidne~rs" we are
also constrained to wonder about the effect on the
Bentley's nerves if the bell failed to ring on time!
Our English "sleuth- has been asked to iQvestigate.
The other 'bell' is reported by AP frbm Norris,
Tenn. (no date, but apparently late July or early
August ...,
,
"It seems that on windy days, people -in Norris
Dam State Park can hear bells - but only ~rom inside
a car with the windows closed tightly. Frank Podriznik,
the state park naturalist for the East Tenn'essee district calls it 'the mystery of the bells -that aren't
there,' and is looking to summer visitors to :help solve
that mystery. 'I first . learned of the bells last February,' Podriznik said Friday. He said he vJ,as talking
with other men at the park when the wind picked up.
One of them remarked that the bells should ring loud
and clear. 'I thought it was a joke, but they icorivinced
me they were serious,' Podriznik said. He iuid a park
ranger then drove around the park, stopping iat various
places. 'suddenly, I heard them,' he said. 'The sound
is not exactly like bells, but more like a flute player
playing up and down the scale. It was a: beautiful
sound' he added. 'I cannot explain the bells, and
neither can anyone .else I've talked to. T;hat's why
I'm hoping some of our visitors can solve the i mystery.The fact that the 'bells' are heard, apparently,
only on windy days suggests a natural explanation.
Sound -and particularly that of bells- has been known
to travel extraordinary distances (vide, th~ case of
church bells heard several hundred miles, if memory
serves correctly, at sea). But that the sounds reported
here are audible only.. in a tightly closed cl!-r.is: most
odd. A car with one or more windows slightly open
may be the site of very peculiar sounds baused by
air vibration, which can produce effects wh~ch affect
the. human ~ar 'psychologically'. The .humn/ing of an
electric fan, for instance. flometimes 'translates' into
music.
81
ij
r-'\
ITS's Desk
"Offending" lamp
MLF's Desk
by walter J. McGraw
Poltergeist phenomena -or PGMS, as Marion
Fawcett prefers to call them, i.e. short for PolterGeist Manifestations- are a great deal more common
than most people realize. If bureaus start falling
over, the crockery starts flying about the house, and
the occupants (the ordinary human ones, that is) are
regularly dumped out of bed, the fact that there is a
"poltergeist" at work becomes pretty obvious and the
long-suffering police are called in, usually followed
by the clergy, and the "parapsychologists". AS a
rule, it doesn't really matter ~ they do; the poltergeist eventually departs, and often within a few weeks.
Minor PGMs are, so far as we can determine, very
common indeed; though this should not be taken to
mean that the moment anything odd happens one should
start yelling "Poltergeist!" TO demonstrate the difference, here are several cases reported to me by
Alma sanderson and Marion Fawcett:
Both were sitting in the office one morning when
a crash and the sound of breaking glass were heard
coming from the cellar below the office. They immediately went to investigate and found that a small
glass jar, of necessity placed toward the outside
edge of a shelf in the toolshop, had fallen to the
floor and smashed: their instant verdi.ct was that a
field mouse had probably run across the tops of these
jars, which are arranged in staggered rows because
of the narrowness of the shelf from front to back, and
had knocked this one off. They cleaned up the mess
and returned to work. On another occasion, again both
were alone in the office when a tremendous crash
was heard from the sandersons' bedroom just above
the office. They quickly determined that all dogs
were outside and then stared at each other for a
moment. Marion Fawcett tells me that although the
crash resembled that of a bureau (at the very least)
falling over, neither she nor Mrs. sanderson was 'impressed'. One of them -they cannot remember whichfinally said, "I suppose we ought to investigate".
There was not so much as a pin out of place.
f.i-;,l
... -_.1
C-'1-\...-/
\
..''
I
Not to scale; and not a complete floor plan.
Recently (i.e. starting approximately the end of
August) they have had "trouble" with one of the office
lamps. These are standard light bulb 'sockets', to
which are screwed metal lampshades; the cords are
strung through metal piping so fixed that the lamps
can be moved horizontally to any position desired.
These lights are turned off at night, and the first
person up turns on both the kitchen lights and the
office lights. One morning Marion Fawcett, at that
time alone in the house, both the sandersons being
in hospital, turned on all the office lamps and went
to make her morning tea. On her return to the office,
where she habitually drinks this, she heard a "pinging" sound, clearly the sound of the metal chain on
the lamp on desk "A" (see diagram). This has continued to occur every morning, and the chain has been
seen to flip upward, sometimes landing exactly where
it had been placed after the lamp was turned on,
sometimes landing on the other side of the screw
which lies in direct line with it and holds the shade
onto the fixture (there are three screws in all). The
time between turning on the lamp and its flipping
about (this has been seen on some occasions but not
all) varies from 14 to 21 minutes. This is hardly a
spectacular occurrence, but it was thought initially
that it might be a PGM. However, Marion Fawcett noticed something and proceeded to dismantle the fixture. The cause of this particular "PGM" proved to
be a mechanical defect. The chain is made up of a
string of beads, with a large bead near the top of the
chain, and the chain, when pulled out to turn on the
Department of ~ confusion
Ruth Parker's "western Girl Report" quoted in the San Jose Mercury, notes that a Lincolnshire, England,
newsagent distributed. a form letter to his customers as follows: "To ease the strain on our bookkeeping,
in the future all weekly accounts will be rendered monthly & all monthly quarterly. Quarterly ones will
be rendered quarterly if you have one, or if you have not you can. Also if you wish to have a weekly or a
monthly you have only to say the word." To which Miss Parker added, "But not in front of the children!-
82
II. ONTOLOGY
ON TIME ANOMALIES
by
Ii~.
J. Durant
83
Department
2! Impossible Requests
we often blink. to put it mildly. at some of the questions asked us -and from college graduates as
well as youngsters- but we obviously have company'. The Jersey Free ~ of the 14th July of this
year reported that a 12-year-old boy wrote to the Boston Museum of Science as follows: "Please send me
complete information on the universe. I need it by Friday."
84
'"
These- ~G,"curl1onl re
III rlPldItlulh.IraclnlII
blUilmallllllPOIr.I.
rio
85
(5) Dive [in case you hadn't figured this out for
yourself long ago]
(6) Normal "G"; slight bumpiness
(7) Note "G" tracings during the climb at 7800
fpm- They are relatively smooth.
(8) Extreme "G" excursions due to dive and pullout.
One of the fascinating points about this record is
that the "G" 'level', which is relatively smooth, i.e.
normal. during the unaccounted-for rise of the aircraft when gravity would seem to have 'stopped',
drops suddenly just as the craft starts its dive. That
IV. CHEMISTRY
..
.. ~
~;?~'l~
-..
'"
86
notion. but suggests that. if all of the pillar is rustless (above ground. that is). these superstitious visitors mu.st average 15 feet tall. assuming that approximately one-third of the pillar is underground. and that
this is one of the reasons for its rustless state.
Dr. wranlen also believes that climatic conditions
at the time of manufacture of this object might have
played a part in its history in that the atmosphere at
that time might have been more alkaline (the result of
numerous animal 'inhabitants' and their dung) which
would have had a "passivating effect" during the
manufa,::ture of the pillar. described as being forgewelded wrought iron. Old Delhi is still "rural" in that
Sacred 'cows. monkeys. and other animals still roam
its streets unmolested; New Delhi is an entirely
different matter and may ~ the more acid atmosphere of any industrial city of today. thus promoting
corrosion of practically everything (including people).
Although we have the greatest respect for the New
Scientist and its synthesis of technical articles from
other sources. we await the full text of Wranlen's original report. As we said at the outset. his theory.
based on numerous reports by others. seems plausible; but there are some 'nasties' involved.
V. ASTRONOMY
A number of our readers have asked "When will Mr. sander~on be on radio (or TV or whateve[) again;
we would like to listen [etc.] ?" The fact is that it is impossible to let members know in advance of such
programs for the simple reason that most are arranged only a few days in advance. and sometimes:with no
warni.ng at all -the latter is particularly true of what are called "beepers". i.e. radio shows via te~ephone.
As for forthcoming magazine articles. we seldom know when an article will be published (this n:tay be a
mattE!r of four to eight or more months) and. by the time it is published. we have usually forgotten
about
it. All we can suggest in this latter case is that you keep an eye on Argosy. ~. saga. and Fate;
87
VI. GEOLOGY
88
under polarized light (see "crossed nicols" above)] -none; dispersion -weak . 012; not attacked by acid;
heat -fuses with difficulty under blowpipe."
Manny goes on to say -and this should be intelligible I~ven to novices-"Labradorite in gem varieties
is so distinctive that it cannot be mistaken except
perhaps for "Blue John" (Fluorite) which is much
softer and the change of color is not in regular laminations (plates or 'layers'). As a trade term. labradorite refers only to those varieties of Labradorite
feldspar which show a change of color known as labradorescence as the stone is moved. Greenish. bluish.
yellowish. or reddish change of color may occur. but
blues and greens are -more usual. The background of
the sl:one is usually gray or brownish gray. Color
changE!s may occur only in patches. and color in adjacent patches may differ greatly; but this is not the
multi-<:olor playas seen in most opals. Dark stones
are sometimes known as Ox-eyes, green stones as
Lynx-E!yes. The greater the change of color. the more
valuable the stone. Clear fine blue gems. of the Russian variety are superior, and the most valuable. Some
rare labradorities can almost be classed as "precious~
but the inferior stones usually seen have lessened
the appreciation and v8J.ue of the variety as a whole.
Notiee: Please do not address any mail to the Sandersons' New York -apartment; as of the mpment of
writing they still "maintain" this apartment, but the mail is not forwarded -even first-class mail+- and is
I
pickl!d up only at the most irregular intervals.
.
Quot!!:2k Quotes:
Philip callahan, in his book entitled ~ Behavior, reviewed in this issue. makes the following
- comment:
"And who ever said the 'expert' was always right. anyway? 1 often think of the words of the, German
poet and dramatist Schiller. who wrote: 'The natural enemy of any subject is the professor the~eof. for
the )lOWer of the professor is revealed not so much by the things he teaches. as the things hel fails or
-refuses to teach' ...
From Professor Charles Richet: "I never said it was possible; I merely said it was a fact."
HI~racleitus. circa 500 B.C.: "Because it is sometimes so unbelieveable the truth, escapes b~coming
known."
ig
89
VII. BIOLOGY
ARKANSAS HAS A PROBLEM
As a matter of fact, it would seem to have a whole
slew of them. One hardly knows where to start.
The two most highly publicized 'items' are the
"Fouke Monster" (apparently pronounced FOWK) and
the "White River Monster". though it is difficult to
determine from the various newspaper reports just how
many types of 'monsters' are involved in each case.
There are almost certainly two and possibly three
other kinds of unknown animals in the white River
area; plus. apparently, at least two ABSMS or "abominable snowperson" types; plus, again, some 'ordinary' out-of-place animals in the Fouke area. We
append a map.
"Wild men" -Le. unusually tall, definitely bipedal.
fully haired chaps with big feet- were, so far as is
known. first recorded in 1834 in st. Francis, Poinsett, and Greene Counties (see map) but no descriptions got into print. In 1851 one showed up in Greene
county again, stampeding cattle but otherwise behaving inoffensively. He was seen by hunters who
described him as covering a distance of 12 to 14 feet
with each leap when he made his getaway; he left
footprints that measured 13 inches long (this is really
not very big). In 1856 one roamed the Arkansas-Louisiana border and an encounter with him was fully reported in the Caddo Gazette of Louisiana (Caddo
County is just south of Miller County. Arkansas, in
which Fouke is located). Briefly, he was hunted by a
posse, the leader of which" managed to corner the
"wild man"; to quote from an article by Margaret ROSS
in the Arkansas Gazette of the 27th June 1971. [the
wild man] "dragged the man off his horse. threw him
to the ground, and demonstrated the dangers of chasing monsters. Besides biting large hunks out of the
man's shoulders and other parts of his body, he
scratched out one eye and injured the other so badly
that it was thought he would be permanently blind.
Then he tore the saddle and bridle off the horse and
demolished them. He held the horse by the mane
while he snapped off the top of a sapling, then
mounted the horse and fled across the plains to the
mountains, using the sapling to whip the horse." We
have reservations about this last though it is not
impossible. On the other hand, the rest of the posse
never did. so far as anyone knows, catch up with the
"wild man", and no one seems ever to have caught up
with the posse either. This story has no ending to it.
In any event, so much for ancient history.
So far as we can piece it together, on the night of
the 1st-2nd May of this year, a Bobby Ford, age 25,
of Fouke, Arkansas, was at home with his wife who
was "asleep" on the couch in the living room. Shoe
may have wakened as the result of unfamiliar noises
(and they had lived in the house only five days in
Jacksonport
..J;..---j~
Greene Co.
- . . , . . - Poinsett Co.
St. Francis Co.
'"
\ -_ _ Mississippi River
Fouke
90
91
(2) . . "a long spiney-backed creature approximately 10 to 12 feet long in a deep section of the
river near several sunken car bodies". The witnesses,
Gary Addington and his step-father Lloyd Hamilton
took photographs but, when they took them to the
newspaper, undeveloped, they forgot to mention that
the pictures were in color. As a result they were
developed as black and white film and ruined. This
incident occurred near Jacksonport in the deep area
of the river mentioned above.
(3) "I didn't know what was happening. This
giant form rose to the surface and began moving in
the middle of the river, away from the boat. It was
very long and gray colored. It appeared to have a
spiney backbone that stretched for 30 or more feet.
It was hard to make out exactly what the front portion
looked like, but it was awful large. It made no
noise except for the violent splashing and large
number of bubbles that surrounded it. I've never seen
anything like what I saw yesterday. I don't mind
telling you, I was scared to death. The creature looked like something prehistoric. The tail was constantly
thrashing, and bubbles and foam surrounded the upper
part, or.I should say the front." This occurred south
of the White River Bridge (apparently just south of
Newport), and the witness, Cloyce Warren,photograph-
Arkansas
Florida
Penguin
If It's A Mammal:
Calf, Pig, Dog, Or?
If It's A Reptile:
Iguana or Other Lizard
If It's A Bird:
Giant Penguin?
93
94
95
MORE ON
JACK ULLRICH'S LOCH NESS PHOTOGRAPH
Lionel Beer, publisher of Spacelink, a British
(primarily) ufological journal, writes us as follows:
96
- - - N o r t h Island
'\
New Zealand
I_ Ch.I."h~oh
LYttel~outh IBlan~
/
L....&......I
200 Km
97
CURRENT PURSUITS
ENTOMBED TOADS,
OTHER AMPHIBIANS, AND SOME REPTILES
Marion Fawcett continues to plug away at this and
wishes publicly to acknowledge help in research by
members #52 and #372 in particular. As for her "lugubrious experiments". these stemmed from a report
that dessicated frogs revived when placed in water.
One such was secured from the basement at HQ and
placed in a fish tank which was sealed, the seal
being signed by Misses Heide and Aimee schoenenberger and their mother. Pat (Mrs. Edgar 0.) schoenenberger. This was done on the 12th of June of this
year. On the 16th June the frog had begun to float
toward the top of the water in the tank, but there was
no apparent change in the position of the limbs and
98
no sign of life. The tank was then placed on a windowsill. in partial sunlight. On the 19th June. the
water :in the tank suddenly turned a distinctly reddish brown. It was then opened -outdoors!- and it
was discovered that the frog had completely rehydrated and burst. and that the color of the water was due
to the frog's blood having apparently completely reconstituted itself;. it was bright red rather than the
brownish color usually seen when blood is "reliquified".
Even in the interests of science she was unable to
photograph the corpse. which no editor with any compassion for his/her readers would publish anyway.
However. our main concern remains the reports of
toads. frogs. lizards. etc.. either deliberately or
accidentally "entombed" in corner stones and such.
and. more especially in those found within solid rock
during quarrying operations. etc. We would be most
grateful for any reports members or subscribers may
come a.cross; and for any affidavits or other documentation concerning those deliberately placed in cornerstones; and specifically those alleged. (at least) at
Tinker AFB. ca. 21 June 1950. (for which my thanks
to Member #41); Eastland. Texas (a horned toad.
[actuallY a lizard] prior to 1948). and Heppner.
Oregon. a frog or toad. also prior to 1948.
IK NISH
Having mentioned this mysterious-sounding 'object'
above. it would be unfair not to report on it at least
briefly . This is not really an unexplai'ned. but inasmuch as cooking is one of Ivan T. Sanderson's hobbies
and because this plant produces a variety of 'spices'
apparently known only to the local Amerindians. we
have been attempting to grow some here at our HQ.
thus far with no success. However. a small packet of
last year's seeds was discovered in cleaning out our
lab and potting shed. and these were broadcast over
a field completely denuded of topsoil -twice. as a
matter of fact. in various landscaping operations. we
99
- -- - - - - - ! - -
100
ing to his correspondence file, been given ~l reasonable assistance a corresponding member can expect.
As many of you know, the amount of woi,k that has
been done by our really miniscule residept staff is
remarkable and we have, of course, been greatly
aided by a number of volunteers, both With office
work and with making the physical establtshment an
efficient and beautiful place to work.
I frankly do not believe that SITU owes any apology to anyone. It is still a very young s6ciety, but
with a quite. considerable number of accomplishments
to its credit, and I have the greatest confIdence that
it will continue to grow. I think also that' we should
tell our members that tentative arrangerrients have
been made concerning an exhibition of some of SITU'S
tangible Unexplaineds -Le. actual objects in our
possession- at the Library of the American Philosopliical Society.
.
Hans stefan Sante'sson
From the
we have written to our correspondent in Alaska for further information on this rather startling .item but
have not yet had a reply (he runs a shipping business and is often away for long periods of tirpe). The
story is as follows:
":Rumors persist that there has been sighted in the Harvester Island area of Kodiak Island - a huge.
whit'3, marine creature which is capable of crawling up on the beach. Reports. unconfirmed as yet. lndicate
reliable individuals have observed the creature both from boats, shore and airplane. The MIRROR is
cUrrEmtly awaiting reply from the boat M/V TOTEM, whose skipper is said to have taken photos of the
creature. which has been described as being 'between 40 and 60 feet long' and as having 'a tail like a
whale's."
BOOK REVIEWS
by Marion L. Fawcett
Out~r
Space.
Member #33 said recently, "Also got the newest von Daniken mish mash to review .... that won't be an
easy task as there is so much nonsense there to take issue with that I hardly knQw wl1~re to start. iHe does
101
admit to being in prison in his introduction but neglects to say what for." Well, our member #318, who is
vice-editor-in-.chief of the largest-selling Swiss daily newspaper, wrote us in March of 1970: "It might
interest you to know that von Daniken, a swiss froin Davos, was convicted a few weeks ago to seven
years imprisonment on defraudation [sic] charges by the Supreme Court of Chur in the Grisons. At the
same time,. a French publishing com.vany announced their taking legal action against him because they
felt he plagiarized their author Robert Charroux whom you probably know."
Plagiarism is difficult to prove categorically, but von Daniken's stay in jail has certainly improved
his writing, and one is inclined to suspect that he did in fact, in his first book, 'borrow rather freely'
from Charroux' book, reviewed in our July 1971 issue. Return ~ ~ Stars (or Gods !!:2!!! ~ Space, its
American t.itle) is an entirely different kettle of fish, though the first two chapters are a bit dreary (and I
admit to having nearly hurled the ~ook at the wall on reaching page 21 where he repeats the hoary and
inaccurate, though apparently ineradicable, "Einstein has proved that the speed of light is the absolute
limit of velocity"; Einstein protested for years before his death that he had never made any such a claim,
but to no avail). However, once von Daniken gets going on his own theories, he is really quite splendid.
In fact, this is more a philosophical than a 'factual' opus, though the author does bolster his speculations with various examples, both concrete (literally and figuratively) and ideological. Unfortunately,
though he does include a bibliography (and an index), he does not actually list references as such, and
one must take a good deal of what he says on faith. But it is his speculations that are of primary interest,
and some are really. arresting: e.g. in discussing advances In computer technology, the ultimate goal of
which is a biotronic calculator (based on the use of nucleic acids -and please forgive this vast oversimplification), he ponders the possibility that these calculators would .be susceptible to infection by
viruses and bacteria! We continue to distrust computers anyway!
His major thesis is that we -the human race- are indeed "programmed" by other intelligencies* and
that much of the evidence of their possible previous visits to this planet has been either ignored or misinterpreted, either deliberately or through ignorance. He states "we should always bear in mind that although _the creators of ancient cultures have dis appeared, the traces they left behind still question and
challenge us. TO. find the correct answ~rs to their questions, to meet their challenge, archaeological research institutes shOuld receive adequate funds from their governments, but perhaps also from an international organisation, so that they can systematise and intensify their investigations. It is right and
necessary for the industrial nations to invest millions of pounds [i.e. dollars] in research for the future,
but should research into our past be treated as the Cinderella of the present for that reason?D
Von Daniken says, near the end of his book, "I accept the fact that the theories I have expounded will
be savagely attacked"; perhaps they will -certainly they will from some quarters- but they do deserve
consideration, largely because he seems to have done a lot more thinking since he wrote his first book.
Also, the photographs in this book are superior to those in his first, though there are still far too many
which lack anything that provid.es a guide to the size of the 'monument' or whatever.
This is the 'famous' "Still More 'Things'" that we have been promising for months. Technically the
publication date is January 1972, but.we are informed that copies may be available in local bookstores in
the latter half of November; so we can only suggest that you keep an eye peeled - and perhaps even nag
the bookseller about it. We are told that once the books are in the warehouse, it is not megal to distribute them even though the book has not yet been "Officially" published!
The book contains a Prologue, 16 chapters, an EPilogue, two appendices, a long list of references,
and an index. Ivan Sanderson considers it the best book he has ever written, and I must confess that I
agree with him, provided he adds to that statement "in that genre". In fact, having typed the manuscript
four times, proofread the galley proof, I winced when the page proofs came in. Oh, no! Not again!"
thoughti. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I believe you will too. It is, by the way, fully illustrated
with drawings by Ivan T. Sanderson in the text itself, and a batch of photographs at the back. But I still
wish they'd call it "still More 'Things' ".
*Ivan sanderson's reader's (and mine, for that matter) may have noted that we use the term "intelligencies", whereas most writers use "intelligences". To us, "intelligence(s)" is/are information, e.g.
intelligenc;:e reports by agents (of who- or whatever); "intelligencies" are entities possessing intelligence
(of the I.Q. variety), whether it be genius or idiot level.
102
Sibll~y S. Morrill (Editor). Ponape: Where American colonialism. Confronts ~ Magic; Five Kingdoms
WlSl 1lw. Mysterious Ruins Qf ti!!:!l-M ad 01.. sim Francisco: The Cadleon. Press. [Po O. BOx 24, zip code
. '
The author calls his book "the most comprehensive yet to appear in English on the' subject o~ Ponape
and its remarkable and mysterious people", and we are constrained to agree with this statement, though
the book has one defect which' is seriou's but not 'fatal'. It includes four chapters by sibley S. Morrill:
"Modern Ponapean Magic", "American colonialism vs King and Nobles", "Ponapean Medicirie in the
20th century", and "Nan Madol-surviv,al of a Sunken Civilization?~, and rep"rints accounts of Ponape by
JamE!S F. O'Connell (1836), L. H. Gulick, M.D. (1857), and F. W. Christian (1899). All Ponapean ~ections
in the APpendix of christian's book are included, and make interesting reading, though it is his general
account that will most appeal to the majority of readers.
.
:
Some of the material Morrill reports is truly eyebrow-raising, but it has been carefully researched -'-'
and is absolutely straightforward, however bizarre it may be. His second chapter has nothing t~ do with
forteanism but should be read with care by not just forteans but every 'American'. It is a devastating,
blow-by-blow account of the U. S. Government's aeliberate attempt to wreck Ponapean civilization and
should make all of us thoroughly ashamed.
.
. '
SITU does not handle medicine, but the third chapter proves that "benighted natives" can and ido come
up with cures that should be investigated thoroughly by the drug companies (they are sending !teams to
'uncivilized' areas looking for just such chemical' cures as are reported here, but they may ~ell'have
missed Ponape - and Morrill indicates that the Ponapeans may not cooperate in any event; in view 'of the
treatment meted out by us, why should they?).
It is, of course, the ruins of Nan Madol (there are a number" of spellings in use, depending ~ln which
author one reads) that are of primary interest. No one -with the possible exception of the Ponapeans, who
are inclined to be very vague about it and probably know considerably" more than they" have told any for eigner- knows how or by whom the structures on Ponape; which are massive and cover a very lar-ge area,
were built. The author's discussion of its possible origin, 'manufacture', and the reasons for it.s being,
plus the possibility that it represents the, or a, vestige of a sunken civilization is certainly oile of the
sanest and most conscientious we have read. A good many people have postulated a sunken continent in
the Pacific, but usually on the worst possible grounds.
.
The defect in the book is this. The author points out in his Foreword that Ponape is known to only a
tiny fraction of our population, despite the fact that we now 'own' it, noting that most people "give only a
blank look if one mentions Ponape and the ruins of Nan Madol". But, aside fr.om locating it in theicaroline
Islands, he does not really tell us where it is and does not include a single map! Inasmuch as the Carolines
stretch across approximately 1600 miles, this is not very helpful. Actually it is almost due east of Truk
and very slightly southeast of Eniwetok. But the real problem lies in the fact that Poriape is al~ of
islands and there should have been a map of them in the book. One becomes really frightfully muddled in
reading the accounts by the early 'explorers' who state blithe'ly that they went to Nan-Tauach by way of
Uchemtau, since one hasn't the foggiest notion. where either is. There certainly must be maps; Ponape
was held, in succession, by the Spanish, the Germans, the Japanese: anc( 'after w.w:n, by the U.~. There
are also very few illustrations; and this is particularly frustrating inasmuch as some that are not included
are described by F. W. christian who took a Filipino photographer with him.' There is a bibliogr~phy but,
alas, no index. Despite these deficiencies, get the book '(order directly from the publisher).
.
INDEX: 1970.- 1971
This index to Volumes 3 and 4 of PURSUIT inc~udes all articles published during 1970 and 1971, but
soml! of the-originally rather .fac.et~ous or not veryrevealing- titles have beep. changed, so that ~the content of the article is clear. Book reviews are listed alphabetically by title.
MATHEMATICS
Trisecting the Angle, III:4
ONTOLOGY
Black Holes, IV:62
Did they Come Home in Reverse?-Anti-Matter,
III:4. ~ also under Physics
"Gravity II", III: 66, 90
On Time Anomalies, by R. J. Durant, IV:82
Space is Three-Dimensional, III:57
Time Anomalies, IV:48. 97
Ti.me Travel, IV:61
, PHYSICS
Color Vision. III:59
Death Ray at Last, The. IV:9
Getting with Counter-Matter. III:58
Gravity Amended [Murphy's Laws. etc.]. IV:38
Mad Electric Sawmill, A. IV:8
Those Damned Quarks Again!. III:5
'Tri-Dimensional computers. by Michael R.
Freedman. IV: 63
. Truly Hair~Raising story, A. by Mich,ael R.
Freedman, IV: 63
~. . . . . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~. . . . .- .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . . . . ~. . . .P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~. . .. .
103
CHEMISTRY
Blue Again: Indigo and woad, III:59
Mercury Again, IV: 64
Polywater, III: 6. See
under Geology
Stone softening, 111:44, 66, 89
That Non-Rusting Pillar in Inida, IV:85
ASTRONOMY
Dr. Bagby's Moonlets, III:I0, 60
Look at the Past, A [Quasars], Iil:7
More on Mars, 111:9
Planet Vulcan, The, IV:86
Seismic Reverberations on the Moon, 111:8
GEOLOGY
Cave-Table in Afghanistan, A, III: 28
"Fairy Crosses", IV:41
Great Saharan ",Lake,?", The, III: 11
Hole at the Bottom of a sea, A, IV: 65
How Big Can a Crystal Be?, IV:87
London weather, III: 12
Original Landmass, An: Laurasia, III: 10
Ponds That Don't Freeze, III: 12
Possible Biological Effects of Reversal of the
Earth's Polarity, III:29
Ringing Rocks. III:44, 66, 89; IV:21
Rockall-You-All [an island], III:62
Tree Stumps in Cape May, III: 67 .90; IV:21, 47
You Think We're Polluted: A Look at Merrie Olde
England, III: 61
Why the Rocks Ring, IV:38
BIOLOGY
Abominable Jungle-Men (ABSMs), III:36
Abominable Spinifex Man, The, IV:9
Arkansas Has a Problem [with Monsters], IV:89,
'Bigfoot' Hunt, New Style, IV: 43
Bossberg sasquatch, The, IV:21, 48, 72. ~ 'Also
The Ivan Marx Film, IV: 65
Bozo, the "Icemari", 111:45, 66, 89
Common Sense on Frozen Mamm'oths, III: 17
Fibrous Balls in a canadian Lake, III:35
"He Have Head for Trunk": More African Neodinosaurs, III: 16
Iguanodon from Dahomey, An, III: 15
Ik-Nish, III:46, 67, 90; IV:98
Indonesian 'Wildlife, 111:31
Ivan Marx's Film, IV:65
Large Carnivores on the Loose, III:67, 90; IV:21, 96
Largest and Oldest Plant, The, III:46, 66, 89
Little Vietnamese Monster, A, IV: 13
Malayan Frog Battles, IV: 12
More African Neodinosaurs, III: 14
More on "B.O.", 111:63
More on Jack Ullrich's Loch Ness Photograph,
IV:95
"Nessie" is Alive and Well and Living in Urquhart
Bay, by Jack A. Ullfich .. IV:42
Nine-.Nostrilled Monster in the Mekong River, III: 13
Notes on Alcohol, III: 17
Now It's Ocean-Going Hippos, III:63
"Paddle-Bugs" [Phantom Crane-Flies], III:45, 66,
89
Photographs of Not so Frazzled N'erve-Endings,
III: 14
104
Cocijo: The Ugly Rain-Maker. III:53
"Crooked" House. A. III:67. 90; IV:21
Damned Tracks in Farnborough. England. IV:33.
56.80
Devonshire 'Devil'. 111:74
Disa.ppearing Plane-well! Not Quite. IV:35
Entombed Toads and other Animals. III: 67, 90;
IV:21, 47,71,97
Famous Barbados Vault, The, 111:56
Flying Dimes from a Truck, III:43
Footprints on the . . . [places where they oughtn't
to be] , III: 77. ~ i!J.Q under Anthropology.
Genius computers, IV:5
Growing Ashes. IV: 57
Inanimate Life-Forms: i.e. Computers. III:73
Into "Thin Air" -and Out Again. IV: 31
IntroduCing "Fafrotskies", 111:76
It's Not Raining Inside Tonight, III:54
Mechanical Dowsing. 111:45, 66, 89; IV:98
More on DOWSing, IV:57
More on the Devil's Hoofprints, IV:4
More on Those Mt. Etna Tracks. IV:34
"Nasty"- i.e. a fafrotsky- from on High from
Venezuela. A, III:54
On Bells. IV: 80
Poltl~rgeist Manifestations. III: 67 90; IV: 81
(by Walter J. McGraw)
RainMaking: New Style, III:53
Running Around Like . . [A Chicken Literaily
Without a Head]. III:83
Set of Radio Dentures, A. III:52
shoe Imprints in Ancient Rocks. IV:22. !!.!! !!,[Q,
l!!!!I.2! Geology .!Y!9 Anthropology
"SkyLines" over caldwell, New Jersey. IV:6
Sounds Beneath the Sea, III: 22
Splendid Rain of 'voims', A. IV:30
Stuff from the Sky. III: 90; IV:21
Talking Foetus, The, IV:6
That Deepsea "Antenna", III: 84
Those Coloured Snows Again. III:75
Tree They couldn't Cut, A, IV:7
Trucking Levitation. III:56
MISCELLANEOUS
APology to Dr. John R. Napier, An, by Ivan T.
Sanderson, IV:47
Department of Loose Ends, IV:20. 96
In Memory: Keith Tavernor, IV: 52
Nikola Tesla, by Gaston Burridge, IV:36
Our Library catalogue Breakdown by categoI:ies.
III: 47
~rials: by Ivan T. sanderson unless otherwise
noted
Eduoation in the United States, IV:3
Forteanism and the Increasing Acceptance of
Reality by Science, III:51
H. BEmtley Glass and the "Endless Horizon", IV: 27
"Inst:lnt Everything: Plus" -The Rapid Advance' of
Technology and its Effects, III: 3 .
.
Journalistic Irresponsibility, IV:55; 'ml also IV:58,
59
Parapsychic vs. Parapsychological, III:27
Politi.cs vs. Geopolitics. Etc., III:71
SITU: Maw or Moloch? by Hans stefan santesson,
IV:~:8
ll:92 - -- -
GOVERNING BOARD
Hans stefan Santesson
Edgar O. Schoenenberger
Ivan T. Sanderson
Allen V. Noe
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Thelma K. Yohe
Daniel F. Manning
Adolph L. Heuer. Jr.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Director
Deputy Director
Executive Secretary
Assistant Director for Communications Media
Assistant Director for SCience & Technology
Ivan T. Sanderson
Edgar O. SChoenenberger
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Allen V. Noe
201-689-0194
-=-=-.
"if
.......
=.'
=-,'
-=- .
JANUARY, 1972
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees, in accordance with
the laws of the state of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a Secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the five Trustees, and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our Society is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists, as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is u.s. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $5, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The Society contracts-- with individuals, and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the SOciety.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion, as yet, of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities, as of now, cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the SOciety.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
. The society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
. RECORD: From its establishment in July, 1965, until the end of March 1968, the Society issued only
a newsletter, on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were, however, entitled PURSUIT-vol. 1. No.3 and No.4, dated June and September, 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2, No. 1. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January, April, July, and October. Back issues, some
available only as xerox copies, are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an order form.
Vol. 5. No. 1
January. 1972
PURSUIT
THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE
INVESTIGATION OF THE UNEXPLAINED
DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF -THINGS
THAT ARE CUSTOMARILY DISCOUNTED
CONTENTS
The Taxonomy Q! Knowledge
Editorial: The Noemasphere
Ufology:
ADC and UFO, by William B. stoecker
Chaos and Confusion
The Ringing Rocks: Another Aspect
Physics
Fire Walking. by Robert J. Durant
Astronomy
A Tenth Planet -Or an Eleventh?
w~~on~eMoon
Biology
The Hominidae and the Troglodytidae, by B. F. Porshnev
That New Zealand Sea Monster
On Evolution, by Ivan T. Sanderson
Black Pumas
The "what's-It" from South Dakota
Anthropology
Light Wheels and Holograms That Use Acoustical
Radiation, by Robert J. Durant
cultural Expansion: Which Way?
Food for Thought
Department of Loose Ends
Current Pursuirs-- Members' Forum
Book Reviews
Alma y. Sanderson
2
3
4
6
8
9
9
10
11
11
12
13
13
16
18
19
19
20
20
24
------------------------'''''I''''''''''''''E.''''''''''~I''~''''''''''.
~----."--
GEOLOGY
THE TANGIBLES
VI
A'lIIosph ico o"d Me,eo.olol,"
Ouonology. H,d.olo",. o"d GI~.
ciololY; Tectonic Vulconol.
5.islllolo",. Geoph,sics
and Geo",o.pholog,; Pe'
I.olon and Mine.olog,;
Geode.,. Geog.oph,.
Co.,og.oph,.
P,olo",.onolo",. BOlO",. Zoo
DOli"g.
ogy. ExobIology. H"'olog,..
Ph~.iolog, and B,oeh."'ill'y;
A.. OIO"'y Ilncludlng Monl; Ge"e'
ic. tlnd Evolution. Physical A".h.opology;
0.,.
Poloeo".olog~;
Ethology a"d
Ecology"
MATTER
Atomic Molecular
Ch....... y. C.y.,ollog.aphy
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
PERFORMANCE
Thoo.elicol Ph,sico. N.. cl.oni ...
ClolSicol Ph,slcs. Elec i ...
E leu'OrlllOlnoticl. MOln.'icl.
Mechonici.
TECHNOLOGY AND
THE USEFUL ARTS
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
Cultu.ol A... h.opology o"d
ethnology (A.choeology i. a
techniqua). P.e.His'o.,.
" H",o", o"d Fol.lo.. ; Philol.
ogy and Linguis.ics.
MENTAL CONCEPTS
Logic o"d Epl".",ology;
P.~chology; Eth,cs and Au
thetlcs. Comparative Int.llig_nc",:
PoraPlychlCI.
EXISTENCE
MEASUREMENT
Number, Quontlt)'.
Arithmetic, Algebra.
Geometry. Trigonome"".
THE INTANGIBLES
Everything in existence, including -existence a itself. and thus all of our possible concepts and alilenowledge
that we pone .. or will ever posse", is contained within this wheel. Technologies and the useful arts lie
within the inner circle, having acce .. to any or all of the ten major departments of organized lenowledge.
From the KORAN: -Acqui,"e len_ledge. It enable. it. ponessor to lenow right from wrong; it light. the waylto
heavon; it ill _ friend in the de.ert, our society in solitude; our companion when friend Ie ..; it guides us"to
happinell; it Sll.toins liS in misery; it is an ornament among friends, ond an armour against enemies. The Prophet.
3
EDITORIAL
THE NOEMASPHERE
Funny, but one has to go to Haile Selassie I University, in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, to get the first truly
clear statement on reality. In a paper published by one R. O. whipple at that seat of higher learning, reprinted
in a publication named Not Man Apart ... , we read with the utmost delight:"Organisms survive in the long run in proportion to the accuracy and completeness with which their internal
information on how to meet the environment corresponds to the actualities of that environment. In human terms,
our adaptation to our surroundings has become largely a matter of culture and its evolution, culture being a
much more rapidly accumulating modifiable device than the chemical memories of our genetic heritage.
Culture may be visualized as a composite of belief (what is) and technique (how to work with and use what
is). The sum of beliefs held -the idea-environment, or noemasphere- is thus a major controlling factor in the
day-to-day and year-to-year actions of mankind. The ~ !22. ~ essential environmental problem facing
the species today !. ~ pollution ~ belief by error, inadvertent self-deception, simple ignorance, and the
intentional deceptions of advertising and propaganda.
"Just as organisms with faulty genetic memories become extinct, !!!!!l will certainly eventually !!ill ~ !species in so far as the beliefs on which his actions are based are ~. Therefore, correct uncontaminated
knowledge and information are essential to human survival. The integrity of our idea-environment thus becomes
a prerequisite for species continuity, let alone genuine progress. When that environment becomes increaSingly
polluted with the garbage of inadvertent error and the poisons of intentional lies and distortions, our potential
for maintaining or improving the quality of life is proportionately reduced. Whatever else may be required for
the future, our insistence upon adherence to truth in every form of communication must be uncompromising."
The word noemasphere is derived from the Greek word ~ that meant "understanding", and this appeared
in the title to Mr. Whipple's article. what better word? Our basic trouble today is not either a lack of information - to the contrary; we have an overabundance of same- nor in communication, though there are damned
few people who can do just that even if they speak the same language; but, in true understanding. Talk about
garbage! Try reading the ~ York Times or the Congressional Record. Try ploughing through a pile of
scientific and technical journals every week as we do; or the so-called 'popular science' publications. Quite
apart from the typos, it is becoming every day increasingly impossible to figure out just what they are trying
to talk about. And when it comes to television. . . . but words fail us.
The almost universal mendacity today -and all the way from international politics to phrenology- is
completely terrifying. We have almost given up debate any more because we find that people -and even when
discussing their own speciality- often talk more unutterable rubbish than even those who don't know anything
of that speciality. Worse, nobody seems to absorb what they read -if they do so- any more, but continuously
argue about the findings of their peers. Better go to an African tribesman -if you can find one any more- if
you want to have an intelligent philosophical discussion over a bowl of palm wine. And, anent this, try
attending a symposium of any kind today.
No wonder our younger generation is 'protesting', and the public generally is becoming disenchanted with
science and technology in particular. The former are taught out-of-date rubbish, and the latter are fed outright
lies; and we strongly suspect that this goes for many other if not all fields of information. We wish to be as
impolite as possible. What, so help us, are things like "relevance", "environmentalism", "ESP", and even
this "ecology" bit? Relevant to what? Which environment? What's extra about the sensory perceptions of
humans and other animals (plants, one might add)? What about the sensory reception? And what, for pity's
sake, do these yakkers really think they mean by ecology?
The so-called science of Ecology -meaning the study of 'houses' or natural niches- was initiated by one
Professor Charles Elton at Oxford University in England in the late 1920s. It was probably best, and most
succinctly, stated by Professor Henry J. Oosting of Duke University some years ago as being; "The study of
organisms, their environment, and all the inter-relationships between the two. SO why can't we apply it just
this way; and find a new word for "pollution" that is really "relevant" to the issue on hand?
Only a little more mendacity and none of us will know !!!!!!: to believe; and we'll extinguish ourselves.
That TV performer, Jack webb, ought to run everything; starting with, and adhering to, his basic admonition:
"I want the facts, Ma'am; the facts". Shades of old Charles Fort!
Ivan T. Sanderson.
Published for Friends of the Earth (the John Muir Institute of Environmental Studies) and the League of
Conservation Voters, Washington, D.C.
UFO LOGY
ADC and UFO
by William B. Stoecker
In 1965 I entered the Air Force's Air Defense
Command (ADC) as a second lieutenant. and in August
of 1966 I was assigned as Assistant Chief of the
Intelli.gence Division at 29th Air Di vision Headquarters
in Duluth, Minnesota. Prior to 1966. UFO investigation
was ELn intelligence function, governed by Air Force
Regulation 200-2; that year, AFR 200-2 was superseded by AFR 80- 17, making UFO investigation a research and development responsibility. AFR 80-17
allowl3d each base commander to assign to any officer
he chose the additional duty of UFO investigation.
The ELssigned officer would investigate UFO reports
and sEmd teletype messages to the Foreign Technology
Divisi.on at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, then headed
by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Hector Quintanilla.
After the Condon project at the University of Colorado
began, UFO Investigation Officers were also required
to maH a copy of each report to Colorado.
In our case, the Division Commander (not the Base
Commander) verbally authorized the Intelligence
Divisi.on to continue investigating UFOs - so little,
if anything, was changed for us by the new regulation.
I can only say that my years in the Air Force were
the most disillusioning in my entire life up to that
time. UFO investigation by the military establishment
was a farce.
The years that followed included a number of radar
sightings. Since most people have only a hazy idea
of how radar works, a brief explanation is in order. A
radar is like a rotating searchlight sending out a beam,
not of light, but of short wave radio pulses. It indicates the direction and the distance to any object
detected; it does not indicate size or shape. A
search radar (the big, rotating "spotlight" type) cannot measure altitude: this is the function of other,
manually controlled radars called height finders.
These can be turned in any direction, and rocked up
and down.
It is easy to see how a UFO might escape detection.
If it is flying above the beam, say twenty or thirty
miles up, it will not be detected. If it flies below the
beam, say afew hundred feet or less above the ground,
it will not be detected. If the beam is pointing north
when the UFO flies in from the south, it will not be
detected. A vehicle capable of flying at any altitude
and almost any speed could evade the beam altogether.
More importantly, if the beam detected the UFO once
at one' position, and ten or twelve seconds later detected the same UFO thirty or forty miles away, most
radar operators would not correlate, or connect, the
two "paints", or "blips". The operator would probably
assume that they were caused by a -bug" in the
system, or that they were "angels", or cases of
"anomalous propagation" -that is, atmospheric dis-
we apologize for the delay in getting out this issue of PURSUIT, but things have been a bit rough here, If
things are pasted up crooked, it is because I (MLF) have, temporarily, to work with one eye -the other is
suffering from a staphylococcal infection which I wouldn't wish on my "worst enemy,
..............................................._................
Classic Correspondence
Recently we received a note, as follows: "Dear Sirs, I am an 8th grader in western Junior High School in
Byram Conn. I am doing a report on scientific happenings I would like it very much if you would send me any
information you could spare on this subject Sincerely (name deleted)." This is what they call an education?
Another classic received recently contains the following questions concerning Ivan Sanderson's Invisible
Residents and the Bermuda Triangle: "In your opening lines you say, ' . . . with due apologies to the memory
of the Bard 'The Much Vexed Bermoothes,'. What is meant by this? Has the famous under sea explorer
Jacques Costuea (sic) ever investigated this aquatic mystery?" Words fail us. What !!!2. "they teach our
children. If anything.
The HaE!ards
2.! Publishing
From the letters column of ~ ~ scientist, 30th September, 1971, Sir: I've heard of wild birds being
fitted with rings, but to provide swans with signets (your Monitor, 23rd Sept., p. 669) is surely gOing too far!
(signed) B. J. Hazzard, 8 Tilbury Road, Tooting Common, London S. W. 17."
III. PHYSICS
FIRE: WALKING
by Robert J. Durant
One occasionally reads of "fire walking" ceremonies in which individuals are said to walk on
glowing coals without any apparent injury. The usual
procE!dure is to dig a pit several feet deep and 15 or
20 feet long. The pit is filled with hardwood logs
which are set ablaze. SOme hours later when the logs
have been reduced to embers the pit is ready for the
fire- walking demonstration.
(III other cases. the pit is liIied with stones.
brush is piled on and burned until the stones are
white hot, and then the whole is swept clear of
ashes. Editor.)
The;;-;(fairs are invariably imbued with religious
significance by the practitioners. They take care to
expls~n that "faith" is the prime requisite for a successful traverse of the fire. This explanation has
been taken seriously by some fairly sceptical reporters
simply because the holy men, and at times a few
partieularly enthusiastic members of the audience,
really do walk on the extremely hot coals. Nor do
they make a quick hop. skip and jump through the
fire. These fellows take a deliberate walk of up to a
dozen steps though the average seems to be three to
five steps. The fire walkers don't linger, but they
don't run either.
