The Roswell Slides – The Child from Montezuma Castle: A Summary

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Credit: Shepherd Johnson (Obtained via FOIA request to the National Park Service [NPS])

By Curt Collins The UFO Chronicles 6-17-15

Placard Deciphered
Illustration by Nippa Downey

     The key to the mystery of the “Roswell Slides” was reading the text in the placard pictured within. The deblurring that allowed the placard to be read has been independently verified by Alejandro Rojas, Philip Mantle, David Rudiak, Whitley Strieber Frank Warren and many more, and some using SmartDeblur, others using different software, Blurity, Photoshop CC and InFocus.

Some of the people participating in the investigation of the BeWitness show, after seeing the documentation, have since acknowledged that the placard reading is correct, Richard Dolan, Anthony Bragalia, Dr. David Rudiak, and most notably, Don Schmitt.

The placard matches historical documents and the body is described in National Park Service records and literature, which also mentions photos. Due to a FOIA request by Shepherd Johnson, the National Park Service has released documents that record the provenance of the child mummy from it’s discovery in 1896 in Arizona at Montezuma Castle by Richard Wetherill and S. L. Palmer, to its loan by the Palmer family to the Colorado Chapin Mesa museum, then to it’s transfer to the Montezuma Castle museum near the original burial site.

2-Year-Old Child Mummy Found at Montezuma Castle (AKA Roswell Alien) - 1896 (Credit S.L. Palmer Family, Shepherd Johnson & The National Park Service

The 1896 photo of the grave doesn’t show the body well enough for comparison, but the 1939 photo is very good. There are other photos that have not surfaced yet, but to date, we have shots from three locations, decades apart, with the body in different displays. Besides the 1939 black and white photo, there are the slides from around 1946 at Chapin Mesa museum (presumed to be shot by the Rays). In June of 1947, the remains were moved to the Montezuma Castle museum, where it was photographed in 1956 by a tourist.

The photos were taken years apart with different cameras and lighting, from varying angles, but they are remarkably similar. It almost seems coincidental that photos decades apart are so alike, but due to the child’s head being turned to his right, it was displayed the same way over the years, to be best viewed from the side, thereby yielding similar photographs.

Mummy of two year old boy (Palmer Collections) promoted as Roswell Alien. Picture allegedly taken by Bernerd & Hilda Ray circa 1947

Same mummy of two year old boy (Palmer Collection);image discovered by Jorge Peredo via Picasa. Credit: Frank & Frances & Frank Hadl - December, 1956

Most of the seeming differences in the body come from the positioning of the near-skeletal remains and the way the clothing is arranged around it. The photos of the body are so similar that details can be transposed over one another to demonstrate that they all picture the same thing.

Had the pictures of the body been presented in their proper context, with or without the placard, there would have never been a mistaken connection to the body to an extraterrestrial , or even for it to have been regard as highly unusual.

There are genuinely mysterious UFO cases worthy of study. The child found at Montezuma Castle, however, is not part of that. We should focus on examining new discoveries and genuine mysteries.

Visit Curt's Site . . .

See Also:

Roswell Slides: It's All Over but the Accountability

ROSWELL SLIDES UPDATE: Official Confirmation and Additional Photo of Mummy

Roswell Slides UPDATE: Additional Mummy Photo Found—Maussan backpedals on Bounty

The Roswell Slides: The Seduction of the Will to Believe

SETI's Seth Shostak Chimes in On The Roswell Slides

Roswell Slides Aftermath: Odds and Ends

Questions About The Roswell Slides Fiasco Remain

Roswell Slides: Alien Charade Continues Despite Acknowledged Facts | VIDEO

Roswell Slide Promoter, Don Schmitt Back on Stage

"Alien Mummy Fiasco in Mexico City Has Pretty Much Played Itself Out"

Roswell Slides Debacle: "The Public Deserves a Financial Accounting"

Roswell Slides: "The 'Alien' Photograph was Pure Theater"