The obvious 'explanation' that the walkers have
prepa.red the soles of their feet with some sort of
insulating material has been dealt with by fastidious
examinations made before and after the walks. The
tempE!rature of the surface of the pit has also been
confirmed to be every bit as hot as it ought to be.
And no report of a fire-walking demonstration is
complete without the description of pieces of paper
and c:loth instantly bursting into flame when dropped
into the pit.
In short. the fire-walking act is absolutely genuine.
Unfortunately, for many this has meant that they have
been witness to a miracle of sorts, or, if that is too
strong a term, to a suspension of the laws of nature.
The devotees of the "strange and Unknown" cite firewalking as irrefutable proof of life-after-death. mindover- matter, and what-have-you. In fact, fire-walkin~
Caption from a cartoon in Punch: "Why is it that everything I like doing. causes tumo~s in mige?-
Absolutely Monstrous
AS reported by UPI. police in Wood River. Ill., received a call from a housewife stating that there was
a "monster" in her yard. She described it as a "grayish-white substance. getting bigger and bigger.. "
Police found a mass of bread yeast- rising in the heat of the sun.
'
V.ASTRONOMY
A TENTH PLANET? - OR AN ELEVENTH?
In our last issue we ran a short piece on the
possibility that Leverrier's Vulcan, a small planet or
planetoid, may indeed exist between Mercury and the
Sun. An article dated the 18th November 1971 and
credited to AP states that British and U. S. astronomers
are testing a theory that there may be another planet
in our solar system beyond Pluto. The scientists
admit that this a dubious possibility and i!! based on
minute irregularities in the motion of the planet
Neptune. Nevertheless, they are ploughing through a
mass of photographs to look for it, while admitting
that the process will take a very long time.
If they do find it, it will be interesting to s"ee what
the astrologers make of it. The latter attribute all
sorts of influences to Pluto which was not even
suspected until about 1850 and not actually found
until 1930. One wonders which planets controlled
these aspects of human destiny before Pluto turned up.
WATER ON THE MOON
For years scientists have been making fairly flat
statements about the Moon, often in direct contradiction of each other, but most have agreed all along
that the Moon is an arid, moistureless body. They
were even more certain of this after the APollo 11
crew brought back some moon rocks. They received
a rather severe jolt in March 1971. though the information seems to have been kept under wraps until
October of last year and has, so far as we can tell,
recei ved very little publicity despite its profoundly
interesting implications.
Instruments left on the Moon by the APollo 11 crew
and subsequent moon-walkers have detected water
PURSUIT does not carry advertising, but we have been sent (via a circuitous route) a Slide-Chart
calendar which indicates directly the day of the week for a given date, i.e. the- 31 December 1899 was a
sunday. (It works, too.) If you are interested, write to "calendar", c/o SITU, and we will forward your
request for more information.
A will probated in Maine read simply, "Being of sound mind and body, I spent it all."
If you have not yet paid your dues for 1972, where are they? $10 per annum.
A Clarification:
All contributions and dues above the basic $10 per year are deductible from Federal Income Tax. The
basic $10 is.!!2! deductible; i.e. a person paying $100 for membership may deduct $90 only.
10
VII. BIOLOGY"
11
"Hoven, England (UPI) - Colly, reputedly the world's fastest snail, has died at the age of 4. Owner
Chris Hudson, 15, said, 'I don't think captivity agreed with her.' The funeral was held yesterday in Hudson's
garden. Colly beat a host of challengers last May to win the world snail championships at Folkestone,
England. The creature covered two feet in the record-shattering time of three minutes.
Probably over-exerted himself.
12
BLACK PUMAS
13
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
14
lFebo 2, 1971
K. PRESTON. JR
ArpARATU~
3,559,465
.KClttltrll
INVGNTOR,
Pr~G I"tlJt~rI'r.
BY
....w.J""'~
H'l'7'OIlNBY.
15
..___________________________ --------------------------.....--------1--~.
16
counts (specifically those of the Califo,rnia Bristlecone Pine), and indicate that some major revisions
are necessary. This has led to a consid~rable uproar
in archaeo-anthropological circles, the' chief instigator being one Colin Renfrew, a senior lecturer at
the University of Sheffield in England.
Using the new C-14 dates, he has produced a fund
of evidence that civilization began in northern Europe
and made its way down to the Mediterr:anean! Many
artefacts from northern Europe and the British Isles
are, in fact, from 700 to 1000 years oldler than they
were previously thought to be. Renfrew: admits that
simultaneous invention may account for some of this
presumed "diffusion" of culture. This prqcess, which
has always been recognized by archaeologists but has
not perhaps been given the 'weight' due it, is still
going on: Mr. A. in England invents a ",thi ngUlilmy " ,
only to find that Mr. B., in Chile, invented a "thingummy" at the same time. There is thus ho reason to
insist that only ~ person or group 'invented' the
production of copper, or whatever.
The consequences of all this are considerable and
if Renfrew is right (his theory has not exactly bee~
welcomed with open arms or shouts of glee from his
fellow archaeologists), a number of ra~her peculiar
'items' might be clarified.
'
carbon-14 dating will not help much in straightening
out one of the most puzzling mysterie~ facing the
archaeologists, since this invol ves th~ sometimes
enormous stone monuments found scatte'red allover
the British Isles, France, Spain, and eisewhere. In
some cases these were tombs and cont~n dateable
items, but in others OOta single scrap of !such helpful
material has been found; and the experts have a tendency to indulge in circular reasoning: i.e. this one is
better built than that one; therefore it mu~t be of later
construction, etc. This is debatable, pa~ticularlY if
no definitive date can be assigned to either. (One
pair of experts manage !E ~ paragraph to date Maes
Howe, a structure to which we will return shortly. at
approximately 900 A.D. and 2200 B.C.!
Probably the best known megalithi,c monument
(mega - large; !.ll!:!! - stone) is Stonehenge. It is. by
the way. a great disappointment when one sees it for
the first time. since most photographs have. apparently
deliberately. been taken to make it look as if the
standing stones should at least reach ;cloud level.
However, careful study of the site even by a nonexpert soon leads to considerable respect for both the
engineering skill and the mathematical preCision of
the builders. It was constructed in sev.eral stages.
and I do not know what the "new" dates (i.e. Renfrew's,
if he has done anything about stonehenge) are. The
Myceneans "got into the act" in a rather peculiar way.
It is popularly believed that the representation of a
Mycenean double-ended blade axe was fou:nd on one of
the stones by a schoolboy some years back. In fact.
the official handbook published by H.M. Stationery
Office (1955) points out that "No less than twenty-five
[incisions representing an early type of !bronze axe]
17
/ /
/
/
"
_,
~~
~-.....
_;/-_
, -.;:
-- -winte/r
Solstice
--,;;
\
\
"
\
v."",a~: /
1
i>", ,'
I'
\ ~/1"'ua<o,
,.-
"'.
"
'
'
\~
./
/'
./
,.
"
\
~\
Grand Gallery
Pit
The Great Pyramid of Cheops, sliced in half, as it were, to show the interior construction. The passage
leading to the "King's Chamber" was initially an astronomical "sighting tube", much like a telescope.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
I . . . . . . . . . . . .-
18
io
19
J ."
CURRENT PURSUITS
THUNDER BIRDS
Will someone kindly find us that photograph??????
20
MEMBERS FORUM
In this column we will henceforth present special requests from members which cannot be handled by our
staff for various reasons. Unless they specifically ask that their names and addresses be giveh, they will,
as usual, be identified by number only, and correspondence should be addressed to Member #007, c/o SITU.
(1) Member #607 would like to get in touch with all members in Connecticut, possibly with a view to
setting up a connecticut "chapter" (would someone kindly think up a better name -the N .S.S.' or National
speleological Society uses the word Grotto!).
CZ) Member #909 in Laird Hill, Texas, would like to correspond with members in his area -'as far as we
"
can make out, he lives near Dallas; Laird Hill is not in our atlas.
(:3) Member #432 is interested in acquiring early books on UFOs, speCifically those pre,dating 1956.
('I> For all of you who have wondered but haven't dared to ask: that "thing" on the front of PURSUIT is a
!22!, not a mouse, snail, or whatever. It used to chase question marks, but they got lost som~where along
the line. The doggie was Ivan sanderson's "trademark" for years; he used to autograph books with it and
:
such. It is now ours.
BOOK REVIEWS
2!!~
Odette Tchernine informs us that she was, in fact, brought up in England; and also states "The reason I
deliberately did not read (Ivan T. Sanderson's] book . . . when I was preparing 'The Snowman an~ Company',
and during the last two years I was working on 'The Yeti' was because I wanted to conduct my own investigations with no risk of being unconsciously influenced".
John A. Keel. Qw: Haunted
~.
75~~.
The content of this book only fringes upon our particular field, which is the tangible unexplained
mysteries of natural history, but it is profoundly fortean in its approach to matters that are' primarily
intangible. at least in the dictionary sense of that word. This is not to say that items like Atlantis and
disappearing nuclear submarines are not tangible indeed but that the author tackles, and not Nst boldly
to say the least, the much more difficult and weird intangible aspects of all these things. Tpe reports
given in this book are, naturally, secondhand and most of them almost old-hat to forteans; but, strung together and assembled this way, with almost breathless, and often staccato, journalistic cadence (Keel is
a journalist), they certainly make one sit up, or back, and think. The details in quite a lot of these cases
are either inaccurate or at variance with other published accounts. However, I would not put it past Keel
to have dug out the true details.
'
If you really want to have some fun, bring up John Keel's name at any gathering of sCiElntifically
trai.ned folk, pseudoscientists, religionists or pseudo-religionists, or cultists of any kind, : and most
notably the ufologists and saucerians. Frankly, it is now my belief that he does not just emba~rass them
by quoting from their own published statements, but terrifies them with his theorising: both of which, I
may say, he does in exactly the same manner as the old man himself. John Keel is a lot more polite and
far less dogmatic than Charles Fort, but he knows just as well where to stick in the barb and! then "how
to twist it.
His general theory is, of course, utterly horrible to just about everybody but, as one turns ~he pages
of I,his book. one finds oneself constantly sucking in one's breath and" mumbling something like Oh no!
Not that too? But now I come to think of it . . . . ".
I was once involved in a scholastic debate on matters entirely pragmatic when his name cam~ up, and
a geophysicist with a full doctorate, and a Jesuit Priest at that, casually remarked: "Now th~re's one
thinker who's got guts. I was speechless, and not only because I had never expected this scientist to
21
have even heard of John Keel, but because, it ~as Keel who really first put forward the idea of ultraterrestrials - years before sClentists such as Dr. Jacques Vallee. He tackled this in two previous books
(strange Creatures !!:2!!! Time ~ ~ Fawcett; and ~: Operation Trojan !!2w, Putnam) and it
boils down to an analysis of the history of deliberate interference in human affairs since ever by other
intelligencies of various status and origin, invisible or tangible, and both what we call -good- and
"evil-. This is not a likely commendation to a professional geophysicist or a Roman Catholic priest!
The book is beautifully done by the author, but the publisher and/or he are to be most roundly condemned for not gOing to the trouble (despite the admitted expense) of a full bibliography or table of
numbered references; and, even worse, for not providing an index. If they are in business to sell books,
the publishers at least ought to know that these are essentials for a book of this nature, as it could one
day become not only a classic but a reference work of very great and lasting value. Back-tracking through
222 pages of packed small print to find even one's own name depresses both me and my ego. But get the
book -all of you.
Ivan T. Sanderson.
Brad Williams and Choral Pepper. The Mysterious
~.
When this book arrived as a gift from member #272, our eyebrows went up slightly, since its exterior
hardly looked like our kind of thing. However, the first several chapters, and sections of others, are purely
fortean; and the remainder is great fun as well. Though there is not a single specifiC reference the authors
have obviously done their homework. Unfortunately there is no index though, in this case, the lack is not
disastrous. The EPilogue is priceless.
H. Y. Li and Sibley S. Morrill. 1 Ching
~.
I would dearly love to spend about four pages talking about the I Ching games (pronounced YeChing), but
it is not forteana as such. However, it provides a peculiar kind of mental exercise that is potentially very
valuable to forteans (and other mortals); in fact, I can recall one incident in which such an exercise would
have saved us the cost of a call to Scotland! The book comes complete with playing pieces for both the
Seven Game (the Wisdom Plan) and the Fifteen Game (the Beneficial to Wisdom Plan). You should be warned
that it can be utterly exasperating, finally exhilarating, and is definitely habit forming. Order from the publisher, P. O. Box 24, San Francisco, CA 94101.
Just to whet your appetite, herewith the pieces that make up the Fifteen Game (on the left) and one of the
"diagrams" -the Tai-Chi"; there are at least three ways to solve it -Messrs. Morrill and Li and I all came
up with different solutions.
Afterthought:
You must use all the pieces; they may not overlap_
22
Pamphlets in English:
F'or those interested in ufology, this is well worth having. It catalogues 390 books and pampblets and
includes a title index. Order directly from Mr. Brennan, BOX 2662, Buffalo. NY 14226.
i
Q!
~ ~.
This is a very odd book and while reading it I had constantly in the back of my mind the old joke about
chap who appeared in divorce court, presenting as grounds for divorce the fact that his wife; talked all
tho~ time. when asked by the judge what she talked about, his reply was. "I don't know; she just don't say!In general the book deals with evidence of various kinds that this planet has been visited: by and/or
deliberately 'planted' by extra-terrestrials, the latter either "from scratch" or by 'manipulation' :of animals
already here. The author uses both myths and legends (including also written records) and tangible items
such as monoliths, out-of-place objects, etc.; interspersed on occasion with, of all things, :quotations
from H.. P. Lovecraft and Murray Leinster, "quotes" from virtually unidentified (or at least so minor as to
have escaped notice) "explorers" , with no date or anything else by which one might check his information.
HE! includes some most interesting material. but there is no index, and no bibliography. and his "references" in the text are so vague that. in general. they are worthless. In some cases it is nearly impossible
to tell whether he is quoting from a document (he is particularly fond of the Maya Popol yuh) or whether
it is he who is 'talking'.
.
He also makes some rather monumental goofs, claiming that Musk Deer have been found in :Antarctica
(though it really is not clear who claimed this); and some of the errors may be the fault of the, translator
-E!.g. the famous "metal cube" found in an Austrian mine in 1885 is stated to be in the Salisbury Museum;
he means Salzburg. of course: translator asleep at the typewriter? And someone should have ;been a bit
more judicious in his choice of an adjective to describe the Milodont: "a tardigrade or slow-moving animal
thoughtto have been extinct since prehistoric times. - The adjective "tardigrade" is perfectly legitimatethough the phrasing is redundant- but there is an animal called a tardigrade; see cut below- anb Milodont
bears no resemblance to it, being one of the giant so-called Ground sloths.
The book is perhaps best described as an interesting conglomeration of facts, legends. rumours, reports.
etc. and wo.uld be rather valuable IF the book had an index and references. As it is, the boo,k is. to be
blunt. "toilet literature". And the author never really makes his purpose in writing it (other t~an paying
fm groceries. of course) clear; he does not speculate at any length. has no introduction (in ~he British
version at least; I do not know if it has yet been published in the U.S.. though it is available;in Canada
from the Ryerson Press. Toronto 2, Ont.) or epilogue. There are a fair number of photographs. many of
them the same ones that have been turning up in every other book of this type but with some n~w ones as
well. a number of which don't seem to be mentioned in the text. I do not guarantee this last. sirice I had a
a tendency to fall asleep while reading this book.
Despite all these reservations. I believe the book is worth buying, but I do suggest thait you keep
ha.ndy a large supply of small slips of paper to be stuck into the book. with appropriate anno:tations. In
other words. make your own index.
th'~
Tardigrades, otherwise known as Bear: Animalcules or water Bears. are a subphylum of the Arthropods; in fact. one zoology text notes "trhey are
doubtfully placed among the arthropods". For a full
account of these incredible animals. see Chapter 16
of "Things" by Ivan T. Sanderson. The drawing here
shows a Tardigrade magnified about 50 tim~s. (From
a drawing by Ivan T. Sanderson)
Peter Tomkins. Secrets of the Great Pyramid. New York: Harper &
by lOr. Livio Catullo stecchini.)
ROW.
'This is a splendid book, lavishly illustrated, and should be in every fortean library. Do not: be misled by
the review of it by our member and old friend Dan Cohen in Science Digest. It is true that the t~rm "pyramidology" has come to have a perfectly. frightful connotation. with visions of Madame Blavatsky ~ !!.. but it is
grossly unfair to say. as Dan Cohen does, that "the greatest part of the book is devoted ~o trotting out
23
practically every loony theory that has ever been proposed about this ancient monument". SOme of the "lunatics"
whose theories are discussed in detail in Tompkins' book are C. Piazzi Smyth (Astronomer Royal for scotland),
William Flinders Petrie, John Greaves (Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, some of whose work 2!! ~ pyramid
was used by Isaac Newton in formulating his theories), Sir Norman Lockyer, Sir John Herschel, Jean Baptiste
Biot, Richard Howard-Vyse, Edme-Francois Jomard. . . a fine bunch of "nuts". The problem here is that
probably most people are !!.Q! mathematically inclined and have trouble balancing their check books. Therefore, if someone comes along and says that the structure of the Pyramid incorporates the value of pi ( 1T ), the
reaction is, Oh yeah? The mathematical 'explanation' of this fact is so far beyond us ordinary "mortals that it
is ignored, being quite simply unintelligible to us, and the pronouncement is put down as fantasy.
The book begins with an extensive history of visits to and exploration of the Great Pyramid from the
ancient Greeks to contemporary Americans and others, but it is Tompkins' detailed description and analysis
of the modern surveys and examinations of the Pyramid and the conclusions reached by scientists, that
interest us most. Even if we devoted an entire issue of PURSUIT to these findings, we could not give you a
full picture. In fact, I sat down with pad and pencil and attempted to list the various "bits of information"
incorporated in the Pyramid and gave it up as a bad job; and these included only those which have been approved by modern science, but still short of certain current speculations; and none of the Blavatsky-type
pronouncements.
To list a few of these items: The structure of the Pyramid incorporates, in several ways, the value of
pi ( 11" ) accurate to several decimal places: the sacred 3-4-5 and 2-/5-3 triangles ( a 2 + b 2 = C 2) that made the
Greek Pythagoras famous; the "Golden section" beloved of both architects and artists - ill ( <p ) in Greek and also the one "thing" that provides for translating spherical s~ctions into flat ones (map projections!) the
Fibonnaci series (1-2-3-5-8-13-21; etc.) "discovered" by Fibonnaci, otherwise called Leonardo da Pisa, in the
13th century A. D.; and the direct relationship between pi and phi (7T = <p 2 x 6 / 5). In fact, for all practical
purposes, the Pyramid does "square the circle": "The Pyramid's base is a square whose perimeter is equal
to the circumference of a circle whose radius is the Pyramid's height". You'll find all the mathematics in
Tompkins' book; in most cases understandable even to mathematical morons like myself.
The Pyramid functions as an almanac, indicating the length of the year, including that damnable .2422
fraction of a day. It serves as an admirable theodolite for surveying, and in fact, was apparently intended to
represent a scale model of the hemisphere, incorporating the geographical degrees of latitude !!:ill! longitude
(something we did not manage to measure accurately until about 1760). Just as an example, it has been calculated that 1 minute of latitude at the equator equals 1,842.9 meters; the base of the Pyramid has a perimeter
intended to represent 1/8 minute of a degree -i.e. by actual measurement, twice the perimeter of the base is
1,842.91 meters! The Pyramid was a very carefully placed geodetic marker, oriented to true North, and so
accurately that compasses are adjusted to it !!!llY, not vice versa. Its major use, though, would seem to have
been as a stellar or astronomical observatory.
There is an empty "coffer" in the so-called King's Chamber which some contemporary scientists believe
to "contain" information on the "mean length of the earth's orbit round the sun, the specific density of the
planet, the 26,OOO-year cycle of the equinoxes, the acceleration of gravity, and the speed of light". Other
investigators have come up with totally different explanations for the purpose of this coffer (which, unfortunately, has been chipped rather badly at one corner by idiot tourists, making it impossible to get totally
accurate measurements). As Tompkins puts it: "Would it not be worthwhile . . . for academic institutions, so
admirably equipped with computers and talent, carefully to analyze such conceits [the information listed
above in this paragraph] as those of Alvarez Lopez and Funk-Hellet and either refute them or support them
with reliable data? Some of their ideas may turn out to be no wilder than those for which Jomard, Taylor,
smyth, and maybe even Davidson were unjustly lampooned."
All of this eyebrow-raising information is only a sampling of the data either believed or proved to be 'contained' in the Pyramid. Its validity depends almost entirely on accurate measurement of the Pyramid, and this
is where Dr. Livio Catullo stecchini comes in. His speciality is ancient measurements, and his rather lengthy
APpendix in this book details his search and research into the comilation between the various measures used
by the Egyptians (and others) and our present measurements. This becomes pretty frightfully technical, and
you may skip it if you wish; but you had better take Tompkins' word for it that various measurements given
are accurate. Dr. Stecchini has worked on this over a period of many years and is respected authority on the
subject. I admit that just measuring the Pyramids makes my mind boggle, particularly the most recent measurements which are accurate to the last millimeter! (with the exception of one figure which was given as plus or
minus 6 millimeters).
Tompkins makes it abundantly clear that the Pyramid is invariably attributed to Cheops (spelt Khufu)
though there is, in fact, no definitive proof that it was that Cheops who built it, or even that a Cheops built
it; but it was obviously constructed originally as an astronomical observatory and a geodetic-marker. He is
equally clear on the point that no one has yet come up with an unassailable answer as to how it was built or
by whom. If you insist that all the "information" incorporated in it is due simply to chance or coincidence.
24
our feeling that such insistance is even "worse" than attributing it to knowledge obtained so~ehow by the
early Egyptians from somewhere else, or somebody else. Certainly one can postulate an incre:dible genius
who somehow popped up in Egypt, like one Im-Hotep; but even such a genius as Leonardo da Vi~ci could not
get his contemporaries -who were exceptionally open-minded and forward-thinking- to accept even half of
his inventions. His paintings were perfectly splendid, and some of his "cannon" and such most useful -but
heavier-than-air flying machines . . . my dear chap. impossible! Even allowing a genius, and ,the fact that
the quarries where the stones were cut are known, it still defies explanation. And in more tnan one way.
There are all sorts of internal "structures" in this pyramid that have puzzled archaeologists for centuries;
either their purpose of their methods of operation, as it were, lead to all sorts of, sometimes rathier hilarious,
"explanations". Tompkins makes no bones about this. (someone having removed my marker, I cannot find a
particularly priceless quotation which I had hoped to use; but it has been suggested, sensibly, that- the pyramid
was originally built only half-way up -i.e. picture a pyramid with the top half chopped off- page 17 - - to
permit the necessary astronomical calculations to be made -and then the builders solemnly went on to add
the top half even though it wasn't needed. The gentleman did not explain how this was done. Or, if such was
the ease, why.)
As if all this were not enough, the Pyramid preserves bodies even today, mummifying them in a matter of
weeks, completely without putrefaction, though there is ~, evidence that it was ~ used as' a tomb. The
chap who first noticed this (dead cats kept turning up in trash cans for tourists inside the Pyramid; but why
or how no one knows) wondered whether it was a property of this specific pyramid or wheth~r it was the
specific shape of this "shape" of pyramid that was responsible. He built a small wooden replica and put all
sorts of Ocidni'ents in it, such as calves brains which are notorious for rotting quickly; they di~n't. In fact,
anything placed in a pyramid built to the scale of the Great Pyramid is preserved indefinitel~ -and razor
blades re-sharpen themselves! You figure that one out.
The book is very readable, though you will find that you must take it slowly. As noted i~itially, itis
lavishly illustrated, and the captions -which are sometimes lengthy- are closely related to the ~ext and are
'must' reading. In fact, the whole book is 'must' reading.
Harking back to our article on cultural expansion, we can and may indulge some speculation ..:..and speculation it is. Considering the "average level" of culture in Eurasia, it seems unlikely that such s9phisticated
knowledge as is apparently incorporated in the Pyramid, could have been figured out in such a: (relatively)
short space of time. Do we, or may we, assume that visible, uninvited visitors came to earth in "Europe",
taught them various mathematical, astronomical, and other techniques; found the northerners a bit "uppity
and lambasted them (literally -vide the fused forts in that area); and that some of the initiates or priests
who still held this knowledge fled to the south where, because of their extraordinary knowledge, they were
given a home and passed on to some ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian peoples at least enough of their
knowledge that the latter could build. both figuratively and literally, on that information? such knowledge
would have been so valuable it would not have been passed on to the masses, who had to be controlled if
they were to be "persuaded" to indulge the labour needed to build the Great Pyramid. In time the knowledge
decayed and finally was lost almost completely; but the remaining bits and pieces were enoughi to give the
ancient Greeks a start. and thus Pythagoras, Erathosthenes, Hipparchus. ~ al. became, famous for their
"diseoveries", which they deduced from fragments of ancient Egyptian knowledge.
Tompkins does not say all this, though he hints vaguely at "outside influences" in the early part of his
book; and there is no proof of this thesis - but read The Secrets ~ ~ Great Pyramid and then consider the
new evidence concerning the age of European culture by Renfrew.
Alma V. Sanderson
26 september 1909 - 18 January 1972
As many of you know. Alma Sanderson was stricken with cancer in April pf last year. She 'ought' to have
died in June, but instead made a remarkable recovery which we all hoped would prove to be a cur~. However.
in mid-December it became clear that the cancer in her brain had been knocked down but not out. She was
readmitted to hospital on the 29th December and died on the 18th of January.
'
For those who would like to show their sympathy in tangible form, we propose an Alma Sanderson Memorial
Fund, all the proceeds to be used to further the work of the society -the only "child" Alma:and Ivan T.
Sanderson ever had. But please. no condolences, no sentiment. Alma's body.' as she wished, has been given
to a medical institution to further research in cancer and other diseases. This and the continuation of
SITU's work are all that Ivan wants.
GOVERNING BOARD
*President (elected for 5 years)
*First Vice-President
*Second Vice-President
*Treasurer
*Secretary
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Director
Deputy Director
Executive Secretary
Assistant Director for Communications Media
Assistant Director for Science & Technology
Ivan T. Sanderson
Edgar O. Schoenenberger
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Allen V. Noe
13 W. CHURCH ST.
WASHINGTON, N. J. 07882
TELEPHONE 201-689-0194
::,.
;;;.
APRIL, 1972
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board 2t Trustees, in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a Secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the five Trustees, and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive ~, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our SOciety is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists, as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the SoCiety is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is U.S. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $5, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The Society contracts-- with individuals, and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the society.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion, as yet, of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities, as ')1 now, cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print ma.y be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the wa.y in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From ~ts establishment in July, 1965, until the end of March 1968. the Society issued only
a newsletter. on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were. however. entitled PURSUIT-Vol. 1. No.3 and No.4. dated June and September. 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2. No. 1. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January. April. July, and October. Back issues. some
available only as xerox copies, are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an order form.
Vol. 5. No. 2
April. 1972
PURSUIT
THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE
INVESTIGATION OF THE UNEXPLAINED
DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF -THINGS
THAT ARE CUSTOMARILY DISCOUNTED
CONTENTS
Urology
. @
26
27
28
30
31
32
32
33
35
36
36
39
38
40
42
44
44
45'
45
THE TAXONOMY OF
KNOWLEDGE
GEOLOGY
THE.
TANGIBLES
VI
EARTH SCIENCES
A.tmosph.rics and Meteorblogy:
Oceanology, Hydrology, and Glacialo;,; Tectonics. Vulconol.
agy, Se;lmology, GeophYI;cl
and Geomorphology; Petrology and Minetola;)';
Geodesv, Geography,
Cartography.
Dating.
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
MATTER
Atomics., Molecular
CheIYustry. C''1.tollogrophy.
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
TECHNOLOGY AND
PERFORMANCE
Theor.tical Physics, NucleoniCS.
Classical PhySICS. Electrics.
E lectromagnetici. Magnetics.
MechaniC".
.
IS
MENTAL CONCEPTS
LogIC and EplS'emology;
P$ycholog y. E .hle s and AesthetiC", Comparative Inteiligenc.;
Pafo;:uychlcs.
EXISTENCE
Space. Time,
locu ... Co .. ",ology.
MEASUREMENT
Number. Quont,ty.
Arithmetic, Algebra.
Geometry. Trigonometry.
Calculus, Topology. Theory
01 Gomes. Probobility,CooO
Inc ,clenee.
THE
INTANGIBLES
Eyerything in existence, including ~existence" itsell, and thus all of our pc>ssible concepts and all knowledge
that we possess or will eyer poness, is contained within this wheel. Technologies and the useful arts lie
within the inner circle, haying access to any or all of the ten malar departments of organized knowledge.
From the KORAN: "Acqui .. e knowledge. It enables its possessor to lenow right from wrong; it lights the way to
heayen; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when friendless; it guides us to
happiness; it sUltains UI in mi sery; it is an ornament among friends, and an armour against enem.es. The Prophet.
.
26
27
EDITORIAL
That which has now been. discovered, and by truly scientific means, or which we have accomplished by
technological methods is, manifestly, both sound and working. Nevertheless, an ever-increasing volume of
facts -and sound evidence to regard these as real- is/are cropping up every day. A remarkable example is
reviewed on page 3,2 of this issue. The point is that the "reality" we have been taught to accept, and the
reasons for dOing so, appear now not to be the whole truth. There is just too much coming to light that all of
us once thought was inexplicable (or just plain "baloney") that our modern knowledge is explaining; or for
which there could be valid explanations within our modern terms of scientific and technological reference.
This causes the scientific community some distress and not a little aggravation, but it is giving the socalled occultists (including the mystics, and all such assorted thinkers) cause for somewhat raucous and
considerably unwarranted glee. As Forteans, we have always stood squarely in the middle; denying neither
opinion, but insisting on a pragmatic and realistic approach to all matters. This, of course, leans strongly
to the so-called "scientific" approach. So I come IP the reason for this expostulation.
However you look at it, or wherever you stumble across it today, it becomes increasingly obvious that we
are either living in a "twin" universe, or w~ are -and always have been- infested with what is best called
the paranormal from another universe, or universes. Thus, there are two sets of "rules" or "natural laws
operative in our Universe, or our Earth. and in all our lives. One -that one that is not our accepted "reality"is either "weaker", less general. or rarer. or "occasional". This manifests jtself in the unexplaineds. But
we must now realize and appreciate the fact that these could or might (and watch those qualifying words) be
explained even along our current scientific principles and/or by our current technological know-how.
I. personally. am increasingly persuaded to suspect that this "other reality" (which we have come to call
the para-normal) is a great deal more prevalent than the average person thinks; and that this goes both for
working scientists and the dedicated mystics. Further, I am willing to put it on record that it is due. for the
most part. to our (legitimate) ignorance of it, and to the average person's reluctance to even talk about it
-and notably about their own personal experiences.
Thus, as a fortean from way back, all I can ask is that people, from astronauts to cow-farmers, come out
with both their experiences and their thoughts thereupon; and let the proverbial "chips" fall where they may.
Ivan T. Sanderson.
28
UFOLOGY
A DOCUMENTED CASE
OF GOVERNMENTAL DISHONESTY
Almost from the moment that ufology was 'invented', there have been those who have charged the
Government with deliberate "cover-up", sometimes
with such continuing vehemence that they have alienated even their staunchest supporters. The trouble is
that they have rarely, if ever, even tried to present
full proof of their allegations. We now have in our
files a document entitled "The Fitzgerald Report",
copyright 1959 by none other than Robert J. Durant,
who had not even heard of Ivan T. Sanderson at that
time. We wish very much that we had space to reproduce the whole thing, but it runs 20 pages *, so we
must condense and stick primarily to the evidence of
"cover-up" and such.
At approximately 3 a.m. on the morning of the 21st
September 1958 a Mrs. William Fitzgerald observed a
metallic, disc-shaped object maneuvering in the front
yard of her home in Sheffield Lake, Ohio. The object
was also seen by Mrs. Fitzgerald's son John. Neither
realized that the other had seen it until late the next
morning when Mr. Fitzgerald, who had at first disbelieved the boy's story, questioned them separately
and found that their descriptions were identical.
Later, the UFO Research Committee of Akron, which
investigated this case, found two other persons in the
immediate neighbourhood who had had experiences
which helped to confirm the Fitzgeralds' story.
Two other 'sightings', one most pertinent to our
tale, were reported in Lorain, Ohio, which borders
Sheffield Lake. At 2 a.m. a Mrs. Grego watched a
"big red ball" moving outside her window; she reported that it made a low pulsating sound that made
her "sick to her stomach", but she noted no aftereffects. At 2:30 a.m. a Mrs. Stewart was wakened by
a light flooding through her window. A look at her
clock indicated that it could not be the sun, and the
moon had set at 1:07 a.m. on the 21st. She described
the object as being several times larger than the
moon, and noted that it moved off in a westerly direction. Neither of these cases would seem to be in
any way related to the Fitzgeralds', but we will come
back to Mrs. Stewart later.
Mrs. Fitzgerald called the newspaper and was subsequently interviewed by members of the UFO Research Committee of Akron who prepared a report and
sent copies to the Aerial Phenomena Group, Air
Technical Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson Air
Force ~ase, with a request for an investigation. The
Air Force sent two investigators who checked train
schedules, lake activity (Sheffield is on Lake Erie),
and other possible factors in the sighting. On the 4th
29
Members are asked once again to try to find us new members. If y"ou wish a supply of our 'prospectus', drop
us a note and let us know how many you think you can use.
30
100 Miles
~
P. R. Trench
31
FIRE-WALKING AGAIN
A number of members have questioned Bob Durant's
'dismissal' of fire-walking via the Liedenfrost Effect.
They have brought up some pertinent points, but the
fact remains that ordinary fire-walking is explained
by the Liedenfrost Effect. There are other cases of
fire-handling -e.g. dancing on red-hot wood embers
for twenty minutes or more (the fire-walkers of
Langadas, a small town near Salonica, Greece, reported by member No. 1060), sitting on a red-hot
stove for extended periods and the like- which seem
to be connected with a particular trance state. On
the other hand, we have now acquired quite a collection of cases of immunity from injury which do not
fit either category. Some of these are most extraordinary.
Adolph Heuer reports having watched a TV show
which featured a Jamaican gentleman who had the
MC smash bottles and strew them around, and then
jumped onto the broken glass and walked around on
it without so much as scratching his feet. His expression was described by Adolph as that of a man
who had been asked to jump off a high diving board
into a barrel of concrete. Sibley Morrill reports a
similar exhibition he witnessed some years ago. In
both instances, the performer insisted that there
was nothing 'psychic' about it but that he had no
idea why he didn't get cut.
Ivan and Alma Sanderson once knew a quite "mad"
Mexican aristocrat of the old schoo~!. [whose name
Ivan Sanderson cannot now remember), who used to
munch on champagne glasses, stick steak knives
through his cheeks, and on one memorable occasion
-to show his devotion to Alma- carved the initials
" AVS" on his arm. He bled profusely at first, but by
the end of the evening not even a scar was visible!
Then there was another old school friend of Ivan's
-Prince Singh of Kapurthala, India- who did the
same for years in chi-chi European restaurants. Both,
incidently, are still alive.
These chaps aren't 'psychic' in the ordinary
sense of the word. And the things they do are patently physical. There is no question of a trance state
or any "preparation" at all. The writer (MLF) walks
on gravel without distress but definitely draws the
line at a pile of broken glass.
As for ordinary fire-walking, member No. 372
reports that he has walked on slate soaked with
gasoline and set afire. It singed the hair on his legs
but he was otherwise unharmed. He recommends
shaving the legs; he says it smells terrible.
32
II. ONTOLOGY
OTHER UNIVERSES
by Ivan T. Sanderson
At last we are getting somewhere with the core
problem of all, and the one which, if tackled boldly
and without prejudice or preconception, could not
only knit a lot of troublesome mysteries together, but
also give us a firm basis for the construction of a
better eoncept of reality; and, withall, without straining our current logic too much. Moreover, the first
clear statement on this in any popular form came from
none other than the dean of science-writers, Walter
Sullivan of the N. Y. Times. Since not everybody
reads the Times, and-many of those who do probably
skip the SCIeiiCe section. it is unlikely that many,
even of our members. picked this one up; so we quote
and paraphrase.
In his column of the 27th January of this year, Mr.
Sullivan wrote, under a head "Laws of the Universe
Put Into Question" (we would have said "Laws of ~
Universe .. "), and we quote: - Recent astronomical
observations have . . for example, brought into
question the reliability of the yardstick used in estimating distances to faraway galaxies. They have revealed objects that s'eem to be moving faster than
light . . and others whose energy output defies
explanation." He then goes on to say that two suggestions have been made to explain these observations: and it is the second of these that packs the
wallop, and this in just one brief sentence, namely:
.. A more radical suggestion is that matter is entering
this universe ~ other universes [emphasis ours],
carrying with it the phYsical 'constants' characteristics ofthose universes". Mr. Sullivan then goes on to
cast the first real shadow of doubt upon the so-called
DopplElr Effect, a matter that we have always doubted
seriously and which w.e have discussed with five of
III. PHYSICS
SOUND AS A HIGHWAY HAZARD
Our member No. 340 wrote us some time ago both
to report and to ask a question. What follows is
really in the nature of a "public service". His letter
read:
"Have you ever driven a car with only one window
open and noticed (it's fairly rare) sometimes the air
in thE! car will start throbbing or pulsing. It would
seem to me that the whole car is reverberating like
the inside of a giant whistle. Some infrasonics are
hazardous . . Could this kind of infrasonic effect
be da~ngerous, directly? indirectly? by causing the
driver to have an accident?"
The answer, from the British Acoustical Society
at the University of Salford, England, is a resounding
--------_.----........_---_.------------ ........................
33
34
2900 M
... 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
ble curvature because the speed of light is so enormous. At the other end of the scale, the curvature
of a rotating garden spray is very great b~cause the
velocity of the water is probably on the order of 10
feet per second, as compared with the speed of light
which is 186,000 x 5280 feet per second.
Varying the rotational speed of the s,ource will
also alter the shape of the spiral, and once again this
is in agreement with the garden sprinkler Iilnalogy. If
the sprinkler is made to rotate more slowly" the jets
simply spray out in straight lines. The practical application of this theory to the lightwheel phenomenon
serves to explain some of the disparities' in the reports of the shape of the wheels, for observers have
at times seen the lines as straight shafts and at other
times as curving beams. In short, the tieams will
appear curved when the device is rotating~ and conversely, they will "flatten out .. when the device slows
its rotation or stops altogether. The distance of the
observer from the center of the phenomenon is also a
factor. If one observes only the outer extremities of
the beams, they will always appear to be straight
lines. But if one has a view of the entire ~ength of a
beam, a curvature will appear. Some ships iencountering the submarine lightwheels have sail~d directly
over the center, and they have reported a: very pronounced curvature near the center. All 'of this is
perfectly consistent with our analysis and the graphical representation of Figure 3.
Now we come to two questions that wou~d seem to
elude a precise answer. How many radials do the
lightwheels have? How rapidly do the whe~ls rotate?
Here it gets a bit sticky because we !have such
sketchy data from the mariners who have encountered
the lightwheels. Until we get a good set of aerial
photos of a lightwheel, or until one of these seamen
comes forward with much more detailed information,
we will have to resort to some educated guesswork.
The problem is that the beams of sound m!lst spread
out Quite a bit as they move through the w~ter. Even
a laser light beam one thousandth of an imch in diameter on the earth's surface expands to an area of
several hundred feet when it is focused on: the moon.
This results from innumerable collisions with air and
dust particles on the way. So it must be as~umed that
even a very good "coherent .. sound source VVill expand
considerably over a distance of six or seyen miles.
Without the spreading of the beams one cquld calculate the number of beams by the observed ratio of the
width of the ,beam to the width of the dark area as the
I
beams sweep past the ship. In one particularly well
reported incident thi s ratio was given as
feet for
the light beam and 100 feet for the interve~ing blank
space. These figures (assuming the beams to be symmetrically placed) mean that there is one beam placed
on every fifth degree of arc around the cirGumference
of the device, for a total of 72 individual beams. But
other reports give somewhat different wi4th ratios,
all the way up to a one-to-one ratio of widths. I believe this disparity is due to the spreading of the
?5
Figure 3
35
IV. CHEMISTRY
THE "RUSTLESS" IRON PILLAR AT DELHI
In our October, 1971, issue we included an article
on the "rustless" iron pillar at Delhi, India, a
standard item in fortean books. This dealt with the
findings of one G. Wranglen of the Royal Institute of
Technology in stockholm, as summarized in the New
Scientist. We have great respect for this journal but
are sorry to say that in this case, their precis was
not as good as it might have been. We now have
(thanks to our members) three copies of his original
article in the Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical
Communications (vol. 36, p. 625), and Mr. Wranglen
would seem to know what he is talking about -he
works for the Department of Applied Electrochemistry
and Corrosion Science.
That part of the pillar which is below ground is
covered by a rust layer more than 1 cm thick, with
corrosion pits up to 10 cm (4 in.) deep. Wranglen
therefore concludes that climate, rather than the composition of the iron, is the primary cause of the good
preservation of the pillar aboveground. He goes on to
say:
"Immediately above the surrounding platform, the
surface of the pillar is very rough, apparently due to
defects in the forge-welding, which seem to have
been made worse by corrosion, resulting in deep pits.
A band of the circumference of the pillar at a height
between 1 and 1.5 m(eters) above the stone platform
is very bright, as if polished. The latter is due to the
custom of visitors to stand with their backs towards
the pillar, trying to clasp their hands around it 'for
luck'. The whole pillar is covered by an oxide film
of metallic lustre but varying colour (black-bluebroVvn). According to magnetic measurements, the
oxide film on the bright, polished section is less than
50 Jlm,* immediately above 500-600 pm and higher UP
thinner again. It should also be noticed that if the
36
V. ASTRONOMY
THE MOONS OF MARS
In recent years and in certain circles. much has
been made of the mention by Jonathan Swift (16671745) of two moons of Mars (going around in opposite
directions) in one of his books, the question being:
How on earth (or off it) did he or could he have known
of them, the usual answer being that he must have
received his information from some type of OINT
(Other INTelligencies. or extraterrestrials, if you
wish). The actual answer to that apparently unanswerable Question is much more mundane. In 1610
Johannes Kepler predicted that Mars would be found
to have two moons.
Kepler was, of course, one of the very great
astronomers and did not simply guess that Mars
would have two moons but based his predictipn on
observations he had made. The moons were not 'discovered' until about 200 years later. but there is
little if any doubt that Swift was familiar with Kepler's
works. Swift took a degree at Trinity College in
Dublin (though he is said to have obtained it only by
"special grace") and "natural philosophy was a
standard part of the curriculum of all universities at
his time. (Oddly enough. in most cases biology was
taught only to medical students!)
There has also been much speculation that these
moons' would prove to be artificial satellites -Le.
sPace stations- and one Russian scientist stuck his
neck out rather far in thi s direction. Photos sent
back by Mars-probe satellites show both to be nothing
more than hunks of rock. We cannot at the moment
find the quotation and therefore must paraphrase. but
Carl Sagan, one of the chief exponents of, the possibility of extraterrestrial life -though not ~ecessari1Y
of Little Green Men on Mars- noted th~ he didn't
claim to know all possible types of satellites but that
he was willing to st ate c atego ric ally t hat rio artificial
satellite ever looked like that!
.
37
MODERN CONVENIENCES?
From Adhesives Age. January 1972: "Batch after batch of French baker Maurice Rivat's dough had been
spoiled by breaks in the electrical service. When it happened again recently. he loaded up 330 pounds of the
dough. went to the offices of the government-run electrical firm and poured it down the stairway."
..
38
,' Ie
i'
VI. GEOlLOGY
Ii.
39
.. 'three-Ci,uartel"l1 J
THE SUN
TIlE URTH
LarS8!1t Llfs-Forra
LarGut Ar:1mal
:..ver&.;e "'an
~!:~&~r ~n~:ize
SII'.allelit Shellrlah.
Smallest Insect, The Human Ovwa (eggeaH)
Smo.llllllt Werm.
-------------------- -- (on" q\:arter) - ___________________________ _
Arr.oet:a
i"lhite bloed Corpullc\:la.
SClaHeat Animal
Rad blood CorpUlicule. ~h,lJ:Ian Spem. laona a
Anthrax (d1saD.ae) Bac!llu&
'l'Uberc,,"loa1a, Oi8ease Cocci.
Round :.'e.cterJa
I.arger Viruslls
Smallest L1fe-PolT.""
Ul tr8-t1H.erBold '.ilruses
""ster f,i:;,lecule
::ldrogen Atoe
A!'l ELECTRON'
40
VII. BIOLOGY
LOVES OF A GORILLA
Adhesives Age (October 1971) reports that "When the gorillas at the Frankfurt Zoo became lethargic and
apathE!tic, a television was installed in their cage as an antidote to boredom. The experiment provd that the
old movie King Kong wasn't just a flight of Hollywood fancy: gorillas do love pretty girls. Keepers at the
German zoo report that the television gave the gorillas a new lease on life. Gorilla TV favorites, in order of
preference: love scenes, weight lifting, and auto racing."
In fact, the Philadelphia Zoo found this out by accident a number of years ago when they instlilled a TV
set in the keepers' 'Quarters in the old "Monkey House". The keepers soon experienced that peculiar feeling
one gets when being stared at from behind, and discovered that "Bamboo", then the oldest gorilla i~ captivity
(in thl! U.S. at least), was watching too. If memory serves correctly, he also liked pretty girls best~
A
REI~UEST
FOR HELP
A letter to the Scottish Field of March 1972 notes that "At the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne work is
being carried out on the structure of bird skulls. I am anxious to find more skulls of the crow famih, that is:
rook, carrion and hooded crow, jackdaw, magpie, jay, etc. I would be most grateful if anyone finding dead
birds of these species could remove and send me the heads. If the heads are still feathered thes1e are best
sent sealed in one or more polythene bags in a crushproof box., I shall be glad to refund postag~. (Signed)
T. R. Birkhead, Department of Zoology, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle, NWl 7RU, !England."
Specimens should be labelled with date and place of origin, i.e. 5 miles east of Armpit, Nebraska (don't look
that up in a gazetteer; it is one of Ivan Sanderson's 'concoctions'); and the package should ,be labelled
"Scientific Specimen".
'
41
42
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
A RATHER "DISGUSTING" CASE
by Ivan T. Sanderson.
ARCHAEOLOGY
From Land to the West, by Geoffrey Ashe: " ... evidence may already have been found, and gon~ unrecognised. All archaeological workers are specialists nowadays, and it would be interesting to ascertain how
many authorities on Celtic antiquities have even looked at Americ'an antiquities, or vice versa. As ;Professor
fJohn] Evans remarked to me, 'They would be afraid people would think they were cranks.' No doubt a justified fear, but what a pity! ... I am not disputing the need to specialise; I am entering a plea for coU'aboration.
It is perfectly possible that the vital clue is staring us in the face, only the proper expert has not yet been
inducE'd to stare back."
43
The Trinity College (Cambridge) Annual Record for 1970 contains the following notice: "G. B. Blaker
was last year reported as being dead, but is in fact still alive. The Editor apologizes for the mistake,
which is particularly shocking because Mr. Blaker was also reported dead in 1945." He must lead an interesting life.
44
CURRENT PURSUITS
RINGING ROCKS
MECHANICAL DOWSING
About a dozen of our members have asked for and
been sent instructions for experiments on mechanical
dowsing. These expe"riments take time to set up, but
we will report on the results, if any, in a future issue.
A CHAIN IN THE ROCK UP THE AMAZON
Our member who has notes on this moved recently
and if; still going through the appalling task of unpacking and getting" settled. She has promised to send
the information on as soon as she unearths it.
Rooms 108 and 315, only. are open from 10 am to 2 pmQn Saturdays.
~--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------45
task, please call us. Your only reward will be the gratitude of all forteans, present and future, and the
knowledge that you have contributed to the sEiarch for truth.
~IEl\IBERS' FORUM
On the home front. Member No. 1072, who iives
near our HQ, comes regularly to collect old newspapers and all glass jars and bottles for recycling.
(We 'recycle' our own garbage in a compost heap.)
Apart from the primary purpose of recycling, this also
eases our trash disposal problem.
For
article
cannot
47 st.,
Ringing Roc:ks
Delaware River
BOOK REVIEWS
by Marion L. Fawcett
John Godwin. Occult America. New York: Doubleday & Company. 1972. $7.95
John Godwin is an Australian journalist, formerly a crime reporter and foreign correspondent, with several
books to his credit. He will have difficulty in writing a better book than this one, which is an absolute 'must'
for every fortean -and non-forteans as well.
46
While on a cross-country tour to advertise his previous book, This Baffling World, Mr. God~vin became
intrigued with and by t.he r ather incredible upswing in interest in mysticism and the occult in; the United
States and set about looking for books that would explain this phenomenon. He notes in his prologue that "The
one thing I was looking for-a dispassionate .inquiry into the motivations and working of America's occultism
-seemed not to exist at all. If I wanted one I would have to write it myself. Which, in the course of events, I
,
decided to do." He has done it very well indeed.
The author points out that there are plenty of books on the "occult", generally divisible into two categories, the debunkers and the boosters, "both so preoccupied with effects that they devoted hardly any space
at all. to . . . the causes". In his opinion the debunkers 'win, though he adds that "They app eare~ sincerely
convinced that, by 'pointing out the irrationality of a particular belief, they were abolishing it. Which is
similar to proving the biological impossibility of the Resurrection and. expecting Christianity to evaporate as
a result". Godwin's book probably won't change many minds either, but any rational person will'learn a lot
from it. Under the cold light of reason, some of the beliefs held in this country provoke nearlY, hysterical
laughter, underlain by a feeling of considerable horror that such things are actually believed in Iby supposedly intelligent, rational, and educated people.
Godwin begins with the astrologers and works his way through 'prophets', witches, Ron Hubbard!s vassals,
Edgar Cayce's disciples, and a host of others, all the way to the satanists, which are actually a :rather mild
bunch compared to some other groups. He also devoted a chapter to the "occult goldmine": -books, a vast
assortment of sPiritualist "supplies", dubious (to put it mildly) degrees, and a wide variety of 'fself-help",
get-rich-quick, am other offers, which bring in heaven knows how much money. The astrologers alone are
estimated to rake in more than $150,000,000 a year! This I find appalling; and particularly becaus~ there are,
as John Godwin points out in Chapter 13, a number of individuals and organizations which are studying some
of ~hE! things believed in by the occultists, but doing it properly and scientifically, and they have ~he chronic
probll~m of financing t heir efforts. If one adopts some oriental-sounding name, and spouts un~ntelligible
garbage with plenty of references to the uplifting of the soul; a direct pipeline to God, etc., money will be
forthcoming from a vast horde of gullibles who are dissatisfied with their present state and the state of the
world. Announce that you wish to study any of the phenomena which defy our present understanding from a
scientific standpoint, and the orthodox scientists will probably ignore you (if they don't vilify yqu); but the
"average citizen" will gladly spend his money anywhere, and on any charlatan's suggestion.
John Godwin is not simply a debunker. He realizes full well that there are unexplaineds ana that it is
often difficult to draw a definite line between the fraudulent and the genuine, the real and the urt-real. His
book may help a lot of people to draw a more certain line between the two. He is not infallible, but he makes
few mistakes in this book: and these are minor and forgiveable in view of the overall value of OccuFt America.
Also, the author did his own research and search, interviewing over 300 persons, from astrologers! to the farout urologists, to gain a clear picture of just what is gOing on in America. It makes fascinating re~ding. And
there is an excellent index plus a glossary of terms.
Tim Dinsdale. Monster Hunt. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd. 1972. $6.95.
This is an expanded and thoroughly updated edition of The Leviathan~, originally published in England
in 1966 but never, so far as I know, available in the U.S. Anyone interested in Loch Ness 'monsters' - or in
other freshwater and sea monsters - will want this book. Though parts of it do resemble what we citll a "seed
catalogue", i.e. long series of reports by those who say they have seen Nessie (or other monster~), there is
enoug:h general material and new information to satisfy all but the crustiest reader.
I
Tim Dinsdale, one of the most delightful people we have had the privilege to meet, has be;en chasing
Nessi.e for ten years and has had the greatest success to date. His film of a monster taken ini 1960 was
studil~d by the Joint Air Reconnaisance Intelligence Centre of the RAF and pronounced' by them to sh~w an
animate object. He has been trying ever since, along with some hundreds of other people, to; get a truly
definitive film which will leave no doubt in anyone's mind that there are monsters in Loch Ness.
WI: ha,:e received innumerable l~tter~ asking "Why don't they [Nessie 'hunters'] just ... ?" Frl,)m here on
we WIll SImply tell them to read Tim DlIlsdale's book. There is an all too common notion that aU one has to
do is sit on the edge of Loch Ness with a camera ready and everything will work out in a week 'or so. "Not
bloody loikly!" Tim Dinsdale several times almost lost his life during the course of his search, ~nd his de-
47
scription of the hazards and difficulties involved in trying to gain evidence proving the existence of 'monsters'
in LQCh Ness (and elsewhere) leave one with the greatest admiration for these devoted seekers. As for why
they seek. I can not do better than to quote a quotation in Monster Hunt: this is taken from the Personality
Book" kept by the Loch Ness Investigation. in which each expeditioner entered a brief biography on arrival
and. at the end of his stay, about half a pag~ of comment of whatever variety the person chose. What follows
was written by the youngest member of the team, a 17-year-old boy: "Someone recently asked me why we hunt these creatures. It is easy to answer, but difficult to explain.
We believe in them-not only the individuals themselves but what they in the large sense represent. They
are a not-so-impossible dream and an enigma almost answered. On this world bound by technological complexities they are a return to nature. and a subtle reminder to'man that he is not a master of all creation. !tis
a quixotic search for t ruth in a scornful world ~ a tedious search which someday must have it's end. And
when we do place the final piece of the puzzle in position perhaps men will stop momentarily to gaze at inscrutible nature, and wonder about the deeper natural truths ... "
Whether it is the exceptionally high calibre of those keeping watch on Loch N:ess, as exemplified by this
17-year-old who is wise far beyond his years, or whether it is part of the growing consciousness of Science
that the neat boundaries they have set have been broached on every side. we cannot say. But it is heartening
to read of the increasing assistance from the 'orthodox' in this most unorthodox pursuit. There are still those
who deny vehemently that there even could be 'monsters' in Loch Ness. i.e. they are impossible; but we
firmly believe that this pursuit will have a happy ending, not just for Nessie fans but for science as a whole.
If one "impossible" of this nature is proved to be not just possible but real, it may open a great many doors.
In the meantime. the investigations at Loch Ness are adding considerably to our knowledge of the ecology
arid geology of that lake.
The book is illustrated and, fortunately, there is a list of plates, some of which are badly placed (not the
author's fault), e.g. Plate 15. referr.ed to on page 123. will be found facing page 85. Also, the publisher has
seen fit to reduce the map of the Scottish Northwest Highlands to microscopic size, making it extremely
difficult to read. A couple of other maps with far less detail are given a whole page each. There is an index,
though it is not as complete as one might wish..
One final point, Tim Dinsdale rightly includes the Le Serrec monster filmed off the coast of Australia.
However, it should be noted that subsequent investigation strongly suggests a hoax and the photographs
should be viewed with considerable suspicion. They may be genuine, but we would like to see similar ones
taken by someone less suspect than Mr. Le Serrec.
The book is not flawless, but it should be in every fortean's library.
Vincent and Margaret Gaddis. The Curious World
No one bats an eye if a cat has six kittens, but multiple births in humans have always aroused considerable interest and curiosity. Even fraternal twins, who are no more alike than any other brothers and/or sisters,
get special attention of the "Oh, you're twins, are you?" variety. I happen to be a twin, labelled identical,
though I have now learned from the Gaddis's book thl!ot a single placenta does not necessarily mean identical
twins; thus, various doctors and others who have questioned the label applied to my sister and myself may
well be right. (Frankly. I don't think we look identical - I can tell which is which eve.n in baby pictures.)
But, personal reminiscences aside ...
Vincent and Margaret Gaddis have put together another excellent book, and a very readable one, and have,
as always, included proper documentation. a bibliography. and a good index. After an opening chapter designed to whet the reader's appetite with a selection of 'hors d'oeuvres', the biological basis of twinning is discussed at some length in terms understandable to anyone. This covers not just fraternal and identical twins
but some of the more unusual types of twinning that have been discovered. e.g. "mosaics" or "twins in one
body". Some of the really unusual biological oddities are discussed in a later chapter - so-called Siamese
twins. teratomas or 'dormant' twins, parasitic foetuses and the like. Some of these are real "lulus". though
the reasons for their occurrence are now fairly well understood. There is also considerable information on
truly multiple births, i.e. everything .from triplets on up to the fertility-drug multiples (the record here seems
to be 15, all smothered within the womb), and the problems they cause and encounter.
The other major section of the book deals :with the sometimes most extraordinary 'links' between twins,
whether reared together or separately - twin.s who die simultaneously though one is not ill. parallel existences led by twins separated at birth and who:. don't even know they have a twin; telepathy and other
'psychic' phenomena exhibited by twins; pain-sharing, and such. These are documented case histories, along
with some "anecdotes" not so easily pinned down. But perhaps the most interesting part of the book is that
48
which concerns exact doubles who are not related to each other; ~so 'phantom' doubles - called ;autoscopic
hallueinations (formerly called doppelgangers) - seen only by the person whose image is being 'projected'.
There are theories about this latter but it is not really understood.
,
Lastly, for the benefit of twins and mothers of twins, there is a chapter on clubs "where God c,hooses the
members", with addresses to which interested (and qualified) persons may write.
Philip S. Callahan.
Robert R. Lyman. Forbidden Land. Coudersport, Pa.: The Potter Enterprise. 1971. $4.50
add 25 for mail orders (plus 6% tax for Pennsylvania orders).
(paperb~ck,
$2.50);
This, the first of two volumes, chronicles ninety-one unusual, ,strange, and unexplained events' in the
Black Forest of northern Pennsylvania from 1614 to 1895, collected by Mr. Lyman who is extraordinarily
knowledgeable concerning local history and has that rare knack of knowing where to 'dig'. His bbok is quite
charming and will be of particular interest to those interested in folklore, though 'pure' fortedns will find
item s in it to interest them also. We look forward to volume two, which presumably will bring this unusual
history of Pennsylvania's Black Forest up to date. Mr. Lyman has the happy faculty of being ableito get even
reluc:tant witnesses to talk, and some of the most recent tales are forte an indeed.
'
Roy Pinney. Slavery: Past and Present. New York: Thomas Nelson Inc. 1972. $4.95
There is nothing fortean about this book, but it is well worth reading and should certainly be r:ead by anyone who thinks slavery is a thing of the past. The history of slavery is also not exactly what tnost people
think it was.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. . . . . . . .~. . . .~----. . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . .I . . . ._ . . . . . . .
GOVERNING BOARD
President (elected for 5 years)
First Vice-President
Second Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
Board Member (elected for 1 year)
ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
Director
Deputy Director
Executive Secretary
Assistant Director for Communications Media
Assistant Director for Science & Technology
Ivan T. Sanderson
Edgar O. Schoenenberger
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Robert .C. Warth
201-689-0194
-=-
-===-
=~
=-.
JULY, 1972
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees. in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President. elected for five years;
two vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a Secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the fIve Trustees, and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our society is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists, as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is U.S. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $5, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The Society contracts -- with individuals. and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the Society.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion, as yet, of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities, as ')1 now, cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLDCATIONS
The Society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The SOCiety further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July, 1965, until the end of March 1968, the society issued only
a newsletter. on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were, however, entitled PURSUIT-vol. 1. No.3 and No.4, dated June and september, 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2, No. 1. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January, April, July, and October. Back issues, some
available only as Xerox copies, are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an order form.
Vol. 5. No. 3
July. 1972
PURSUIT
THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE
INVESTIGATION OF THE UNEXPLAINED
DEVOTED TO THE INVESTIGATION OF -THINGS
THAT ARE CUSTOMARILY DISCOUNTED
CONTENTS
Tb e Taxo.nom,l: Q! Knowledge
E!!itorial: ParlPsychics and the Encroachment of Technology
Urology
Off and On
Essential Reading
Chaos ~ Confusion
More Sky-Lines
Sub-Section K
Metallic Balls from Where?
The Mystery Bell - Stone, England
50
51
52
52
53
54
55
57
~ronomy
57
58
59
60
60
62
62
62
63
64
66
67
69
69
70
THE:
GEOLOGY
TANGIBLES
VI
EARTH SCIENCES
A,mospherici and Meteorblo9)'.
Oceanology, Hydrology, and Glo,
clology; Tectonics. Vulconol.
ogy, Seismology, GeophySIcs
and G.omorpholog y; Pe',ology and Mineralogy;
Geode-s)'. Geography.
Cartography,
DO'lng.
E 'hology ond
Ecology.
MATTER
Atomic Molecular
Chemistry, Crystallography.
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
Cultural An.h,opology and
E.hnology (A,chaeology ;s a
technique). P, ... His'o,y.
H.stary, and Folklor.; Philology and linguiuici.
TECHNOLOGY AND
PERFORMANCE
Theoretical PhYSIC., ~uc leonies,
ClaSSical Ph),s'c,. Elect'lcs,
E l.e,romolne'lcl, Magne'lcl.
Mechonics.
EXIST ENCE
MEASUREMENT
Number. Quanli'y,
ArllhmellC, Algebra,
Geometry, Trigonometry,
0'
THE INrANGIBLES
E:ver)'thing in existence, including -existence- ilself, and Ihus all of our possible canceplS and all knowledge
that we possess or will ever possess. is conlained within this wheel, Technologies and the useful arts lie
.ithin the inner circle, having access to on)' or all of the ten major departments of orgoni zed knowledge,
From the KORAN: -Acqui .. e knowledge, It enables ils possessor to know right from wrong; it lights the wo)' to
heaven; it is our friend in the desert. our societ), in solitude, Our companion when friendless; it guides us to
happiness; it sustains us in miser)'; it i, an ornament among friends. ond an armour against enemies,. _
"he Prophet,
50
51
EDITORIAL
P ARAPSYCHICS AND TH E ENCROACHMENT OF TECHNOLOGY
Need it be reiterated that the pursuit of knowledge has always been along two quite separate paths which
are popularly called the scientific and the psychic. An intermediate land of the paranormal is recognized by
both; but, until recently, for the most part by the latter. They have further claimed for some time that they
are trying to approach their elusive subjects upon proper scientific lines, but this is all too often not so, and
the 'proof' they offer is seldom considered, or considered worthwhile, by scientists. Now, something quite
new has been added.
It has always been our contention that there is no such thing as the psychic. Either it is imaginary, or it
is susceptible to proper scientific and technological investigation that would prove it to be just as natural
and real as anything tangible, and thus to fit into both our logic and our current concept of reality. The key
word in the above sentence is technology. An astonishing and an as yet almost entirely unknown -to the
general public and even the average scientist- breakthrough has been achieved by these people without re
ference to either psychic or scientist, and with a somewhat delightful indifference to either of their opinions
or how many toes they tread on in both communities. The result has been the emergence of Parapsychics,
first in Russia.
This picture is, however, not nearly as clear and simple as that, and for several reasons. First and fore
most is that nobody seems ever to have looked up the term psychic in the dictionary and therefore universally
misapply it. The trouble is not so much that the word is mistaken but, to the exact contrary, because its true
limits are not known. The result has been that all manner of discoveries that have been made through purely
technological means have been happily classed as being of 'psychic' matters. The worst example is that of
so-called ESP, which is a gag-phrase that should be applied only and exclusively to extrasensory "perception-, but has become a popular term for an enormous spread of matters of which it, in its strict sense, is
only a rather minor part.
Extra-sensory perception is itself very badly named. What is really meant is reception by means other
than the some 30 senses that we now know we have. It totally ignores 'extra', or better, super-sensorY projection, without which there can be no reception. Further, a whole slew of related matters, mostly still
mysterious to us, and concerning not only us but all other animals, and now plants it appears, are on the
one hand either totally ignored by the psychics and mystics as a whole, or have been claimed by them when
there is nothing psychic whatsoever about them. All these matters, including so-called ESP, now "lie squarely in the realm of work-a-day practical science. So also do a legion of other matters that the psychics still
blithely claim just as if they had never been scientifically investigated and explained, like astrology,
pyramidology, and so forth. What is more, it is the technologists who have done the explaining.
n
To all such matters the designation Parapsychics (meaning para or like, what people otherwise call
psychic) should be applied. This is not to say that psychics should not continue to pursue such matters by
their own methods, but they are now well advised to find out first just what of their pet subjects have been
so explained scientifically; and, at the same time, see to it that anything promising that they might"stumble
across be immediately made known to the technologists working in that particular field. The longer they refrain from dOing these two things, tne more idiotic they look and the more suspect they become. That the
serious-minded astrologers -not the uneducated masses who have recently turned it into a paying religionshould waste their time and brains trying to prove their fossilized contentions that have now been proven to
be unprovable, is deplorable, especially w hen there is a most solid scientific bedrock for their basic contention; probably best laid out by Michel Gauquelin in his book The Scientific Basis of Astrology.
In reviewing a book most grossly misnamed Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain by Misses
Schroeder and Ostrander, we tried to make this point clear but, as the term Parapsychics only reached the
western world after this splendid book had gone to press, there was nothing to be done about it. The use of
the word 'psychic' in this title has done irreparable damage to the progress of science and general knowledge
in the many fields of enquiry which it describes. The book has (happily for the authors) had a very large
sale, but from knowing the authors and having heard what they went through last year on the lecture circuit
promoting it, it is very plain that all the good it has done is to confirm the psychics, mystics and the assorted nuts and screwballs who have crept in under their umbrella, that what they describe in their book is
'psychic'. Not one word of it is; it is all basically parapsychic, and concerns the technological proof that
the items covered are just as real and realistic as a bunch of rocks or a flock of geese.
Unfortunately both for those labouring sincerely in this vineyard of esoteric knowledge and for the public
at large the continued misuse of the term psychic will set all acceptance of the findings even of the tech-
-----~--------
52
nologists back years, perhaps centuries, because once the general public latches on to a catch-phrase -and
more parti"cula.rly if it is a misnomer: it would seem- they will never let go of it, and they will never bother
to read the facts or give up their drivelling misconceptions. This damnable term is every bit as bad as the
other popular fancies such as their persistence in calling the Yeti the "Abominable Snowman" when it is
neither a man, nor lives in the snow, and has no reason to be called abominable; "The Great se~ serpent"
which it is not and never has been described as; the "Bermuda Triangle" which is not a triang~e and has
nothing to do with Bermuda, other than that it pofnts roughly at those islands, while being an oblong shaped
something; and this most accursed of all terms "ESP" which for no reason at all has become a catch-all for a
vast uwge of individual though related stUdies having nothing to do with perception.
OUI' only hope for the future is that the technologists will continue to investigate these matters, tear them
apart on practical grounds, and publish their findings irregardless of the simperings of the non-tec~nological
psychi.cs, mystics, and all the rest of them. By this means the truth will be ever wider separated "from mere
beUef, and the believers come to look ever more ridiculous until even the general public gives them the horselaugh. Writers like Lynne Schroeder and Sheila Ostrander are going to be needed aplenty to explai~ the findings of the technologists in plain language, so that they can be compared with the babblings of the :psYChics.
Then, and then only perhaps, will the serious-minded psychical researchers drop their games and ddvote their
vif intellects to pushing back the frontiers of knowledge in this department by aiding the technologi.sts. They
had bE!tter, because the technologists are not gOing to stop now, nor are certain departments of sciencedom
and officialdom who are backing them and who are already perceiving the most useful possibilities coming
out of their searches and researches. Photographing a person's, an animal's, or a plant's aura i's already
proving rather useful; and the control of the two PKs -psychokinesis, meaning the ability to move objects at
a distance without touching them, and pyrokinesis, meaning to set things on fire at a distance- would change
a lot of things. More power to the technologists.
Ivan T. Sanderson.
UFOLOGY
OFF AND ON
Experiments (by whom or where not specified as
yet) al'e alleged to have discovered that the eye is a
differential organ, which can only see an image if it
is moving relative to the retina. It ensures this by a
continual irregular tremor at around 100 Hz. Further
remarkable experiments, in which this frequency is
optically detected and used to vibrate the scene
exactly in phase with the viewer's eyes, have also
allegedly been performed. This cancellation of the
tremour maintains the image exactly static on his
retina, and he cannot see it! But then, if a single
tunable frequency (say 51 Hz) be superimposed on top
of this continual servo-tracking movement, the world
immediately becomes visible again, for the optical
image is now oscillating at exactly 51 Hz over the
retina. If the experimentee looks at something at 50
Hz fmquency, the two frequencies will beat on his
retina at the same time. For one half cycle the image
will be out of phase with his retina and moving over
it, and for the other half cycle in phase and moving
with it; so he will see the scene or object appearing
and di sappearing once a second.
ESSENTIAL READING
The following article is reprinted with;permission
from the January/February 1972 issue of Flying
Saucer Review and is by Colin Bard. We do not know
whether the book he mentions, The ~ of Lateral
53
MORE SKY-LINES
Back in our January issue of last year (Vol. 4,
No.1) we reported a remarkable phenomenon that we
had investigated in the Caldwells, N. J., in the
previous summer. These were seemingly endless very
fine glistening lines or threads that appeared in the
sky running absolutely straight and taut for miles at
various angles to the horizontal ranging between about
30 to some 50 degrees of elevation. These lines ran
at different directions of the compass and showed no
pattern in their distribution. Two of them remained absolutely taut and stationary for up to a month through
54
SUB-SECTION UK"
55
Predictions
From Samuel Johnson: "If ever a man should travel at more than thirty miles an hour, the flesh would be
seared from his bones by the pressure of the air."
56
mid-.July 1963, still have not been identified, according to the Australian Ministry of Supply, Mr. Allen
Fairhall. Minister Fairhall stated that his inquiries
to the tJ .S. and U.S.S.R. space agencies have drawn
a blank. The first mystery ball, 12 lb. hollow sphere
14 inches in diameter, was discovered on April 8,
Hi63, in a desolate part of Bouilla Station, New
South Wales. Mr. J. McLure, who found it, said no
one else had been in the area for 50 years. Scientists
failed in their efforts to open the sphere with files
and hacksaws. On June 28, the second 'space ball'
fell, in New South Wales, 60 miles from t he first
location. This one weighed 18 lb. and was 16 inches
in diameter. It was made of the same puzzling inetal.
The third sphere fell on July 12, near Muloorina, in
South Australia. It was six inches in diameter and
had an opening in it. Earlier, Australian officials had
said the first sphere would be cut in half for scientific examination. To date, there have been no further
announcements.
"The highly technical work and cost required to
build such spheres seems to rule out any hoax answer.
Both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. have denied any connection. Even if the spheres were earth-made, all
threE! would hardly fall by accident in this one area.
To drop them there deliberately would require precise
re-entry by remote-control, also retro-firing jets,
which the spheres did not have.
"If they were extraterrestrial, some more advanced
control mechanism might be used. In this case, the
Australian Government may have found the answer and possibly a clue to their purpose - on openingthe
spheres. To the 'best of our knowledg~, Australian
officials have been silent as to what was:discovered."
Their silence has continued to date.
Three years ago there was a real flurr.y 1Il northern
Mexico. A peasant found one lying on th.e ground high
up a bare mountain slope and was sensible enough
not to touch it. He reported to the loc~ jefe of his
village who, knowing the Illan from birth,: went to look
at it. He did not touch it either, but reported it to his
local police superior who in turn repo~ted it up the
line. In due course, quite an assemblage of minor and
major "brass" turned up, and went to inspect the ball,
which was about a foot in diameter and iof a polished
bluish-white color. The Fe.ds picked it up and took it
down to the local village for a look. ;having run a
geiger counter over it and gotten a negative result.
There, the local citizenry crowded arou~d and one by
one started saying that they knew where there were
Illore such balls of varying sizes. Still higher-ups
were then called and the Americans arrived with
them! Three more balls were located over an area of
about 100 square miles. They were duly signed for
and sealed and whisked off to Mexico, I).F., and that
is the last that has been heard of that lot. r
Now comes another one, with a good photo at last.
It is under the byeline of one Ralph La~don, of whom
unfortunately we know nothing. Were It not for the
rather excellent photograph we would hive been most
reluctant to publish this as it comes from the "atrocity" newspaper called Midnight (of 7 Aug. 1972) in
which we have found, over the years, some stories
that are not only censurable but very I).early actionable. Nonetheless, it goes as follows: _.
"Scientists in New Zealand are baffled by a heavy
metal ball that appeared in a field one day recently and some of them believe it may have 'fallen from a
flying saucer! The object landed in a: field not far
from the town of Ashburton, and at the moment no one
can say where it came from, or what it'.s made of. 'It
must have fallen from a great height,' isaid Sergeant
J. R. Wheeler, of the Ashburton police force, who recovered the b all. 'There were no footp:rints or other
marks of any kind around the ball, and;it had buried
itself six inches into the ground - which was hard
because of a recefl~ drought.' The ball: is 16 inches
in d~ameter, weighs 13 and a quarter ppunds, and is
haH an inch thick. Expert metallurgists were unable
to identify the metal, or metals, fro"! which it is
made-but it had obviously been througq some drastic
abuse. 'One end has a jagged, irregtilar, burnt-out
hole about six inches by three inches,' commented
one police lab technician. 'Around the hole the metal
has been flung back as though subject~d to immense
57
V. ASTRONOMY
WHERE DOES THE IRON GO?
For decades group after group and corporation
after corporation, mostly led by one Mr. Barringer,
probed what used to be called the great Arizona
meteor crater - it was finally named after this
gentleman - in the belief that there was a great hunk
of iron that had caused the crater buried beneath. The
crater looks as if the meteor had come in vertically
but prolonged field work seemed to show that it had
come in at a slight angle so that the iron would be
outside the rim to one side. Drilling there, some iron
was found but not the real mass. They eventually
gave up and it became a tourist attraction.
Then in the late thirties, none other than the late
Willy Ley, originally a palaeontologist but turned
rocket expert, came up with a theory. This was simply
to the effect that a body the size of that which made
th e crater, landing on earth constituted virtually .. an
58
VI. GEOLOGY
59
so famous, but for this Mrs. Cora King who is, after
all, a government employee as well as a llfetime
resident of the area. Mr. Hillinger then goes on: "In the past twenty years there have been scores
of reports of flying saucers taking off and landing
from the desert. Many nearby ranchers and a few
monument employees swear they have seen strange
object.s hovering overhead, landing and taking off
from the great sand dune s.
"Until recent years, a. herd of web-footed wild
horses reportedly roamed the sand hills, feeding on
wild grass and flowers that survive near water holes
hidden deep between ridges. 'My husband and other
ranchers around here have rounded up the wild horses
from time to time', said Mrs. Cora King, 60, an
employee of the monument and lifelong resident of
the area. 'The horses got lost in the dunes or wandered in and never got out. In time they became webfooted - their hooves got big and thick from running
over the soft sand.'"
This one I don't get despite Mrs. King's description. I suppose she means "splayed"; while a
horse's hooves could hardly be thicker than they are
to start with. We will have to write to Mrs. King and
ask for a photograph if she has one.
Despite the spin-off oddities, it is the sand dunes
themselves that are the least explained. They are of
an extraordinary, very slightly rosy, shade of brown
and, while mineralogically of the constitution of
certain rocks on that side of the valley, the color
appears to have been a secondary aquisition due to
atmospheric wee,thering.
"Monkeyshine
~ ..
From the San Antonio (Texas) Express of 19 May 1972; with thanks to member No. 582: "Port Arthur (AP)Port Arthur policeman Dave Smith said he spotted a young man sitting in a tree early Thursday morning.
Smith stopped and asked the man, 'What's your name?' The officer said the man replied 'Tarzan'. Smith said
he then asked, 'If you are Tarzan, where's Jane?' The officer said that from higher up in the tree a young
woman stuck out her head and said, 'I'm Jane'. Then Smith asked, 'Well, if you're Jane, where's Cheeta?'
The officer said the girl disappeared into the foliage but reappeared a moment later with a chimpanzee. Smith
told his superiors he did nothing about the incident. He said he knew of no law which forbids people -or
chimpanzees- from sitting in a tree."
------------.--------------.-
60
VII. BIOLOGY
250-MILLION
61, :
<; ,
"
Jaw. There would also appear to be a pair of blowholes pointing almost forwards from the domed
cranium. No eye can be, discerned. unless they are
small a~d lie to' either side of the dual blowhole and
look forward; but there is a distinct small ear-pinna
not unlike those o'f some Pinnipede mammals such as
'
the Sea-Lions.
This is a curious combination of characteristics.
The general s,hape of the head can only be matched
by rec'0I1structions of some of the long-necked. so called Duck-i?illed Dinosaurs. which apparently had blowholes or r ather their nostrils on t he tops of their
heads. Howev:er. if there had been no neck and the
head from mid-crani'um back had just flowed into the
bo~y with in'c'reasing diameter moving backwards like
all whales. the head could possibly look like Ol)e of
the Strap-too~hed Whales (Xiphiidae). The head does
not look like a sealion or any other kind of Pinnipede
in any way. The result of all of this is that. for the
first time. it is our considered opinion that this
creature is an enormous marine Reptile. We had
al ways 'expected both the marine and t he freshwater
Longnecks to turn out to be long-necked Seals. Any
such, nO,tion in t~is case would seem to be finally
ruled out by the statement that this monster had a
62
SELF-BEACHING CETACEANS
Funny that, after all these years and all the effort
put into it, kind-hearted people and government
employees spend so much time towing V81ious kinds
of small cetaceans (i.e. whales, dolphins, porpoises,
et al) back into deep water w hen they have deliberately beaehed themselves. These are mostly so-called
Blackfish - a kind of giant dolphin named Globiocephal~ mel~ - but, from time to time includes all
sorts of other smaller cetaceans. All, however, are
gregarious; be it noted.
About 15 years ago, one of the best marine biologists we've got, N. V. "Craig" Phillips, who planned
the Seaquarium in Miami, and is now with the Federal
government, pointed out something so basically
simple about this so-called "phenomenon- that one
wonders how anybody, unless they wish to make a
fast buck out of an old myth, dare even bring it up
again.
All cetaceans are mammals and appear to have
evolved from land animals, and gone back into the
sea. They breathe air and, although some of them
can stay below for a very long time, they all eventually haVE! to surface. Now cetaceans are subject to a
whole host of diseases, and, curiously, one that
appears to be very prevalent is bronchitis! If any
lung infection is infectious and becomes epidemic in
a herd, these animals experience almost insuperable
difficulties in both diving to hunt food and rech81ging
their air supply, which is hyper-oxygenated. Their
instinct; leads them to the only place where they can
get relief in the latter; this is to the ne81est shallow
water where they can rest their bulk and keep their
heads out of water for prolonged periods. It would
appear that among the Blackfish especially, each
pack 01' herd has a, or some, leaders and when they
are hit by some such affliction they head for shore
and thE! rest follow. Thus, some of the lot may just
be beaehed but quite healthy and, if towed into deep
water may survive, but most come back ashore again
in', short order. In a recent case in Florida a couple
survived in the Aquatarium in St. Petersburg. Several
others died within a few days.
Suggestions of "mass suicide- are ridiculous; and
the not.ion that their direction-finding sonar went on
th'e blink, does not seem to be valid even if they all
have the same ear infection at the same time; but we
63
SUB"SECTION EXOBIOLOGY
"""""""""'I~. """""""".---"~.-""
~"
64
But, just what is known of the chemical composition of Jupiter from which Dr. Pommamperuna has
worked? The simplest way to display this is as in
the accompanying diagram. This is a wedge from the
top of the planet's uppermost cloud layer, but not
necessarily its atmosphere to its center.
Thus, it might seem possible that life-forms have
evolved on this planet, or might be evolving thereupon; and possibly even along our lines. What is so
nutty about this suggestion? But, as with the Moon
and Mars, perhaps it would be better to wait :.Jnti! we
get there. Do you remember those people who suggested that t he Moon was covered with a 40o-ft tall
forest? Then, there were those cannali on. Mars! But
cautious speculation never did anybody :any harm;
and, without it, we'd still be chasing and skinning
deer.
'
THE MESSAGE
A very thought-provoking little piece appeared in
column 'Ariadne'in too March 9th issue Of the New
Scientist. It went:
"It has struck me that there is an (apparent) return
to primitivism in the search for other civilizations in
outer space. The little plaque carried by Pioneer 10,
for all its elaboration of mathematical logic, must
remind us of votive tablets scattered around by the
ancients. There is something strangely touching about
the Adam and Eve figures, forbearing to hold hands
lest the little green men out there mistake them for a
single organism. 'A hopeful symbol of a vigorous
civilization on Earth' is how the plaque looks to its
designers. It might also be seen as a me,ssage in a
bottle cast from spaceship Earth. Is it some sort of
boast ('See, we have only 10 fingers but we can
count beyond that') or a greeting? It do~s not look
like a threat, but who knows how it migh~ be taken.
Perhaps it is a symptom of a new post-rel~gious form
of worship, like those cargo-cults. Only we seek en"
lightenment rather than material help. It reminds me
of Ray Bradbury's allegory of the sp~cegeneral
buzzing from planet to planet seeking, with mounting
fury, the strange individual who alwa,ys seems to
have just moved on. And what will the ra~io astronomers make of the reply from space (']\.~essage received'). Will they simply sit on it embarrassedly as
they did with first pulsar signals, for fear. of looking
foolish? Even if nothing happens, there will be those
who will insist that a vital communication has in
fact been received and, of course, is being hushed up
by authority,"
.
10
Ammonia Crystals
Ammonia Droplets
Total Radius to
Here 1
Ammonia Vapour
Ice (H 20) Crystals
Water Droplets
Water Vapour
Atmosphere
~xpandec!J
0.94 of radius
Liquid Hydrogen
Liquisphere
Metallic Hydrogen
Lithosphere
RADIUS OF JUPITER
As seen by oPtical telescopes
i.e. to the outer
cloud limit - No. 10 = 44,350 miles
65
66
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY,
At !L famous university. a sign was placed above the cloakroom hooks: FOR FACULTY MEMBE~S ONLY!
Underneath, someone had scribbled: MAY ALSO BE USED FOR HATS AND COATS.
67
68
the Indians alone offer us concrete written information on power sources for them. The Near Eastern
items would appear to be gliders or Sail-planes,
though one Roman blandly states that he made his
model "fly by compressed air". (Who, I ask, was compressing air in 200 A. D.?) The South American types
probably would not fly without power, but we are
having: copies of these tested in a NASA wind tunnel
becauBe, if they can do so, we will have one of the
greatest breakthroughs in aerodynamics yet. The
Ancient Egyptian item is the most exciting and confusing of all because, while it has the conformity of
a glider, its fuselage looks more like a heavy-lift
cargo plane we now have on the drawing boards but
which is still full of bugs. (Incidentally, we will be
writing UP this amazing discovery in our next issue,
with photographs and scale drawings. We are being
assisted by both the Egyptologists and the aerodynamIc engineers on this one.)
However, here we are more interested in the
"engines" that are alleged to have activated thef?e
aerial machines. In Science for the 3rd January 1969,
two scientists, Gerald Schubert and J. A. Whitehead,
described a remarkable discovery that they had made
about heating mercury. On filling a wide, shallow,
circulllr dish of mercury and then revolving a naked
flame around and around under said dish, they observed that the mercury began to revolve in a contrary dirllction and with increasing velocity. So far we
have been unable to find anything further published
NOTICE
Members are asked once again please to notify us of any change of address. We have 'lost' a number of
membl~rs who have moved and left no forwarding address.
AlBO once again, should you wish to visit our HQ to consult the files, please call in advance. If you have
difficulty reaching us or get a recording stating that "the number- you are calling is no longer in service" or
some other such idiocy, get the operator in Belvidere, New Jersey. Barring disruption of service by lightning
strikes or other disasters, the exchange in Belvidere will put you through. And there is always som'eone here.
In fact, for a number of reasons, we must insist upon definite appointments being made well in advance,
and particularly if members wish to consult Ivan Sanderson personally.
The Library is temporarily closed, but visitors will be received in the Sandersons' home, and, what they
need to read will be fetched for them for perusal in the office in what we call the Old House. AJ!so, due to
other circumstances, we cannot for now entertain any visitors or put them up overnight as before. (There are
ample facilities within short driving distance and at a wide range of prices.)
69
CURRENT PURSUITS
MEMBERS' FORUM
We are pleased to report that a complete reclassification of our clipping files for greatest efficiency
is underway. This job will take time but is one that
we mnsider to be of the utmost importance.
We are delighted to announce that one of our
members has volunteered to work on Charles Fort's
papers. Details are still to be worked out, so keep
your fingers crossed that nothing forte an happens
this time.
Member No. 966 notes that University Microfilms,
300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106,
claims that they will find and microfilm or Xerox any
out-of-print book. Either method can be expensive,
and microfilm-readers are not yet a standard piece of
household equipment, which makes that type of reproduction unsuitable for most people.
Member No. 922 wtsbes fD contact other members
specifically interested In ufology.
We will appreciate it it our members will let us
know the call letters, address, and telephone number
of any local radio stations that have "talk shows"
done by telephone -called "beepers"- and the name
of the MC. Armed with such a list, Ivan Sanderson
can entertain and instruct yOU while sitting in the
comfort of his own home.
70
BOOK REVIEWS
by Marion L. Fawcett
J. Allen Hynek.
At last a book on UFOs that is worth reading, by just about the one man who does, or should, know what
he is talking about - and on, two counts. First, he is a working scientist, properly trained in: scientific
methodology; second, he actually worked on this bizarre problem for just over twenty years as a trained
scientist for the USAF as a consultant on this dreary business.
My colleague, Marion Fawcett, reviews the book per se below. As she says, reviews of this book have
been literally pouring out and most of them are very long for any review. This is good; but I have ;noted that
the ni.t-pickers have started in already, and mostly among the "buffs" and the lunatic fringe. Dr. Hynek's
simplE!, straightforward text seems to have infuriated some of them. Small wonder, because most of them are
not only "nuts" but almost all of them are totally uneducated.
To get a true grip on this r ather terrifying subject, investigators or interpreters must have ;scientific
training and some real knowledge of what facts about the subject are known. Dr. Hynek has both; so, as of
now, it is quite useless to argue, or even debate with him unless you have similar qualifications, and of
equal standing. Speculation is perfectly permissable but, in a matter such as this, please to be very careful
that your suggestions be in accord with this true expert's summations.
'
We have not got the answer to the so-called UFO mystery and it is possible that we never will; but, as
Dr. Hynek says, there just might be a 21st, and even a 22nd century 'science', if we don't blow our~elves up
in the meantime. Who knows now what we might or might not know then? This reviewer has his own theories.
hypotheses, and conceptions, which he has published but which he would not deign even to mention in any
bracket with this scholarly work. What a terrific job it must have been to write - and quite apart fr9m all the
damnfool politics and the buffoonery displayed by things like the Condon Committee.
Read this book and try to get some of the real facts.
I.T.S.
Dr. Hynek's book has been reviewed at really rather extraordinary length in a number of magazines and
journals. It certainly is an important book and may prove to be the landmark in the history of ufo:logy since
it may lead the scientific establishment finally to take an active part in both research and search in this field.
It is Ii book written by a scientist for other scientists, and to be frank, the non-scientist reader will probably
find parts I and II rather heavy going. Part III, "Where Do We Go From Here?", deals with past, p~esent, and
(hopefully) future 'official' investigation of ufological phenomena, and is in part rather fun. Dr. Hynek was,
of course, for many years associated with the Air Force Project Blue Book; he does not spare the :Air Force,
nor does he spare the ill-fated Condon Committee. In fact, some of his revelations about both are triuly shocking. E:. g. in re the Condon Committee:
"I remember my own dismay w hen, on the occasion of my visit to the committee, when
~he
project wa"s
scarcl~ly two week s old, Low [of the famous memo] outlined on the blackboard for us the form: the report
would take, what the probable chapter headings would be, how much space should be devoted to each chapter,
with an implied attitude that he had decided already what the substance and tone of the report!would be."
Part I is concernea wan wnat may be called definitions and guidelines. And herein lies one of the best
features of Dr. Hynek's book: he eliminated all the cases which have been explained before starti~g to compile statistics - hence, his statistics and analYses concern only those cases which have defied explanatlOli.
Also, in this section. he disposes of the common misconceptions held by the anti-ufo logy crowd - that UFOs
71
are reported only by nuts and screwballs or "uneducated" people (he points out, rightly, that "uneducated"
doesn't necessarily mean stupid, and further notes that air crash investigators have found that the best
witnesses are teenaged boys). He then presents his own method of analysing those cases he has accepted as
unexplained. He uses two basic criteria - strangeness and probability, each with a 'range' from 1 to 10.
strangeness is fairly e"asy to gauge; for probability he frankly uses a betting system, i.e. what are the odds
that what this chap reports really happened exactly as he says it did. Dr. Hynek admits that it is very difficult to assign probability ratings because of the many factors involved, but concludes that they are a very
useful tool.
Part II is entitled "The Data and the Problem". Herein he breaks UFO reports down into six categories
nocturnal lights, daylight discs (i.e. UFOs seen in the daytime), radar-visual UFO reports, and close encounters of three types ('sightings' at fairly close range; encounters which produce physical effects; and
'occupant' cases). Each of these is discussed at some length, always supported by case histories, the latter
chosen almost exclusively from those in which there were at least two witnesses. Old hands in the ufology
field will probably want to 'skim' Uiese, concentrating on Dr. Hynek's summaries of the various types and
and his suggestions on investigative techniques. It is noteworthy that these were rarely used by Project
Bluebook even after desperate urging by Dr. Hynek (he reports that a wag once dubbed Bluebook the "SoCiety
for the Explanation of the Uninvestigated!).
There are fo"ur appendices, two of considerable historical interest and importance -Dr. Hynek's letter to
Bluebook in response to their request for his advice on how to improve on the work they were doing (never
heeded), and Mary Louise Armstrong's letter of resignation to Dr. Condon.
It is perhaps regrettable that Dr. Hynek does not indulge any speculation on what UFOs might"be or where
they may come from; however, because proof of the nature of UFOs is completely lacking, such speculations
might well have weakened the impact of his book on his fellow scientists. As he points out, "It is likely
that many scientists would have given serious consideration and effort to the UFO problem had they been
properly apprised of its content". I hope very much that all scientists will read Dr. Hynek's book; should
they do so, they will find themselves properly apprised.I hope also that all those actively investigating UFO
reports will read it too, and take to heart the solid advice given therein. A coalition of scientists and laymen may crack this very tough nut. Quoting Dr. Hynek, "When the long awaited solution to the UFO problem
comes, I believe that it will prove to be not merely the next small step in the march of science but a mighty
and totally unexpected quantum jump."