Roswell Slides UPDATE: Schmitt Caves, Issues Mea Culpa; Blame Game Continues

Roswell Slides: Mexican Media Highlights Condemnation of 'Maussan Mummy Show'

Roswell Alien Slide Promoters Issue Conflicting Statements After Photos are Identified As a Child Mummy

Roswell Alien Crash Happened, Despite BeWitness Debacle, Claims NASA Astronaut

Roswell Slides UPDATE: Mummy of Mesa Verde - ID Confirmed

The Roswell Slides: UFO Researcher Apologizes; 'Dead Alien' Picture is of Child Mummy

Roswell Slides Update: Mummy is Identified; Mea Culpa Issued and Blame Game Begins

The Roswell Slides: Analysis of The Placard Image Released By Adam Dew

Roswell Slides Final Curtain: Mummified Body of Two Year Old Boy!

The Roswell Slides Reveal: Probable Hoax or Easily Explainable / Misidentified

Roswell Slides Revealed: '... A Smoking Gun It Is Not'

Roswell Slides: Smoking Gun Picture is Child Mummy

Roswell Slides: Photo Unveiling Was 'An epic Fail'

The Roswell Slides Time Bomb: Tick, Tick, Tick (Redux)

Stanton Friedman Chimes in On Alleged Roswell Alien Slides (Redux)

‘Roswell Slides’: A 20th Anniversary Commemoration of ‘Alien Autopsy’ Hoax?

What if the Roswell Slides Saga is a Social Experiment or a Hoax?

Another Promotional Trailer for Roswell Alien Slides & Upcoming Show | VIDEO

Carey & Schmitt Walk Back Roswell Alien Slides Story | VIDEO – INTERVIEW

The Roswell Slides ARE NOT the Roswell Slides | VIDEO

Roswell Aliens Slides Shot at White Sands Missile Range? | VIDEO

ROSWELL ALIEN SLIDES UPDATE: Original Evidence Won't Be Shown in Mexico?

The Roswell Slides and Stan Friedman

The Roswell Slides and the 'Lieutenant'

Stanton Friedman Chimes in On Alleged Roswell Alien Slides and His Declination to Participate in Upcoming Show

The Roswell Slides Saga: Some Claims vs Some Facts

Is This Mummy the Famous "Alien" in the Roswell Slides?

The Roswell Slides - A Matter of Provenance

'Roswell Slides' or Fraud Prints?

The Roswell Slides Time Bomb: Tick, Tick, Tick

The Roswell Slides and a Little Hypocrisy

The Roswell Slides: Adios

'Roswell Alien Slides' Owner Speaks Out

The Roswell Slides and Me (Kevin Randle)

More Info On Roswell Alien Slides; Adam Dew Interviewed By Chicago News Station | VIDEO

Chicago Man Uncovered Secret Alien Pics? | VIDEO

Spying on the Roswell Slides

Sneak Peak at The Roswell Alien Slides?

Live Press Conference with Roswell Alien Slides Researchers | VIDEO

Pictures of the Beings Found in Roswell to Be Presented by Jaime Maussan | VIDEO

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is Shown Roswell Alien Slides | VIDEO

Maussan Explains Origin of Roswell Alien Slides & Upcoming Show | VIDEO

First Glimpse of Roswell Alien Slides Documentary – Surprise! | VIDEO

Roswell Alien Slides To Be Unveiled in May Via a Live Streamed Event

The Roswell Slides and the Aztec UFO Crash

The Roswell Slides and Premature Disclosure

Roswell Researcher, Tom Carey Announces Discovery of Alien Photographs | VIDCAST

"Two Color Kodachrome Slides ... Purport To Show A Glass-Encased Alien Cadaver"

Real Alien Autopsy Photos: 'Roswell' Image Of Extra-Terrestrial Body Dated To 1947

Roswell UFO Researcher Claims He Has Alien Photos | VIDEO

Noted Roswell Researcher Talks of 'Smoking Gun Evidence' at University Forum

“How Often Does An Honors Class Take A Serious Look At UFOS?"