Brad Steiger. Strange Disappearances. New York: Lancer Books. 1972 95ct
This is one of Brad Steiger's rather better efforts, and though many of the cases he relates will be familiar
to constant readers of Flying Saucer Review and other fortean publications, they are at least now gathered
into one place. Unfortunately, there is no index which makes it exceedingly difficult to use it as a source
book; and the references are spotty (one hopes that a reference to the October 1964 issue of Pursuit will be
corrected in future printings, if anY; it should be 1969).
The title of the book is somewhat misleading since 'appearances' and some 're-appearances' are also included, .together with a few extraneous bits and pieces. It is primarily what we call a "seed catalogue"
despite periodic murmurings about holes in time and/or space, through which things (including people) may
drop into or out of other space-time continua (called "dimensions" by Brad Steiger). Also, there are some
errors, e.g. the photograph of a little "space man" taken by Ronnie Hill (P. 91) was subsequently proved to be
a hoax; and it is not true that there were "no signs of violence" aboard the Joyita. In fact, brief though Mr.
Steiger's account of the Joyita is, it contains some rather astonishing statements. He reports that in 1959
(four years after she was found abandoned) a wine bottle cOlJtaining a messag~ "signed by the steward of the
Joyita" washed up on the coast of Australia. The message js alleged to have read: "Abandoning ship. Strange
circular metallic object forcing us aboard it. Help us." We have never heard of this before and, apart from the
fact that no source is given for the story, we cannot think of a more inappropriate and just plain silly way to
send for help in those circumstances than to toss a message overboard in a bottle! Also, there was no
.steward" aboard (see Vincent Gaddis' book Invisible Horizons). Further, the Joyita was not found "north of
Samoa" but west-southwest of Samoa, about ninety miles from the Fiji Islands.
The book is rather fun and provides food for thought, but not a great deal of thought per se! And, in view
of such errors as noted above, the reader should approach it with considerable caution. The errors listed here
are not the only ones in this book, but we do not have time or space enough to detail them all.
72
Sibley S. Morrill. Ambrose Bierce, E. ~. Mitchell-Hedges and the Crystal Skull. San Francisco: Cadleon
Press. 1972. $3.95. (Address: P. O. Box 24, San Francisco, Calif. 94101)
Some time ago Mr. Morrill sent me the manuscript of this book with a request for any comments or suggestions that I might have. He is candid now in saying that "your criticism about there being two qooks in it
still stands" -though I agree with him that he has smoothed the transition between the two to a co~siderable
extent.
The first portion of the book, and to me the most interesting part, deals with a most remarkable 'jewel',
a lifesize crystal skull (human) with a detachable lower jaw, somehow and somewhere acquired by the big
game :fisherman and "explorer" Mitchell-Hedges; and a similar crystal skull, but without a detachable jaw,
known as the" Aztec" skull and owned by the British Museum. The" Aztec" skull is undoubtedly, :according
to the! evidence -both physical and 'cultural' - accumulated by Mr. Morrill, a later copy of the IMitchellHedges slmll. Both are beautifully fashioned and, with one curious and most important exception, anatomically correct, so much so that an expert at the British Museum noted that "such realism ... gives the: skull the
character almost of an anatomical study in a scientific age". The exception isthe complete lack,of suture
marks on the cranium. Adding these would have been child's play compared with the work that weqt into the
teeth alIi jaw, and particularly the very extraordinary eye sockets in the Mitchell-Hedges skull; and Mr.
Morrill. presents an entirely convincing explanation for this 'oversight'. He concludes that the, MitcheUHedges skull was the archetype for the figure 10 in the Mayan head-variant system of numeration but was
also used by the priests in uttering oraeles and influencing people and events. There is evidence in the skull
itself that this last was done and that this produced permanent changes in the crystalline struct~re of the
right eye socket, wherein images may be seen and photographed (alas, Mr. Morrill does not incl~de one of
these) -a truncated pyramid, a domed edifice resembling the observatory at Chichen Itza, and a riumber of
little skulls. No such images are found in the left eye socket or anywhere else on the skull. To attribute them
to coincidence is stretching that overworked explanation much too far.
There is considerably more to the story of the skulls, and Mr. Morrill makes a pretty fair case for their
having been the cause of the downfall of the Mayan nation, and this on purely practical grounds - not
'psychic' ones. He does not, and I think Wisely, deal with the sporadic accounts (usually of doub~furorigin
and validity) of persons having dropped dead or suffered other misfortunes after laughing at or otherwise
scorning the skull. On the other hand, I should like to put on record one of Mr. Morrill's experiences with the
skull, since this is not included in the book. This was contained in a letter dated the 5th February, 1972:
"Ei.ght of us were seated in a semicircle before the skull. The only light was that from a bulb in a box
beneath the skull, channeled up through the eye sockets and facial areas. A nutty psychic was holding forth.
I was utterly bored, seated at the extreme right. As I lit a cigarette and glanced back at the s~ull, I was
astounded to see that the left side of the face was darkening from below. I said nothing and watche(,i intently.
The darkening area sPread upward about the mouth line extension. The forehead, too, began to dar~en downward. I looked casually around to see if anyone else noticed it. Jose Feola, a physicist and one of the most
careful thinkers I know, was seated beside me and was staring bug-eyed at the skull. One other man was'
also staring at it. The rest had their eyes glued on the speaker. From then on I divided my attentio~ between
the skull and the group. The three of us later agreed that better ilian 40% of the facial area had d!j.rkened at
the maximum point. The process lasted better than five minutes, less than ten, and the darkened a:reas :were
still there, as I recall, when the 'seance' ended and the lights went on. The others, who gave no evidence of
having noticed it during the seance, later claimed they saw it all along."
Going on now to "book two", Sibley Morrill presents evidence that the disappearance of Ambrose Bierce
was intimately connected with the reappearance of the skull, and that Bierce and Mitchell-Heqges -who
never revealed where, when, or how he found the skull- were in fact sent to Mexico by their respective
governments as intelligence agents. The careers of the two men are traced, wii.h particular emphasis on the
year preceding their travels into Mexico to join Villa; and the events following Bierce's disappell:l"ance are
given careful scrutiny. Morrill is not so rash as to claim that he has proved anything, but his theory is
certainly plausible and deserves serious consideration. Also, the spot picked by Mr. Morrill as ~he actual
site of Bierce's disappearance -there is no proof of this, but it is true that it would have attracted Bierceis notorious for disappearances. It is called the "Yalbac Triangle". I leave the reader to draw his own
parallE!ls.
Thl~ author is guilty of occasional infelicities of style, but these do not really mar the book an:d, even if
you are tired of reading about Bierce, you will find the material on the crystal skull most interesting.
,.........I._..............~'.....,.............-- .........-........-.......
GOVERNING BOARD
Hans stefan Santesson
Edgar O. Schoenenberger
Ivan T. Sanderson
Allen V. Noe
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Thelma K. Yohe
Daniel F. Manning
Adolph L. Heuer, Jr.
ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
Director
Deputy Director
Executive Secretary
Assistant Director for Communications Media
Assistant Director for Science & Technology
Ivan T. Sanderson
Edgar O. Schoenenberger
Marion L. Fawcett
Walter J. McGraw
Robert .C. Warth
201-689-0194
r-
OCTOBER, 1972
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees, in accordance with
the laws ofthe state of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board.
consisting of the five Trustees. and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board. listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally. our Society is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists. as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Societ~r is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is U.S. $10. which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year. as well as access to the Society's library and files. through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $5. including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The society contracts-- with individuals, and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the Society.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion. as yet, of additional living quarters.
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members .are welcome to visit to consult our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who.
as a result of the simple lack of facilities. as 'li now. cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any s~rvices whatsoever to non-members. Further. the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views. and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print m83' be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July. 1965. until the end of March 1968. the Society issued only
a newsletter, on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were, however. entitled PURSUIT-vol. 1. No.3 and No.4. dated June and september. 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2. No. 1. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January, April. July. and October. Back issues, some
available only as Xerox copies. are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an or~er form.
PURSUIT
Vol. 5. No. 4
October. 1972
CONTENTS
The Taxonomy of Knowledge
Editorial: A Fifth Force
Ufology:
Outside Interference with Human Vision
Olaos & Confusion
Ice Falls
The KLEE-TV Case Again
Ontology
An Alternative to Time Anomalies
Chemistry
A Natural Nuclear Reaction
Astronomy
The Great Galactic Ghoul
Geology
That -Diamond B Crystal
Biology
A New Mammal Discovered
A New Lake Monster
The Improperly Classified Marine Animal
Penguins and the Chill Effect
More Drivel About Frozen Manmoths
Eels Out of Faucets
That Frogl
The Paraguayan Monster
What the Human Being of the Future Will Look Like, by Edward B. Camlin
Anthropology
The Little Wooden Airplane
Giant 'Abo' of 6000 Years Ago
Skullduggery, Scientific Style
The Mystery Pits of Olduvai
The Mysterious Walls of the Berkeley and Oakland Hills, by
Sibley S. Morrill
Department of Loose Ends
Members' Forum
Book Re-rlews
Index for 1972
74
75
76
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
82
83
83
84
85
85
86
87
88
89
89
90
90
93
94
94
99
--
---~~ -------.-----~---------
THE TAXONOMY OF
THE
KNOWLEDGE
GEOLOGY
TANGIBLES
VI
EARTH SCIENCES
E.holog y and
Ecology,
MATTER
A.tomlCS, Molecular
Ch.m,~tr)'r Crystallography.
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
TECHNOLOGY AND
PERFORMANCE
Theor.tical Physics. Nucleonlcl,
Cla ... col Phy.ic Electric
E l.e'romalne'lcl, Mogn.hcl,
Mechanics.
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
Culrural Anthropology ond
E .hnalogy (Archaeology os a
tee hnlque). Pre-Hi story.
MENTAL CONCEPTS
Log.c and Epos'emalagy;
Psychology. Eth.cs and Au.
'h.t.c~. Compara'ive Int.lligenc_,
Po,aPlych.cs.
MEASUREMENT
Number. Quon'I')'.
Arithmetic. Algebra.
Ceome,ry. Trlgonom.,,'1.
Calculus. Topology. Theory
Games, Probobi lI.y, Co ..
InCidence.
0'
THE
UITANGIBLES
MATHEMATICS
Eyerything in existence r including -existence- itself r and thus all of our pc>ssible concepts and all knowledge
that we possess or will eyer possess, is contained within this wheel. Technologies and the useful arts lie"
within the inner circle, haying access to any or all of the ten malar departments of organized knowledge.
,I: om the KORAN: -Acqui .. e knowledge. It enables its possessor to know right from wrong; it lights the way to
heayen; it is our friend in the desert, our sociely in solitude, our companion when friendless; it guides us to'
happinrns; it sustains us in miserYi it is an ornament among friends, and on armour ogoins. enemles.- _
The Prophet.
74
75
EDITORIAL
A FIFTH FORCE
Physicists recognize. work with. and obtain consistently reliable results using the four basic field forces
-the electromagnetic. the gravitational. the weak nuclear. and the strong nuclear- that have been demonstrated. It is now clear. and beyond a shadow of doubt. that there is at least one more force that. it now appears.
is susceptible to analysis. and the effects of which have in the past decade been demonstrated to be repeatable.
This is really all rather funny because orthodox physics has not only sneered at this but until recently
absolutely refused to even recognize it. Moreover. they damned it as being what they erroneously call psychic.
which means to them baloney. Now. as we pointed out in our last editorial. the technologists. and mostly in
the electromagnetic field. have forced them to take cognisance of at least some of the reproducible effects.
having demonstrated that these cannot be explained by any known aspects of the four known force fields.
Experiments that have now demonstrated the existence of this force have. however. unfortunately been recorded in a most haphazard manner. while no organized attempt seems so far to have been mounted to investigate
the properties of this force or define its parameters.
Further. that which the technicians have brought to light has been blithely relegated to. of all departments. the psychic. This has worse compounded the issue in that nobody seems to know the difference between true psychical research based on. or at least purportedly attempting to be prosecuted along. truly
scientific principles. and all those studies that are lumped together under the erroneous title of ESP -which
is only a minor division of the biological field of studies in the super- sensory proclivities of humans and
other animals and plants -on the one hand; and the seething mass of pseudo- or non-scientific rubbish
otherwise encompassed by the modern conception of what is called the Occult.
This fifth force is certainly involved in various aspects of SSP (meaning Super-Sensory Proclivities). and
it would now seem to be the major force operative in the true psychic field and possibly the only one acting
therein. Its manifestations are in no way affected by any of the other known forces; and. while doubtless
universal in nature. it can be Observed. measured. and investigated only in the biological field. The presence
of a living thing is necessary to bring it to light. Although we have not yet defined it or its parameters. it
has now been demonstrated that it. and it alone. can explain a whole raft of what were previously thought to
to be mysteries or pure imagination. such as mental telepathy. SSP (super-sensory projection) and SSR
(super-sensory reception). the two PKs -Psychokinesis and Pyrokinesis. and possibly the whole group of
things clustering around clairvoyance. It would explain all that has puzzled the psychologists about things
like the so-called subconscious. hypnotism. and the like.
It has long been manifest that people like Peter Hurkos' unimpaired abilities to perform when in a
Faraday screen long ago showed that he is not running along electromagnetic lines as it were. Now. Jan
Merta's incredible demonstrations on demand of PK. in Canada. prove without a shadow of doubt that the
human brain. while indeed developing alpha and other electromagnetic waves. broadcasts in thi's fifth field
as well. Cleve Baxter has demonstrated the same for plants and of a much more 'powerful' nature than that
displayed among animals. But the list could go on and on. Is it not time that we stopped just ignoring all
these things. or blithely relegating them to that vague field of the psychic. and got the technicians to work.
trying to define the nature of this force and. by both theory and experimentation. give us a set of laws for
it such as govern the other four forces. There is ample published material to get started on. so that at least
a basic pattern might be assembled almost immediately. There is then the matter of seeking its parameters
and fitting new observations into this pattern. rejecting them. or altering the pattern.
Our concept of the electromagnetic spectrum was built up this way starting with such humble beginnings
as Faraday's work with electrics and Gauss' with magnetism. This has been linked to the two nuclear forces
and it looks like the lot will soon be united with gravity as Einstein opined it must eventually be. This
fifth force. which I think should be called the Biologic. is probably linked to the others also but we have to
define it first and then test it against them. SO far the most promising field seemed to be the electromagnetic
but now. time and time agai"n. it has been proved to have nothing to do with the creation of this fifth force
field and it does not seem to be able to counteract or otherwise affect it. Currently the most suspect area is
that of sonics which are being shown to display an increasing number of surpr ises. Actually this means
Resonance other than that which can be demonstrated to be due to electromagnetic interference.
Let us hope that some properly established outfit with proper scientific facilities and accountrements
will drop the individual experimentation and get one with such an overall investigation. definition. and
description of this fifth force.
Ivan T. Sanderson
76
UFO LOGY
OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE WITH HUMAN VISION
In our last issue (p. 52) we reported briefly on
some astonishing discoveries made on the incessant
vibrations of the human (and presumably those of
other animals') eyeballs. This showed that" only
rather slight electromagnetic or sonic interference
from outside, if deliberately applied at a very specific
frequency, caused volunteer experimenters "not to
see"; and we went on to suggest that this might be
one of the methods employed by the operators of those
UFOs that are material constructions.
Our member, Bob Durant, who seems to be becoming our leading light in analysing the technical
aspects reported of UFOs, writes anent this item as
follows:
"The article in Pursuit (P. 52) presents a hypothesis that could account for purely visual anomalies,
but it seems a bit much to expect the vibrations to
operate on mechanical devices such as auto engines
which are not frequency-sensitive in the same sense
that the eyeball is. However, if the vibrations are
basically of an electromagnetic nature, and thus give
rise to powerful alternations in the ionization of the
surrounding atmosphere, one might get both the physical vibrations necessary to accomplish the eyeball
vibration and induced electrical/magnetic forces as
WE!Il. All of this is consistent with known laws of
physics. The brain can be affected in such a specific
way by electrostatic fields.
Another thought on this: A strong EM field probaly can gi ve rise to visual hallucinations and disable
electrical/mechanical equipment. But I have yet to
see the explanation for the restarting of auto engines.
Stopping an engine is a simple matter - cut off the
ignition. But starting is something altogether different in that it takes a force to rotate the crankshaft.
Simply restoring the ignition will do nothing. This
brings us back to time anomalies. If the UFOs use
II
ICE FALLS
We insert this only because, although from a leading newspaper, it may have been missed by our
"collectors". And this is as good a time as any to
bring up that matter.
From the Los Angeles Times, 24 May, 1972:
"Building Damaged by Ice 'Bomb': A chunk of ice
weighing between 30 and 50 pounds fell from the sky
and ripped through the roof of a downtown Riverside
law office building and landed on" a third floor hallway. No one was injured but damage to the building
77
Notice to Librarians
If you are interested in microfilm or microfiche editions of Pursuit. please see the notice under Members'
Forum for further details.
................................................,...............,....
78
II. ONTOLOGY
a~d
we give his
79
IV. CHEMISTRY
---
---,------
80
V. ASTRONOMY
Believe it or not, you can eliminate most of the junk mail you receive; not all of it -and for pornographic
mail, ask your local post office for form No.220 1 ("the form fOl getting off sexually-oriented: advertising
lists"). As for ordinary junk mail, write to Miss Lynn Lee, Director of Consumer Relations,. Direct Mail
Advertising Association, Inc., 230 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017. She will send you,information
on their service, together with the necessary forms. There is no cost to you except for the posta;ge required
to request the form and return it to her.
81
are wondering if it might not be a zone of time anomaly like the 12 areas on the surface of our earth ex amplified by the misnamed "Bermuda Triangle" but on a much grander scale. Sometimes planes disappear completely; in other cases they seem to skirt
these areas and come out with all their inboard instruments functioning again but at a wrong time.
The two phenomena are strangely comparable.
VI. GEOLOGY
Ivan T. Sanderson
Please, once again, let us know of any change of address as far in advance as you can. Third class mail
is not forwardable Llnless you make a special request of the post office. If it is returned to us, the Iocal
post office sometimes indicates your new address, but not always -in which case it becomes impossible to
get Pursuit to you until you get around to giving us your new address. And always include your zip code;
Pursuit does not go through without it. We have a zip code directory, but it does not give a complete breakdown of codes within major cities. Thank you.
82
VII. BIOLOGY
A NEW MAMMAL DISCOVERED
There is a rather constant murmuring among the
sciemtific fraternity that 't,he discovery of any new
large animals is "impos!ijble". Nonetheless, and
though we are somewhat late in announcing it, new
animals, specifically mammals, are still cropping up.
(No one is astonished by the discovery of new
insects, since nobody has yet come up with even a
good estimate of the number of species that exist on
this planet.) We are indebted to Member 1I2lO for
sending us a copy of an article from the journal
Animals (V. 10, N. 11, March 1968), based on formal
reports in the journal of the Tokyo Zoological Society
by Yukio Tagawa and Dr. Yoshinori Imaizumi. The
animal in question is the Iriomote wild cat, which
constitutes a new genus, Mayailurus iriomotensis. It
was found not in "Darkest Africa" or the "steaming
jungles" of the ..\mazon, but on a small island at the
end of the Ryukyu chain south of Japan (see map).
Yukio Tagawa, a naturalist and author, was dOing
a smies entitled "Journeys into the Wild" and, having
heard (on Okinawa) rumours of a "new" cat -which
he at first dismissed as being probably domestic
cats run wild- and also having found that his first
proposed destination was overrun by so-called civilization, he went to the island of Iriomote where he
and, later, Professor Takara of the University of
"
China
.....
Formosa
Il'
'\ lriomote Is.
(/
83
---------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
84
LItter Bugs!
From the Minneapolis Star, 29 June, 1972: UPI (N ew York, NY): "A cruising police car discovered a
grayish-pink hulk lying in a Bronx intersection. It was determined that the hulk was the skinned, decapitated
body of a 300-pound animal, either a gorilla or a bear. No zoos in the area have reporte~ the loss of a
gorilla. There was no known crime, so police said there would be no investigation."
85
THAT FROG!
A week after Hurricane Agnes had gone all around
us -for a change!- in New Jersey. a gentleman rang
us up to say that he had been informed hereabouts
that we were interested in oddities. He is a pretty
high-level ergineer working under contract. he told
us. for outfits like NASA. His home base is Wisconsin
but he maintains a summer home near here in the
beautiful. unspoiled. wooded foothills of Warren
County. New Jersey. What he said on the phone was
as follows:"The hurricane didn't hit us but we had an awful
lot of rain and a lot of fine silt got through the filter
into my swimming pool. SO I told my man to drain it
and scrub it. Well. he did but he came to me yesterday
morning and said there was one hell of a funny looking frog in it and he really thought I ought to come
and look at it. Well. I did; but I'm an engineer. not a
bug collector. but I saw at once that this animal was
awfully odd -two pairs of nostrils. no eyes. and huge
sort of 'drums' there on the side of its head instead."
Well. we thanked the gentleman and asked if we
could come over (about 15 miles) and have a look at
it. He said "Heck. no; I'll bring it over to you; and
I'll find out how to get there" -which is quite an
exercise even for local people; and. py jinkoa. he
did; and. what is more. he gave us the frog. That was
on the 8th July.
It was a Bullfrog (Rana catesbiana) but was all
"wrong" in that it had the warty skin and the colouration of the River Frog (Rana heckscheri) which is not
from north of southern South Carolina. and which is
also somewhat smaller. As the accompanying photograph shows. it has no eyes. a sort of hard excrescence on its snout. and two enormous tympani or "eardrums". It was full-grown. and it changed colour in
bright sunlight. just like any other Bullfrog. But. do
what we could -and we are professionals at this- we
never saw him eat; though we once got an earthworm
86
87
by Edward B. Camlin
[The following article is reprinted with permission
and is oopyrighted by the National ENQUIRER,
Lantana, Florida; the same is true of the drawing
which accompanies this piece.]
Future man's ideal male and female will have a
huge head, with feelers growing from the forehead,
hardly any chest, tiny legs, only one toe on each
foot, no teeth, and a body completely covered by hair.
These are some of the radical changes nature has
in store for mankind so that we will be able to keep
up with our fast-changing environment and life-styles,
the scientists say.
"Because we spend so much time in the dark
watching television, man may develop rudimentary
feelers in his forehead to help guide him over the
outstretched legs of gUtlsts on his way to the refrigerator," said Dr. Hugo Bohman, of Goteborg, Sweden.
"Perhaps that sounds amusing but that's the way
evolution works," he added.
Man will also become quite hairy again, says a
Dutch expert, Dr. Benjamin Grijseels of the Hague.
The earth is slowly getting coldE:r and man will grow
more and more hair to help keep him warm, he explained.
Dr. P. G. Balfour of San Francisco University
paints a grotesque picture of future man's body -at
least according to our standards. "He will have a.
massive head, easily the biggest part of his body.
And he will have hardly any chest or stomach, and
legs no bigger and not much stronger than presentday fingers." He said his forecast is based on trends
already in existence, which were fed into a computer.
Man will also lose some parts, among them his
toes and teeth, another scientist predicts. "Except
for our big toes, the rest are already useless," says
anthropologist Abel Voight of Boston. "We need the
big toes to push off with when we take a step. The
others were fine when we swung from trees, but evolution has shriveled them up and soon th~ will tend
to merge with the big toe."
"Future man will have no teeth", predicts R. A.
Wentworth,
a resident dentist at Witwatersrand
University in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Teeth
have been getting smaller down the ages and there
are indications that the molars are disappearing.
Future man will develop a more streamlined jaw that
is less muscular and bony." He said this will be the
end result of the soft foods we are eating because
.. ------------.------..~.......... .......
~--------------------------------------~---------------88
VIII.
ANTHROPOLOGY
89
ours]"-- - - - - - - -
Bear in mind that donations to SITU above and beyond the usual dues are tax deduc;tible for Internal
Revenue Service returns.
90
91
.... 'i.
j
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7 ....
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I
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92
93
Member No. 1172 writes, "I dreamt I found the magazine with the picture of the Thunderbird in it and the
name of the magazine was very familiar -but when I
woke up, I couldn't for the life of me remember it!
SOrry about that!" Still on this mph:, we have a
notion that it might have appeared in the old American
Weekly (the Sunday SuPplement) prior to about 1947.
Anyone care to check-?
Secondly, in our January issue we ran a piece
entitled "'1;'he 'What's-It' from South Dakota". We
apologize to North Dakota for depriving it of several
of its towns. The first clipping we received on this
allegedly strange beast stated that it was,in a zoo in
Minot, SOuth Dakota. We called telephone information
for the zoo's number and learned that Minot was in
North Dakota. Later clippings gave the location
properly. When we came to write this up, we obviused one of these newspaper clips but, "knowing"
that the location was "wrong", we dutifully ~elocated
it, not having noticed the switch in the meantime. We
shall be more careful in the future.
NOTICE
Our members are reminded once again that unless they joined us after the 1st of October 1972. their dues
for 1973 are due -still $10 per year. We regret that circumstances this year have made the publication of
Pursuit somewhat erratic and hope that next year we will be solidly back on schedule. We cannot do anything about the wretched postal service (a first class ,package took 27 days to get from Blairstown. N.J . to
Little Silver, N.J.) and delivery of Pursuit will presumably continue to be slow. In some cases it has
arrived in less than a week; in others it has taken over ,a month. The same is true of back issues. which are
sent out. as a rule. the day after the order is received.
We would also like to remind our members once again that they must make arrangements at least two
weeks in advance if they wish to visit. This is for your benefit as well as ours.
Mignon
~".I"""""""""''''~''''''''''~I''''''''.~''-.''~''''-94
MEMBERS' FORUM
By way of explanation, our Director, Ivan T. Sanderson, wishes us to place on record the fact that he
mlmied his literary partner -trading for many years under the nom-de-plume of Marion L. Fawcett- on the
4th of May last. Our Director and said Marion L. Fawcett were married under their given nam'es so that the
person appearing on our mastheads now (as necessitated by both the laws of the State of New Jersey, and
the Internal Revenue Service) as Sabina W. Sanderson is also the said Marion L. Fawcett.
BOOK REVIEWS
by Marion L. Fawcett
95
a;;
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96
------
This book was mentioned by Colin Bord in his splendid piece for Flying Saucer Review, which we reprinted in our July 1972 issue. It deserves fUrther mention here and should be read by all forteans, particuly those "vertical thinkers who resent any suggestion that logic is not omnipotent". To re-quqte Edward de
Bono:
"It is not
that is used
wrong place,
may seem to
a new place.
possible to dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper. Logic is the tool
to dig holes deeper and bigger to make them altogether better holes. But if the :hole is in the
then no amount of improvement is going to put it in the right place. No matter how obvious this
every digger, it is still easier to go on digging in the same hole than to start allover again in
Vertical thinking is digging the same hole deeper; lateral thinking is trying again elsewhere."
In fact, one is tempted simply to quote de Bono ad infinitum. His book is full of little gems, and it is
clear that he understands, perhaps better than anyone else I have read, the process of thinking. His book is
not just a dissertation on the subject but a practical handbook, as it were, of how to think laterally. He
points out that "The search for alternative ways of looking at things [i. e. lateral thinking] i:s not natural.
The natural tendency of the mind is to become impressed by the most probable interpretation, and then to
proceed from that"; and he goes on to present techniques for overcoming the habit of vertical thinking which
is drilled into us almost from birth. He quotes, quite rightly, that education is "not really concerned with
progress: its purpose is to make widely available knowledge that seems to be useful. It is communicative,
not creative." And it is certainly true that most new ideas have come about when new observations or information have forced a reappraisal of old theories that had previously been taken for granted. Logic, or
vertical thinking, may have a high-probability quotient, but it seldom produces new ideas; lateral thinking
ha.s a low-probability quotient (many new ideas may be produced before one of real value appears) but it is
lilt ely to be of far greater use to forteans, and it can always be combined with logic. They are complementary.
Ji.m McClarin. Manimals Newsletter. (A monthly publication)
Quite a number of our members are particularly interested in what we call ABSMs -BigfoQt, Sasquatch,
Yeti, et al.- and some have 'complained' because Pursuit does not include all current reports on this
subject:' This is not, in fact, the function of Pursuit; but for those who do want such repor);s, we cannot
re'commend a better source than. Jim McClarin's MB, established for just this purpose. He chose the term
"rnanimal" because "it is a relatively self-explanatory contraction of 'man' and 'animal', uf:led to mean a
man-like animal, or an 'animal-like' man, and it seems to carry no other special occult, humorous, or ethnic
connotation." We approve heartily of this choice (ABSM is a bit of a jaw-breaker) and we are particularly
happy to get away from the quite incorrect use of the term Yeti when referring to our North American hominids.
MN includes both general articles and letters of interest, and an extensive bibliography of both magazine
andnewspaper articles, with a very brief abstract of each. Photocopies of individual articl~s can be obtained from Jim Mcclarin; details on ordering are included in MN.
The subscription policy is a bit complicated. In order to encourage the exchange of information, Jim
McClarin will send the "next" issue to anyone who sends a self-addressed stamped (8) IQng business
envelope (1110) plus at least one informative dispatch (i.e. current news clipping or whatever). Or you can
slmd a self-addressed etc. envelope plus 25, and you will get the same issue but one month late. Back
i:;;:sues (August 1972 was the first issue) are available for 25 plus the usual envelope. Presumably a stack
of 12 envelopes plus a check for $3.00 will get' you a year's subscription, but these will be mailed one
"'Through the kindness of one of our English correspondents we learn that ~ ~ Q.f Lateral Thinking
ifI available as a Pelican Book in the U.K. (25p), Australia ($0.85), New Zealand ($0.85), and Canada
(~jl.15).
97
month after the date of publication. The address is 4717 Florin-Perkins Road, Sacramento, CA 95826: and
if you have any really 'hot' news, his telephone number is (916)-381-1674.
Gerald L. Wood. The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. London: Guinness Superlatives Limited.
1972. L3.95. (U.S. price unknown-)- - - - - -- - This is one of a series separate from the justly famous and widely used Guinness Book of Records, and
is devoted exclusively to the animal world. Each section is concerned with one Class (or, in some cases,
phylum) of animals, with information on the biggest, smallest, fastest, etc. etc. It is a useful reference
work, but also includes some profoundly fortean tidbits; e.g. an authenticated case of an eagle having
carried off a four-year-old girl: the fact that decapitated caterpillars may metamorphose into perfectly healthy
but headless butterflies which live longer than their normal brethren. But we could go on and on. One can
read the book straight through with a fair amount of pleasure, though "smallest" and such eventually become
somewhat tiresome. Our only real complaint about the book is that the author, particularly when reporting
unusual (at least semi-fortean) items, very often announces that "this must be discounted'" or "this must be
considered fanciful" or some such without giving any reason why it "must be". It is clear in some instances
that sizes or ages or whatever are probably exaggerated, or even definitely so, but in others one can almost
hear Gerald Wood saying to himself "there ain't no sich animal -and there couldn't be".
The book is well illustrated, though we understand that the author is not satisfied with the current photos
and is looking for others for the next edition. It contains a good bibliography and an index.
Bruce S. Wright. The Eastern Panther. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited. 1972. $6.50 (plus 501t
handling charge; order from Order Department, Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited, 701 st. Clair Avenue West,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
This is a completely updated edition of Bruce Wright's previous book entitled The Ghost of North
America, and deals with the survival of the Eastern Puma which has long been considered to'""iieextIncteXcept in Florida. Understandably, the author devotes most space to pumas in northeastern Canada -he lives
there; but he also records pumas seen all down the eastern seaboard of the U.S., including one seen on the
Garden state Parkway in New Jersey! The first half of the book concerns the evidence of their continued
existence -and there can be no Question of this- while the second half presents a picture of the animal
itself, its physical appearance (he devotes a couple of pages to black pumas), life cycle, habits, and such,
and suggestions for the protection of the few survivors. Pumas are protected only in New Hampshire and
Florida; elsewhere they do not legally exist and therefore cannot be protected. They playa valuable role in
nature and deserve a better fate than that which now faces them.
Mr. Wright's book includes drawings and photographs, two appendices listing reports of pumas, and an
excellent bibliography. There is an index but it leaves something to be desired.
2! Coincidence.
This is a most peculiar book which has almost nothing to do with coincidence so far as I can see. The
first chapter is entitled "The ABC of ESP" and is a crashing bore. The second chapter, "The Perversity of
Physics", I found rather interesting, and intelligible, which is more than I can say for the rest of the book.
Koestler devotes about five pages to a definite discussion of coincidence, i.e. what Paul Kammerer (of
Midwife Toad fame) called the "laws of seriality". Once past these five pages I found it impossible to
figure out what Koestler was talking about. I certainly canr,lot agree with Rente Haynes who states inher
"Postscript" that "Mr. Koestler has given us a lucid exposition of modern data as to space, time, matter,
causality, neurophysiology and psychical research, out of which a remarkable synthesis emerges. His concept of 'Janus-faced holons' may well prove as stimulating to our generation as was Bergson's !!!! Vital
we are informed by Member No. 981 that North Carolina now protects the Puma, a bill having passed
recently -though it still is not legally recognized to exist.
98
to the thinkers of the early part of the century." And don't ask me what "holons" (Janus-faced or otherwise)
are: there is an index. but it contains only names of persons mentioned or quoted in the text. and I cannot
find the "holons" to see if a third reading might clarify them for me. (I doubt that it would.) There are also
references and a bibliography (he is very fond of Carl Jung and A. Koestler).
I have read only a greatly abridged version of Koestler's The Case of the Midwife Toad (Handom House.
1971) and cannot therefore legitimately review it. However.my impression from reading it is that Arthur
Koestler needs a good editor who uses an axe.
Richard Perry. The World of the Jaguar. New York: Taplinger Publishing company. 1970. $6.50.
In most respects this is a straightforward natural history book. but the author has seen:fit to dump into
the middle of it. apparently quite arbitrarily. two really unrelated chapters. one on the Anaconda (straight
natural history) and one on the so-called 'Sucuriju Gigante' or truly gigantIc snakes. whether Anacondas or
other species. Be does not. so far as I can recall. add anything new to the literature and has. in fact. culled
all the material for his book from other authors. He shows a tendency toward somewhat purple prose at
times. but this may be unconscious imitation of some of the earlier authors he quotes. Mr. Perry can at
least be congratillated on an open mind. There is a bibliography and an index.
New Horizons. Journal of the New Horizons Research Foundation. incorporating the Transactions of the
TOronto society for Psychical Research. Published occasionally. Individual copies are $:3.50 U.S . $3.00
or 1.50 sterling. P. O. Box 427, station F. Toronto 5. Ontario. Canada.
We have received Vol. 1. No. 1 of this journal which is edited by A. R. G. Owen -his name should
be familiar to those who are interested in poltergeists- and found it most interesting. It includes two
articles on "spook lights" and ten on a variety of so-called 'psychic' phenomena studied pragmatically from
a physical point of view: voluntary (i.e. on demand) psychokinesis. "psychic" photography. an allegedly
haunted house. etc. It is thoroughly scientific and. though some of the items considered are not of especial
interest to us. they may be to some of our members. This issue is dated Summer 1972. iand it is noted a
Winter 1972 issue is planned.
Erich von Diiniken. Aussaat Y!!9 Kosmos. (German Edition) Dusseldorf. Germany: Econ Verlag. 1972.
One of our members in West Germany has very kindly sent us a copy of von Daniken's l~test book which
will probably be available in English shortly. We have no idea what the title will bei Aussaat is not easily
translatable but might be rendered as "dissemination". but the English/American publishers :may well change
the title entirely.
Fans of von Daniken will be glad to hear that this book is as entertaining as his pre:vious books. but
forteans will probably find it more amusing than revealing and too short on facts to be exciting. It contains
some fresh material and plenty of von Diiniken's theories. He begins with an account of ~the greatest adventure of my life" in a gigantic system of tunnels alleged to lie beneath Peru and Equador. He claims his
guide led him to a subterranean treasure of gold artefacts and a library of several thousand metal plates and
foils of "mysterious composition". rich with inscriptions. Needless to say. he has practic~lY nothing more
to say about these "treasures" (or any proof that they exist) but does go on at length ~bout the tunnels
-alleged.
The bibliography is considerably more extensive than is usual in his books. and there is' an index. but no
actual references. Von Daniken has been accused of plagiarism in the past. and we note that a photograph
(credited to von Diiniken in the photo index) of the "little gold airplane" found in Colombia: S.A . is almost
certainly the cover illustration used by Argosy Magazine when the original article was run. And two pages
on. there are drawings of that same gold airplane that must have been lifted (without credit !tgain) from Ivan
T. Sanderson's book Investigating the Unexplained.
Read the book. but read it carefully and with skepticism throughout.
Robert C. Warth
99
Peter E. Viemeister. The Lightning Book. Gar'\ien City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1961. Cambridge,
Mass.: MIT Press. 1972. (Prices unknown)
This is a splendid book for those who wish to know more about lightning or who want to know what to do
about it. In our July 1972 issue we reprinted parts of an article about lightning. Some of the figures given do
not tally with those in Peter Viemeister's book, and I frankly favour the latter if only because of the very
extensive bibliography and the obvious amount of research that went into it.
The book is divided into three parts: "The Search for Knowledge", "Origin and Character of Lightning" ,
and "Lightning in Action". The first section deals with the history of the study of lightning and thunder-storms all the way from early Egyptian and Greek beliefs to "Project Thunderstorm" in the 1940s. (He also
later points out that it is most unlikely that lightning actually struck Ben Franklin's famous kite; though
Franklin did collect "electric fluid" from the atmosphere by that means.) The second section presents a
very clear picture of the "anatomy" of thunderstorms and of lightning bolts as such. It is a more complicated
busi-ness than one might think, but he makes it intelligibl e to the layman. And in the third section he relates
the effects of lightning and presents practical suggestions for protecting oneself and one's property. In
fact, lightning rods are effective provided they are properly installed. They gained a bad reputation because
a lot of fast-buck operators failed to do this, thus putting the poor house-holder is greater jeopardy than
before! In any case, the safest place to be is in your car.
The book is well illustrated though, in the paperback edition, the photographs lose something in quality
because of the paper they are printed on. There is aver y useful list of codes and handbooks worth sending
for -some free and none costing more than $1.00- and also the names of manufacturers and installers if you
feel you want lightning rods (in many locations they are really unnecessary). As noted before, there is an
excellent bibliography -and a good index.
INDEX - 1972
This index for 1972 includes all titles published during that year, some with annotations to make the
content clearer. Book reviews are listed alphabetically by title. For the convenience of the user, paging
during t~e year was as follows: January, 1-24; April, 25-48; July, 49-72; October, 73-100
ONTOLOGY
Alternative to Time Anomalies, An, 78
Other Universes, 32
PHYSICS
Fire Walking, by R. J. Durant, 8
More on Light Wheels, by R. J. Durant, 33
Sound as a Highway Hazard, 32
CHEMISTRY
Natural Nuclear Reaction, A, 79
"Rustless" Iron Pillar at Delhi, The, 35
ASTRONOMY
Biorhythms; Planets; and Astrologers, 36
Great Galactic Ghoul, The, 80
Moons of Mars, The, 36
Tenth Planet -Or an Eleventh?, 9
Water on the Moon, 9
Where Does the Iron Go?, 57
GEOLOGY
Almost Fortean Facts About Lightning, 59
Mystery Sand Dunes, 58
On Big Things, 39. See also p. 80
Terrestrial Meteorite Craters, 38
That -Diamond" Crystal, 81
BIOLOGY
Andrew Crosse's Acari, 19
Black Pumas, 12
Deep-Breathing, or What?, 62. See also p. 83.
Definitely Unclassified Marine Animal, A, 60. See
also p. 83
Eels out of Faucets, 85
Hominidae and the Troglodytidea, The, by B. F.
Porshnev, 10
New Mammal Discovered, A (in 1966), 82
Improperly Classified Marine Animal. The, 83. See
also p. 60.
More Drivel About Frozen Mammoths, 83
New Lake Monster, A, 82
On Evolution, 11
100
AN'rHROPOLOGY
Cultural Expansion: Which Way?, 16
:F'ood for Thought ("Extraterrestrial" cultural Expansion), 18
Giant 'Abo' of 6000 Years Ago, 89
Light Wheels and Holograms That Use Acoustical
Radiation, by R. J. Durant, 13. See also under
Physics.
Little Wooden Airplane, The, 88
Mitchell.,.Hedges Crystal Skull, 92. See also P. 72.
More on Mercury Engines, 67
Mysterious Walls of tne Berkeley and Oakland
Hills, by S. S. Morrill, 90
Mystery Pits of Olduvai, The, 90
Rather "Disgusting" Case, A (Rune Stones in
Maine),42
Skullduggery, Scientific .Style, 89
South American Pygmies, 66
UFOLOGY
ADC and UFO, by W. B. Stoecker, 4
Documented Case of Governmental Dishonesty, A,.
28
Essential Reading (reprinted from FSR), by Colin
Bord, 52. See also P. 96
Off and On (Possible Cancellation of Images on
the Retina), 52
Outside Interference with Human Vision, 76
CHAOS AND CONFUSION
Fire-Walking Again, 31
Ice Falls. 76
KLEE-TV Case Again, The, 77
Metallic Balls from Where?, 55
More Sky-Lines, 53
Mystery Bell -Stone, England, 57
Ringing Rocks: Another Aspect, 6. See also P. 44
Sub-Section K (Coincidence and Lightning), 54
Director '
'Executive Secretary
Executive Secretary
Technical Director
Mass Media
Promotion and PubliCity
Productions
Ivan T. Sanderson
Mark A. Hall
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert C. Warth
Walter J. McGraw
Daniel F. Manning
Michael A. Jazmus
EDITORIAL BOARD
201-689-0194
-==-
=-
SCIENCE
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=-
VOL. 6, NO.1
(.
~
=.
~-
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JANUARY, 1973
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees, in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for f~ve years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a Secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the five Trustees, and four other members elected for one year tenns. General: administration and management is handled by an Executive Board, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our Society is c6unselled
-I
by a number of prominent scientists. as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of ,:fanuary to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of: that year
gratis. The annual subscription is U.S. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the Society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitlition.
The
I
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone, and without membership benefits) is $~, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis, to other societies and institutions.)
The Society contracts-- with individuals, and institutional and official organizations for specifib projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote oUhe Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an;outstanding contribution to the aims of the SOciety.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion, as yet, of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consultl our files,
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of me~bers who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities. as 1)1 now. cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Fu~ther, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any m~mbers in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by ~y members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way ;in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of curr,ent events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Soci'ety affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special ~eports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July. 1965. until the end of March 1968. the Society if sued only
a newsletter. on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were. however. entitled fURSUIT-vol. 1. No.3 and No.4. dated June and september. 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2. No.1. PURSUIT has
been' issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January. April. July, and October. Back iSSues, some
available only as xerox copies. are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these sho~ld request
.
an order form.
PURSUIT
Vol. 6. No. 1
January. 1973
'u N E X P L A I NED
CONTENTS
The Taxonomy or Knowledge
Editorial: The Great Semantic Mess
Urology
Can We Tick Off Another One?
Chaos and Confusion
The Mary Celeste
One of the PKs to the Fore
A Cat Conclave
Light NWheels Under the Sea, by Robert J. Durant
Chemistry
Alleged Fallout-Free Water
Astronomy
The Moons of Mars, by Robert J. Durant
Life on the Moon?
Geology
The Mediterranean
On the Subject oC Cold"
Biology
The Paraguayan NBarking Snake"
That New Very Human-Looking Skull
Pearls in Hens' Eggs
Giant Herbs
Tropical Fish in Siberia
Ancient Seeds
A Second Lobster Mystery
A Scaly Beast
Anthropology
"Yesu of the Druids
A Linguistic Surprise
Metallic Balls from Here!
More on Mercury Engines
Department oC' Loose Ends
Members' Forum ,
Paper,! Available, in Xerox Form
Book Reviews
2
3
5
5
6
7
10
II
13
13
13
14
14
15
15
16
16
16
17
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
22
.........
... ----------,...........
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GEOLOGY
THE TANGIBLES
VI
EARTH SCIENCE 5
A'mOlphe"c, o"~ MeteorlllOlY;
O.. ana10g.1' Hyd,ology. and Gla.
cloIOI'; T.~,q"ic,. Vulcanol_
ogy. Seil"'",oVY. C;eophyl.cl
and Geomorphology; Pe.
trolon "nd Mine,alogy;
Geocj"y. Geography.
CClr'"groph y
Protoieanalogy. Botany. Zoo
Oa'"ng.
ogy. E ."b,ology; H, .tology.
Phy .. ology a~d B,ochem"'ry;
Anatomy (.nc 'ud.ng Man), Gene'.
ics and. Evolution. Phys.ical Anthropology;
Polaeontology;
E .holog y and
Ecology.
MATTER
Atomics. Molecular
Chem.itry. Crystallography.
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
PERFORMANCE
Thearo',cal Phy ..... Nucleonics.
Clonical Phyl,cI. Elec.,ici.
E IDe'romagneticl. Malne cl,
Mechon.c,.
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
Cu"urol An.hropology ond
E'hnology (Archuology it
II
technique). Pt Hiltol)'.
HCHNOlOGY AND
THI; USEFUL ARTS
MENTAL CONCEPn
log,c and E p,..emology;
P'ycholog y. E.h,cI and A...
th.t,el. Compora' .....
Paraplyduci.