Journalist, Miles O'Brien To Moderate UFO Panel at American University | VIDEO

New Details of Alleged Roswell Alien Slides/Photos Revealed

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Cracking the 1896/97 Airships Mystery?

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Cracking the 1896/97 Airships Mystery? Toward a Psycho-Sociocultural Explanation (Long Version) - Part I

By Gilles Fernandez
skepticversustheflyingsaucers.blogspot.fr
1-1-14

      It is currently a draft format, and corrections, remarks, format, as fixing my bad English is under way.

The goal of this paper is to present the first elements toward a Psycho-Sociocultural Explanation for the famous airship wave of 1896-97; in other words, an explanation without resorting to mysterious or Fortean entities, and in accordance with the economy of hypotheses principle (Occam's Razor).

Note: the bibliography is available at the end of this document when it concerns paper sources. When the source or help is available online, we use hypertext links or notes.

Introduction and Problematic

The first and probably most famous of the so-called Airships waves is the great one of 1896/1897. The problematic is that there is a large number of testimonies, mainly in newspapers, of sightings of such aircraft. However, until scientific evidence to the contrary comes to light, man-made airship flights at this time and place are unknown to aeronautical history.

In other words, there are no historic or scientific evidence of the realization(s) and flight(s) of 1896/97 of such designs explaining what was observed. The historiographical material for the investigator consists in contemporary gazettes and newspapers. Despite some earlier press announcements, the wave really started with the mass sighting of November 17, 1896 around 6-7 PM. A strange light is alleged to have overflown above the city of Sacramento in California, and dozens of individuals seem to have observed, allegedly, an airship of egg-shape/cigar-shape design. The second foremost sighting occurred at Oakland/San Francisco (California again), the 20 November 1896. The narratives are also describing an airship. Such news were published by newspapers daily, and reports of airship sightings came from about twenty states by the end of the spring 1897. . . .

Continue Reading . . .

See Also:

Airship Hoax Reaps Fame For City

Recollections: The Sonora Aero Club – A 19th Century Secret Society of Flight Enthusiasts

UFO CHRONICLE | 6-5-1910: Object Resembling Airship (UFO) Emerges From Ocean

Report a Mysterious Airship

Airships | The Beginning - 1896

A Picture and a Thousand Words - A Rebuttal

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

UFO CHRONICLE | 11-19-1896: Strange Craft of The Sky

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- click on image(s) to enlarge -

By The San Francisco Call
11-19-1896

See Also:

Many See Strange 'Airship'
February 27, 1913

Report a Mysterious Airship
December 10, 1901

Airships-The Beginning-1896

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

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A Picture and a Thousand Words - A Rebuttal

By Bill Taylor
The Star
921-08

Editor's note--The following (subsequent to the introduction to the piece in question) is my response to the author of the a fore mentioned article; the piece is "way off the mark," and is certainly not representative of historical facts--it is what I (politely) call pure "flapdoodle!"--FW

     At the tail end of the 19th century, when millions were out of work, North Americans craved airships. The fact that there weren't any did absolutely nothing to stop people from seeing them

. . . A hundred years later, as evidenced by this picture from a leading popular science weekly, what North Americans craved were airships, preferably real, but imaginary would do. The technology required for a powered, lighter-than-air vessel that could be steered and travel against the prevailing winds, was far from being perfected.

But technical journals of the time were happy to write about such craft as if they were an established, flying fact. And people all across America proved themselves capable of believing they'd seen something that wasn't there.

Mass hysteria, wish fulfillment or a desperate dream to counter desperate times make the "Great Airship of 1897" the UFO (though that term hadn't yet been coined) of its time, J.P. Chaplin wrote in his book, Rumor, Fear and the Madness of Crowds. Hundreds of thousands of people believed they'd seen ... something in the sky that was man-made, had engines and could fly . . ..

More . . .