,""II.ge"e";
EXISTENCE
MEASUREMENT
Number, Quantl'Y.
Ar,thmehc. Algebro.
Ceome"y, T,.gonomet,y.
THE INTANGIBLES
Everything in existence, including -exi stence- itself, and thus all of our po-ssible concepts and all knowledge
that we passelS or will ever possess, is contained within tbis wheel. Technologies and the useful arts lie'
within the inner circle, having acce .. to any or all of the ten major departments of organized lenawledge.
From the KORAN: -Acqui ..e len_ledge. It. enables its possessor to know right from wrong; it lights the way to
hea""" it i. our friend in the de.ert, our society in solitude; our companion when friendless; i.t guides us to
happiness; it ,".toins II. in mi.ery; it i. an arnament among friends, and an armour agains. enem,es. - _
The: Prophet.
EIIU,][,ORIIAL
Ivan T. Sanderson.
UFOLOGY
CAN WE TICK OFF ANOTHER ONE?
Before launching into this tirade, we would just
like to thank the National Enquirer for permission to
reproduce this photograph because it shows in one
shot half of those scientists who really know anything about UFOs. The rest are in France, being Drs.
Aiml; Michel and Jacques Vallee; in Austria, Dr.
Schoenherr, or in quite a list of other countries. Four
of 1;he gentlemen shown here are members of our
society - Messrs. Salisbury, Hynek, Sprinkle, and
LOrE!nZen - and two of them are on our Scientific
Advi sory Board, but neither in any W8JI connected
with UFOs; Dr. Salisbury for Phytochemistry, and
Dr. Hynek for Astronomy.
The subject of ufology was pronounced "dead" a
couple of years ago after Dr. Condon published his
mad report - at a cost of over a quarter million
dollars to us taxpayers, one should perhaps add - on
the subject. That gentleman stated in print that any
further pursuit of this matter was not worthwhile from
a scientific point of view. As he was more or less
official the Press tended to believe him, and the
publi.c went along with that. The matter of UFOs just
dropped out of the news. However, it most certainly
did not do so anywhere else - the foreign press
!i!!tional Enquirer UFO Panel (from left): Dr. R. F. Creegan, Dr. F. B. Salisbury, Dr. J. Harder! Dr. J. A.
Hynek, Dr. R. L. Sprinkle, and Jim Lorenzen. (Photo copyright by and courtesy of the National Enquirer,
,
Lantana, Florida)
...
f="
"
\
"or.
,
----,'
Light Wheels
20
-i;.
Epicenters
20
Limit of earthquake
zone __ CI -= Clc:t . .
Indian Ocean
40
~--~~~~----~------r-----~-----r----~------r-----+-~~
20
40
60
80
100
120
Redrawn from maps in KaUe's original article, Figures 8 and 11 being superimposed, showing geographical distribution of light wheels and earthquake zones and epicenters.
10
IV. CHEMISTRY
ALLEGED FALLOUT-FREE WATER
We hope that all of you with the necessary experience and expertize fn this field of atomic and
nucll~onic chemistry will put your minds together and
eithElr tell the rest of us what is wrong with this, or
suggest what these people mentioned below think they
are talking about.
Radioactive fallout is composed of several very
different kinds of 'particles', some of which are so
'mUd' that ordinary clothing provides adequate protection. Others, particularly gamma radiations, are
extremely penetrating and require considerable
'shielding' for safety. Presumably the "relics"
described below were not subjected to local fallout
from an atomic or hydrogen explosion, but worldwide fallout follows any surface testing of such
bombs. It is true that most fallout is carried to earth
by rEin or snow, so the desert areas receive far less
fallout than other regions; and the report here does
say "possibly the only radiation-free water", but ...
11
scientists to assess the characteristics of ra!liationfree water and will serve as a touchstone for subsequent water pollution throughout the world.
One drum is being sent to the United states and
one to the International Atomic Energy Agency in
Vienna, he said. They will be opened under conditions
of complete sterilization. Speculating on how Italian
water drums came to be on a British airfield, Said
V. ASTRONOMY
Levitation
Reprinted (in Twin Circle) from Dick Van Dyke's "Faith. Hope and Hilarity"; "A preacher advised a new
boy in the congregation that it would be a good idea to kneel beside his bed and pray every night. The boy
said. 'If I tried that. it would be a real miracle. I sleep in the top bunk'."
----------_.
--,---
12
getting the correct answers; with 'incorrect 'calculations and assumptions. Arthur Koes~ler treated
this subject at length in his book The Sl"eepwalkers.
But this "divination by anagram analysiS'" practised
by Kepler seems to have escaped even:Koestler~s
probing mind.
It would seem then that the so:'called prediction
of the moons of Mars by Swift was indep'endent of
the equally mislabelled prediction by Kepler, but
both men produced valid data on subjects that were
simply not within their ability to produce using normal
cognitive processes. Thus we must not only reconfirm the oft-told Swift story, but we must add a
new and even more striking tale to the annals of
clairvoyance, precognition, OINT tutelage, or Whatever this is.
References: "How Did Kepler Discover His
First Two Laws?" by Curtis Wilson, Scientific
American, March 1972, vol. 226, No.3, P. 92; The
Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler, New York, The
Macmillan Company, 1959 (also available in paperback).
'r
13
VB. GIEOLOGY
THE MEDITERRANEAN
Please. please. let us know of any change of address as long in advance as possible. and include your new
zip code.---
14
VII. BIOLOGY
THE PARAGUAYAN "BARKING SNAKE"
Spa.nish is basically a very simple language, but
it comes in as many 'varieties' as there are Sp'anishspeaking countries. The person who "translated"
the original report from Paraguay for the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer obviously did not know Paraguayan
Spanish.
We have received a charming letter from Sr. Junio
Milciades Frutos, Vice Director of the Jardin
Botanico, Museo y Zoologico in Asuncion, telling us
about their most famous acquisition and enclosing a
newspaper clipping recounting a press conference
called to combat the wild rumours which were then
circulating; the clipping is dated the 25th February
1972 and gives full details.
The "Mboi-Yagua" or "Barking Snake (with hooks
on its tail!)" is an Anaconda, specifically Eunectes
murinus. The bulge in its 'midsection was explained
on the 20th M~ 1972 when the snake gave birth to
61 live young, all but 4 of which died during the
next week or so. The mother snake is approximately
5 meters in length (a bit over 16 feet) and caused the
Zoo c:onsiderable concern through her refusal to eat.
However, she devoured a duck on the 4th of October,
and six days later consumed another duck, and they
are now fairly confident that she has adapted to her
new Emvironment.
15
GIANT HERBS
Botanists and gardeners have for long known that
a substance to which the name gibberellin has been
given and which occurs naturally in plants, when
purified, concentrated, and applied in specific w 83S,
can produce healthy gigantism in lTlany kinds of
herbaceous plants. Most reputable seed and plant
catalogues advertise this along with instruction
books. A standard solution is .1% Potassium Gibberelate; and it is Quite true that such things as lO-ft
cabbages can be grown with this treatment. What is
more, some at least temporary mutations that breed
true have thus been developed.
We will not forget our surprise when some seeds a
friend of ours in California sent us -he is a great
gardener and especially of Amerindian herbs, and
often sends us seeds and cuttings to experiment
with- and which he asked us to plant as soon as the
first skunk cabbage showed green, sprouted large
crinkly, fleshy leaves before anything else in that
special garden had even appeared, and then continued
to grow, throwing up also a large mound all around
its sturdy stem. After a heavy rain we perceived a
tuber of some kind below this. On extraction it
proved to be a white radish about four times the size
of a grapefruit. This was many years ago now but was
the first of these artificially provoked plants we had
seen.
-+
-+
16
17
A SCALY BEAST
18
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
..../'...J'..'\.!: .......
r-I
,
'.
UPK.~ .. ......-~.~
ENGLAND
;~
-~PRID~:
........
.- .'
,.......
.. .
,-""
~'''.".
. . 6'0~t:
~'GODNev./
<"""""!"\ ..~~~'1'
. .. .. .BUItV
.. .
f".-.,...~ \.\ ..,.....~.
l.\,\:;_.r. . . . ; DORSET
The southwest peninsula of England with places having legendary or historical relations to visits by
Joseph of Arimathaea.
Believe it or not. you !!!!. eliminate most of the junk mail you receive; not all of it -and for pornographic
mail, ask your local post office for form NO.2~0 1 ("the form fo: getting off sexually-oriented advertising
lists"). As for ordinary junk mail, write to Miss Lynn Lee, Director of Consumer Relations, Direct Mail
AdvE!rtising Association, Inc., 230 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017. She will send you information
on their service, together with the necessary forms. There is no cost to you except for the postage required
to request thE' f'')rm and return it to her.
Possibly Apocryphal
SITU is, of course, strictly apolitical but, though we naturally deplore the violence in Ireland, we pass on
the following which was sent us by Sibley Morrill who got it from a chap named Henessy, who told of an
interview with a citizen of Belfast who downgraded all the reports of violence there. Finally the interviewer
asked him what kind of a job he had in Belfast since he knew so much about it. His response was "I'm a
tail-gunner on a milk wagon"
From "Welcomat", a center-city Philadelphia weekly (August 1972): "Things can always be worse. Thirty
years from now speeders will crash in the sky and fallon pedestrians."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
19
cal influences spread not from the eastern Mediterranean to the north and west but from the north and
west to the south and east. In other words, the late
neolithic, and especially the Celtic ecclesiastics
(often erroneously call the "Druids") were the first
monotheists and they could probably teach a Palestinian Essene more than could any other people whom he
could reach, a pure philosophy that he could develop
to apply to what Christians call his "Ministry", when
he went home. The fascinating thing is that the celts
had a Messiah belief, and this great philosopher and
teacher-to-be, was called by them YESU. Coincidence?
For now, we would just like to revive this fascinating legend, and introduce it to this country.
How many of you "exported" Celts have observations to make on this. Try an encyclopedia first; then
see if you have any "ancestors" still alive; re-read
the Bible; and then bombard us. There's more to this
legend than meets the eye.
A LING UISTIC SURPRISE
The National Enquirer (19 Nov. 1972) pointed out
that the editors of Webster's Third New International
Dictionary', state that the word with the most usages
in our language is SET. It can be used as a noun, a
verb, or an adjective, and over 200 such usages are
known for it.
20
21
MEMBERS'FORUM
Does anyone know the whereabouts, or in fact
anything about the American Investigating Museum?
We cannot find this listed in anyof our directories and
are most interested in locating it if it still exists,
since it is reported that at least one, if not several,
"giant skeletons" were sent there.
One of our members is interested in learning about
the Coando Effect; we have searched encyclopaedias
(technical and general), dictionaries, textbooks,
and every other source we could think of, to no avail.
Can one of our members give us a reference on this
that we can send this gentleman?
As noted some time ago, member 1152 has been
working on an apparent relationship between magnetic
storms and various fortean phenomena. He reports
that he has consulted eleven specialists and has
been given considerable encouragement and help.,
the latter in the form of letters of introduction to
other specialists who should be able to assist him.
He has also been asked to write an article on his
preliminary findings for the Journal of the American
Society for Psychical Research. An unhappy sign of
the state of science in this country is the warning
from six of the consultants that he should "suppress
or soft-pedal the Poltergeist: it can only damage your
credibility" .
Work on Charles Fort's notes is progressing most
satisfactorily and we have a letter from Mr. Paul R.
Rugen, Keeper of Manuscripts at the New York
Public Library stating that "you may count on our
continued efforts to facilitate I[ theJ work in any way
possible within the limits of our organization." Many
of Fort's notes were published in Doubt, the journal
of the Fortean Society, and our member finds that he
disagrees with Tiffany Thayer's interpretations in a
significant number of cases. When the job is completed (last report, some 4000 of an estimated 66,000
3x5 file cards had been finished), at least a third
party, if not a fourth, will be called in to act as
"referee". The last stage in this truly monumental
undertaking will be to check the original sources
cited by Fort to make certain that he did not 'goof'.
It is not possible even to estimate the time that will
be required to finish transcribing the notes onto
cards, but we will keep you informed on progress on
this project.
22
"Acarus Crossi" -free in U.S. with stamped "selfaddressed envelope; "foreign, send reply coupon.
"Journal of the Interplanetary Exploration Society,
Vol. I, No.3 (December 1961). contains articles on
ancient space travel, plus Ivan T. Sanderson's
"Non-cuvierian Cataclysms". $3.00 plus 48; 24ct;
26.
Anyone interested in miniaturized reproductions of Pursuit -i.e. microfiche or microfilm- should write to
Univl3rsity Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
BOOK REVIEWS
by Marion L. Fawcett
James Robert Enterline. Viking America: The ~ Qrossings '!!!E Their Legacy. With an EPilogue by Thor
Heyerdahl. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company. 1972. $6.95.
This is a splendid book and wholeheartedly recommended to all forteans, as it pulls the plljl-tform out
from under still another bunch of disbelievers. It is subtitled "The Norse Crossings and Their Legacy".
Would that the two titles could have been reversed because there never were any people called the
"Vi.kings" - they were Norsemen, or better Nordmanni, but they did "go a-viking" which was roughly
equivalent to those of our people who were once admonished to "Go West, Young Man". Another "sad thing
could not, of course, have been avoided due to all that all of us have been told -and also all wrong. That
is the prettily designed Norse longship on the jacket. The Norse went raiding all around Europ~ in these
shallow-draught, low-freeboard, sleek, clinker-built rowing boats, but they never went a-viking in them.
Fo!" this they used the Roundboat, the deep-draught Nordskip; but then: of course, those aren't "so pretty
or ~IO romantic.
The great value of this book is that it is, as far as I know, the first attempt to at least make a start on
the history of the Norse from the end of the "viking" period (circa 1100 A.D.) to 1500 A.D. It unfortunately
does not go nearly far enough into this; but the author, being a relatively young man, has to "guard his
reputation.
However, this concern is not a valid reason for his having lagged so far behind on another part of his
historical research. This is the opening part, on the origin of the Norse. It is true enough that they constitutE!d one lot of emigrating west-central Asiatics, but Mr. Enterline's assignment of them to the "Germanic
hordes" is more than a little suspect. Indeed, Vautaan (Wotan, Wodin, Odin) led his tribes to the Baltic
and on into Scandinavia, circa 400 A.D., whence they spilled outwards again 500 years later, and both
eae,t and west; but even this otherwise apparently careful scholar Mr. Enterline has, like almo'st all the
others, overlooked the one basic fact about the whole Norse affair. This is the people who were there
whEm the 'Norse' arrived.
Mr. Enterline's Norse (and everybody else's "Vikings") were a bunch of landlubbers and couldn't even
get across the Skagerrack without the help of the dark-haired, narrow-headed, blue-eyed left-overs from what
we call Neolithic times, and who were indigenous to the west European Atlantic fringe. Their "head god"
wal; Thor -riding his reindeer (goat) with his stone axe (gavel); and doing the ship-building and piloting.
Whon the Norse ran out of land in their Viks (bays) and wanted to go boating, these ancient Celts taught
them how -and both Longships and Roundboats- and taught them how to sail and how to row. These were
the people who brought the Norse a-viking. Hence all the trouble in this, and everybody else's books,
about grapes, wine, Vinland, et al., and all the independent-minded non-Norse pilots who'd been coming
here for centuries; and all of whose names, you will note, start off with Thor. An alert, and bow, to Mr.
Thor Heyerdahl!
For all these queries, as I sald at the outset of my review, this is a damned good book and well worth
the $6.95 charged for it if you are truly interested in the realities of history as a hobby. It at least
starts to fill in another slot in s aid history.
23
th~
~7
This recording has been advertised in the Village Voice and may still be advertised therein. The "explanation" which accompanies it is as follows:
"The process by which this recording reached the place where it was found is not yet fully understood.
Its authenticity as a so-called 'artifact' from a future time is also under serious question. Nevertheless it is
currently being examined by a group of responsible investigators [un-namedl] to determine its validity, as well
as to clarify the meaning of its contents and to suggest possible applications for the information contained
therein.
"Preliminary estimates place the time and location of its origin as approximately 100 to 125 years from
the present, recorded somewhere in the area of northern New Jersey.
"No attempt has been made to edit or clarify the recording. It Is presented here exactly as found, complete
in its original form. *
"[Their footnote] *The source disc itself is 8Z inches in diameter, made of a very thin, rigid plastic
material (with no label or center hole), and with an optimal playing speed of approximately 20 revolutions per
minute. This reproduction has been made on a ten-inch disc at 33 1/ 3 rpm so as to be playable on homp.
phonographs. "
We obtained a copy and have played it for a number of persons, including professional radio engineers.
Frankly, not one of us can figure out how anyone came to the conclusion that it takes place in the future, let
alone at an even remotely specific date; and we found much of it virtually unintelligible. Apart from some
jargon -which would be child's play for any science fiction writer- there is really nothing about the recording that warrants spending any money on it at all. Someone is pre!'!umably giggling all the way to the bank,
since it is the type of thing that sounds as if it ought to be investigated. We consider it to be a hoax and
unless someone comes up with much more definite information on its origin propose to forget it altogether.
The Self-Publishing Writer (A Quarterly Journal for Writers), 547 Howard street, San Francisco, CA 94105;
subscription rate $7.50 a year, $2 a single copy.
A number of our members are authors or would-be authors, and this new journal (Vol. 1, No. 1 is dated
October 1972) edited by Sibley S. Morrill may be of interest to them. It contains both general articles and
specific and practical 'instructions' on the process of publishing books independently.
John Wallace Spencer..Limbo of the Lost. 1969. $1.95 plus 25 postage and handling, from Phillips Publishing Co., P. O. Box 141, We stfielcr.-MAOi 085.
For those who are fanatics on the subject of the so-called Bermuda Triangle, this book is an excellent
"seed-catalogue" of events in that specific area. The author does mention the "Devil's Sea" off Japan and,
rather oddly, adds a section on Blackbeard the Pirate (Edward Teach) and -heaven knows why!- in Chapter
8 (entitled "Possible Explanation and Latest Losses") a feature "Do Sea Serpents Really Exist? (Loch Ness
Monsters) - FEATURE". What this has to do with the rest of the book I do not know, but it's there. The copy
we have is the fourth printing of the book and contains reports of disappearances as late as 1971.
We do not know whether t his book is still in print, and it has been our practice to review only new books
dealing with forte an a. However, we will from time to time bring to your attention books which should be
read by all forteans. Eric Frank Russell is probably best known as a science-fiction writer (Wasp, etc.) and
is also one of the few sci-fi writers who will have anything to do with forteana. Oddly enough, most sci-fi
writers take a dim view of forteana and have been known to foam at the mouth at the very mention of things
24
which are much less "far out" than the stories they concoct. (Robert Heinlein is a definite exception to this
'rule'.) In Great World Mysteries Mr. Russell examines a number of famous cases in most pragmatic fashion
and !:omes iiiiWith the only truly sensible suggestion concerning the Mary Celeste (not the Marie C.) that we
have ever come across. This is r"eported on page 5 of this issue and will, we hope, stop the interminable
ramblings about that (to us) much over-rated case. The rest of his book is worth reading too. It inCludes both
a bibliographY and an index.
Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, Editors. UFO's-4 Scientific Debate. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University
Press. (Scheduled for publication, 2 February 1973). $12.50. (Also London: Cornell University Press. I.5.65
net)
This is the printed transcription of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, held in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 26th-27th December, 1969,
until now available only on tape from the AAA8. The Editors state that it is a "Slightly compressed version
of thE! fifteen invited talks and the discussion that followed", and it is also indicated that some authors have
"considerably revised" their papers. Without comparing the book word for word with the tapes (in some places
difficult to hear because of 'static'), it is impossible to say how much or what kind of revision has taken
plaCE!, but my impression is that most of it has been of the legitimate kind.
The Editors have added a comment here and there, and have provided both an Introduction and an Addendum which I shall deal with later. The Introduction details the history of the Symposium -there were those
who ,rigorously opposed it (even to the extent of writing to the Vice-President of the United states "to demand
that he put a stop to it!)- and Drs. Sagan and Page make it quite clear why those who did favour it felt that
the AAAS should present as unbiased a program as possible on a subject of such considerable interest to
the public. They also single out Walter Orr Roberts, then President of the Association, for his :"steadfast
courage", in concert with others, in "beating down the opposition". They note that "We believe that organiza.tions like the AAAS have a major obligation to arrange for confrontations [presentation of "observ:ations and
some of t he speculations generated by a critical examination of the evidence-the traditional scientific
method"] on precisely those science-related subjects that catch the public eye". Quite naturally, the papers
presented here vary both in viewpoint and in 'literary' quality. Lester Grinspoon'~ paper (with Alan D.
Persky) is probably the worst, though the "funniest" -he is a psychiatrist and apparently decided that UFOs
are (whatever they really are) representations of the human breast (saucer-shaped) or phallic symbo.s ("cigarShapE!d"); this elicited giggles from the audience and a later aside from Carl Sagan: "Drs. Grinspoon and
Pers1:y may be interested to hear that the vehicles in the UFO literature described as 'mother ships' are the
ones that are cigar-shaped, and I shudder In think what that means for their interpretation."
This book is refreshingly free of reports of "sightings", though a few are included as examples, and
certaini.} deserves a place in any library, personal or public, that makes any pretense of containing a wellrounded selection of books on ufology.
As for the Addendum mentioned previously: This first reports briefly on some of the more pertinent
questions asked the panel at the Symposium, and then prints a letter Signed by Thornton Page on behalf of
twelve of the participants and addressed to the Secretary of the Air Force. The letter was written because
there were rumours that the Air Force would not preserve the files kept by Project Blue Book. ~he answer
they received was an undated, unsigned form letter from the Secretary's office, which simply reported that
Blue Book had been closed and its files transferred to the Air Force Archives. Thornton Page telephoned the
Secretary's office and received a letter (signed this time, and dated the 13 Jan 1970) stating tha~"bona fide
researchers and news media representatives will be granted access to the records upon application to HQ
USAF' (SAFOI), The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20330." Later in 1970, the late James McDonald, after some
difficulty, was able to see some PBB files at Maxwell Air Force Base, but only those he specifically asked
for in advance -and he had to wait for copies to be made in which all names were deleted; as noted, "scarcely cOllvenient for any serious study."
There is an index, and it is quite good.
If your local bookstore does not have copies, you may order directly from the Cornell University Press,
124 Roberts Place, Ithaca, NY 14850; or 2/4 Brook st., London W1Y "1AA, England.
Dr. John R. Napier's book entitled Bigfoot, The Yeti and Sasquatch ill Myth and Reality has been published by Jonathan Cape of London (L2.95) and is scheduled for publication by E. P. Dutton & Co. of New York
in Mfllch 1973.
Director
Deputy'Director
Executive Secretary
Technical Director
Technical Consultant
Mass Media
Establishment
Ivan T. Sanderson
Mark A. Hall
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert C. Warth
Robert J. Durant
Walter J. McGraw
Adolph L. Heuer. Jr.
EDITORIAL BOARD
201-689-0194
,""
..:..
-==-
--
:.
;;;.
APRIL, 1973
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board Qf Trustees, in accordance with
the laws ofthe state of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President, elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board,
consisting of the five Trustees, and four other members elected for one year t!!nns. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board, listed on the inside back cover of this publication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally, our society is counselled
by a number of promin-;;;t;cientists, as also iisted on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of J:anuary to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of, that year
gratis. The annual subscription is U.S. $10, which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year, as well as access to the society's library and files, through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone. and without membership benefits) is $5, including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed, on a reciprocal basis. to other societies and institutions.)
The Society contracts-- with individuals. and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees)- on those who are adjudged to have made an 'outstanding contribution to the aims of the SOciety.
'
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-complt;!tion. as yet. of additional living quarters,
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our fUes.
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of me~bers who,
as a result of the simple lack of facilities, as 1) now. cannot be properly accomodated.
The SOciety is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further. the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views. and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The Society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on socity affairs
to members. The SOciety further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects, and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July. 1965. until the end of March 1968. the Society issued only
a newsletter. on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were. however. entitled PURSUIT-vol. 1, No.3 and No.4. dated June and september. 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2. No. 1, PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January. April. July, and October. Back issues. some
available only as xerox copies. are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these sho~ld request
an order form.
Vol. 6. No, 2
April. 1973
INk
...- " . ,
Y'+;W
Mt M _ _
CONTENTS
In M~l!IOriQIII-Ivan T. Sanderson, by Sabina W. Sanderson
Editorial: The Sensible Breakthrough At Last, by Ivan T. Sanderson
Ufology: A Possible Alien Space Probe
Chaos "!It Confusion
Eagle Requiem, by Col. Stanley W. Tyler
Unnatural Darkness
Who's Down There?
Weighing the Soul
Spook Lights
Physics
The Coanda Effect
Astronomy
Saturn's Rings
Geology
Has the Earth Shifted?
Erupting Rocks
Biology
More New Cats?, by Ivan T. Sanderson
Current Search and Research of ABSMs
Beware an All~ged 'Bigfoot' Skeleton
Florid!l's Wild Wildlife
Nomeus - A Fish that Disappears, by Craig Phillips
-Horrors from the Mesozoic, by Mark A. Hall
Anthropology
The J uls~!1d Ceramic Collection in Acam baro, Mexico
Kirkbride's WlJll and the Great Wall of Peru
A Special Notice to Our Members
Translating ChlJrles Fort's Notes, by Carl J. Pabst
Department of Loose Ends
Book Reviews
26
27
28
29
29
30
30
31
32
32
33
33
3S
36
37
37
38
40
41
43
4S
46
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48
26
IN MEMORIAM -
IV AN T. SANDERSON
27
self and left all the meat out of his fabulous life since
1911 on this otherwise, largely, boring earth. t laughed. I think you know what I mean." Yes, I do know.
Ivan, in seventeen lines! Ivan had, for the benefit of
publishers and radio & TV people, mimeographed
"Biographical Notes"; seventeen lines gets you as
far as the word "Chronology", and that starts with the
year 1918. I will not attempt here even an outline
of Ivan's life. Hopefully, in the years to come, I will
be able to do Ivan justice in a series of books. I
cannot now even try to describe his character. Those
who met Ivan will have happy memories of time spent
and things done together. and these memories they
will have to cherish for the rest of their lives. For
EDITORIAL
28
telepathy", "precognition" and the like- all have a physical basis. It is, in fact, high time that we stop
trying to find out about them by using a "spiritual" method of attack. We may not yet "have the in!?truments
needed to detect and define the workings of what we call the "mind", but this shOUld be the direction of
our I!fforts.
S.W.S.
UFOLOGY
A POSSIBLE ALIEN SP ACE PROBE
Whitt follows is not strictly ufology and should
better come under the heading "Cosmology". However,
becauBe of the long and sometimes vehement argument
concerning the origin of UFOs -where do they come
from?-- it seems legitimate to include this extraordina"ry report here.
Malcolm Balfour, writing in the National Enquirer
of the 18th March 1973, reports that the British Interplanetary Society "has just begun an attempt ... to make
contact with an alien space probe they believe may
be circ:ling t he Earth, in the sarne orbit as the moon."
The B_LS. is a highly respected organization and includes some of Britain's top astronomers among its
members; this goes a long way toward taking their
announcement out of the science fiction class and
certainly separates them from the 'kooks'. The basis
for their attempt to "talk" with the probe by way of
superpowerful radio transmitters is a discovery made
recently by a Scottish astronomer, Duncan Lunan,
presidEmt of the Scottish Association for Technology
and Research in Astronautics.
B'ack in the 1920s Norwegian, Dutch, and French
radio rl~se!llchers picked up some very curious echoes
from" space. The normal echo bounces back from the
iono~phere in 1/7th of a second, and they apparently
got plenty of these. But they also got a second set of
echoes "which carne back after various periods of
delay from 3 to 15 seconds long. This suggested that
the signals came from an object well beyond the
ionosphere -at least as far as the moon." Lunan
studied all the delayed echoes that had been recorded
and decided that they might constitute some kind of
intelligent signal. He told the National Enguirer:
"I recalled that in 1968, the distinguished American" astronomer, Prof. R. N. Bracewell of stanford
University in California, predicted that a probe trying
to contact us might attempt to send us a map of the
star" constellations. I therefore made a graph of the
delayed echoes which showed the various periods of
delay as dots in various positions on the graph paper.
To iny a~tonishment, the dots made up a map of an
easily-recognized constellation -the constellation of
Boote~, in the northern sky .... In all, I plotted six
star maps. All the reference lines point to a star called Epsilon Bootes in that constellation -103 light
years from Earth. That is the area from which the
probe would have originated. It
29
EAGLE REQUIEM
by stanley W. Tyler, Col., USA, Ret. *
After reading the article "A Cat Conclave" in the
January 1973 issue of Pursuit I must report an impressive as well as startling event witnessed by
myself and my wife in southern Ethiopia in November
of 1963.
We had been stationed in Ethiopia during the period
1961 to 196.4 while I was on duty with the Military
Assistance Advisory Group, Addis Ababa. For recreation we had a small camp on Lake Awasu, south of
the city towards the Northern Frontier District of
Kenya. The lake abounded in fish and there was quite
a variety of wildlife in the area, but most impressive
of all were the huge Fish Eagles, whose whitefeathered heads made them almost duplicates of our
North American Bald Eagle.
This was a beautiful wilderness, broken only by
widely scattered native villages with their thatched
huts or "Tukuls". We carried firearms, but only. for
protection in the event a pair of prowling leopards or
a rampaging pig decided to try us out for size. Our
interest in nature is colored photography of wildlife to
capture their beauty in their normal pursuits.
One of our companions, not of our persuasion,
wanted a stuffed eagle for atrophy, and shot one. As
the eagle was too badly damaged to retrieve for mounting, he left it lying where it fell by the side of the
lake.
The next da.y, my wife decided to ride the horse we
had in camp, and I followed about one hundred yards
behind in our Land Rover with my gun handy in case
there were leopards on the prowl. As we proceeded
along the shore of the lake, we noticed about twenty
eagles circling above the spot where the dead eagle
lay. Lower and lower they came and alighted on the
ground. My wife carefully approached and then I saw
her raise her hand -our signal for something unusual.
I stopped the Land Rover and climbed onto the hood
(or "bonnet" as the British would sa.y). I adjusted my
binoculars and what I saw will always be etched in my
memory.
My wife was not more than twenty feet away from a
perfect circle of eagles formed around the dead eagle.
",.
30
31
patient~
SPOOK LIGHTS
Lights of unexplained ongm that frequent one
place seem to be common in this country. We presently know of locations in over half of the fifty states
where from one to several globes of light the size of
auto headlights reportedly appear. sway or move
about. always remaining distant from any observers.
These seem to be traditional "spook lights", this
name being the most popular and appropriate when
taken from spook" as a verb meaning "to haunt; inhabit or appear in or to as a ghost or specter". While
stories of departed persons come back to haunt an
area are sometimes local'ly considered to account for
such lights (and these stories soould be made part of
any permanent record). we think some tangible phenomena that are little known or simply unknown are
responsible. Famous examples of these lights are the
"Brown Mountain Lights" in North Carolina and the
"Tri-State Spook Light" reported near the point where
Kansas. Missouri. and Oklahoma meet. While numerous
persons have variously explained these away. their
explanations do not satisfy us; and no one has been
busy trying even to explain away the lights in Alabama. Texas. North Dakota. Iowa, and so on. These
have been ignored.
Mysteriously re-occurring lights have, in fact. long
been known in countries' allover the world. and we
are interested in all of them. We will shortly be investigating one such light as thoroughly as posslble
and will then offer guidance to any members who will
similarly investigate lights in locations near them.
This will be a long-term research project. and we ask
that our readers write to us about any local (1) reports
of lights, (2) of unknown origin. (3) said to re-occur
(4) in the same locality. This includes "swP,mp fire".
glows on rocks or near the ground, and anything else
that fits these four conditions. This phenomenon may
encompass several mysteries. but only the combination of search and re-search will eventually provide
us with any solutions.
--.--
-----
32
III. PHYSICS
THE GOANDA EFFECT
In "Members' Forum" in the January 1973 issue of
Pursuit we asked for references on the Coanda effect
for onl~ of our members. We have since received other
requests for information as well as references. For
the benefit of any other members who may be interested, we list here what information we have.
From y!!! Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, third
edition, Princeton, New Jersey: COANDA EFFECT.
The tendency of a jet of gas to follow the wall contour
when discharged adjacent to a surface even when
that surface curves away from the jet discharge axis
is known as the Coanda effect.
.
"The effect may be either beneficial or detrimental..
In a slotted flap, the tendency of the flow to follow
the upper surface of the flap, even when considerably
deflected, contributes to the increased lift; in bellymountE!d jet engines. the tendency of the exhaust is
to follow the bottom fuselage contour. causing glow
problem s affecting the tail surfaces."
From Member 944: Actually. it's the COANDA
effect [we missed a typo there). after the Roumanian
scienti.st of that name. It all has to do with the
science of fluidics and fluidic amplifiers. A fluid
such i:l.S air or gas. or liquid, flowing close to a
SurfacE!. entrains molecules of slower moving fluid
nearer the surface to flow with it. thus lowering the
pressure near the surface. causing the entire flow
stream to be pushed over toward the surface or on it
V.ASTRONOMY
SATUUN'S RINGS
Saturn's rings encircle that planet from about
90,000 to 140.000 kilometers out. It has long been the
majority opinion that the rings are thin (i. e. unsubstantial) and consist of ice crystals. dust particles,
or gas, or a combination of these. However, recent
findings indicate that this is not the case.
Dr. Richard M. Goldstein and George A. Morris Jr
radar a.stronomers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
PasadE!Da, California, accomplished the first successful radar probe of Saturn, the longest planetary radar
bounce yet attempted (Saturn is 700_ million miles
away). in December 1972 and January 1973, as reported in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune of the 4th March
1973. They-used NASA's 64-meter antenna at Goldstone 13tation in the Mojave Desert to make a dozen
tests during the two-month period. The roundtrip for
the radar beams took two hours and fifteen minutes.
and the results were not what was expected:
-------,-
33
VI. GEOLOGY
From Road
on this inevitably bring to mind Prof. Charles Hapgood's book Earth's Shifting 9:!!!!. now long out of
print. but brought UP to date and revised in his later
book ~ !3!h Q! ~ ~ (Chilton Books. 1970).
(READ IT!) In this Prof. Hapgood postulates periodic
shifts of the entire crust of the Earth (visualize an
orange skin sliding o.ver the fruit inside) to account
for many geological (and biological) mysteries and
paradoxes. His theory can hardly be called popular
but is nonetheless most intriguing. Also. it is not
really incompatible with other theories such as plateshifting. One need think only of slow erosion and
violent earthquakes to see that while some changes
in the earth's surface may be gradual. others may be
rapid and extreme in their results.
Whether the twisting of the pyramids and perhaps
other monuments will provide support for Prof. Hapgood's theory. only time and future studies will say.
ERUPTING ROCKS
One of our subscribers. who formerly had a farm
near Langley. B.C . Canada. sent us a letter from
which we quote the pertinent portions.
"I guess. at some time or other. we've all had to
'pick rocks'. and we've had our share of rock-picking.
My hUSband use~ to (and still does) say they seem to
grow out of the ground overnight and I used to agree
with him until I noticed something about our North
Field... We did very little rockpicking here. mainly
just enough to keep large rocks out of the way of the
mower. and the only time there seemed a great many
was when we'd plowed part of the field. We were there
"Tourists were enjoying a sunny day at :Niagara Falls. Ontario. when their a ttention was suddenly
DIVERTED from the grandeur of the cataracts to an unoccupied car. parked near the Horseshoe Falls.
First the car's lights went on. then the lenses shattered. Then the horn began to blow. the engine started.
the car burst into flames and the windshield exploded. Firemen blamed the activity on a short-circuit."
All we can say is. Heaven defend us from short-circuits. If that was the true cause of the 'trouble'.
34
35
an
VII. BIOLOGY
MORE NEW CATS?
by Ivan T. Sanderson
During 1940 I made a trip alone from central
Sonora, via the west (i~e. southwest) coast of Mexico
with the lightest possible equipment. I was collecting
certain specified small mammals, all rodents, only
once collected before, Copies of the original papers
published on them I carried in a small bound book.
There were fifteen rats and one squirrel, This last
was, of course, a forest animal and had been reported
only once from the Pacific coast about 25 miles inland from the unnamed coast of the bay between San
BIas in the north and San Marcos in the south of the
State of Nayarit. The only way to get to this general
area -and I could not find out if there were any
villages there- was to walk.
I detrained at Tepic and after making some enquiries found a man with a donkey train who made
regular trips over a mountain road to a settlement
without, as far as I could ascertain, a name. The
Sierras of Nayarit are completely separated from
those of the adjoining ranges known collectively as
the Sierra Madre Occidentale and which contain,
further south, from Colima to Vera Cruz, the great
volcanicity of the 20th N. parallel, The vegetation is
considerably different and, as I learned, the fauna is
rather distinctly different, especially that which is
and has obviously for a long time been completely
separated from the other ranges.
------
36
Those of you who saw the February 1973 issue of SAGA with the photograph of an animal alleged to
come from Mars, should take a peek at the January 1972 issue of Pursuit. The animal shown is plainly a
Tardigrade or "Bew Animalcule" (see Ivan T. Sanderson's book "Things" for further information.)
----.
....
------------------------~----------
37
A sign on a boarded-up building near downtown Portland. Oregon. reads "No Admittance - No Trespassing
- Survivors Will Be Prosecuted." The National Enquirer. which published a photograph of the sign. noted
that their reporter did not linger or try to find out how many survivors has been prosecuted!
From the Winnipeg Free Press. 21 Feb. 1973. date-lined Romeo. Mich. (AP) -"The Romeo school
board hit a snag while discussing the purchase of Rix new buses and federal guidelines for seat belt!"
Supervisor Chris Holmes said the requirement for three safety belts a seat is based on 'the measurement
of a 13 -inch rump per student' but 'many of the students surpass federal standards'."
38
39
40
41
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
The Winnipeg ~ ~ of the 31st January 1973 reported a somewhat heated meeting with the chairman of the unemployment insurance commission. "'Why', asked William Skoreyko (PC-Edmonton East).
'does a computer advise a man who is 64 years of age that he is not eligible for benefits because he is
pregnant?' Mr. Cousineau (the chairman) laughingly conceded that the t}ommission's computers are not
infallible. He said that there was a case of a priest who received a similar notice."
Reported in Time, 8 June 1970: British research chemist David E. H. Jones managed to produce an
unridable bicycle. He commented "It seems a lot of tortuous effort to produce in the end a machine of
absolutely no utility whatsoever, but that sets me firmly in the mainstream of modern technology".
42
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43
Damascus
Petra
Medain Salih
Red Sea
44
45
--~~--------
46
Fort's notes and has reaffirmed his intention to complete this monumental job. As of the time of writing
this, we hope for an article on Fort's notes in time for
inclusion in this issue.
We should also like to single out R. Martin (Marty)
Wolf who has given us a great deal of help -and
usually with such thankless jobs as typing' labels,
stuffing envelopes, and raking and mowing the lawn.
(If your copy of Pursuit is long in arriving, don't
blame us: blame the post office.)
We accepted with regret the resignation of Adolph
L. Heuer, Jr. from the Board at our January meeting.
He felt that personal responsibilities would make it
impossible for him to 'pull his weight' las a Board
member. However, he remains, in fact, as active as
ever. His major point has always been that there are
"unexplaineds in everyone's "back-yard:", and that
these should be investigated. Some may not be as
spectacular as a Loch Ness monster but they nevertheless deserve study. We would ask that you refer to the
"Elaboration of Our Interests" for suggestions on the
type of thing to look for. As always, please send us
any newspaper clippings, magazine articles, or personal reports that you think may be of interest. to us -and
don't ~ assume that someone else probably has
already sent us a copy.
Israel Zangwill (1864-1926): " .. Science as an interpreter of the mysteries of the Universe is a dismal
failure. "
1/
47
Again. please let us know of any change of address as long in advance as possible. and include your new
zip code.
Anyone interested in miniaturized reproductions of Pursuit should write to University Microfilms. 300 North
Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Michigan 48106.
. 48
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
ru
Edward de Bono.
Mechanism 2f ~. Pelican
Books. UK 40p; also Australia. New Zealand. South
Africa. and Canada.
Edward de Bono. The Five-~ ~ U! T!!!n!.!!!g. Pelican Books. UK 70p; also Australia and New
Zealand.
These last three are presumably not available in
the U.S.. but readers ma,y find American editions
-possibly with different titles- by browsing through
paperback bookstores.
Cyrus H. Gordon. Before Columbus: Links Between the Old World and Ancient America. New York: crown
Publishers. Inc. 1971. $6,50.
-- - -There are two basic schools of thought among anthropologists and archaeologists. one being that the
various ancient civilizations developed independently of each other("independent inventionism-), the other
that all civilizations (or cultures) stemmed from a single ancestpr, as.it were, and resulted from 'diffusion'
of that original culture. (This is admittedly an oversimplification, but "I shall let it stand.) The diffusionist
theory has had little support in the past and has been vehemently opposed by many; the objection to
diff~lsionism is summed up in H, J. spinden's statement that "Where real similarities p.xist [between
cUlture~ they probably can be explained by pure chance or by psychic unity-.
Perry's book is exceedingly scholarly but on the whole quite readable. One can skip 99% of the footnotes (these are primarily references to works cited in his 24-page bibliography) and some of the middle
chapters may be skimmed. These are devoted to detailed accounts of various cultures. and one is inclined
after a time to shout .. All right. you've made your point! Now go on to something else.- However. the
initial and the concluding chapters really should be read in full. If you need to refer back to anything.
Perry's book contains a splendid index.
cyrus Gordon's book is equally scholarly but in general much. easier reading; the 'average citizen' will
have' difficulty only with those sections dealing specifically with linguistics. Again, there are numerous
notes (many of which may be skipped), a good bibliography. and an index.
Though Gordon states that he is not committed to either school of thought. both he and Perry are basically diffusionists. Perry, of course. wrote long before such things as carbond4 dating were 'invented'.
and some of his con"Clusions may well De wrong, but he presents apowerful argument in favor of his theory;
and it is more than interesting to find that many of the factors he cites also crop up in Cyrus Gordon's
book. It is impossible to present a really adequate summary of the material in Perry's book (the text runs
over 500 pages. closely set). In general. his theory is that civilization originated in Egypt and from there
spread to India. Indonesia. Oceania (Polynesia). North and central America. and that it did so because
the ]!:gyptians (and others in the Near East. influenced by the Egyptians) were looking for such things as
metals (gold in particular but also copper. tin. and iron). pearls. salt. gemstones. and such. (If you think
this is an unlikely explanation for 'expedition~' so far afield. remember the Klondike gold rush.) HIs
evidlmce for the transmission of culture is summarized on page 406:
. "The discussion of the past twenty-three chapters has been concerned with the elaboration of the
theory that the first food-producing civilization in the region was characterised by the following cultural
elements:- 1. Agrigulture by means of irrigation. 2. The use :>f stone, typically for pyramids. dolmens.
stonl~ circles, and rock-cut tombs. 3. The carving of stone im!!-ges. 4. Pottery-making. 5. Metal-working
and pearl-fishing. 6. The use of polished stone implements. 7. A ruling class in two divisions:- (a) The
Children of the sun. connected with the sky-world. born of theogamies, who practise incestuous unions.
..-..,........,.oC
I~-.0
po-
~~
~-'b- r------I--~
,:p".~.
.....
'.
'J
:.'
?.
A+,
'''''
.....
.-:e----'
TrOpe Of 'C.p,wn
'.
.,..~I
1-;::" .
.. Megalithic monuments
Mining
Pearl fisheries
compiled from maps in Perry's The Children of the Sun. For detailed maps. see Perry's book.
'.
~---------------------------------""'''''''''''''''''''--'''''''''''''''~'''''''''''~'''''''''''''''~
50
(b) A class associated with the underworld, who survive as war-chiefs. 8. 'The sun-cult. 9. The practice
of mummification. 10. The great mother goddess. 11. Human sacrifice, connected with agriculture and the
cult of the mother goddess. 12. Mother-dght. 13. Totemic clans. 14. The dual organizatio'n. 15, Exogamy."
,'~ ~.
-'
Perry does not contend .that all cultures derived' from the' Egyptian, simply that what' might be called
thE! major ones did. The map shQ;"n here is a composite of maps in his book (unfortunately, in the reprint
edition they are not in two colors, which makes them rather difficult to read), showing the location of
major civilizations and cultural elements associated with them (Perry virtually ignores Europe though he
dOE!S note "the presence, in this country W:ngland], and elsewhere in, western Europe, of megalithic
monuments and other cultural elements that suggest the presence of the archaic civilization .. In one
respect the conditions controlling the spread of civilization from the Ancient East to western Europe
should be identical with those controlling the distribution of the archaic civilization in the P'acific and
elsewhere in the region-the earliest settlements should be situated near sources of raw materials. This, I
take it, is a fundamental general principle of human geography that cannot be upset. ")
In his introduction Perry states that "Given certain desires, men will do their utmost'to satisfy them,
and it is to this dynamic attitude that is attributed the development and spread of the, archaic civilization. . .. from the days of paleolithic man settlement has been made in certain localities because men
cho'se to live there, and not because they were forced so to do by the climate or som~ other geographIcal
cause."
, Cyrus Gordon, in a way, goes even further than Perry, though he is more selective iI:! attributing cultural '
elements to diffusionism (or independent invention). He does, of course, have the benefit of nearly fifty
years of search and research not available to Perry, together with the advantages of 'absolute' dating by
modE!rn methods. His book will not be popular with those who insist that columbus discovered America
(he notes in his Acknowledgments the -irrational hostilities evoked by the topic of this book",) but. as
RobE!rt Graves points out in a blurb on the back cover, "columbus. of course, did not even redis'cover
America: he simply used maps." The fact would seem to be that "befote the continental concept of the
classical world. there was' a maritime view of the world based on the oceanic voyages of ancients such
as the Minoans and Phoenicians in the Bronze and Early Iron ages. By Roman times the geographical
hori~:ons of mankind were shrinking back to the continental view. which persIsted to the time of Columbus."
In other words, Gordon believes -and produces evidence to support that belief- that there was a civilization that antedated what we think of as classical civilizations (including the Egyptian) and that the
science and technology of those civilizations were 'left-overs' from an earlier civilization of ,which we,
at present, know nothing. Compare the following with Perry's summary.
"The achievements of civilized man in preliterate times, prior to the building of the first cities in
Neolithic antiquity [emphaSis mine1. include a high developmentOf the exact sciences and technologies.
Cuneiform literature, notably the Gilgamesh Epic, reflects what the archeology of Neolithic Mesopotamia
illustrates: (1) access to raw materials in many far-off areas, (2) development of land and sea travel,
(3) domestic, urban and naval architecture, (4) skilled workmanship in ceramics, stone-cutting and metallurgy, (5) the stratification of society into specialized guilds, (6) city planning, (7) an already ancient
tradition of science and technology, (8) a system of international morality and law in addition to local
regulations of law and order-in brief, an international ecumene. ~
Gordon lays most stress on the Mediterranean area since this is his major interest! but he does point.
out that it is not the only "seminal area" though it !!i!!:l' be the most important. He does insist, and quite
properly from the evidence he produces, that there was communication be,tween' the Old World and the New
at a, very early date, and goes on to point out that "Nowhere is the interdependence of the Old and New
worlds clearer than in the domain of science. Astronomy, mathematics and chronology bridge the two
worlds so inextricably that it is impossible to understand the history of science in the one without the
other. "
, . As for the "psychic unity" proposed by spinden to account for similarities between cultures, I should
like again to quote Dr. Gordon: "The diffusion of ideas from the Mediterranean to Mesoamerica explains
the facts more reasonably than a psychological approach implying that it is so natural for men to conceive
of bearded whit e men who are at the same time feathered serpents [in Mesoamerica and Athens
that
the same combination naturally developed independently at the ends of the earth in isolation." So much
for "psychic unity which seems, in any case, to have been areamed up because of tlie common, and
erroneous, notion that it would have been impossible for early'peoples to have crossed either the Pacific
or the Atlantic. Aside from the fact that people now cross the Atlantic in vessels little larger than bathtubs, and that Late Bronze Age ships were far larger lthan any 'of Columbus's ships, take a globe and turn
J'
51
it on its side: you will find that you can "cross both the Pacific and the Atlantic almost wHnoUt gettIng
out of sight of land!
Both books deserve thorough reading; the matetial they contain has been little more than hinted at here
but should be seriously considered by everyone.
There is just one further point to be made. Both authors suggest considerable scientific and technological expertise in the part of the Ancients (whether just Ancients or ancient Ancients). and Gordon
in particular wonders where this knowledge came from. "Mesopotamia cherished a tradition that 'at the
dawn of civilization, long before any period of history known to us, science stood at a level from which
historic man has fallen. Oannes brought from the sea knowledge and technology above anything achieved
(or, for that matter, achievable) by sumer, Babylonia, Assyria or classical Greek antiquity." Perhaps the
answer lies in Perry's book with those traditions found throughout ancient civilizations that gods came
down out of the sky and, like Oannes, brought science and technology, religion, and everything else to
the people. These gods mated with mortal women, whose children were the Children of the sun -the rulers
of the ancient world.
Edward J. Kunkel. Pharaoh's Pump. (Order from Mr. Kunkel, 295 W. Market street, Warren, Ohio 44481).
1967 (revised edition). $2.08 postpaid.
This little book (74) pages was privately printed, and the printing leaves something to be desired;
some of the illustrations in particular are very difficult to make out. However, despite our initial feeling
that it must be someone's idea of a joke, it is most thought-provoking -and the author isquite serious.
His basic premise is that the Great Pyramid of Cheops was a gigantic pump during its construction, for
the purpose of construction.
The' book was sent us by an engineer, and we subsequently turned it over to Adolph L. Heuer Jr. for
his opinion (his article on the subject will appear in the July issue of Pursuit). Mr. Heuer's primary report
is that while the author does do a lot of speculating, he does seem to have "done his homework'", has an
adequate knowledge of hydraulics, and has built a working model. Mr. Heuer points out that even today we
use flotation for moving really massive weights (e.g. drydocks for battleships).
Mr. Kunkel does not claim to have all the answers by any means. However, even non-engineers (who
will find some of his material rather difficult to follow) may wish to read this intriguing book.
Gay Gaer Luce. Body Time. New York: Bantam Books. 1973. $1.50. Also Biological Rhythms in
~ Physiology. New York: Dover Publications. 1971. $2.50
lli!!!!!!! !!l!!
There has been a great deal of material published in recent years on the subj ect of "biological rhythms",
"bio-cycles, and a host of other names for the same thing. These two books will probably tell you more
than you want to know about it, and the' author admits that some of it is so technical that the average
reader will want to skim some chapters. It is a vitally important subject and one that deserves much more
practical attention than it has been getting.
This is a vast over-simplification, but the body 'arranges' its various functions to fit a particular time
cycle and cannot 'rearrange' things on even a few !!.!!:l. notice. Hence, travellers who fly to' Europe from the
U.S. for a two-week tour, spend their two weeks trying to (though they may not realize it) rearrange their
body rhythm. They then fly back and spend the next month recuperating from the whole business. For
those who do this only once a year or perhaps once in a lifetime, there probably are no permanent effects;
but for persons such as airline pilots and stewardesses who must make such 'adjustments' at frequent
intervals, the results are devastating. No one yet knows exactly how much of an effect is involved. We
know from first-hand information that the pilots are, to put it mildly, concerned.
You probably will not want to read straight through either of these books, but they are worth looking at,
and probably of far greater value than the sort of "computerized individual cycle predictions" now being
hawked by various firms. We have not seen an actual example but believe that you will be better off figuring
out your ow9 cycles.
Qf M.!n.
I have been castigated by one of our memliers for being so presumptuous as to tell anyone what they
ought and ought not to read. However, inasmuch as I think there is nothing more useless than a "book
52
review" which tells you what the author talked about and who the author is but not whether the book is
wOl'th reading, I shall continue to be "presumptuous".
We received in the mail a lavish 'brochure' (with other papers begging us to subscribe at once) nn the
first volume of a series to be published by Time-Life Books. Ivan Sanderson annotated it: "This thing is
a (censored) disgrace". It is. And this despite quite an array of topnotch "consultants". We know of a
previous consultant to Time-Life Books, who is reported to foam at the mouth at the mention of their name,
since they refused to have anything to do with any possible alternative theories or such, and more or less
said "tell it like it !, man".
The 'brochure' is a bit overwhelming and I am a bit at a loss to know where to start. Time-Life states
that "THE EMERGENCE OF MAN tells the story of man's beginning Il. !,!; really ~.. " -emphasis ~.
Inasmuch as !lQ ~ really knows what the story of man's beginning" was, this is pretty presumptuous of
Time-Life. In fact, John Hillaby, writing in the New Scientist of the 21 December 1972, notes that when
Louis B. Leakey "exhibited Nutcracker Man or whatever he called it at the Royal Academy years ago,
Prof Cave [emeritus professor of Anatomy, London and Barts] -who comes from Manchester-muttered
'Well he's got the bloody nasal bones upside down for a start'." This will give you some indication of just
how certain we are of "man's beginning"!
There is a 'lovely' illustration entitled "The Face from Fish to Man". The shark and the lizard are
OK: the "opossum" may be all right but looks more like a large Oriental insectivore: the "lemur" is not
any that we know of -it looks more like a dormouse than anything else: the "monkey" is certainly a baby
chimpanzee (which is an ape, not a monkey): the gorilla and man are all right. If they can make so malllY
errors in one illustration, heaven help the rest. And Time-Life points out (at some length) that You don't
just read this new information-you ~ it. Time-Life Books has commissioned hundreds of special paintings, drawings, panoramas and models (including the unique 'photo-painting' at left) to reconstruct faithfully the latest discoveries on how man looked and lived in the dimness of prehistory. Never before has the
stor.y of man's origins been made so vivid, so colorful, so dramatic.... " We don't doubt that this book,. and
the other books to follow, will be vivid, colorful, and dramatic, but we do suggest that anyone buying this
book read it with caution and bear in mind that we do not have all the answers yet, flat statements by
Time-Life notwithstanding.
-
Clifford Wilson. Crash Go The Chariots: An Alternative to Chariots of the Gods? New York: Lancer Books.
197"2. $1. 25 (Pu'biished byarrangement-With Word of Truth Prod;ctiO""ns, Ltd., Mt. Waverly, Victori 11."
Australia. )
lt is obvious that Lancer Books is trying to cash in on Erich von D!1niken's current popularity as an
author, and we agree in general with anyone who takes a dim view of his books, but I am afraid that Wilson's
book is just as bad as von DBniken's, though in the other direction. Clifford Wilson is patently a "fundamentalist", and his attitude is summed up in the last paragraph of the text of his book:
"On this note we conclude. The answer to Erich von Daniken's question on the cover of his book,
'Was God an astronaut?' is easily answered. No. The true God, the Almighty, is the One Whose character
is consistently presented in the pages of both Old and New Testaments."
Wilson very rightly accuses von Daniken of leaping to conclusions and presenting speculations as facts,
but in many cases is equally guilty of these faults himself. And on page 62 he comes up with a real "eyepopper", as follows:
"So the authority now is the 'Popol Yuh' - which is traditionally accepted as a sacred book of the
of Central America. It is believed that the 'book' became known after the conquest by the Spaniard
MayfLS
COrtl~Z, and was published in a Spanish form. However, the onl;y copy today is in Latin. It is thought that
the original would have been in pictographic form, somewhat resembling the Mexican codices - IF there
was an original in writing. This view is put forward by some scholars (see e.g. 'Sacred Books of the
World,' A. C. Bouquet, p. 82). It is possible that an original was destroyed at the time of the Conquest,
but '.j;he relevant point is that it certainly is not good scholarship to quote such a work as though it were
prOpE!rly established as source material.... "
This IS an incredible statement from someone who claims to be a scholar. Unfortunately it is ra.ther
typical. of Dr. Wilson. He is right on some points, but his book is not even "an" answer to von Da.nlken.
We rE!commend that you read it only if you are in need of an emetic.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Mark A. Hall
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert C. Warth
Robert J. Durant
Carl J. Pabst
Walter J. McGraw
Acting Director
Executive Secretary
Technical Director
Technical Consultant
Research Consultant
Mass Media
EDITORIAL BOARD
201-6890194
.':.
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--
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==
=
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2-
;. .-
-=-
i~
::5!"
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--
JULY, 1973
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board Q! Trustees. in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. These Officers are five in number: a President. elected for five years;
two Vice-Presidents; a Treasurer; and a Secretary. General policy is supervised by a Governing Board.
consisting of the five Trustees. and four other members elected for one year terms. General administration and management is handled by an Executive Board. listed on the inside back cover of this ilUblication. The Editorial Board is listed on the masthead of this journal. Finally. our society is counselled
by a number of prominent scientists. as also listed on the inside back cover of this journal. These are
designated as our Scientific Advisory Board.
PARTICIPATION
Participation in the activities of the Society is solicited. Memberships run from the 1st of January to
the 31st of December; but those joining after the 1st of October are granted the final quarter of that year
gratis. The annual subscription is u.S. $10. which includes four issues of the Journal PURSUIT for the
year. as well as access to the society's library and files. through correspondence or on visitation. The
annual subscription rate for the journal PURSUIT (alone. and without membership benefits) is $5. including postage. (PURSUIT is also distributed. on a reciprocal basis. to other societies and institut~ons.)
The Society contracts-- with individuals. and institutional and official organizations for specific projects
-- as a consultative body. Terms are negotiated in each case in advance. Fellowship in the Society is
bestowed (only by unanimous vote of the Trustees) on those who are adjudged to have made an outstanding contribution to the aims of the society.
NOTICES
In view of the increase in resident staff and the non-completion. as yet. of additional living quarters.
there is no longer over-night accomodation for visitors. Members are welcome to visit to consult our files.
but we ask that they make application at least a week in advance to prevent 'pile-ups' of members who.
as a result of the simple lack of facilities. as ')1 now. cannot be properly accomodated.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further. the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in
its publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made by any members by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of th\! Society.
There have been a number of articles recently on the problem of junk mail and the way in which
one's name gets on such a mailing list. We should like to assure our members and subscribers that our
mailing list is available only to resident staff at our headquarters.
PUBLICATIONS
The Society publishes a quarterly journal entitled PURSUIT. This is both a diary of current events
and a commentary and critique of reports on these. It also distributes an annual report on Society affairs
to members. The Society further issues Occasional Papers on certain projects. and Special Reports on
the request of Fellows only.
RECORD: From its establishment in July. 1965. until the end of March 1968. the Society issued only
a newsletter. on an irregular basis. The last two publications of that were. however. entitled PURSUIT-Vol. 1. No.3 and No.4. dated June and september. 1968. Beginning with Vol. 2. No.!. PURSUIT has
been issued on a regular quarterly basis: dated January. April. July. and October. Back issues. some
available only as xerox copies. are available; those wishing to acquire any or all of these should request
an order form.
PURSUIT
Vol. 6. No. 3
July. 1973
CONTENTS
54
55
55
57
58
59
59
60
64
66
66
67
68
69
70
71
73
73
54
EDITORIAL
"The greatest crisis facing us is not Russia. not the Atom bomb. not corruption in government. not encroaching hunger. nor the morals of the young. It is a crisis in the organization and accessibility of
. human knowledge. We own an enormous 'encyclopedia' -which isn't even arranged alphabetically. Our
'file cards' are spilled on the floor. nor were they ever in order. The answers we want may be buried
somewhere in the heap. but it might take a lifetime to locate two already known facts. place them side by
side IUld derive a third fact. the one we urgently need ...
"We need a new 'specialist' who is not a specialist. but a synthesist. We need a new science to be
the pl!rfect secretary to all other sciences."
In 1966 the article was up-dated and published in The Worlds' of Robert A. Heinlein under the title
"Pandora's BOx. and again we quote:
-- - -"Today the forerunners of these synthesists are already at work in many places. Their titles ,may be
anyth:ing; their degrees may be in anything-or they may have no degrees .... they are all interdisciplinary
people. generalists. not specialists -the new Renaissance Man. The very explosion of data which forced
most scholars to specialize very narrowly created the necessity which evoked this new non-specialist. So
far. this 'unspecialty' is in its infancy; its methodology is inchoate. the results are sometimes trivial.
and no one knows how to train to become such a man. But the results are often spectacularly brilliant.
too-this new man may yet save all of us."
Though Robert Heinlein was not speaking specifically (or at least openly) of forteana. I believe we
may be sure that he had it in the back of his mind. I have always looked on our operations as a synthesizing of knowledge. and particularly in the case of items filed under "Chaos & Confusion". There are a
number of organizations which specialize in one aspect of the' Unexplained. e.g. APRO for UFOs. the
A.S.P.R. for such intangibles as 'ghosts'. SITU does not specialize and is therefore in probably a much
better position to find two (or more) seemingly unrelated 'things' .which together provide a possible answer
to an old problem. Our results thus far may indeed be trivial. b~t we are still a very young organization
arid are hampered by lack of proper funding and adequate staft Nevertheless. we feel an obligation to
continue our work. ineffective though it may seem. Back in late 1969 we received a letter from a member
who stated that he would not renew his membership: we had beEm in business for two years and had not
yet solved any Great Mysteries. No. we had not. And we may not for another twenty. But this is no reason
to quit now. Most overnight sensations" have struggled for manY years to reach that enviable position.
It is not possible at this point to do more than guess at the results we might achieve. To give just one
example: in the article on page 59 a case of apparent ITF or instant-transference (or teleportation. if you
wish) is presented. As I write we face a definite shortage of gasoline and the prospect of rationing; if we
could find out how to 'teleport' at will. such a shortage would affect only those who drive tractors to till
their fields and those who are not really travelling --i.e. fishermen and such. This is undoubtedly too
grandiose an idea at the moment but it is not impossible.
All. this is basically an appeal for both patience and support on your part. We realize fully that many of
you have little spare time -or money- or perhaps lack the training to do active search or research. but
would point out once again that even shut-ins can assist us by watching their local papers. trade journals.
and the like. for any items that might be of value or interest to us. And once again also. please do not
ever nssume that we have clippings on a particular story; we would far rather have ten copies than none
at all. One can never tell when one little tidbit may prove to be a vital key to an Unexplained.
Sabina W. Sanderson
"Where To?" copyright 1952 by Galaxy Publishing Corp.; updat~d and published in The Worlds of Robert
A. ---.--Heinlein. copyright 1966 by Robert A. Heinlein; the latter published
by Ace Book;:-!nc . 1tF-375-.--,
55
UFOLOGY
56
This aircraft was equipped with a small, batteryoperated gyro horizon installed as insurance against
the possibility of a complete loss of electrical power.
It is also useful as a reference to test which of the
other two gyros is indicating correctly. Unfortunately all three were giving different indications by this
time, but the captain elected to ignore the two main
gyros and fly entirely on the battery-operated gyro.
By now t hey were about 100 miles south of
Bermuda. Luckily, Bermuda has an excellent long
range radar system. The jet asked. for emergency
landing clearance and radar assistance with the
navigation and let-down to the airport.
They arrived safely but with nerves shattered. On
the ground, mechanics hunted in vain for the cause of
the malfunctioning instruments. A telephone c all to
the airline's technical center in New York elicited
the reply t hat the reported troubles 1'1 ere simply
impossible". The pilots must have been imagining it
all. After several days of fruitless trouble-shooting
in Bermuda, the plane was flown back to New York
-in daylight- without incident. After further testing
by the "experts" it was decided that the electrical
system and all of the instruments showed signs of
having been subjected to an extremely strong electrical shock, probably the result of being struck by a
lightning bolt. Both t he instruments and t he wiring
57
58
N.W.T.
Hudson Bay
-,
500 miles
......
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59
r-13ft.~
-+e,-
2<!1L ft
un .
__
~.
Table
/ '"-'
BIrd
feeder
II
20 ft.
11/
I
... ~
.-Chipmunk's Path
~.,r
~)~
~ Mulberry trees
60
ENTOMBED TOADS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
For at least a couple of centuries there have been
reports of what are facetiously called "Toad( s) in the
Hole", i.e. toads or other small animals, almost exclusively amphibians, found incarcerated in solid
rock or inside tree trunks -and found alive. The
usual reaction from 'orthodox science' is that this is
impossibie. 1 cannot refrain from Quoting Professor
Richet who said, "I never said it was possible; 1
merely sa.j.d it was a fact."
61
I. Hattingh.
DIRECTOR.
62
63
tJ
'.
,
/UjUH
.I......
"'''"3 . .P;..f'atl..
)I/J~""___ .
I..
/na-J.a ...
/ ..
/f1..I-/82 '1.
:l . .'
..~
J
/"i
I.
"'~'"
,i' ..
,'I
"Ir/
~'
If.
A Xerox copy of a page from the Register of. the Edinburgh University Museum (which was given to the
nation in 1854 to found what"il> now the Roya( Scottish Museum) reprinted here through the kindness of
Dr A S Clarke. The speciinen is no longer in their collections. nor could Dr Clarke find any further
documentation.
..
64
II. ONTOLOGY
'WORM-HOLES' IN SPACE
We have just caught up with a splendid article
entitled "Breaking the Light Barrier" by Adrian
Berry, which appeared in the Daily Telegraph Magazine (London) for the 7th May 1971. This was reprinted (in slightly cut form) in the March 1972 issue of
~ Magazine. Our readers are urged to read this in
full if possible. It c.oncerns the theories of Professor
John A. Wheeler, one of if not the most forwardthinking scientist of our time. (It was he who some
years ago suggested that the Library of the American
Philosophical Society -basically a scientific society
despite .its now somewhat misleading name- collect
the best science fiction, since many new ideas, both
scientific and technological, first appear in this form.)
Albert Einstein formulated his Special Theory of
Relat:ivity in 1905. This showed that no material
object eould reach the speed of light since. as it
approached that speed. its length would shrink toward
zero while t he energy required t a propel it would rise
toward infinity. Not even the most audacious sciencefiction writer has ever suggested a spaceship that
would do that. However. many writers have envisioned some way to get round the obstacle posed by the
Special Theory. usually by "jumping" through an area
in which time and distance have no meaning at all.
As Adrian Berry points out. "This sort of talk infuri-
65
ru
66
V. ASTRONOMY
VII. BIOLOGY
"LUMINOUS PEOPLE AND OTHERS
by Ivan T. Sanderson
There are (or can be) luminous men. By this I
mean wholly physical human entities, born of the
human species, and fully touchable. I saw one once.
He was a Nicaraguan fisherman living on a small
creek among the vast coastal mangrove swamps of
the Bluefields Lagoon area of his country. on the
Caribbean side. We were puttering around that labyrinth in our schooner some years ago and got lost.
Our old pirate captain (may his fine soul rest in
peace, for he was murdered by his comperes for aiding
the U.S. Government in time of war by giving away
secrets of their smuggling operations for the enemy)
took a dim view of this because he was born a
Nicaraguan (but wanted" in seven countries!) and
prided himself on knowing all Caribbean waters and
waterways as well as the hairs on the back of his
hands.
We were chugging along shortly after dark through
this tiny twisting creek - our boat drew only six feet
of water - when we turned a b end and espied a
cleared area to the right, upon which grew short
grass. At the back of this clearing was a small
shack. As we rounded t he bend we saw a fairly
bright greenish-blue light emerge from this shack and
advance to the creek to coincide with our passing.
Even our gallant and extremely rugged 'Captain' was
rather startled, for said light was in the form of a
person's torso!
To make a very long story as short a~ possible. I
will only explain that this was a local citizen of,
apparently. almost pure African origin, wearing only
a wide leather belt, and a pair of ragged khaki p,!-nts.
His tiPP(!f half was magnificently proportioned but all
over it were large mottlings (as in hound-dogs) of
brightly 'lit' glowing luminescence. By very pure
coincidence. our Captain happened to have known the
man years before and we struck up a conversation
after we tied up at his so-called dock.
The glowing patches on his body, which really lit
up the afterdeck, proved on examination with a flashlight to be huge, soft swellings. They glowed from
inside --a sight more bizarre than I would ever have
wished to see. I did not know much. if anything. about
such things in those days. so I endeavoured to preserve the amenities. We had a couple of rums and a
pleasant chat in the brightly lit main cabin. and then
our new friend went ashore and waved us a cheery
~~~.
'
67
68
69
.'
0'
70
they spent time "in the field- and saw nothing but
very often had the feeling that they were being
watched. In fact, one group was told by a forest
ranger that he had seen a Sasquatch trailing them!
They came home empty handed. Skeletons in museums
or barn lofts won't run away, but they must be searched for. And local museums are more likely to have
specimens 'buried' in their collections than the big
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
LEYS by
~ranet
Bord
71
ed hi s ley research and, as he was also a professional photographer, he left somp. hp.autiful pictures
illu strating t he most important ancient sites on
the leys he found. In his book, he puts forward the
belief that the leys were old trackways, but this is
doubted by most people now, in view of the fact that
many of them went straight through marshy land, even
water, and over high mountains, whereas man would
prefer a more circuitous but easier route when travelling across country. But it has recently been said by
those in the know that Watkins was not wholly convinced himself by his 'track ways' explanation.
And that brings us to the upsurge of interest in
ley-hunting today. Further research into leys, in the
light of other unexplained mysteries such as dowsing,
radiesthesia, ufo logy, terrestrial zodiacs like that
at Glastonbury, folklore, all of which appear to have
links with leys, suggests that there may be a more
subtle reason for their exi stence. It is now widely
felt that the leys may in fact follow invisible lines
of power criss-crossing the countryside, and that
early man was aware of this power, which he harnessed for his own spiritual and physical benefit (and
also for the benefit of nature and the earth) by erecting his 'temples' at certain significant points along
the power-lines. Some people who seem to have a
particular kind of sensitivity receive shocks, sometimes violent, w hen they touch certain ancient
stones, but the stones don't seem to be 'charged'
with power all the time.
Again, the current ideas are only briefly stated
here, for to try to give examples of all the aspects"
would make this article far too long. Two books now
available in the U.S.A. giving far more information
on leys and related topics, are listed at the end of
this article. 3
So far, leys are only positively known in Britain,
but that does not mean that they do not exist elsewhere. Most countries have ancient sites, and it is
more than likely that leys are a worldwide phenomenon. There are dragon lines in China which seem to
have had the same effect and purpose, and Watkins
in his book mentions briefly evidence in Burma,
India, Palestine, Egypt and Syria which has similarities to certain ley features.
In England t here is an active body of people
delving into these mysteries, and their thoughts,
arguments and researches are published in the monthly magazine The ~ ~. 4 Naturally their ideas
are considered cranky by the 'straigl!-t' archaeologists, and ley-hunters are generally considered to be
the lunatic fringe of archaeology, but year by year
their ideas gain new followers among more openminded people who have had the sense to pick up an
Ordnance Survey map and a straight-edge. and try it
for themselves.
Antiquarian Harold Bayley's words, written in
1919. are most apt in this context: "It is, J;lOwever,
an Englishman's peculiarity that possessing""perh!lPs
PHARAOH'S PUMP
by Adolph L. Heuer. Jr.
[Editor'S Note: This is a further commentary on
Edward J. Kunkel's book Pharaoh'S Pump. reviewed
in our April 1973 issue.]
"" Mr. Kunkel's book was rather well done, and the
author seems to have done his homework. Further. I
believe that careful study of his basic premise also
seems worthwhile -at least in part. There is no doubt
that the Great Pyramid is very complicated though
seemingly simple. It would seem also to be a multipurpose structure.
Although the suggestion that it was a pump during
construction for the purpose of construction may at
first seem a bit bizarre. the idea does have merit.
Even today our greatest mover of massive weights is
flotation. Consider for a moment a drydock for a
battleship: While a modern drydock is part of our
modern technology. it should be very clear that whoever built the Great Pyramid also had a highly developed technology. To view this construction in any
other light would be ludicrous to say the least.
After having reached the conclusion that Mr.
Kl,mkel's "pump" was a reasonable suggestion, it was
necessary to determine. insofar as was possible,
whether his statements concerning the pyramid are
correct. For this I turned to Peter Tompkins' book
Secrets Q! the Great Pyramid. There are many evidences therein to support the idea of a technologY
far more advanced than is usually assumed for the
Ancient Egyptians -and also considerable "pure"
scientific knowledge, particularly in the field s of
geography and astronomy. However. I s hall limit
myself here to those 'items' that seem to support Mr.
Kunkel's premise. These quotations are. of course.
taken out of context but generally stand on their own.
72
Seattle. Wash. (UPI)-- "The following ad appeared in Friday's [8 June 1973J edition of the Seattle
'My boat and motor has disappeared from Ma,rtha Lake. Alderwood Manor. since June
10. I send my wishes that the boat breaks in half in mid-lake and that your mother is unsuccessful in
attracting help as she runs barking along the shore.' ..
Pos~-Intelligencer:
73
MEMBERS'FORUM
Member 11292 has dug up an old issue of the
National Geographic (January 1933) which contains
photographs and more information on the great wall
of Peru. It was almost certainly built as a defensive
barrier and, in fact. there are forts to be found along
it.
Also, can anyone tell us of the pres-ent whereabouts of the "Casper, Wyoming, Mummy"? This has
been written up many times. usually being identified
as a 60-year-old man and probably "not of this
earth". On the other hand, museum specialists have
x-rayed it and identified it as an anencephalic fetus
-i.e. an infant. whether stillborn or not. lacking most
of the brain. However. one specialist at the American Museum of Natural History whom we have been
in touch with, has been unable to locate his set of
x-rays (he had been moved to a new office just before
we wrote to him and is still disentangling his files).
We want very much to find this mummy -or good
x-rays- so that the dentition can be studied by an
expert of our own choosing. If the mummy's jaw
contains a set of adult teeth, we have a 'problem' on
our hands: if the teeth are "baby teeth". then we can
forget it. At the moment it is not at either the AMNH
or the Smithsonian, and rumours have it that it was
repossessed by the owner; we have -been unable to
trace him.
Janet Bord, whose article on leys appears in this
issue, is planning a book on ghosts for children (a
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
Andrew Tomas. ~ Are Not the ~. New York: Bantam Books. 1973. $1.25. (Hardcover editions: New
York: G. P. Putnam: London: Souvenir Press.)
This is still another book in the "Was there an ancient civilization preceding what we think of as the
dawn of history" genre? It is considerably better than most despite a few dubio.us statements, and contains references for some material though not all. There is a fair bibliography but no index in the paperback edition. (We do not know whether there is one in the hardcover editions, but hope there is.) The
author does include a most interesting chart outlining the "Rediscovery of Science", i.e. scientific and
technological. ideas known in antiquity and later lost. to be rediscovered by modern science.
While much of the material in Andrew T_omas's book will be familiar to those who have read other
books on this subject, he does include some new material and seems to have delved more deeply into
some of the old subject matter. The few items which are definitely not !!: propos (e.g. the "non-rusting"
pillar at Delhi) do not seriously affect his basic thesis that there was very advanced knowledge millennia
ago and that at least part of this knowledge would seem to have come from some outside source.
I do wish he had not devoted three chapters to ~men who traveled to one of these oases" (remote parts
of the world where a scientific 'utopia' is said to linger on), namely, Apollonius of Tyana, the "immortal"
Comte de Saint-Germain, and Nicholas Roerich. In fact, he dedicates his book to Saint-Germain, "who. in
the words of Voltaire, 'never dies and knows everything'''. I am inclined to wonder where Voltaire's
74
tongue was when he said that. and. while all three men are fascin'ating. the mere mention of Saint-Germain
in particular is likely to put many person's backs up. The increasing evidence that there was indeed a
rughistoric highly advanced civilization requires the most searching enquiry, and we shall need all the
'professional' help we can muster to determine the truth of all this. The general thesis may not be popular
but it should not be ignored.
One quite refreshing aspect of Andrew Tomas's writing is his kindly attitude toward orthodox scientists. He notes the very narrow specialization forced on most scientists. with the unavoidable result that
they know little outside their own field (called professional cretinism" by the scientists themselves). He
is not. of course. referring to those vociferous gentlemen who yell "Fake" when anything fortean appears
on their horizon but this lot can be ignored if the more open mintled can be induced to tackle this problem.
Tomas's book might be a good one to pass around.
The ,Magazine Q.f Science Fiction. 8060 Melrose Ave . Los Angeles, California 90046. Bimonthly.
$6.00 per year. ($7 for Canada; $8 'foreign')
Vert~:
This new science fiction magazine is really quite splendid -not so much for its science fiction as for
its science. Each issue has contained several articles on the latest in astronomy, computer technology.
and other such items as are of particular interest to SF writers and readers. These are very well written
and while perhaps not strictly forteana. they deal with discoveries and theories that have the orthodox
scientists tearing their hair.
Even if you don't like science fiction, we believe you will find it worth the price. Tell them we sent
you.
Raymond Lamont Brown. Phantoms
ell the
~.
']'his book deals primarily if not exclusively with ghosts and is therefore generally outside our field.
Most of the tales are the old stand-bys though a few wiII,be new to most readers. However. incredibly
enough, the a uthor manages to make the whole thing rather dull.
Gerald S. Hawkins. Beyond Stonehenge. New York: Harper & Row. 1973. $10.00.
This is a rather odd book and definitely not up to Mr. Hawkins' previous work. In the first place. the
author does not seem to be certain whom he is addressing; portions of the book are quite technical and
will leave most readers a bit baffled unless they are astrono.:ners or mathematicians. but other sections
'are simply a chatty travelogue with repetitious discussion of his self-imposed diet that wards off the
"tra,veller's trots. He bounces from Stonehenge to the Nazca Lines (he concludes that they are !!.Qt a form
of ealendar) to Egypt and elsewhere and ends up with a sort of "whither mankind" and a discussion of
ecology and such. Altogether it is not a satisfying book.
Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell and David Solomon. J:.!!!! Search for Morag. New York: Walker and Company.
1973. $6.95.
This is an excellent and very straightforward account of the, initial work undertaken at Loch Morar
whi.ch lies not far from Loch Ness and also is inhabited by "monsters". The Loch Morar Survey group
consisted of three autonomous sections: biological. operational. and historical. The findings of the biologists. including the geological history of the loch. are reported by David Solomon who holds a degree in
zoology from Exeter University. while Mrs. Campbell reports on the operational (i. e. camera-watch) and
historical 'sections', the latter being. of course. the unearthing of eye-witness reports. It is unfortunate
but inevitable that these really are no different from those from Loch Ness 'and are therefore generally
repetitious. One exception is the 'initial' report from Loch Morar. given here without t he journalistic
embellishments that appeared in newspapers and infuriated the two gentlemen involved; they were not
attacked by a monster but one did graze the side of their boat and the 'ancient' oar they used to try to
fend it off did break. but both men felt that there was nothing deliberate in the animal's actions.
The book is divided into four sections -Background. Environment. Evidence. and Assessment- and
also includes a bibliography and an index. Though much of the material will be familiar to those who have
followed the investigations at Loch Ness. the book is a worthy addition jp any library dealing with
for1:eana.
Lastly. as amunition to be used against the sceptics. I rriust quote from Mrs. Campbell's chapter "The
Problem of Credibility": "Drink is another theory to explwn away the monsters. though I often think
that this one reflects more upon the doubter than the doubted. This was certainly so in the case of one
75
man who cornered me at a party with the repeated question, 'How do you know they weren't drunk?' His
insistence led him to the ultimate absurdity. of querying Tim Dinsdale's film with the words 'Yes, but how
do you know he wasn't drunk when he took it?'" This needs no comment from me.
Guy Underwood. The Pattern Qf the Past. London: Pitman Publishing. 1971. L1.50. New York: AbelardSchuman, Ltd. 1973. $8.95 (probable price).
The author's thesis is that all prehistoric structures -henge monuments. figures carved in the chalk,
barrows, roads, fords, entrances and divisions of fields and you name it-and also medieval churches and
cathedrals, are determined in both location and shape. by what he calls "geodetic lines". He has "proved"
his thesis by dowsing. Acceptance of his thesis therefore depends upon the reader's faith in his ability
as a dowser, something that I am inclined to d.oubt for various reasons.
Underwood devotes several chapters to the art of dowsing and states that there are two basic types of
dowsers: negative and positive ("terms used for distinction only, and not Signifying any electrical polarity"). Negative dowsers are sensitive to water lines, Le. underground streams. Positive dowsers, when
equipped with a "suitable rod. can detect not only water lines but also "aquastats and "track lines
which, according to the author, ~ be detected by negative dowsers. And herein lies the rub. Despite
the fact that Underwood devotes a chapter to "Primary Geodetic Lines" (his name for water lines. aquastats. and track lines), I really do not know what "aquastats" and "track lines" are. Certainly the author
does not make it clear, though it is aquastats and track lines that he uses to prove his theory. He states
that "Hazards are present in full force when water divining constitutes the prime method of research. The
sole media whereby the investigator may dete'ct or measure any phenomenon are his own perceptions-and
these are liable to mislead him. Auto-suggestion is his enemy, and preconceived ideas may blind him to
important facts when these seem impossible or produce chance and unrepresentative results ... " This does
not sit well with his later statement (p. 142) "As had already become clear to me, the location and shape
of all prehistoric structures are determined by geodetic lines ... "; nor with his conclusion that the movements of a divining rod are due to reflex actions of the dowser's muscles. triggered by some outside force.
The "rod" used by Underwood was a particularly 'sensitive' one whose movements could be detected
"though they be slight tremors only". Indeed. he detected the existence of aq.uastats and track lines by
the use of his "Geodetic rod", though he contends that other dowsers have been influenced by them but
have paid no attention to them, being interested only in finding underground streams or springs.
Underwood's detailed presentation of his findings is intriguing but not, to me at least, convincing. He
has a tendency to make flat statements where qualified ones should be required -e.g., speaking of Stonehenge, he says "The supposition that all recumbent stones have fallen from an upright position is incorrect ... "; and there is. so far as I can make out. not one single instance in which his findings by dowsing have been confirmed by digging down to find his aquastats or track lines. He several times states
that his findings have been confirmed, but the implication is that the confirmation has come from other
dowsers. He also makes several errors of commission and omission. Perhaps the most incredible of theSe
concerns Logan Stones. Th'ese are the large stones which are precisely balanced on one point and can be
rocked easily. To quote Underwood:
"The most famous in Britain is near Lan~'s End, and weighs 70 tons, while the largest in the world is
at TlUldil. in the Argeritine. It weighs over 700 tons, and rocks in the wind. All the logan stones tested
for geodetic lines were discovered to be placed similarly to monoliths and the inference is that they were
deliberately sited with reference to the geodetic pattern."
He fails even to speculate on how anyone managed to balance a 70-ton rock on one point, and one can
only hope that he does not seriously mean that anyone positioned a 700-ton stone so precisely that it
rocks in the wind!
Similarly he identifies some cracks on Stone 28 at Stonehenge as forming a swastika, noting that
"This is roughly executed. but recognizable". Here I can only credit him with a good imagination. I see no
resemblance whatsoever.
When he comes to cathedrals built in medieval times, he would seem to be guilty of omissions in at
least one case -Salisbury Cathedral- in that he completely ignores the fact that the original cathedral
was built on top of a chalk hill over the r,uins of a Norman castle, a Roman fortress, and an Iron Age hill
fort. The present cathedral was built because the old one ... Well, to quote from a history of Salisbury
Cathedral by Canon A. F. Smethhurst, Ph.D., Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral:
"Both the Roman and the Saxon names for Ol<;l Sarum mean 'dry fortress' or 'dry city'; and it was indeed
dry and very short of water, being on the summit of a hill with chalky subsoil. The Cathedral was within'
the 'line of fire' from the castle; the wind was terrible 'so that the clerks can hardly hear one another
76
sing' and they suffered from severe rheumatism, and t he Church was continually damaged [often by
lightning]; there were not sufficient houses for the clergy within the congested city; and finally the
soldiers in the castle were continually annoying them and interfering with the services .... with the King's
sUPport he [Richard Poore, the Bishop] began in 1220 to build a new Cathedral on land which was his
own property, having been refused ground at Wilton by the Abbess there .....
Compare this with Underwood's statement that "It was immediately apparent that where anomalies and
lrregularities occurred in medieval cathedrals and churches, these existed for the sole purpose of avoidIng breach of the geodetic laws." He includes diagrams of several c athedrals, Salisbury among them, with
the "geodetic lines" drawn in. I am afraid I am not impressed; they look like so much spaghetti to me.
The author devotes two chapters to the effects of his aquastats and track lines on animals and vegetation and here, for some Unfathomable reason, he is more convincing though, again, acceptance of his
statements depends on one's belief in the author's dowsing. I have grave doubts about it but still feel
that at least a preliminary check should be made to determine whether there is any truth in his findings.
He may be in a category with Bottineau and his "nauscopie", a method he used to fortell the arrival of
ships long before they appeared over the horizon but which he was utterly unable to teach anyone else.
John Green. The Sasquatch File. (Order from Cheam Publishing Ltd., Box 99, Agassiz, B.C.) 1973. $4.00
poe;tpaid.
TIlll. Sasquatch File is John Green's third book on reports of hair-covered hominids (he calls them
"apes") that he has been investigating for fifteen years in the Pacific Northwest and in Canada. This is
avowedly what Ivan T. Sanderson always called a "seed-catalogue". Accounts of tracks and sightings are
arranged by states and provinces in chronological periods from the 1800's to reports as recent as March
and April 1973. Unlike Green's previous books, there are fewer illustrations, but bibliographical notes
and a good index are included.
While about 12% of the reports listed originate east of the Rocky Mountains, the book does little to
indicate the complexities of distinguishing more than one type of creature among the eastern accounts. To
most readers they will all appear to be "Sasquatches", while details not given by Green indicate otherwise. And this is true here even for accounts in and west of the Rockies where the author is most familiar
with his subject. Only the most avid follower of Bigfoot/Sasquatch progress will want to read this catalogue. For readers to whom this subject is new, a concise introduction to activity in the Pacific Northwe:3t and the most thought-provoking material on what is really happening there are to be found in Green's
second book, ~ of the Sasquatch, still available from Cheam Publishing at $3.00 postpaid.
While we find that we disagree with several of the author's concluding remarks in The Sasquatch File,
we do agree that the existence of any such living creatures will be officially denied until a specimen. is
physically presented to professional scientists for their inspection.
Mark A. Hall
~ain, please let us know of any change of address as long in advance aeo possible, and include your new
zip code.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Acting Director
Executive Secretary
Technical Director
Technical Consultant
Research Consultarit
Mass Media
Mark A. Hall
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert C. Warth
Robert J. Durant
Carl J. Pabst
Walter J. McGraw
EDITORIAL BOARD
201-689-0194
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OCTOBER, 1973
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is $10 a year and runs from the 1st of January to the 31st of December. Members receive
our Quarterly journal PURSUIT, an Annual Report and Auditor's Report, and all special Society publications for that year.
Members are welcome to visit our Headquarters if they wish to use the Library or consult the staff but,
due to limited facilities, this can be arranged only by prior appointment; and at least a week in advance.
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board of Trustees in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. The Society is also counselled by a panel of prominent scientists,
which is designated the Scientific Advisory Board.
The Society is housed on eight acres of land in the Township of Knowlton, Warren County, New Jersey.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
The Society is completely apolitical.
It does not accept material on, or presume to comment upon any aspects of Human Medicine or Psychology; the Social Sciences or Law; Religion or Ethics.
All contributions, but not membership dues, are tax deductible, pursuant to the United States Internal Revenue Code.
The Society is unable to offer or render any services whatsoever to non-members. Further, the
Society does not hold or express any corporate views, and any opinions expressed by any members in its
publications are those of the authors alone. No opinions expressed or statements made bY any members
by word of mouth or in print may be construed as those of the Society.
PUBLICATIONS
Our publishing schedule is four Quarterly issues of PURSUIT, dated January, April, July, and October,
and numbered as annual volumes - Vol. 1 being 1968 and before; Vol. 2, 1969, and so on. These are
mailed at the end of the month. (Subscription to PURSUIT, without membership benefits, is $5 for 4
issues.) Order forms for back issues will be supplied on request.
PURSUIT is listed in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory and in the Standard Guide to Periodicals; and is abstracted in Abstracts of Folklore Studies. It is also available from University Microfilms,
300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. The price is $4.10 per reel. An annual index appears in the
October issue.
PURSUIT
Vol. 6. No. 4
October. 1973
G
CONTENTS
Editorial, by Hans Stefan Santesson
Chaos and Confusion
Whose Point of View?
The Avenger Flight; and Others
Mermaids, '
He Talked with the seagulls
Astronomy
The Tunguska "MeteoriteGeology
Lightning Again
London for Darknesses?
Pre-Earthquake Phenomena
78
78
79
80
81
82
82
82
83
B~~~
,
ABSMal Affairs in Pennsylvania and Elsewhere,
by Allen V. Noe
Anthropology
Not the Salzburg Steel Cube, but an Iron Object
from Wolfsegg, by Hubert Malthaner '
The Chinese Pyramid
Members' Forum
Department ! ~ ~
Book Reviews, by Sabina W. Sanderson
Index {Qr !!!1a.
84
90
93
95
96
97
99
78
EDITORIAL
A number of quasi-semantic crimes have undoubtedly been coiDmitted by enthusiastic pseudo-Forteans,
at times even in the pages of this publication, in part, as Hubert Malthaner points out by implication in this
issue, because of the desire of dilettante archaeologists to prove the case for the existence, in remote
pre-historic times, of civilizations on this earth far surpaSsing our own in technological development".
CCllonel Churchward is obviously the classic example of this 'rather casuistic approach to pre-history,
which rationalizes the selective "editing" of references cited in support of the case for the prior existence
of these civilizations. Latterda.v Churchwards, not content with paraphrasing Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
wi.thout due credit, and shifting happenings from the Caribbean to the Pacific, have of course shown a
mluked talent for blatant plagiarism of e adier plagiarists, and also been inclined to paraphrase not only
not wisely but all too well. The result has been decidedly confusing.
We are concerned at SITU not with this pseudo-Fortean approach to pre-history, but with the evidence,
as yet unexplained by the technicians who have pontificated on the subject in the past, which adds up to
the possibility that ours is possibly not the best of all possible worlds but simply the most recent chapter
in man's repeated efforts to reach the stars. .
We tend to view with suspicion anything which suggests that we ma.v in fact have come this wa.v before.
We ignore the historical precedents which should remind us of how technicians, administrators, bureaucrats
as truly sanctified in their da.vs as in ours, have in the known past prevented earlier advances, ignoring
wltnt and hunger and ignoring misery and injustices in their no doubt understandable preoccupation with
formulae aimed at prolonging the status quo of the da.v.
It is tempting, but intellectually dishonest, to dismiss out of hand the possibility that civilizations
have risen and fallen and literally vanished into the mists of time on this world of ours, solely because of
the excesses of these latterda.v Churchwards whose sins are obvious and whose devotion to truth ma.v
properly be questioned.