Dear Mr. Taylor,

I have to admit that I got a chuckle in reading your piece, "A picture and a thousand words"; at the same time I was a little surprised, as one would think that as a writer for "the Star" there would be some prerequisites in regards to presenting a "human interest essay” . . . like for example, some “facts.”

I was amused by the irony, as you write about, “mass hysteria,” “madness,” and a “great willingness to believe” which certainly doesn’t represent the reality of the matter nor the historical record. The piece was so far off the mark, that it gave me pause about its author in relationship to the very descriptions he was using; however in the end, giving you the benefit of the doubt, methinks you just failed to do your homework.

In your second paragraph you wrote:

“The technology required for a powered, lighter-than-air vessel that could be steered and travel against the prevailing winds, was far from being perfected.”

Just the opposite is true! There is a myriad of “Airship patents,” and related contrivances beginning in the early 1800’s. Moreover, there had been many successful test flights, as well as unsuccessful ones as early as the 1840’s; these were heavy-then-air ships, some “more like planes,” then the more popular “cigar-shaped” airships of the time. The point being, is that “actual craft” were being built and patented both in this country and Europe, and although the ideas started in the imagination of man, spurred by his desire to conquer flight, this precipitated the beginnings of man’s trek into the heavens and certainly wasn’t hallucinations as you intimate in your article.

John Stringfellow's steam powered tri-plane of "1868," flew successfully in short distances; it by the way was a tri-plane with a steam engine and is now on display at the Early Flight Gallery of the National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D. C. This was but one of several he built in that time period.

Jean Marie Le Bris's "The Artificial Albatross" had a successful test flight in 1856.

Mariott's, "Avitor Hermes performed a successful test flight in Burlingame Ca. in "1869!" This, a hydrogen gas filled cigar-shaped-envelope powered by a steam engine.

Paul Haenlein performed successful test flights of his Airship in "1872"; his ship was powered by 4 cylinder "gas engine." His ship was about the same size as today's "Goodyear blimps."

Henri Giffard performed a successful test flight of his Airship in "1852;" a propeller was powered by a small steam engine.

Félix Du Temple successfully flew his steam-powered aircraft in "1857."

Solomon Andrews flew his "Aereon" over "New Jersey" in "1865!"

These are but a few samplings what took place in the 19th century in regards to man’s quest for flight, and particularly the “airship,” and or “aeroplane.” The a fore mentioned men and their respective inventions were highly publicized, and gave birth to “Aerial companies,” as they needed funding to further their ideas and contrivances. There was nothing “imaginary” about it!

In fact, the very founder of Scientific American, “Rufus Porter, “ in 1849 flew a scale model” of an airship in New York which he had been working on since the 1820’s.

In conclusion, “man’s imagination” certainly played a part in “conquering the skies,” and began much earlier then most realize, as well as more successfully then you erroneously portray in your piece; however, “the imagination” in use was “ingenuity and cunning,” not hallucination or “mass hysteria” as you’ve lead your readers to believe.

Throughout man’s history there have been those who couldn’t conceive or accept advancement in science or technology; in fact this is usually the majority, as it wasn’t prudent to go against the “status quo.” Henceforth men like “J.P. Chaplin” try to explain extraordinary events of a time in more palatable way, (although one might argue whether “mass hysteria” is “more palatable”) often times ignoring the evidence or just not doing their respective homework, as I believe is the case here.

In regards to what has become known as the “Mystery Airships of 1897,” to suggest that this was a result of “mass hysteria” is quite frankly, preposterous! This was an “international phenomenon,” which publicly began in Sacramento, Ca. in 1896. Near-by in San Francisco the local newspapers “ridiculed Sacramentans,” depicting them in caricatures coming out of opium dens, and or local taverns regarding the sightings of the airborne contrivances; the Bay Area locals treated the stories in “like manner” . . . that is until the airship flew over their towns, and homes!

This is not to say that there weren’t any “hoaxes” or misidentifications as sightings took place in different parts of the country; however, to write the multitude of events off as some sort of psychosis is nonsensical. Moreover, anyone who’s bothered to look into the matter knows there is some “wheat in the chaff.”

Respectfully.
Frank Warren

See Also:

Airships-The Beginning-1896

Many See Strange 'Airship'
February 27, 1913

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

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The Air Ship of 1896 - Pt 1 -

Before The UFO and Before The Flying Saucer, There Was "The Air Ship"

By Frank Warren
© 2001-2008

On November 17th 1896 the Sacramento Evening Bee reported that a man named Leon was building a "flying machine" in Hoboken N.J., and he had told his friends he would cross the continent in two days. In fact, his friends accepted invitations to join him on this adventurous trip, with his new futuristic flying machine. Although Leon was very hush-mouthed about his project, one of his associates claimed that he already perfected the machine and it had risen to a height of two hundred feet in Chicago.

The machine was described as having a wooden centerpiece, fifteen feet long, covered with a thin piece of brass. From the centerpiece there extended spikes of wood three feet long, over which were placed wooden rings six feet in diameter. Over the rings were drawn rubber and canvas sails. In the front there was a rubber balloon, large enough to hold five men and an electric battery, which was to furnish both light and propelling power. The steering apparatus was in the rear.

On November 18th, 1896 the Sacramento Evening Bee reported that an "Aerial Ship" had been seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses "bobbing" in the wind over their fair city. Did Leon leave early? Was his ship faster then he realized? Had he indeed achieved his "transcontinental flight? The Bee went on to say that these eye witnesses stated that the object appeared as a bright light, or an "electric arc lamp," if you will, and that it was "propelled by some mysterious force." Moreover some witnesses claimed to have heard "voices" coming from the object! One witness said he heard a voice say, "lift her up quick, your making for that steeple!"

That article which was of course, "front page news," was the beginning of a wave of sightings that continued through the end of 1897, and was a "national phenomenon." Today UFO researchers refer to that period as the "Air Ships of 1897.”

The focus here will be on that very first sighting as reported by the Bee, and later by San Francisco papers. In analyzing the article(s), there are some very interesting observations one can make about our culture during that time period as well as from a psychological standpoint.

First let's understand the "flavor of the times." Jules Verne had people's minds churning with his "science fiction novels" about mysterious inventors creating "futuristic machines," e.g., Captain Nemo and his submarine. Top astronomers back then ironically were publishing papers on the question of "Mars being inhabited." Cities were being illuminated by the installation of electric lights. Manned balloon flight had been around since the 1700's. The first successful glider flight was made forty-three years earlier. It was nearing the end of the century, and man knew he was destined to conquer the skies; it was only a matter of time.

Having said that, was the sight of this "contraption" overwhelming for the average man or woman on the street to comprehend? The answer to that, for the most part is mixed. San Francisco papers initially scoffed at the reports of the so-called flying machine. On the 18th, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote:

"What is probably one of the greatest hoaxes that has ever been sprung on any community has been started in this city, and yet were it not for the improbability of the thing there would be the best of reasons for believing it true."

On the 20th this was published:

"Are there up in the sky four jolly and intrepid human travelers, paying their respects to Mars, singing quartets to Venus, and saluting the planets generally within hailing distance, or are the people of Sacramento affected with the disease known in polite society as 'illuminated staggers?'"

San Francisco's "skeptical attitude" changed the next day when they had a rash of their own sightings. In the mean time Sacramentans were still pondering over what they saw. Most people, two days after the sightings said it "must" have been a meteor or a balloon with some sort of light attached to it. The thought of it being some type of aircraft was called "ridiculous" by the Bee.

I find it interesting that even after a hundred years, man still exhibits the same behavioral characteristics. That is to say, when a group of people witnesses something "beyond the realm of normalcy," even when the event is clearly seen, it seems they choose to explain it with answers that fall within that realm, e.g., when interviewed by the Bee, Weather Observer Barwick admits that the object couldn't have been a meteor based on the description of the light and the speed of the object, so he goes onto say that it "must" have been a hoax.