If we therefore recognize this possibility, and extrapolate from the known to the presumed, we are
legitimately speculating on a subject which has intrigued thousands, including many of our members,
throughout these and earlier years. We would be lacking in the humility demanded of students of history
if we thus denigrate this possibility solely because of the best-selling charlatans who have in recent
years muddied the waters.
This is assuming we pay more than lip-service to our description of ourselves as Forteans, and that
WE! have a certain sense of history to which so many among us are proudly alien.
Hans Stefan santesson
79
80
MERMAIDS
Mermaids have been a popular topic for many
years, one viewpoint being that these were simply
manatees or dugongs seen by love-st!!lved sailors,
and the other t hat mermaids really exist. I have
always been inclined to believe that it was pretty
close to libel to suggest that sailors were this blind,
but there proves to be another facet to this, as reported in Elaine Morgan's book The Descent.Qf.
Woman (reviewed in this issue). Mrs. Morgan says,
..... a report on the dugong by H. A. F. Goohar offers
the most probable solution to the mystery of the
mariner and the mermaid. It points out that there is a
striking resemblance between the genitaliaof dugongs
and those of human beings; and that in the Red Sea
area there is an oral tradition that in former centuries
a sai.Lor after months at sea who found a dugong in
the shallows-large, docile, warm-blooded, air-breathing, smooth-skinned, female-breasted. and with
ventrlLI genital organs which remarkably well fitted
his own-wouldn't worry over-much if she was comparatively faceless." This is certainly a more rational .explanation t han the mere suggestion that sailors
saw dugongs or manatees and mistook them for
beaut.iful women.
On the other hand, many reports of mermaids come
from !!leas in which no sirenian has ever been found
and in which they could not survive, e.g. in the
north'~rn latitudes. There have been some deliberate
hoaxes and publicity stunts, but there are other reports which cannot be so easily dismissed. One such
report is included in !1.! Enchantress by Gwen Benwell and Sir Arthur Waugh (New York, The Citadel
Press, 1965; pp. 113-114):
"Deposition by John M'lsaac, a farmer, ...
.. At Cambeltown, twenty-ninth of October, 1811.
In presence of Duncan Campbell, ESQ .. Sheriff-substitute of Kintyre, appeared John M'lsaac, tenant in
Corpb.ine ... solemnly sworn and examined depones....
That about three or four o'clock of the afternoon of
Sunda.,y the eighteenth current having taken a walk
towards the seaside, he came to the edge of a preci. pice above the shore, from which he saw the appearance of something white upon a black rock at
some distance from him.... He crept upon all fours ...
until he came within twelve or fifteen paces of the
rock where it lay: That, upon looking at the object
with attention, he was impressed with great surprise
and astonishment at its uncommon appearance .... That
the upper half of it was white, and of the shape of a
human body, and the other half towards the tail of a
brindled reddish-grey colour apparently covered with
long hair; and as the wind blew off the land, it sorne. times raised the hair over the creature's head, and
every time the gust of wind would do this, the animal
would. lean towards one side, and taking up the opposite hand, would stroke the hair backwards, and then
leaning upon the other side of its head in the same
manner. That at the same time, the animal would put
81
a.
David Scott-Moncrieff, head of David Scott-Moncrieff & Son Ltd., Purveyors of Horseless Carriages to
the Nobility and Gentry since 1927, is the 'limericist' whose work was quoted in our July issue. Herewith
another of his efforts:
The monster that lives in" Loch Ness
Said he lived in the days of Queen Bess.
When they ~aiq "Do you mean ". "
That you lived WITH the Queen?"
He r eplie"d with a wink, "More or less".
" .
82
V. ASTRONOMY
THE TUNGUSKA "METEORITE"
.Still another theory to explain the explosion and
odd pattern of damage at Tunguska in Siberia in
1908 has been put forward by A. A. Jackson 4th and
Michael P. Ryan Jr., physicists at the center for
Relativity Theory at the University of Texas at
Austin. Their suggestion is based on experiments
carriE,d out by Soviet scientists in 1966, which showed that the pattern of tree felling at Tunguska could
have been caused by a "cylindrical explosion travelling down a wire at an angle of 30 degrees to the
ground". This experiment was done with a scale
model. of the Tunguska site and produced an identical
pattem to that found there.
ME,ssrs. Jackson and Ryan suggest that all the
effects noted at Tunguska, and also those recorded
elsewhere at the time of that 'explosion', were producecil by a "black hole" that plunged straight through
the earth. "Black holes are not, of course, "holes"
but incredibly dense and minute bodies that are believed to be the final stage in the collapse of a star
A black hole is described by Jackson and Ryan as
"a grain of dust weighing a million billion tons and
travelling at about 25,000 miles an hour when it hit
the earth. If it entered at Tunguska, it would have
exited somewhere in the North Atlantic between Newfoundland and the Azores, and it would have produced
shock waves here also. They therefore suggest that
ships' logs be examined for accounts of any unusual
occurrences on the 30th June 1908 and that any other
records of changes in air pressure in the North
Atlantic should also be checked for confirmatory
evidence.
It may never be possible to prove the cause of the
devastation at Tunguska -comet head, "space ship,
an antimatter meteorite, or a black hole- but the
continued accumulation of evidence, not simply from
the site itself but from other areas, may provide us
with a probable answer.
VI. GEOLOGY
LIGHTNING AGAIN
. One of our members, who prefers to be known as X,
sends the following:
,"Aside from Fort's comments on lightning's
affinity for wedge-shaped objects, it has been known
to do some crazy things such as fusing coins inside
a pocket without causing other damage, fusing a live
bullet to the barrel of a gun, and burning photographic
images into glass. But the following incidents are my
favourites.
"In the Scientific American (old series), 11-344:
'A Lightning Well Borer: During a recent thunder'storm at Kensington, N.H., the lightning descended
perPE!Ddicularly in an intense discharge into a pasture
field, and made a hole about a foot in diameter and
30 feet deep, forming a well which soon filled up with
good water.' What better way to dig a well, but how
does one get "perpendicular" lightning?
"And in the early morning of June 29, 1869 the
residents of Pradettes, France, caught glimpses of a
naked man sneaking about. The naked man turned out
to be the mayor. From out of the blue, a bolt of lightning struck him and burnt away every stitch of clothing without touching him. I've heard of seams being
. burnt away, but not all at once! (See Hart's Giant
Book of Fascinating Facts, p. 148.)
M]"rom the same source there is an undated account
of lightning striking near a flock of sheep grazing
near Lapleux, France. All the black sheep in the
flock were killed instantly, but not one of the white
sheep was so much as touched. This sort of thing
carries selectivity of targets a bit too far."
Perhaps, but... In our issue of July 1972 we reported on a Shenandoah National Park Ranger, Roy C.
Sullivan, who had been struck by lightning no less
than f~ur times and lived to tell about it. He's been
hit again.
The Washington star-News (Washington, D .C.) of
the 27th August 1973, reports that Sullivan was struck
for the fifth time on the 7th August of this year. They
quote :him as saying, "I had had a dream that I was
going ~o be struck again this year and after that I had
been ',dodging every storm that came near me. He
added, that every time he saw a storm gathering, he
leaped in his car and headed in the opposite direction
at top speed, but miscalculated in August 7th. "It
strucJ,t me right on the head, set my hair on fire and
went 'down my left arm and left leg, knocked my left
shoe off, but didn't untie the lace or cut it, then crossed over to my right leg below t he knee and went into
the ground. This time he was away from work for
seventeen days.
Mr. Sullivan is no longer afraid of being struck. He
states that he has had another dream. "That was the
last one. I know exactly why it happened--it was all
for good purposes. However, he will not elaborate on
this, saying simply, "That's between God and me,
.and nobody but us will ever know. A 'final' answer
but not a helpful one. Only time will tell whether he
is correct. For his sake, we hope so.
LONDON FOR DARKNESSES?
One of our English subscribers sends the following account to be added to our catalogue of "unnatural
darknesses"
83
PRE-EARTHQUAKE PHENOMENA
One of the things that interested Charles Fort was
the 0 ccurrence of various phenomena preceding
earthquakes, almost invariably dismissed by the
'experts' as being 'unrelated' to the quake. Despite
this, the common man has continued to report such
things as glows in the skies, odd dark clouds, etc.
This has now become almost 'respectable' because
of the near necessity for finding some way to ~redict
earthquakes so that at least some precautions can be
taken or arrangements made to provide relief for the
victims afterwards.
A recent earthquake in Mexico was preceded by
flashing red glows, similar to "heat lightning-, and
sounds of thunder in a clear blue sky. White flashes
were seen after the quake. Also, Soviet scientists
studYing the 1966 earthquake that wrecked Tashkent
have announced that the sky there did glow several
hours before t he quake, and that t he cause was a
"redistribution of electric charges in the earthatmosphere system -. Electron concentration s were
measured at stations at Alma Ata and Tashkent the
night of the quake; the ionosphere over Alma Ata was
found to be "calm-, but over Tashkent "a silent storm
of electrons" broke out several hours before the
quake, reached its peak before the first tremor, and
then subsided.
:
We have reported before on the fact th~t animals
show every evidence of sensing an impending earthquake, despite a lack of obvious warning signals, and
Atmosphere
84
VII. BIOLOGY
ABSMAL AFFAIRS IN PENNSYL 'V ANIA
AND ELSEWHERE
by Allen V. Noe
Edito.r's Note: This issue of Pursuit was deliberately
held up in order to bring iou this report on the extraordinary events in Pennsylvania. As of the time of
writing (mid-October), there have been no new reports
for about two and a half weeks and it seems that the
creatures have withdrawn from the area for the time
being. Publicity on this has been kept to a minimum,
both to avoid panic locally (and we must emphasize
that there are no reports of humans having been
molested in any way, even when they have taken pot
shots at the 'monsters') and to avert an influx of
trigger-happy monster-hunters who too often damage
prival;e property and show a tendency to take pot
shots at anything that moves. We would ask our
members not to go barging off to Pennsylvania
where' the;-;'m probably only cause Y trouble at
this point. There is no current activity there in any
case. We are in touch with investigators there and
are prepared to take any necessary action.
In August of this year, I took my wife and Number
Two 80n on a trip to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas,
primarily to visit relatives but also to check on Unexplaineds along the way. While visiting a friend in
Little' Rock, Arkansas, I first heard of sightings of
large, hairy creatures in the vicinity of Pine Bluff,
and we therefore made a detour to that city. The
Sheriff's Office there had reports from two out-of:state motorists that they had seen a large, hairy
somet.hing standing upright on t he highway north of
Pine Bluff. When the motorists approached it, the
creature dropped to all fours and took off into the
woods in a hurry. Since this was consistent with a
bear's behaviour, neither t he Sheriff nor I considered
that this was anything other than a bear, but in the
light of more recent developments, it is more than
possible that it was not a bear.
85
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87
Cast of the ape-like print found in the VeronaPenn Hills area of Pennsylvania, together with the
outline of an orangutan's footprint. Notice the shortness of the 'front' toes and the apparent lack of any
joint in the great toe.
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88
89
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90
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Our member 11761 has brought to our attention a 'review' in the New York Times of the 1st August
1973 of a program produced by an organization calling itself "SITU (an acronym for Society for Investiga';.tion ~f Things Unnameable) .. a loose alliance of dancers, film makers, musicians and artists who create
:multimedia events, and have been doing it for two years here and in Europe". We very much doubt that
this group's choice of name and acronym is accidental and, although "imitation is the sincerest form of
flattery", we must put on record most strongly that that group is in no way connected with our Society or
its founder, the late Ivan T. Sanderson, and any suggestion to the contrary is entirely false.
91
92
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93
Editor's~:
Shensi Province
94
following article:
"The story of Col. Maurice Sheahan was sent out
by UP, under a Shanghai date line, 3-28-47 old
style. Sheahan had seen 'several years ago' a pyramid in China bigger than any in Egypt. He had taken
a photo from his plane. He had the photo at his home
in Ontario, Calif. Ontario is in San Bernardino
County, near LA [Los Angeles].
"The next day, the LA Daily News printed a fourcolumn photo, 'First Picture of Great Chinese Pyru,mid.' T he photo credit was to 'Acme Telephoto'. Mr.
Sheahan is not mentioned, neither is the picture
dated, but if this is the photo taken by Sheahan
's~veral years ago', why was it necessary to send it
by wire from Ontario [California] to LA, and since
when has a village the size of Ontario had the facilities to send 'telephotos'?
"Two days later, 3-31-47, AP sent its papers a
story under a Nanking dateline, stating that 'the
Provincial government had announced, following an
investigation, that the reported discovery of a giant
pyramid in Shensi province proved to be groundless.' ..
This last may have been 'political', i.e. a move
designed to discourage foreign investigators or
simply to provide an excuse for saying No to anyone
requesting permission to visit the area. On the other
hand, the photograph reproduced here is said to show
one of the smaller pyramids but contains nothing that
makes it possible to determine its actual size. Or
-let's be frank- its location. Still, the photograph is
itself a fact, and unless one wishes to call both Col.
Sheahan and "Doc Anderson liars, it is necessary
to accept the photograph as evidence that there are
enormous pyramids in China.
The largest artificial mound in western Europe is
Silbury Hill near Avebury in England. It is 'only' 130
feet high with a base covering more than five acres;
small compared with the Great Pyramid but still representing an enormous amount of labour, and,
because of its earthen construction, closer to the
95
subjects have so
try again to see
minds about the
whether anything
ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS
We are sorry to report that Mark Hall has had to return to his home for personal reasons. As we have
noted before, he has been of exceptional help to the Society during a most difficult period, and it had
been hoped that he could remain on the Board of Trustees after his return home. However, circumstances
have made this unfeasible.
With Mr. Hall's departure, Robert C. Warth takes over as Acting Director though he is not resident here.
Our Treasurer, Allen Noe, who lives nearby and is now on forced early retirement, has pitched in to help
with the work at our headquarters, and is here nearly every day.
Please, once again, let us know of any change of address as far in advance as you can. Third class mail
is not forwardable LInless you make a special request of the post office. If it is returned to us, the local
post office sometimes indicates your new address. but not always -in which case it becomes impossible to
get Pursuit to you until you get around to giving us your new address. And always include your zip code;
Pursuit does not go through without it. We have a zip code directory, but it does not give a complete breakdown of codes within major cities. Thank you.
MEMBERS' FORUM
will
96
_ _" ._ _" ._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
____"
~il
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _" ._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
~
91
Members are reminded that dues -still $10 per annum- are payable before the end of this year. May we
also suggest that membership in SITU will make an excellent Christmas gift for that special person on
your list. We would advise that you renew your own membership and send in new ones before the 1st
January since skyrocketing costs may require us to raise our rates next year. If you wish to renew for
more than one year, you will not then be affected by any increase in dues.
Members are urged to find us new members. We will be happy to supply copies of our "brochure" to
anyone requesting them.
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
Elaine Morgan. The Descent of Woman. New York: Stein & Day. 1912. (Price unknown) New York: Bantam
Books. 1973. $1. 75. London: Souvenir Press. ?1972. L2.50.
This book has caused and will undoubtedly continue to cause considerable controversy, much of it -in
my opinion- for all the wrong reasons. Even the reviewer in the New Scientist, a woman at that, devoted
4" to the first ten chapters and S.z" to the last two which deal in cursory fashion with what is usually
called "Women's Lib".
As Mrs. Morgan points out:
"She was there all along, contributing half the genes to each succeeding generation. Most of the books
forget about her for most of the time. They drag her onstage rather suddenly for the obligatory chapter on
Sex and Reproduction, and then say: 'All right, love, you can go now,' while they get on with the real
meaty stuff about the Mighty Hunter . "
The basic thesis of Mrs. Morgan's book is,that human evolution was influenced far more by the female
of the species than the male. Obviously this will not and does not please many men, though it has always
been my observation that men who are certain of their masculinity do not worry about "competition" from
women.
The suggestion that truly human as opposed to general primate evolution actually took place in an
aquatic environment was first made by A. C. Hardy back about 1960, but it did not seem to catch on much,
and Prof. Hardy has not, to my knowledge, presented a really detailed picture of what may have happened.
Mrs. Morgan does, and it makes sense -much more sense than many if not most of the others that have
been published. She has used the examples of current primitive peoples' behavior as her model for the
behaviour of 'prehistoric' man, thus avoiding some of the absurdities that crop up in other books; and
when she does 'invent' incidents to suggest a possible, or even probable, origin of some facet of human
behaviour (in its widest sense), she keeps it within the bounds of common sense -an all too rare commodity in any case.
According to Mrs. Morgan's outline of Man's evolution, there never was a truly aquatic period but
rather an amphibian one: anli the reasons given for this shift to a semi-aquatic existence are very plausible, as are those for our return to terra firma. The gross differences between Man and Apes are due, ho~
ever, to this probably lengthy sojourn at the seaside, which resulted in our having in some ways more in
common with dolphins than apes.
For heaven's, sake, buy this book and r(!ad it thoroughly. Apart from stretching the mind, it is great
'
fun and unqualifiedly worth reading.
98
Lyall Watson. Supernature. Gar.den City, N. Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday. 1973. $7.95
;
This is an excellent book for confirmed sceptics and non-forteans; it will, most of it, make rather dull
reading for those already familiar with the borderlands of science. The author notes that
.. lUI the best science has soft edges, limits that are still obscure and extend without interruption into
lIleas that are wholly inexplicable .. On the fringe, between those things that we understand as normal
occurrences and those that are completely paranormal and defy explanation, are a cluster of semi-normal
phenomena... that I choose to describe as Supernature."
This book is divided into four PllltS: Cosmos, Matter, Mind, and Time. The last two are more interesting
than those on Cosmos and Matter, which deal primlllily with phenomena that are respectable enough to
ellln government grants for their investigators and thus put them outside the field of true forte ana. However, they lIle just the kind of thing needed to upset the agressively orthodox -for whom the book is
probably intended in any case. Also for their benefit, there are more than adequate references (called a
bibliographY) and a good index.
Lyall Watson does cover "Supernature" pretty thoroughly though he does not devote a great -deal of
spacE' to anyone thing. In some cases he gets a bit carried away, e.g. astrology, on which he waxes quite
eloquent, only to admit finally that "astrology is particularly weak and open to criticism in the field of
predietion". Inasmuch as this is the astrologers' basic claim, this weakens his argument rather seriously.
He displays a similar naivete elsewhere, but these lapses are not frequent enough to do any real damage.
Forteans will want to skim through this book for items and ideas that are new to them, but are advised
that it will make an excellent Christmas present for a stuffed shirt.
James B. Sweeney. ~ Pictorial History of
Crown Publishers. 1972. $9.95
This is a coffee-table book", i.e. oversize, with lots of illustrations (372 in fact), but with more text
than is found in many books of this genre. Unfortunately, the text leaves much to be desired. It will set
the informed reader's teeth on edge and will mislead the uninformed. In addition it suffers from rather
blatant 'padding'; in a number of cases the author has been reduced to saying that an animal is "totally
inoffensive" (the Basking Shark) but awfully big, or likely to retaliate if attacked (who wouldn't?), etc.,
and therefore is "dangerous".
The book is divided into two parts, Part One on "Sea Monsters" and Part Two on "Other Dangerous
Marine Life". Part Two is divided into four sections- "Killers and Their Close Relatives", "Dangerous
Through Size", "Stingers and Shockers of the Sea", and "Poisonous to Eat". There seems to be no particular seheme for the placement of illustrations in Part One -they are simply dumped in- though those in
Part Two generally accompany the text references (except for the' Giant Squid trapped in Trinity Bay,
Newfoundland, which is discussed on page 201; the illustration faces page 87). One also suspects that
the author ran out of captions for the illustrations; some of these are a bit bewildering, to say the least.
On page 120, an enormous 'fish' with very large fangs is attacking a boat (with two masts, yet), and the
caption req.ds "Some who have seen the Loch Ness monster have said that it resembles this sixteenthcentury sea monster, depicted by Olaus Magnus in 1555". Aside from the fact that this is a sixteenthcentury drawing of a sea monster, I cannot recall a single description of a Loch Ness monster that even'
remotely resembles this. Again, on page 27: "The terms sea monster and sea serpent became interchangeable. When erect, the creature is often called a sea monster; but when swimming, it becomes a sea
serpent. "
To be blunt, I fear the author does not write very well. In some cases he is guilty simply of vast oversimplification, as when he states ..... the elephantlike giants called mammoths, split into factions, some
preferring the sea. We now know them as the familiar manate~, or sea cow" (!); but in others he has either
forgotten how to write English or has been wretchedly edited. For example: "An inventory of shark
attacks reveals that the worst violators, in order of frequency, are: first, mackerel shark; second, requiem
shark; third, sand shark; fourth, hammerhead shlllk; and fifth, many sharks ofunknown species." Another
beauty appears on p. 28: "Germany's Lorelei has long been an inspiration as a tourist attraction that is
still pointed out to foreign visitors. This particular siren is said to sit on a cliff... II So far as I know, it is
the cliff, not the siren, that is the tourist attraction.
There are a fair number of outright mistakes sprinkled through the text (and the captions for illustrations), and several misspellings which cannot be attributed to simple typographical errors, e.g. Loch
Morar is invariably spelt 'Morer'. And this apart from the fact that neither Loch Ness nor Loch Morar has
any place in a book on sea monsters. Some of the infelicities are most probably the work of an 'editor'
(whoever it is, he or she apparently loathes hyphens, thus producing such monstrosities as 'eellike' and
'sentinellike').
.
Despite the fact that the author is pro sea monsters, we cannot recommend this book.
99
R. L. Dione. God Drives I! FlYing Saucer. New York: Bantam Books. 1973. $1.25.
Don't bother with this. It's largely drivel.
John Philip Cohane. The Key. New York: Crown Publishing Company. 1969. $7.50.
There was a man who was struck by the similarity in Waikiki and Wichita. So he said (p. 180) -The
only logical explanation I can think of is that the same names were taken in prehistoric times from one
common source, and then, through lack of communication, and with people remembering less from generation to generation, they took on a wide assortment of local meanings that had nothing to do with the
original ones. Being ancient, however, they were regarded with reverence and tampered with as little as
possible. - And he made it his life work to demonstrate, by means of the world-wide distribution of each of
six key "names-, that mankind in the person of far-ranging, Mediterranean-based Semites fanned out
across the face of the earth from one common origin point.
Concerning the efforts of dedicated Atlantists to prove by random linguistic similarities the existence
of Atlantis, L. Sprague de Camp (in Lost Continents, p. 101) snorted, Such considerations [Phonology,
inflection, syntax] never bother the Atlantists, however, who seize upon any chance resemblance of names
or other words to prove their case. By their methods I could, for instance, 'prove' that the Amerinds are
the descendants of colonies from ancient Greece: I could derive the Croatan Indians from Crotona in
Italy, the Cherokees from Kerkyra, the Chilkats from Chalkis, the Mandans from Mantinea, and the Aleuts
from Eleusia. Why not?- The scorned derivations of the Atlantists involved whole words. Imagine how
vastly the comparative process can be expanded, what unlikely relationships can be expounded, if instead
of randomly similar words the exponent seizes upon randomly similar combinations .of two or three letters
-in English, regardless of the language source- comprising a portion of a name of anything. The proof?
Builded of moonbeams, bottomed on quicksand.
Suppose -just suppose, mind you- that before there was a language identifiable as English, there
were two gods, or heroes, or whatever, whose names would be rendered in English as Haue and Oc. And
suppose that the victors of a particularly bloody fracas triumphantly saluted Haue! Oc! Havoc!
This author's search for linguistic evidence of mankind's common source is havoc indeed. A process
of indiscriminate removal, insertion, and change of vowels and consonants which the author unblushingly
asserts are "equivalent- proves that Avebury (Hauebury) in England and the Incan Empire (Anahuac)
share a common source. OCs,OGs, OCHs, HAWWAHs, ALAs, and AVAs are scattered through this book
with never a reminder that in most instances these name-fragments represent some Englishman's effort
to make familiar, if not intelligible, the gabble of a benighted heathen. [Just to indicate how helpful
'English' spellings can be, a pamphlet published in Boston in 1836 with a Seneca Amerind text is entitled
..
~
,."
.,
",
"
",,~.,
]
"DlUhsawahgwah GayBdgshiTh. Gg,w!h!s Goy8.dQh. Sgagyadlh dg,wanandenyg-. Ed.
So we are conducted from China's Yalu to Florida's Yellow to Mexico's Yalalag to Turkey's Yalak to
Australia's Yallock. Do they really prove worldwide distribution of the ancient Aya-Alal Ala-Ala! Ala-OgOC? We. are reminded of William S. Baring-Gould's jocular proof that Nero Wolfe was sired by Sherlock
Holmes: ..... and surely it is no coincidence that his Christian name contains the er-o of Shm'IQck, and his
surname the ol-e of HQ!m~s.We are not convinced that the worldwide distribution of OG, Hawwah, Ala, Mana, Tema, and Ash or
sounds more or less like them prove the author's thesis, but we must admit that new worlds of speculation
are opened by The Key.
",
INDEX - VOLUME 6
ONTOLOGY
'Worm-Holes' in Space, 64
PHYSICS
Coanda Effect, The, 32
CHEMISTRY
Alleged Fallout-Free Water, 10, 47
ASTRONOMY
Life on the Moon?, 13, 47
Mariner 7, 47
Moons of Mars, The, by Robert J. Durant,
II
Planet X, 66
Saturn's Rings, 32
Tunguska "Meteorite-, The, 82
GEOLOGY
Erupting Rocks, 33
Has the Earth Shifted?, 33
Lightning Again, 82
Mediterranean, The, 13
On the Subject of "Cold-, 13
Pre-Earthquake Phenomena, 83
BIDLOOY
.
ABSMal Affairs in Pennsylvania .and Elsewhere,
by Allen V. Noe, 84
100
Ancient Seeds, 16
Be,ware an Alleged 'Bigfoot' Skeleton, 37
"Blob, The, 67
Botanical Puzzle, A (Bamboo), 68
Current Search and Research of ABSMs, 36
Florida's Wild Wildlife, 37
Giant Herbs, 15
Giant Skeletons, 69
"Horrors from the Mesozoic, by Mark A. Hall, 40
Luminous People and Others, by Ivan T.
Sanderson, 66
More New Cats?, by Ivan T. Sanderson, 35
Nomeus-A Fish That Disappears, by Craig
Phillips, 38
Pa.raguayan "Barking Snake-, The, 14
Pearls in Hens' Eggs, 15
Scaly Beast, A, 17
Second Lobster Mystery, A, 16
That New Very Human-looking Skull, 14
Tropical Fish in Siberia, 16
ANTHROPOLOGY
Chinese Pyramid, The, 93
Julsrud Ceramic collection in Acambaro, Mexico,
The, 41
Kirkbride's Wall and the Great Wall of Peru, 43
Leys -Ancient British Power Network. by Janet
Bord. 70
Linguistic Surprise. A. 19
Metallic Balls from Here!. 19
More on Mercury Engines, 20
Not the Salzburg Steel Cube, but an Iron Object
from Wolfsegg. by Hubert Malthaner, 90
Pharaoh's Pump. by Adolph L. Heuer. Jr 71. 96
Yesu of the Druids, 18
UFOl,OGY
Can We Tick Off Another One? 4
Mystery Airship, The, 55
Possible Alien Space Probe. A. 28
CHAOS AND CONFUSION
Avenger Flight; and others, The. 79
Bermuda Triangle. Again. The. by
Robert J. Durant. 55
Ca.t Conclave, A, 6
Chipmunks and ITF, by Sabina W.
Sanderson. 59
e hopped-off Corn. 59
Ea.gie Requiem, by Stanley W. Tyler, 29
Entombed Toads. by Sabina W.
Sanderson. 60
He Talked with the Seagulls. 81
Light "Wheels Under the Sea, 7
Mary Celeste. The, 5
Me-rmaids. 80
One of the PKs to the Fore, 5
Spook Lights. 31
stone. England, Mystery Bell. The 20
That Disappearing Eskimo 'Village'. 58
Unnatural Darkness, 29. 82
We,ighing the Soul, 30. 97
Who's Down There?, 30
GOVERNING BOARD
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
(and
(and
(and
(and
President)
Vice-President)
Secretary)
Treasurer)
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Robert C. Warth
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert J. Durant
Carl J. Pabst
Walter J. McGraw
Dante A. (Don) Costa
Director (Acting)
Executive Secretary
Technical Consultant
Research Consultant
Mass Media
Public Relations
EDITORIAL BOARD
Dr. George A. Agogino - Chairman, Department of Anthropology, and Director, Paleo-Indian Institute,
Eastern New Mexico University. (ArchaeologY)
Dr. N. Burtshak-Abramovitch - Academician, Georgian Academy of SCience, Palaeobiological Institute;
University of Tblisi. (Palaeontology)
Dr. Carl H. Delacatd - Associate Director, Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, Philadelphia, (Mentalogy)
.
Dr. W. C. Osman Hill - Dublin and London (Comparative Anatomy)
Dr. J. Allen Hynek - Director, Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center, Northwestern University.
(Astronomy)
Dr. George C. Kennedy - Professor of Geology, Institute of Geophysics, U.C~L.A. (Geomorphology and
Geophysics)
Dr. Martin Kruskal- Program in Applied Mathematics, Princeton University. (Mathematics)
Dr. Samuel B. McDowell - Professor of Biology, Rutgers University, Newark, N. J. (General Biology)
Dr. Vladimir Markotic - Professor of Anthropology, Department of Archaeology, University of Alberta,
Canada (Ethnosoclology and Ethnology)
Dr. Kirtley F. Mather - Professor of Geology, Emeritus, Harvard University. (Geology)
Dr. John R. Napier - Unit of Primate Biology, Queen Elizabeth College, University of London. (Physical
Anthropology)
Dr. W. Ted Roth - Assistant Director, Baltimore Zoo, Baltimore, Maryland. (Ecologist & Zoogeographer)
Dr. Frank B. Salisbury - Head, Plant Science Department, College of Agriculture, Utah State University.
(Phytochemistry)
Dr. Berthold Eric Schwarz - Consultant (Brain-Wave Laboratory), Essex County Medical Center, Cedar
Grove, New Jersey. (Mental Sciences)
.
Dr. Roger W. Wescott - Professor and Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Drew University, Madison,
New Jersey. (Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics)
Dr. A. Joseph Wraight - Chief Geographer, U. S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. (Geography and Oceanograph.y
Dr. Robert K. Zuck - Professor and Chairman, Department of Botany, Drew University, Madison, New
Jersey. (Botany)
.:.
11:.
..... ~
201-689-0194
...
JANUARY, 1974
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is $10 a year and runs from the 1st of January to the 31st of December. Members receive
our quarterly journal PURSUIT, an Annual Report and Auditor's Report, and all special Society publications for t hat year.
Members are welcome to visit our Headquarters if they wish to use the Library or consult the staff but,
due to limited facilities, this can be arranged only by prior appointment; and at least a week in advance.
o YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL OR EVEN AN AMATEUR SCIENTIST TO JOIN US.
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board of Trustees in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. The Society is also counselled by a panel of prominent scientists,
which is designated the Scientific Advisory Board.
The Society is housed on eight acres of land in the Township of Knowlton, Warren County, New Jersey.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
PUBLICATIONS
Our publishing schedule is four quarterly issues of PURSUIT, dated January, April, July, and October,
and numbered as annual volumes - Vol. 1 being 1968 and before; Vol. 2, 1969, and so on. These 8le
mailed at the end of the month. (Subscription to PURSUIT, without membership benefits, is $5 for 4
issues.) Order forms for back issues will be supplied on request.
PURSUIT is listed in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory and in the Standard Guide to Periodicals; and is abstracted in Abstracts of Folklore Studies. It is also available from University Microfilms,
300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. The price is $4.10 per reel. An annual index appears in the
October issue.
PURSUIT
Vol. 7. No. 1
JANUARY. 1974
CONTENTS
The Taxonomy of Knowledge
Editorial
Ufology
Validation of the Betty Hill Map, by Marjorie E. Fish
Additional Notes on Ufology
Chaos and Confusion
An Expanding Light Bulb
The Mystery of the Continuous Roll,
by Sabina W. Sanderson
Astronomy
More on the Moons of Mars, by Robert J. Durant
Biology
Giant Skulls
Pennsylvania ABSMery, Continued:
Voice Print Analysis, by Robert E. Jones
Journalistic Irresponsibility
And Still the Reports Roll In, by Allen V. Noe
The Bulgarian Cyclops
A Link Between Pollution and Crime?
Anthropology
The So-called .Salzburg Cube
More on the Chinese Pyramid
Members' Forum
Book Reviews
2
3
4
8
9
11
12
14
16
14
18
19
19
20
21
22
TH~
TANGIBLES
GEOLOGY
VI
Almo.ph.'ICI and MeteorolOIY.
Ocaanolall-Y. Hydrology. and Gla.
ciolol Y, Tec'onici. VulcanolallY. Seismology. GeophysicS
and Geomorphology; Pe'
'rolog), and Mln.ralo9,;
Geode.y. Geography.
Cartography.
DO'lng.
MATTER
AlomlC i, Molecular
(heml "'y, C'Y' I.allography.
HUMAN
ENTERPRISE
APPLIED
KNOWLEDGE
PERFORMANCE
Theor.tlcal Phyllca. Nucl.oftICI,
Cla .. oca!' Phys,c s. E lec"ico.
E I.ctromaln_'ici. Malne'lcl.
TECHNOLOGY ANU
ThE USEFUL.ARTS
E .hnology (Archaeology is a
technique). Pre-Hulory.
MENTAL CONCEPTS
Lag'. and Ep, ...... ology.
Psychology. E.h,cs and A..
.hellc I, Campara .. ". Int.lligenc_,
Paropsyd'llc s.
Mechanlca.
MEASUREMENT
Number, Quon'"y,
ArithmetiC. Algebra,
Geometry, T "ganom.trv.
Calculus. Topology. Theory
of Game,. Probob.I"y,CoInclden,e.
THE
INTANGIBLES
Everything in existence, including "existence" itsel', and thu~ all 01 our pc>ssible concepts and all knawledge
that we passess or will ever possess, is cantained within th.~ wheel. Technologies and the useful arts lie
within the inner circle, having access to any ar all 01 the ten malar departments al organized lenawledge.
~am the KORAN: -Acqui ..e knawledge. It enables its possessor to know right from wrong; it lights the way to
heaven; it il our friend in the desert, our saciety in solit",de, aur campanian when Iriendless. it guides us to
happiness; it sustains UI in misery; it is an arnament amanglriends, and an armaur agains. enemles.- _
The Prophet.
EDITORIAL
In this issue of Pursuit we have the pleasure of publishing Marjorie Fish's paper describing her research on the Betty Hill star map. Saga magazine printed an article about Miss Fish, and the ufology
journals have reported the story, but Miss Fish was eager to publish in ~ because it. and it alone,
offered her carte blanche to present the facts. She has complained that all previous discussions of her
work have been incomplete or erroneous in important respects.
The SOCiety has been receiving a growing number of inquiries from the press and from scientists. This
is in part due to an expanding public consciousness of the subject matter that we deal with, but it is also
an index of confidence in SITU as an organization. Our publication of the Fish paper is a case in point.
Those wishing to read the definitive facts on this subject will find them in Pursuit.
To the extent that the Society has accumulated a truly extraordinary colleCt'iO'nof material on Forteana,
and to the extent that it has been able to publish this data regularly for six years, it has been agreat
success. The Society is self-supporting in the sense that membership dues are sufficient to pay the bills
for our current level of operations. We are, however, on something of a plateau. We do not have the funds
to upgrade the organization to a level consistent with the challenge of accomplishing real search and
research.
For example, Miss Fish paid all expenses for her star map project out of her own pocket. There is
little likelihood that she will ever earn one dollar from that labor. Mr. Carl Pabst has been working full
time for over a year transcribing the notes of Charles Fort. His project is being carried out under the
sponsorship of the SOCiety, which pays only for supplies; he receives no salary. Our ABSM experts, Allen
Noe . and Robert Jones, received no financial assistance for their expedition to western Pennsylvania.
Activities such as those described above are vital. and they ought not to be carried out in a haphazard
manner dependent upon great personal financial sacrifice. The answer to this dilemma lies in the bank
accounts of several thousand philanthropic Foundations in this country. To date we have been unsuccessful in interesting any foundation in subsidizing our work. Perhaps the readers of this journal are in a
position to bring our cause to the attention of such a source of funds. Think about it.
IMITATION IS ...
The Encyclopaedia Britannica has announced the
first major change in format in its 200-year publishing history, and it seems they have decided to cast
the venerable encyclopaedia in the mold of ~.
According to Mortimer J. Adler, the director of
planning for Britannica, the new Encyclopaedia will
be presented .in three basic sections. The first
section, to be called the propaedia, introduces the
reader to something called "The Circle of Knowledge." Adler explains that "A reader may enter or
leave at any point." Now we generally subscribe to
the dictum that imitation is the most sincere form of
Hattery, but this is Simply flabbergasting!
The Taxonomy of Knowledge, presented in the
form of a wheel, has been almost as much a SITU
trademark as the little critter that appears on the
cover of each Pursuit (it used to chase question
marks). And as if that were not enough, Adler
practically quotes Charles Fort's most famous line
word for word: "One measures a circle, beginning
anywhere." Fort, of course, is our literary and
scientific patron saint, and a man whom we consider
to be one of the major thinkers of this century. The
origin and context of Fort's circle" remark are
worth recalling. We quote from Tiffany Thayer's
introduction to the Henry Holt volume of Fort's
works:
"In the course of the manufacture of the book,!:!2.!
Aaron Sussman called Fort's attention to a page
which needed one line "to fill." Fort read the text:
We shall pick up an existence by its frogs .. Wise men
have tried other ways. They have tried to understand
our state of being, by grasping at its stars, oUts
arts, or its economics. But, if there is an underlying
oneness of all things, it does not matter where we
begin, whether with stars, or laws. of supply and
demand, or frogs, or Napoleon Bonaparte. He had a
pencil in his hand - and without hesitation "filled D
the page for Sussman. He wrote: One measures a
circle, beginning anywhere."
The Britannica might do its readers a profound
service by including the four books of Charles Fort
among its many volumes. The Henry Holt Company
"Books has long been out of print, but we wouldn't
advise anyone to hold his breath until the Britannica
takes up our offer. In any event, dear though Fort is
to all of us, we think the $550 price tag for the
Britannica is a bit much even for a morroco leather
set of Fort. Luckily, Ace Books, Box 576. Times
Square Station, New York, N. Y. 10036, has very
kindly filled the void. They will send each of the
four books (paperback) for $1.10 per copy.
-_._-
-----------------
UFO LOGY
As a rule, SITU skirts the "flYing saucer" issue.
We wish to avoid needless repetition of material that
is 'readily available elsewhere and, most importantly,
we must devote what resources we have to unexplained phenomena that no one else either will or can
investigate. However, t here is one recent developm ent
in the field of ufology that deserves the widest
possible dissemination, and we are presenting it
herewith.
In 1961 Mr. and Mrs. Barney Hill were returning
from a weekend car trip in Canada to their home in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They spotted a UFO,
stopped the car, observed the object through binoculars at close range, returned to their car and continued
to Portsmouth. In the following year, both parties
sufferl3d from a variety of very troublesome psychological symptoms. In seeking professional help to
solve these problems they consulted a prominent
Boston psychiatrist who specializes in hypnosis.
Thl3 treatment revealed that after the original
sighting the Hills had experienced amnesia in which
a two hour period was blocked out of their conscious
memory. Under hypnotic interrogation administered
separately to Betty and Barney Hill, almost exactly
similar accounts of the events that transpired during
the two hour period were revealed. The couple had
been stopped by a group of crewmen from the craft,
taken aboard and given an intensive physical examination. Throughout this procedure they had been
under something like a hypnotic spell, including the
post-hypnotic suggestion that they would not recall
anything in connection with the encounter- with the
UFO crew members.
Thl3 psychiatrist stopped the treatment when the
Hills reported their anxiety symptoms had abated. His
very tentative conclusion was that the original
sighting was a "real" experience, and that it had so
frightened the couple that they reacted by fantasizing
the r est of the story, and then, because of the
trauma.tic nature of the fantasy, they reverted it
entirel.y to their unconscious minds. For a complete
account, see Interrupted Journey by John G. Fuller
(Dial Press, 1966).
During one of the therapy sessions Mrs. Hill was
given the posthypnotic suggestion that she should
make a drawing of the chart of stars shown to her
inside the craft. The suggestion stipulated that she
should. make the drawing only if she could recall the
chart precisely, and that she should refrain from
exercising any conscious control over the drawing.
The drawing produced in this manner by Mrs. Hill
contains sOllle erasures, indicating that this last
instruetion, at least, was not followed completely.
Gliese 67
,
\
Sol
,, , ,
107 Piscium
, D-- -
tJ
Tau 1 Eridani
0- --
--
Tau Ceti
-0--
-.
82 Eridani
Fomalhaut
54 Piscium
-- - - - -
__ ,
Alpha Mansae
- Gliese
..Ltr---=======::I
86
, ,
Gliese 59
Zeta 2 Reticuli
------------------------------------------------.
6
A~------------
____
I
I
I
Zeta 1 Reticuli_
D~--------=----Point
Hour
Min.
Degrees
24
-11
53.3
-50
38
23
24
-76
44
13
-24
57.4
49
+44
42
13
+34
17
18
26
-7.5
27.8
23
+19.3
47.3
__~
Mrs. Hill did some research similar to mine, determined the appearance of a group of stars v iewed from
some arbitrarily chosen point in space, and then
foisted the drawing of the pattern on a gullible
public?
To begin with, the details of the encounter with
the "saucer" and its occupants were revealed under
hypnosis. The hYpnotherapy as administered by the
psychiatrist served as a type of "lie detection". The
consensus of those who have studied this aspect of
the case is that regardless of the objective truth of
-"" ...~-
*0, .. ."""
.,
I
~'"
,.,':
.....
reader should see the introductory remarks to Interrupted Journey written by the Hill's psychiaTrISt.
The strongest argument against fraud is that the
data required to make the drawing was simply not
available to Mrs. Hill or anyone else in 1964. As
noted in the discussion above, the final model in
which the complete Hill pattern was found was not
and could not have been built prior to the publication
- - --...
. .. . '
,.
0..
~:~.
.~
.
*--'* ' .......
'-.
0"".........".
.... o
*-
....,0======::::---
o
" ....
---~*=====~
-:.------
-.-
.'
Figure 3. This is the map drawn by Mrs. Hill. with a photoprojection of the model view of the same
stars superimposed. The discrepancies between the two representations can probably be accounted for in
the following ways. First, some latitude must be given for Mrs. Hill's draftsmanship and recall. Second,
the map seen in the UFO was three-dimensional. and thus the relative pOSitions of the stars would change
with every movement of the observer's vantage point. The most reasonable interpretation of this problem
would be that Mrs. Hill's map represents a composite or integrated recollection based on a number of
small but significant shifts in her viewing angle. Third, the model may be in error, even with the most
up-to-date data. As an example of this last point. figures for the distance of Zeta 1 Reticuli taken from
four different star catalogs are 38.8 LY (light years), 30.7. 41.3. and 36.6.
In fact. we would be suspicious if the maps corresponded exactly; for further information on this, see
the letter from Betty Hill, reprinted with Marjorie Fish's article.
In addition to the obvious geometrical congruity between the two views, both are exobiologically valid.
Thus the Hill map satisfies two independent sets of criteria.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
ON UFOLOGY
10
normal lamp here ... Lamps that grow just don't seem
" right.'; 'To 'Quote a cl1che, y'ou c'an' say that again!
: 'Witte did s'uggest th:it.{t1i'e bulb 'might have 'been
, 'manufactured for use under water or with 'some 'type
, or' coolant and that the lack of any kind of coolant
might be 'the cause of thEi expansion, bu't it was clear
that he had' no definite kriowledge of any bulbs of
ttii~ sort. He promised to ' 'ask around among the
"old-timers at' GE and report'back~' So far as we can
find out, he has not 'yet dorie sci. "
We' have no eJ(planations' whatsoever. If any of
our" l,Ilembers' hll:ve e'ncountered siinilar bulbs or know
of any mechanism 'that could cause such 'expansion,
we wi.ll be"more' than happy to hear from them. Ordinarily it is necessary' to heat glass considerably
above the ordinary light bulb stage to make it "expandable" and it seems unlikely that even a rather
major power 'surge' would do this.
Pending further information we can only sympathize with Mr. Swift who reports that one of his
collea.gues said, "Listen, if you believe that, I have
some land in Florida you'd be interested in".
Escape Artist
A Reuters report from Brisbane, Australia: "Aboriginal prisoner 'William Charles Haines seemed unusually happy as he was released from Boggo Road jail here. No sooner had his smiling face disappeared
from sight than a complaint came from another William Charles Haines that he was due for release. A
qUi(:k check showed that the freed Haines still had ~hree years to serve.' Furthermore, he walked out
wearing the clothes and wrist watch of. tile man left inside. Police said that if they recaptured the first
Haines it was doubtful they could charge him with escaping custody. But they might be able to charge him
with st~aling the oth~r Haines's clothes."
'
11
v.
ASTRONOMY
12
VII. BIOLOGY
GIANT SKULLS
Chapter 6 of Ivan T. Sanderson's book ~
is devoted to a story -and he notes that it
is just that, not a "report"- of some alleged giant
"human" skulls. We now have the answer to this one.
For the benefit of those who do not have the book
(both it and "Things are out of print), we present
here a summary of the story as originally told Ivan
Sanderson, quoting in part from More "Things".
After the publication of Abominable Snowmen:
Legend Come ~ Life (and this is in print, Chilton
Books) a great deal of mail was received, most of it
either confirming reports included in the book or
adding new ones from other areas. Among these was
a very long and quite remarkable letter from a lady in
Idaho, relating a story told her by one of her sons
who had been an engineer in the U. S. Army during
World WILr II:
"Things~
.,
13
I'~I.
AttuI~
Niski Is.
"Shemya Is.
14
Print Analysis
by Robert E. Jones
One item which was brought back from Pennsylvania in September 1973 was a tape recording, allegedly of the creature howling (or bellowing). At
present, an attempt is being made to analyze the recording through son agraphic (i.e. voice print) analysis. In November 1973 a number of sonograms were
made through the courtesy of Kay Elemetrics, a firm
in New Jersey that specializes in the manufacture of
Sonagram equipment.
The first sonogram was taken in the 80 Hz to
8000 Hz (hertz -a unit of frequency equal to one
cycle. per second) range using a wide band filter.
The results indicated that the major portions of. the
sound were in the lower range, so the second sonogram was made in the 40 Hz to 4000 Hz range. Two
other sonograms were made: one similar to the
sec:ond, using a narrow band filter, and the other my
voice for purposes of comparison.
In December the sonograms were studied by a
biologist who had had some experience with sono-
,--'........ .
i .~ry
-,.
i -~
'~
"~
;1'
;;
.~
'.
.~ ~
'.
Ii
I
'H.I Hi!
I
t~
iii
.{
- - ------------- -.-
11- :.
. .f. :; 1 ,
.. J
f
;:..
. '-.. ~,"
:.',
-,
lr ..
.~:\
~.-
..
!
I
---------'----------_._-----------16
By Allen V. Noe
John Lombard, a farmer in Harrismith, South Africa, sold five homing pigeons to a neighbor who lives
a mile away. To keep the birds from flying back to him, John suggested that the new owner clip their
wing feathers until they got adjusted to their new environment. Two days later farmer John saw a strange
sight coming down the dirt road. The five pigeons were walking home.
17
copy of the taped cries of the creatures for comparison with an anonymous recording made in western
pennsy'lvania last summer.
A letter dated 15 October 1973 from a young lady
who lives in western Ohio, stated: "I've been follow~
ing with great interest the happenings in Greensburg
and Derry, Pennsylvania. The reason for this is that
for a great number of years there has been a similar
animal-man around where we live. Over the past ten
years it has been heard and recently seen. The
location is about one mile south of (deleted) on a
deserted farm road that dead ends into Interstate 75.
I myself have seen this animal, can tell you he's
very real. I have numerous friends who have heard
him and know that he exists." Upon inquiry, she
stated that the creature was seen at about 12:30 AM
on a moonlit night on the deserted farm road described above. It was close enough to I 75 that the car
headlights reflected a red glow from the creature's
eyes. It seemed the face was quite human, he was
covered with dark hair, and the arms were very longalmost knee length. The height was estimated at
about 10 feet, since the witnesses saw him step
over a fence nearly five feet high. The cries of the
creature were described as "a cross between the cry
of a man in pain and the high pitched howl of a
wolf". The woods where the cries were heard seems
to be dying, and many trees have fallen. There
appears to be an almost complete absence of birds
or animals in Lhis woods, yet across a field there is
another wooded area where everything is lush and
green, and where animal and bird life abounds. I
have made further inquiry to ascertain whether there
has been any evidence of UFO activity in the seemingly blighted area.
.
In northern New Jersey (that's mighty close to
home), a man who prefers to reIpain anonymous r eported pulling into the driveway of his home in the
mountains
near High Point one evening in late
summer, and seeing a huge, hairy creature standing
upright on two legs at the corner of his house. It
walked around the corner, whereupon he got his
flashlight out of his car and went into his back-yard.
Happy Headlines
A local New Jersey newspaper reported on a new book by our member Leonard Lee (Lennie) Rue with
the heiuUine "Rue - Nationally known wildlife Photographer PUblishes Book on Ruffled Grouse and
the Winnipeg Free ~, an excellent newspaper by the way, produced some confusion with "Executions
Reported After Afghan Cow. It should have read "coup.
19
VIII. ANTHROPOLOGY
ess~nce
One goldfish to another: All right. wise guy; ifthere's no God. who changes. the water?-
~--~"--I------------------~'''''''''''~--''''''.~''_.''''I''''''l''''''
20
. Bear in mind that donations to SITU above and beyond the usual dues are tax deductible for Internal
Revenue Service returns.
21
getting one, but one can always hope. The basic fact
remains: there are pyramids in China -unless you
wish to call Mr. Nichols a liar.
MEMBERS'FORUM
-----
---
----------------,-
22
Pie i:l.Se , please, let us know of any change of address as long in advance as possible, and include your new
zip code.--
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
Hannes Alfven. \.YQlli!-Antiworlds: Antimatter ill Cosmology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
1966. $3.50. (Order from the publisher, 660 'Market St .. San Francisco, California 94104.)
This is a splendid little book, a kind of "primer on cosmology" specifically written with the layman
in mind. Although it deals with what are probably the most complex problems facing scientists today, it
doe!! so very clearly, yet without' talking down' to the reader.
The chapter titles are "Cosmology and Natural Science", "Matter and Antimatter", "Plasma Physics",
"Antimatter in the Cosmos", "Development of the Metagalaxy" (our universe), and "The Cosmological
Problem". If you have any interest in the subject at all, do not let these headings frighten you. At $3.50
it is one of the best bargains around.
There is no index, but the table of contents gives a breakdown of the chapters that provides a good
substitute.
23
Project CYclops, ~ Design study Q! ! System for Detecting Extraterrestrial Intelligent W!e. Prepared
under Stanford/NASA/Ames Research Center 1971 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program in Engineering
Sy"stems Design. Copies available by writing to Dr. John Billingham, NASAl Ames Research Center, Code
LT, Moffett Field, CA 94035.
This is, for the most part, a highly technical report on an 'official' long-range attempt to communicate
with other intelligent beings in our universe and the methods and equipment most likely to be successful
in such a search. It is too technical for the general reader but will be of interest to those with training in
radioastronomy or related fields, and may eventually prove most important -though none of us may live
long enough to see the results.
George Thommen. Is :This Your Day? Crown Publishers, Inc. 1964. $4.95
Much has been written recently about biorhythms, a good deal of it so technical as to be unintelligible
to the layman, and some of it so oversimplified and exaggerated as to suggest some sort of panacea.
George Thommen's book falls squarely between the two and should prove most valuable to the sO-called
average citizen.
The first half of t he book is devoted to the 'history' of biorhythms. This is not really terribly interesting but will serve to convince the sceptics that biorhythms are not something dreamed up by some mathematics-happy biologist. The second half concerns biorhythm(s) as such and presents detailed instructions
on how to chart your own biorhythmic cycles: both a complicated and a simple method are given, and the
book includes all the necessary tables, blank charts, and calibrated cycle rulers. (Additional forms, rulers,
etc. are available from Biorhythm Computers, Inc., 298 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10001.)
The author makes it quite clear that while the cycles themselves are inexorable in their progress, they
cannot be used to predict future behaviour or accide.nts "for the way a person acts depends on what is
happening to him, as well as on the condition he happens to be in physically, emotionally, and intellectually at a particular time". In other words, the chart is valuable as a warning device and enables a
person to be at least somewhat on guard on "bad days". The cycles are not of equal length: the phySical
cycle is 23 days, the 'sensitivity' (mood or emotional) cycle 28 days, and the intellectual 33 days.. Hence
you may feel on top of the world emotionally but be in a "recuperating" stage physically: and thus you
might at.tempt something which in fact your reflexes are unable to handle at that time, resulting in an
accident. Much is made of "critical days" but the author points out that these are not dangerous in themselves. Two days in each cycle are considered critical, the first day of a new cycle and the day when the
cycle shifts from its high to its low or recuperating phase. Again, this does not mean that you will have
an accident: it simply indicates that your reactions -physical, emotional, or intellectual- may be out of
gear" and that allowance should be made for this. Depending on general and special circumstances, this
may or may not prove valid. An article in the National Observer explained why, on the basis of biorhythms,
Mrs. Billie Jean King could not beat Mr. Bobby Riggs in their tennis match: her cycles were all at their
lowest point, his were high. For the benefit of future readers, she beat him in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
There are other interesting and helpful computations outlined in Mr. Thommen's book which is recommended for its practicality.
F. W. Holiday. The Dragon and the Disc. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. 1973. New York: W. W. Norton
Co. 1973. $7.95.
Ted Holiday's latest book may properly be said to consist of two parts. The first is an excellent and
most interesting account of investigations of Irish lake monsters, both current and historical, and much,
if not most, of this material will be new to the majority of readers. These 'dragons', though possibly related to those in Loch Ness and other northern lakes, seem to behave quite differently and even to be at
least apparently rather agressive. Also, the loughs they are reported to inhabit are generally best described as ponds, and one of the puzzles is how beasts of the size indicated by witnesses could survive
in such small bodies of water. No one has figured out what, if anything, the beasts eat. Which brings us
to "part two".
This is far less satisfying, in part because Holiday has a tendency to be guilty of just those faults
he attributes to others; i.e. he castigates the archaeologists and cultural anthropologists for identifying
certain symbols or representations categorically as "the sun" or wbatever; and then announces himself
...----------------------.-----II
-------------------------------------------------------~------------
24
that "There is really not the slightest doubt that they [cup-marks-circular or oval depressions cut in
rock] represented the Disc", i.e. a UFO. Rather a categoric statement and not based on absolute proof
eIther.
From lake monsters to UFOs may seem a rather large jump, but Holiday believes that they are related
and that neither is .. real" in the sense of being organic or truly physical, despite the fact that both are
visible and do on occasion produce tangible effects or leave material traces, e.g. slime trails left by the
Irish lake monsters. It is true that lake monsters (and ABSMs for that matter) and UFOs have thus far
eluded capture and proved nearly impossible to pin down, this in the face of often monumental expenditure
of time and effort, and one does sometimes wonder if we are dealing with some 'unearthly' type of entity
which cannot be caught. Nevertheless -and Ted Holiday has a tendency to more or less ignore this
faet- there are photographs and films of monsters in Loch Ness, and some of the difficulties experienced
by the camera crews at Loch Ness and attributed by Holiday to "supernatural" (for want of a better word)
influences, also be-devil chaps simply trying to photograph their infants in the back yard, e.g. film failing
to wind through properly.
Holiday has made a very thorough study of depictions of 'dragons' in church architecture and other
religious monuments (Celtic crosses, etc.) and believes that the dragon (freshwater rno nsters under
various names) and the disc (UFOs) were very early objects of worship in its broadest sense. The dragon
wa.s, according to him, often represented simply by a beaded border surrounding a central disc, as on the
Celtic crosses. He certainly has done a thorough job of cataloguing these various depictions, and his
thlwry is interesting -if, as the publisher notes, rather fantastic- but I am not convinced. It is indeed
possible, but his coverage is so broad that this alone makes me a bit sceptical. He includes both long
and round barrows (cigar- and disc-shaped UFOs) and even the leys discussed by Janet Bord in the July
1973 issue of Pursuit. In fact, he finds right-angle triangles all over the place, allegedly linking dragondisc monuments, etc. The map on page 144 is not, however, impressive, if only because few of these
alleged 'points' are identified. And in any case I am not enthusiastic about any type of so-called orthoteny: given enough points, you can find all sorts of linkages which mayor may not mean anything.
There are references and a good index, and the book is recommended for the material on Irish lake
monsters. For the rest, you will have to make up your own minds.
(and
(and
(and
(and
President)
Vice-President)
Secretary)
Treasurer)
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Robert C. Warth
Allen V. Noe
Marion L. Fawcett
Robert J. Durant
Carl J. Pabst
Walter J. McGraw
Dante A. (Don) Costa
Administrative Director
Director of Operations
Executive Secretary
Technical Consultant
Research Consultant
Mass Media
Public Relations
EDITORIAL BOARD
Dr. George A. Agogino - Chairman, Department of Anthropology, and Director, Paleo-Indian Institute,
Eastern New Mexico University. (Archaeology)
Dr. N. Burtshak-Abramovitch - Academician, Georgian Academy of Science, Palaeobiological Institute;
University of Tblisi. (Palaeontology)
Dr. Carl H. Delacato - Associate Director, Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. Philadelphia. (Mentalogy)
Dr. W. C. Osman Hill - Dublin and London (Comparative Anatomy)
Dr. J. Allen Hynek - Director, Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center, Northwestern University.
(Astronomy)
Dr. George C. Kennedy - Professor of Geology. Institute of Geophysics, U.C.L.A. (Geomorphology and
Geophysics)
Dr. Martin Kruskal - Program in Applied Mathematics, Princeton University. (Mathematics)
Dr. Samuel B. McDowell - Professor of BiologY. Rutgers University. Newark, N. J. (General Biology)
Dr. Vladimir Markotic - Professor of Anthropology, Department of Archaeology. University of Alberta,
Canada (Ethnosociology and Ethnology)
Dr. Kirtley F. Mather - Professor of Geology. Emeritus, Harvard University. (Geology)
Dr. John R. Napier - Unit of Primate Biology. Queen Elizabeth College, University of London. (Physical
Anthropology)
Dr. W. Ted Roth - Assistant Director, Baltimore Zoo. Baltimore, Maryland. (Ecologist & Zoogeographer)
Dr. Frank B. Salisbury - Head. Plant Science Department, College of Agriculture. Utah State University.
(phytochemistry)
Dr. Berthold Eric schwarz - Consultant (Brain-Wave LaboratorY). Essex County Medical Center, Cedar
Grove, New Jersey. (Mental Sciences)
Dr. Roger W. Wescott - Professor and Chairman. Department of Anthropology, Drew University, Madison.
New Jersey. (cultural Anthropology and Linguistics)
Dr. A. Joseph Wraight - Chief Geographer. U. S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. (Geography and Oceanographl')
Dr. Robert K. Zuck - Professor and Chairman, Department of Botany. Drew University. Madison. New
Jersey. (Botany)
37 BELVIDERE AVENUE
201-689-0194
.::=:-
-===- -
=
-
...
s.--
----~-
APRIL, 1974
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is $10 a year and runs from the 1st of January to the 31st of December. Members receive
our quarterly journal PURSUIT, an Annual Report and Auditor's Report, and all special Society publications for t hat year.
Members are welcome to visit our Headquarters if they wish to use the Library or consult the staff but,
due to limited facilities, this can be arranged only by prior appointment; and at least a week in advance.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL OR EVEN AN AMATEUR SCIENTIST TO JOIN US.
ORGANIZATION
The legal and financial affairs of the Society are managed by a Board of Trustees in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey. The Society is also counselled by a panel of prominent scientists,
which is designated the SCientific Advisory Board.
The Society is housed on eight acres of land in the Township of Knowlton, Warren County, New Jersey.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Our publishing schedule is four quarterly issues of PURSUIT, dated January, April, July, and October,
and numbered as annual volumes - Vol. 1 being 1968 and before; Vol. 2, 1969, and so on. These are
mailed at the end of the month. (Subscription to PURSUIT, without membership benefits, is $5 for 4
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PURSUIT is listed in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory and in the Standard Guide to Periodicals: and is abstracted in Abstracts of Folklore Studies. It is also available from University Microfilms,
300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. The price is $4.10 per reel. An annual index appears in the
October issue.
J..........................................................._ .....I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~
PURSUIT
Vol. 7. No. 2
APRIL. 1974
CONTENTS
Fortean vs. Orthodox Science, by Robert J. Durant
26
Ufology
UFOs in New Jersey, by Berthold E. Schwarz, M.D.
31
35
36
36
Biology
All Quiet on the Western Front: Bigfoot,
April 1974, by Peter Byrne
Mystery Animals
"Mystery Animals", by Charles Bowen
An Addendum on "Mystery Cats"
Loch Ness
Loch Ness 1972--The Rines/Edgerton
Picture, by Tim Dinsdale
Members' Forum
Book Reviews, by Sabina W. Sanderson
41
42
43
46
46
47
48
49
26
in the case of the ABSMs, and to the various deformations of the ground and surrounding foliage in the
cases of UFO landings, as well as all of the "EM"
effects, movies, etc., that form the UFO evidence.
But the scientist is neither trained nor accustomed
to process anecdotal or circumstantial evidence.
That is the domain of another highly developed,
though rather inexact, field of knowledge - Law.
The scientist must have a specimen to work with,
and he must be able to observe the specimen under
controlled conditions. Under any other conditions the
typical scientist is lost. Events that are of short
duration and that occur sporadically usually slip
through the net.
That science has been remiss in ignoring events
ha ving the """characteristics outlined above has been
noted by that most admirable organization, the Smithsonian Institution. In 1968, the Smithsonian came to
------------...--------_.--
...................._...........
------------------------------------------------------------.----~.
28
seriOU!1 problem in physical research is the inadvertent duplication of previously accomplished experimentation. This has resulted from the sheer glut
of information being produced, compounded by a
serious lag in the development of methods for informing the scientific community, or even those engaged in roughly similar research, of the work already done.
This problem becomes quite unmanageable in the
case where communication between two or more
entirely separate and distinct scientific disciplines
is involved. An example of this is presented in the
field of cancer research, where the "shotgun'" approach is being attempted. That is, the research is
of a very basic nature, involving a multitude of
different approaches, and so far there are very few
clues to pursue. The researchers represent a variety
of disCiplines, and of specialties within those
diRcipline s.
EVENT 1'5-71
18 JANUARY 1971
11090.
------------r------------....
-----------+------------....
29
is potentially so great that the ordinary considerations of prudent use of resources ought to be
waived. Such was the case with the development of
the atomic bomb, and this is essentially the approach
being taken in the search for a cure for cancer.
Several years ago a group of scientists were invited
by a congressional committee to state their case for
a federally funded study of UFO's. The scientists
rested their arguments almost entirely on the pay
off" theory.
A third characteristic of fortean events that makes
them unappealing to the scientific community is that
they so often seem to present an enormous challenge
to established theories. The first two characteristics
really involved technical problems in the methodology
of modern science, and in the case of the first
characteristic, a fairly straightforward "fix has been
found. The second problem, that of the pigeon
holes", has also been recognized by the practitioners
of science, and various attempts have been made to
solve it, for example, the use of computers to store
summaries of all research work being done, and the
use of librarians specially trained in the storage and
dissemination of scientific information. But this third
objection, or problem, has more to do with human
psychology than we would prefer to be the case. It has
to do w.ith that almost universally expressed human
frailty. the closed mind. It is the blind refusal to
even consider any alleged fact or event or theory
that conflicts with a .predetermined viewpoint.
We deliberately list this problem after the first
two because in our experience its power is waning
with every day that passes. The discoveries of
modern science, particularly in the field of physics,
have made it very difficult for a scientist to maintain
a posture of unreflective opposition to any set of
ideas on principle alone. The enterpriSing journalist
still has no problem finding a scientist" who will
denounce UFO's as nonsense, but there has been an
enormous shift in the attitude of the average scientist
with respect to that subject in recent years. In a
similar vein, a recent survey of scientists in England
showed that the majority of those surveyed thought
that psychic phenomena should be studied in a
serious manner. This is a radical departure from the
previously held position that this was Simply not fit
for serious consideration, period. It is interesting to
note that many of these scientists thought that "parapsychology ought to be renamed para-physics. We
believe that this simple change in terminology alone
would be sufficient to open the door to a vast new
field of research.
The classic case of 'the "closed mind" is worth
repeating here. It concerns the great French sCientist,
Lavoisier, and a phYSical phenomenon that he set
out to investigate. The then anomalous event shared
each of the three characteristics of forte an phenomena, though it has long since been thoroughly explained a nd is now understood by grade school
30
Robert J. Durant
UFO LOGY
Do "nuts" see "saucers" ? This is the conventional thinking on UFOs, or was until recently when the
Gallop Poll revealed that a majority of the American
public thinks that UFOs are real. An enormous
amount of damage has been done by the proponents
of the theory that those who report unidentified flying
objects, and those who take the subject seriously,
are in some way mentally unbalanced. Unfortunately,
a great many members of the working press have
adopted this view and used it to editorialize on their
newspaper accounts of sightings. Usually this has
been clone in a humorous manner, but the message has
not bE!en lost on those who were unfortunate enough
to be the subjects of the joke. The attitude of the
press has changed considerably in recent years, but
it appears that there are still a few left who hold to
t.he "r,ut" theory. One such is Mr. Harry Reasoner. a
prime-time newscaster on a major television network.
Mr. Reasoner was fAatured in an advertisempnt that
appeared in the radio page of the New York Times
and elsewhere, and the profundity ascribed to him.
presumably by way of inducing viewer!; to tune in for
31
nor of thirty thousand patients who had been hospitalized since the turn of the century. My own check
of standard textbooks and journals in psychiatry,
psychoanalysis, and neurology also confirmed this
absence of UFO-like experiences in various "nervous"
and mental diseases.
The physician can often be the first to obtain
reports of possible UFOs and to uncover hidden
cases because a patient will often turn to a family
doctor as a trusted friend. With the kind assistance
of colleagues and friends, I have learned of, and
studied, numerous well-documented UFO sightings
involving people from all walks of life, including
professionally trained observers, such as physiCians,
engineers, psychologists, airline pilots, special
police, and state troopers.
Let me here present five close-range sightings
which occurred under favorable conditions in northern
New Jersey and which involved trustworthy witnesses.
In each case, I undertook telephone, and later psychiatric, interviews in the homes or offices of the
witnesses. In each case, I inspected the actual
place where the UFO episode allegedly took place.
Case 1
"Mrs. Janet Ahlers, age 32, of Oakland, New
Jersey, is an artist-housewife and proprietress of an
antique store. In excellent health, Mrs. Ahlers has
had no serious previous illness or emotional disturbance. Excerpts from an interview with her follow.
"It was late spring, about 2:30 a.m., in 1957. I
was expecting a baby and was up during the night.
Our bedroom window faced east. I was lying in bed
and was disturbed by a pulsating sensation in my
head, like a sound that was tuo high-pitched to be
heard. As it came closer it became a whining, pulsating, high-pitched sound. I tried to wake my husband but he didn't stir quickly enough. I got to the
window just as the thing went over the house. I could
see it clearly. It was close to the tree tops and it
seemed to stir them. It was saucer-shaped and seemed
to have a hard edge around the circumference where
the lights were - the (port) holes. It had one light in
the center, on the bottom, and it was circled by six
to eight other bright orange-red discs.
"It seemed to be a solid metallic object with holes
on the bottom. The one in the center was larger and
lighter in color. The UFO seemed to make everything
reddish as it very slowly went over. I had to look up
at it and could see under it (Figure 1). It just seemed
to clear the knoll which was a few hundred feet from
the house. It lasted less than a minute. This UFO
was much larger than an automobile and wider than
the house or a lot . . . more than seventy-five feet.
I woke my husband. I trembled for about two hours.
There were no physical effects."
Shortly after this episode Mrs. Ahlers told her
mother about it and at a later time a circle of her
friends, one of whom informed the author.
----------------------.
32
Case :l
"John A. Collins of Glen Rock, New Jersey, age.
49, has a responsible job in the world of banking. He
is ~ lifelong outdoorsman, skilled in hunting and
fishing. In his occupation he has flown all over the
world and has dealt with many technically trained
people, highly situated in the space-age industries.
He is in excellent health and has never had any
emotional disorder.
"It was one hour before sunset on July 8, 1958,
the day of the All-Star Game. I was fishing with a
friend at Canistear Reservoir in northern New
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33
Case 4
"Mrs. Estelle Conway, age 51, a business-school
graduate, housewife, and postal subclerk of Highland
Lakes, New Jersey, looked out of her dining room
window one fall day in 1966, at 7:30 p.m. She noticed
a large "orange ball" with a dark vermilion border,
suspended, or hovering by itself, over a pond a
quarter of a mile away from her home. At that distance,
she estimated the size to be that of a chicken coop,
and guessed that it would have beeh much larger than
an automobile. She couldn't make out any other details, but wondered if it was somebody's auto headlights shining on the trees in the woods. The lake
is 1,100 feet above sea level and the hill about
1,400 feet; therefore, the object was estimated to be
less than 300 feet above the water. The object didn't
change color or shape; it had no sound; and it did
not influence the radio or electrical devices in the
home. The object was some 700 feet from high-tension
wires.
"Mrs. Conway was embarrassed because people
would not believe her wh en she told them what she
saw. She does not use drugs, and only occasionally
does she have a cocktail. She told her husband and
other members of her family about the episode. The
husband told a neighbor, who was a state policeman.
Her experience was confirmed on telephone interview
of the kooper. Mrs. Conway had no past history of
any emotional disorder or other illness. When she
looked for the object, approximately fifteen minutes
after first seeing it, it was no longer there. (See
Figure 3.)
"At the same time of Mrs. Conway's experience,
Mr. Guy F. Adams, age 46, an electrical engineer, of
Glenwood, N.J .. while driving on the road and approaching the Conway's home, had the "surprise of
my life" when he noted, "a big opalescent-like neongreen ball, 500 to 600 yards out. Not on a ballistic
course, but gliding - not enough speed to maintain
flight itself. It slowly went across the road - treetop to tree-top - for an estimated six to eight seconds.
It was a ball, straight ahead, right across the road. I
have good depth perception. It was aquamarine in
opalescence. However, it kept perfect geometry all
the time. (It did not shimmer.) It passed over thE'
mountaintop store. There were no effects in the car.
If it had been a ballistic trajectory, it would have
had to crash into the lake (in the valley).
"I stopped the car near the store and jumped out
to see. 1 went down to the point where it had crossed
and where 1 thought it should have crashed. But it
had by then disappeared. There was still good light
out. The sun was setting. Obviously the light of the
object had to be greater than the light of the sun to
be seen. 1 was very excited and wondered how could
a thing appear to have no weight and "fly" across the
road at such a very low speed. It traveled in an eastto-west direction. The estimated size was 50 to 55
feE:t across - apprOXimately the size of a dime on the
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34
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36
II. ONTOLOGY
AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPACE PROBE
The principle by which radar works can be stated
quite simply. A short pulse of radio energy is transmitted, and if the pulse should strike an object that
reflects radio waves, such as an aircraft, the pulse is
reflected back to the transmitter site. The speed of
propagation of the radio energy is known to be about
186,000 miles per second, and thus it is possible to
calculate the distance of the reflecting object by
timing the elapsed interval between the transmission
of the radio pulse and the reception of its reflection.
37
38
39
time for a moon reflection is about 2Y.1 seconds. However, it was generally ,agreed that neither of these
explanations was at all satifjfactory. One explanation
that never occurred to the scientists was that the long
delayed echo phenomenon might be caused by a space
probe.
The mechanics of these propagation tests consisted of sending a short pulse of radio energy and then
listening for the echo. Signals reflected from the ionized upper atmosphere were heard after a very short
lapse of time and with a weak signal intensity. It is
most important to' note that the researchers were
prepared to measure several parameters, such as the
time lapse, the intensity of the reflected signal, and
changes in. the frequency of the reflected Signal. The
long delayed echoes showed characteristics remarkably different from those of the ordinary echoes
in each parameter. The echoes often had an intensity
of 1/3 that of the pulses sent by the ground station,
which is quite astounding. Furthermore, there was no
detectable frequency shift, which is also inexplicable
if these signals were in fact being reflected from a
great distance. In short, everything about these "reflections indicated that they were not echoes at all.
The data was, however, perfectly consistent with the
operation of a transponding space probe.
Now a word about the method used by Mr. Lunan
to decrypt the information contained in the echoes. As
we have indicated, it was something of a flash of
genius on Mr. Lunan's part to even begin thinking of
the long delayed echoes as the result of messages
sent by a space probe. Then came the problem of
extracting the information contained in the echoes. We
admit to being stumped by some of Mr. Lunan's
reasoning, particularly in his analysis of the more
complicated sets of echoes, but the simpler decoding
seems to make good sense. We hope in the future to
get further information on this from Mr. Lunan. We
also hope to reprint some of the original papers
written by those who accomplished the experiments
that produced the long delayed echoes.
Let us take a practical example to illustrate
exactly what Mr. Lunan did with the echo data.
Assume that the ground station is sending a short
pulse of radio energy once every 30 seconds, Le., a
morse code "dot- followed by 30 seconds of silence.
Very shortly after the pulse is sent, the experimenters
hear the weak "natural" reflection. Then, after a
lapse of some seconds, they hear a strong echo.
Now assume that during the first 30 second quiet
period there are two strong echoes, one coming after
3 .seconds, and the second coming after 6 seconds.
No long delayed echoes are heard after the second,
third, and fourth pulses are sent. After the fifth pulse
is sent, a long delayed echo is heard with a delay
time of 6 seconds. No further long delayed echoes
are heard for the remainder of the day.
The original researchers merely recorded the long
delayed echoes and scratched their heads in wonder.
Mr.. Lunan took the data and plotted it on a sheet of
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41.
and third delays came within the quiet period following the eighth pulse transmitted from the ground
station.
Mr. Lunan thinks that the row of vertical dots
formed by the seven eight-second echoes is meant to
be an attention getting device, as well as an invitation to move the three second delay dot over to the
right of the vertical line. It is probably also an
internal check of the "code" because, if the 3-second
dot is moved an equal number of spaces into the right
side, or reflected about the vertical dot axis, one
finds seven dots in the pattern. When all of the dots
are placed in the right hand side of the diagram, the
constellation Bootes appears. The position of alpha
Bootes, commonly known as Arcturus, corresponds to
the position of that star approximately 13.000 years
ago. The special operation that had to be performed
on Epsilon BoOtes, thus calling particular attention
to it in the completed constellation, indicates that
this is the "home" star of the space probe.
VII BIOLOGY
42
MYSTERY ANIMALS
Ivan Sanderson, the founder of SIT U, was a
zoologist of considerable accomplishment in that
science who worked for many years "in the field"
collecting specimens for the British Museum of
Natural History. Perhaps as a natural outgrowth of
this professional specialty Sanderson developed an
intense interest in unknown" animals, that is,
animals reported on numerous occasions but as yet
uncaught and unclassified. His writings on the subject stand as the definitive scientific works on unknown animals, and the Society has continued to
collect data to further his pioneering work on unknown animals.
The bipeds commonly known as Yeti, Sasquatch,
Bigfoot, etc., and the Loch Ness Monster are the best
known of these anomalous animals, though they represent only a fraction of the total number of reported
"unknowns on record. In very general terms, there
have been three major explanations put forward in an
attempt to account for these reports. The first holds
that the reports are the result of misidentification of
known animals, or simple frauds and hoaxes. For an
example of this see the Encyclopaedia Britannica
under the heading of "Abominable Snowman." The
second explanation, which seems to be the consensus
of most students of the subject, is that the animals
43
44
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45
46
The extraordinary photograph obtained at Loch Ness from a camera suspended at a depth of 50 feet.
This is reproduced from an off-print of Tim Dinsdale's article; the white line down the middle is simply
the separation between the pages.
47
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P. SKITZKI, RAYTHEON CO.
coverage!
J. V. BOUYOUCOS, HYDROACOUSTICS
EDGERTON
STRtOeE~-C-'IMEi~~:!:~:::::""
How the picture was made and the sonar record of the event with comments by technical analysts Also
reproduced from the off-print.
.
48
MEMBERS' FORUM
Mrs. Janet Bard. 34a Barnsdale Road. London W9
3LL. is researching the subject of mazes and labyrinths. She is trying to find examples of these from
any geographical location, in any source. ancient or
modern.
49
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sabina W. Sanderson
William R. Corliss. Strange Phenomena: A Sourcebook of Unusual Natural Phenomena. Volume G-l. Order
from Mr. Corliss, P. O. Box 107, Glen Arm, MD 21057.$6.95 postpaid (Maryland residents add state tax).
1974.
.
This is a splendid addition to fortean literature and is the first of a series (two more volumes are nearly
ready). It is, as its compiler makes clear in both the title and his preface, a sourcebook and quotes the
50
original reports, complete with old spellings, punctuation, and typos, as garnered from scientific and more
popular journals. Mr. Corliss also emphasizes the fact that the collection of material presented here -this
volume is limited to geophysical phenomena- is a mere sampling from the literature and includes only a
small portion of his own collection. We herE! quote from the author's Preface and the ~ection entitled
"Organization of the Sourcebooks":
"The data included have been filtered only slightly. Doubtless some hoaxes and honest misinterpretations will be found in the pages that follow. This is unavoidable in a project of this scope. Indeed, it is
unavoidable in all phases of inquiry, especially those relying heavily upon observational evidence. Data
were selected for inclusion according to their 'strangeness' and their tendency to contradict current scientific hypotheses or stretch them beyond their present bounds. There has also been a de liberate effort to
gather in observations from the 19th Century that have gathered dust too long on library shelves. Anomalous events are too rare to let them be discarded merely because they are old or money cannot be found to
put them into computerized data systems ....
"Data selected for the data banks must have current relevance and be acceptable to the science of the
day. Hopefully, these sourcebooks will preserve something of value and help focus the diverse, widely
dispersed anomalies on the frontiers of science .... "
Volume Gl deals, as noted above, with geophysical phenomena, and a second volume, G2, is nearly
ready, as are volumes on ancient man and on "unresolved geological problems". Judging from the first, the
whole series" should be most valuable, in part because of its most unusual format. Strange Phenomena
comes in a 7 x 9 inch loose-leaf ring-binder, and for a very good reason. Mr. Corliss has devised an organizational system which looks, at first glance, rather complicated -almost excessively so- but is actually
very simple and easy to use in" practice. Each entry is given a label consisting of three letters and three
numbers; e.g. GLB-012. This conglomeration indicates that the entry concerns GeophYSics (G), a major
field of science; Luminous phenomena (L), a section of that field; Ball lightning (B), a subsection. The
number is simply the "accession number", Le. the 12th item on that subject. The running heads on each
page give both the "label" and the speCific category, so that one may find what one wants with ease: for
example. the running head on page GI-28 is "GLA-Oll Aurora-like Phenomena". And there are no less than
five indices -subject, date-of-event, place-of-event, author, and source- which give, not the page number,
but the entry number. And herein lies the beauty of the general arrangement. "
In the first volume there is given a complete list of the section codes and titles for geophysics, but not
all of these categories are included in this first volume. Section GG (Gravitational and temporal phenomena) is missing entirely but can be inserted in its proper place when it becomes available. Mr. Corliss has
also left space for additional entries or, since the page numbers are not really useful in any case, you
~ay add your own pages, continuing on from the last accession number.
One of the most difficult problems facing us is the organization of material into 'proper' categories,
and here.J feel that William R. Corliss has done a truly excellent job. Presumably one might quibble in a
few cases but we have not noticed any gross areas of contention.
There is virtually no 'editorializing' included, though the compiler has commented briefly on a few
reports. This is not for most people a book to be read straight through, though each section does constitute
a "chapter" on a particular subject, but it is great for browsing, and it is my impression that Mr. Corliss
has obtained some of his material from sources not culled before.
Jean-Pierre Hallet with Alex Pelle. Pigmy Kitabu. New York: Random House. 1973. $10.00 (Autographed
copies are available from Jean-Pier~letProductions, 5630 West 79th St., Los Angeles, California
90045, for $10 postpaid; indicate to whom the book should be inscribed.)
The 'blurb' on the front of the flyer for this book reads "Who is God? Where was the Garden of Eden?
" "What is Hell? Is there a life after death? The Pygmies ... -living fossils from the dawn of time- reveal the
-answer to these, and many other Questions that have puzzled "man for centuries --" Inside the anonymous
" writer asks "Were your ancestors Pygmies?" and promptly replies "This revealing book proves HI"
Now all this is enough to set anyone's teeth on edge, "and "I am ever sceptical of a book alleged to
"prove" anything that is incapable of concrete proof, particularly when the author is well known to be "in
51
'loveD with his basic subject -in this case 3'ean-Pierre Hallet and the African Pygmies. I therefore approached this book with a considerably jaundiced eye -and was most pleasantly surprised.
Chapter 1 provides an excellent introduction to the Pygmies and their way of life; who and which have,
by the way, been assiduously ignored by such as Robert Ardrey and ,others who insist that Man is descend,ed from "killer a~es" and is innately aggressive., As Hallet points, out, the Pygmies have a moral code
which sounds remarkably like the Ten Comn'land'ments (about which more later) "But the laws are much
more faithfully observed in Pygmy society [than in ours], in which there is no 'crime of any consequence
and no war at all". In fact, the Pygmies are "very amiable, warm-hearted, fun-loving, sometimes mischievous, but wholly non-agressive characters who behave more like the elves of European legend than the
awful killer apes of modern myth". This applies only to the Pygmies .who have not been ruined by "civilization"; Hallet states quite biuntly that "Wherever alcohol has been introduced into Pygmy territories, the
physical and moral health of the community has been all but destroyed. The Efe bands of western Uganda,
near Fort Portal, offer a particularly tragic example. Some are chronic alcoholics and most of them behave
like hoodlums. Tourists who visit Uganda have gathered the very false impression that these grossly
corrupted Efe bands are typical Pygmies".
Though generally classed as a branch of the Negro race, the Pygmies p)1ysically have more in common
with the Caucasoids: thin, uneverted lips, prominent eyebrow ridges, and 'very heavy body hair and beards.
Their skin color ranges from yellow-tan through a warm red brown; many have gray-blue or even, in some
cases, dark biu'e eyes;' and some have dark auburn-hair (blond or red-gold in childhood). Hardly typical
Negro characteristics, or even closely related to them. Nor is their culture, admittedly most "primitive",
anything like that of their Negro neighbours. As for their religion with its attendal'!t legends and customs,
it bears a striking resemblance to our Old Testament, except that it antedates' even Moses by at least a
thousand years, possibly many millenia; and here I believe that Hallet does prove 'conclusively that they
did not 'borrow' their beliefs from early Christian missionaries, or even eariier Hebrew wanderers or the
like. The ancient Egyptians appare':ltly borrowed their idea~ from the Pygmies.
Much of the book is devoted to what I can only call a relentless recital of Pygmy legends -the creation;
the "Garden of Eden", whatever it was called by those of various religions; the first man and woman; the
sacred tree or fruit; the Deluge; a law-giver deity; a saviour; the apocalypse; death and its aftermath; the
theft of fire; serpent-dragon legends; and underworld journeys- all of which should sound extremely familiar to those of the Judaeo-Chri::;tian faith and are also to be found in many other areas of the world
among "primitive" peoples and in the early European pagan legends, ancient Egypt, etc. etc. Jean-Pierre
Hallet gives full credit,for this exhaustive research, and that on linguistics, to his collaborator, Alexandra
Pelle, who is said to have spent more than seven years on this study. The religious evidence is impressive
indeed. The mere fact that the Pygmies have all these legends is in itself much too remarkable to be dismissed, as coincidence", and means that, however controversial the basic thesiS, it deserves very serious
consideration. I am personally less impressed by the linguistic evidence, partly because much of it
,constitutes a comparison between European languages which have been known for a longtim,e to be related;
nevertheless, the similarities to the Efe Pygmy language are, I believe, sufficient to warrant further study.
Another section of Pygmy Kitabu ("kitabu" means "book") deals with the dispersal of Pygmy ideas and
of the people themselves. In general, the legends "prove" this, but Hallet has added quite a number of
sometimes rather unusual 'artefacts' such as string games (i.e.cat's cradle, etc.), macrame writing (even
the Pygmies can't explain how this works); etc. Too, there has been the recent discovery of no less than
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
52
sevlm Pygmy graveyards in Venezuela, definitely identified as African Pygmies (the first of these was
noted in Pursuit some time ago), coupled with traditions in the Americas of ancestors who were of very
small stature. Hallet quotes a charming story anent the latter:
"The Eskimos tell many stories concerning a first or ancestral race of very diminutive stature. In
Alaska, for example, the Eskimos of the Cape Denbigh area say that a 'little chief' and his people left the
artifacts and ruins of an ancient village that was excavated by archaeologist J. Louis Giddings. He argues
with a group of Eskimos, trying to convince them that 'there were no miniature people ... , The first men in
America, whenever they came and whoever they were, and all of those who descended from them, wer.e most
likely full-sized people-no larger, no smaller, than the tall and short people we know today,'declared
Giddings. After a moment of silence, an Eskimo named Nakarak politely replied, 'We thank you for expla-ining a.ll these things to us. We do read a little, and we go to Bible School in the winter, but no one has ever
explained these things to us before.' Then he added, 'We understand those things better now. The world
has had big people and small people-and we think it must be true that the little chief was one of the
~l!Iallest, all right, and we think all the other people in this village were pretty small, too!' ..
So where did these "primitive" people get their very 'sophisticated' religious ideas (monotheism for
one), an at least possible ability to travel widely, and such? According to them, they were once a technolol~ically advanced group and derived their religious ideas, at least, from a tall, bearded, white-skinned
man. The technology they abandoned because they found it spiritually debilitating. They do not even make
fife -for religious reasons- but carry it from place to place. This general concept is virtually impossible
of proof, but there are some extraordinary bits and pieces that must make anyone wonder: why (and "how
come?") do they traditionally describe Saturn as "the star of nine moons"? Telescopes maybe?
Though many readers may wish to skim some of the material on legends and linguistics, there is much
here to interest any reader but particularly those of fortean bent.
There is a detailed map (on the end papers) and other illustrations, both line cuts and halftones, and
there is an index though this has some irritating deficiencies -e.g. there is no entry for linguistics as
such, or technology, and some of the entries are confusing or unclear.
Alwyn T. Perrin, Ed. The Explorers Ltd. Source Book. New York: Harper & Row. 1973. $4.95 (paperbound).
This is not a fortean book (exc~pt for mention of INFO and SITU in the front) but is a very good source
of information that may be useful to our members. Most sections, of which there are 26, are divided into
three parts: 1) sources of information: organizations, publications, places to learn; 2) descriptions of
equipment, basic equipment kits, sources of equipment; and 3) application of these two in the field. As the
editor states emphatically, this is not a catalogue, i.e. don't order equipment as listed, write first for
information and prices.
The subjects covered include some rather specialized fields such as caving, ballooning, and dog sledding, which are not likely to be indulged in by the "average citizen", but others, photography for example,
will be of considerable interest to many if not most of our readers. In fact, the amount you can save by
buying (by mail) a camera in Hong Kong, is many times the cost of this book.
Robert R. Lyman Sr. Amazing ~: Strange ~ !!! the Black Forest, Vol. 2.Coudersport, Pa.: The
Potter Enterprise. 1973. Hard cover $4.50; paperback $2.50; add 25 postage and handling (Pennsylvania
residlmts add 6% sales tax).
The Black Forest referred to here is the Black Forest of Pennsylvania, not Germany, and this is the
second book recounting unusual, unexplained, or otherwise strange events from that area, compiled by
Robert R. Lyman, an indefatiguable local historian. The previous volume contained relatively little of
spe~ific interest to forteans though much to interest those int~rested in folklore generally and local history
in particular. This second volume includes quite a number of accounts which can be called truly fortean,
not the least of which is the difficulties they ran into in printing volume one! Mr. Lyman has done his
utmost to confirm the stories recounted herein.
though the printing leaves much to be desired, this little book is certainly entitled to a place in
fortean literature. There is a full table of contents and an i~dex of proper names .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
I . .~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-
. . .~. . . . . .- - - - - -
(and
(and
(and
(and
President)
Vice-President)
Secretary)
Treasurer)
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Robert C. Warth
Allen V. Noe
Sabina W. Sanderson
Robert J. Durant
Carl J. Pabst
Walter J. McGraw
DanteA. (Don) costa
Administrative Director
Director of Operations
Executive Secretary
Technical Consultant
Research Consultant
Mass Media
Public Relations
EDITORIAL BOARD
Dr. George A. Agogino - Chairman, Department of Anthropology, and Director, Paleo-Indian Institute,
Eastern New Mexico University. (Archaeology)
Dr. N. Burtshak-Abramovitch - Academician, Georgian Academy of Science, Palaeobiological Institute;
University of Tblisi. (Palaeontology)
Dr. Carl H. Delacato - Associate Director, Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, Philadelphia, (Mentalogy)
Dr. W. C. Osman Hill- Dublin and London (Comparative Anatomy)
Dr. J. Allen Hynek - Director, Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center, Northwestern University.
(Astronomy)
Dr. George C. Kennedy - Professor of Geology, Institute of Geophysics, U.C.L.A. (Geomorphology and
Geophysics)
Dr. Martin Kruskal - Program in Applied Mathematics, Princeton University. (Mathematics)
Dr. Samuel B. McDowell - Professor of Biology, Rutgers University, Newark, N. J. (General Biology)
Dr. Vladimir Markotic - Professor of Anthropology, Department of Archaeology, University of Alberta,
Canada (Ethnosociology and Ethnology)
Dr. Kirtley F. Mather - Professor of Geology, Emeritus, Harvard University. (GeologY)
Dr. John R. Napier - Unit of Primate Biology, Queen Elizabeth College, University of London. (Physical
Anthropology)
Dr. W. Ted Roth - Assistant Director, Baltimore Zoo, Baltimore, Maryland. (Ecologist & Zoogeographer)
Dr. Frank B. Salisbury - Head, Plant Science Department, College of Agriculture, Utah State University.
(Phytochemistry)
Dr. Berthold Eric Schwarz - Consultant (Brain-Wave Laboratory), Essex County Medical Center, Cedar
Grove, New Jersey. (Mental Sciences)
Dr. Roger W. Wescott - Professor and Chairman, Departmert of Anthropology, Drew University, Madison,
New Jersey. (cultural Anthropology and Linguistics)
Dr. A. Joseph Wraight - Chief Geographer, U. S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. (Geography and Oceanograph3
Dr. Robert K. Zuck - Professor and Chairman, Department of Botany, Drew University, Madison, New
Jersey. (Botany)
201-689-0194