See Also:

Saw The Mystic Flying Light

Report a Mysterious Airship December 10, 1901

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

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Airships | The Beginning - 1896

By Frank Warren The UFO Chronicles 3-19-02

PART 1

     On November 17th 1896 the Sacramento Evening Bee reported that a man named Leon was building a "flying machine" in Hoboken N.J., and he had told his friends he would cross the continent in two days. In fact, his friends accepted invitations to join him on this adventurous trip, with his new futuristic flying machine. Although Leon was very hush-mouthed about his project, one of his associates claimed that he already perfected the machine and it had risen to a height of two hundred feet in Chicago.

The machine was described as having a wooden centerpiece, fifteen feet long, covered with a thin piece of brass. From the centerpiece there extended spikes of wood three feet long, over which were placed wooden rings six feet in diameter. Over the rings were drawn rubber and canvas sails. In the front there was a rubber balloon, large enough to hold five men and an electric battery, which was to furnish both light and propelling power. The steering apparatus was in the rear.

On November 18th, 1896 the Sacramento Evening Bee reported that an "Aerial Ship" had been seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses bobbing in the wind over their fair city. Did Leon leave early? Was his ship faster then he realized? Had he indeed achieved his transcontinental flight? The Bee went on to say that these eye witnesses stated that the object appeared as a bright light, or an "electric arc lamp," if you will, and that it was "propelled by some mysterious force." Moreover some witnesses claimed to have heard "voices" coming from the object! One witness said he heard a voice say, "lift her up quick, your making for that steeple!"

That article which was of course front page news was the beginning of a wave of sightings that continued through the end of 1897 and became a "national phenomenon." Today UFO researchers refer to that period as the "Air Ships of 1896-1897."

The focus here will be on that very first sighting as reported by The Bee, and later by San Francisco papers. In analyzing the article(s), there are some very interesting observations one can make about our culture during that time period as well as from a psychological standpoint.

First let's understand the flavor of the times: Jules Verne had people's minds churning with his science fiction novels about mysterious inventors creating "futuristic machines," e.g., Captain Nemo and his submarine. Top astronomers of the time ironically were publishing papers on the question of "Mars being inhabited." Cities were being illuminated by the installation of electric lights. Manned balloon flight had been around since the 1700's. The first successful glider flight was made forty-three years earlier. It was nearing the end of the century, and man knew he was destined to conquer the skies–it was only a matter of time.

Having said that, was the sight of this contraption overwhelming for the average man or woman on the street to comprehend? The answer to that, for the most part is mixed. San Francisco papers initially scoffed at the reports of the so-called flying machine. On the 18th, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote:

"What is probably one of the greatest hoaxes that has ever been sprung on any community has been started in this city, and yet were it not for the improbability of the thing there would be the best of reasons for believing it true."

On the 20th this was published:

"Are there up in the sky four jolly and intrepid human travelers, paying their respects to Mars, singing quartets to Venus, and saluting the planets generally within hailing distance, or are the people of Sacramento affected with the disease known in polite society as 'illuminated staggers?'"

San Francisco's skeptical attitude changed the next day when they had a rash of their own sightings. In the mean time Sacramentans were still pondering over what they saw. Most people, two days after the sightings said it MUST have been a meteor or a balloon with some sort of light attached to it. The thought of it being some type of aircraft was called "ridiculous" by The Bee.

I find it interesting that even after a hundred years, man still exhibits the same behavioral characteristics. That is to say, when a group of people witnesses something beyond the realm of normalcy, even when the event is clearly seen, it seems they choose to explain it with answers that fall within that realm, e.g., when interviewed by The Bee, Weather Observer Barwick admits that the object couldn't have been a meteor based on the description of the light and the speed of the object, so he goes onto say that it MUST have been a hoax.

See Also:

Many See Strange 'Airship'
February 27, 1913

UFO CHRONICLE | 6-5-1910: Object Resembling Airship (UFO) Emerges From Ocean

Report a Mysterious Airship
December 10, 1901

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE