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MYSTERIOUS AIRSHIP.

Scene of Last Night's Start…

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Scene of Last Night's Start on Caerphilly Mountain. t'- pP p. P" p 1 Ill mil HI r- — f — ri ■ 1. Shows the spot where the airship rested when lat,hbiidge saw it. Nnien, be came into the Straight on the road from Caerphilly he was seen by the aeronauts, and they hurriedly departed, Leth bridge pointing out the direction which the airship took after it had risen over the telegraph wires. 3* A la.be.1 pioked Tip to-day -in a gulley marked with a X on the road to Cardiff. SPECIAL EXPILESS" PHOTOS re.d to be an airship passing over the ? l'diff Dx shout one o'clock this morn- ijjg ?d a representative of the "Evening Q' ress" has been making investigations, WhI. IL%,B have provided many circumstantial lbv i- d,bil worthy of serious consideration. )4r C- Lethhridgo, of 4, Boiand-street, Ca.r- ? °ame to our ofaoe about eleven o'clo?t tQ, horning (writes our representative) and ?. ? story the truth of which I am fully Va_t* <irf*d to accept, in view of personal obser- va'ti'alls made by me later in the day. Eis b t, Was as follows:- (? wwk during the winter months at the  Doks, but in the summer time I ??a "?' the district wit.h my little Punch ?' ?'udy shew, -iving performances at the 'Va. is 8('hooL. Yesterday I went to Seng- ?j?dd, and, aTt?r covering a few pitches,  to walk home over Ca?rphiUy l,Otain. ? £ ? know that the top of that mountain loiu-ly spot. I reached it about en P.m., and when turning the bend at 81IMinit I was s-urprised to see a a & Long, Tube-shaped I it1r ?ne on the grass on the roadsid, MtLy, two men busily ena?ged with some %ar by. They attracted my close ?tt? Hion because of their peculiar get up.  a,?,.? appeared to have big, heavy fur CiOa, fnr caps fitting tightly over their I ??a rat er frightened but I continuod <* ?" UtitU I was within twenty yards ? i?? '?R. and then my idea as to their cloth- ?ns r-firmed. ? he Qome of my little spring cart £oomed t? ???'?ot them. and wh?u they eaw me th?? ?tmped up and ja.bbppcd furiously to tb Jl\mped up and jabbered furiously to UBoijv/ °^her in a strange lingo—Welsh, <?r l?h??M? eit?; it was certainly not Eng- Th tey hurriedly collected something from 11" ?ouud, an4 then I waa really "Phe t',i,in,- on the ground t.i: ?P 610wly-I was standing still at the :i? ?' quite amazed—and when it was hang- jn? ? few feet off the ground the men jn^'K2ri ??* a kind of little carriage sus-  ???iR it, and gradually the whole ??a'? ? and the men rose in the air in a :ai?.Z fashion. J!h.en ??y ?? cleared the te'?raph ?r ??? pa? over the moun=in two ?'?ht? ??e clectno lamps, shone out, and tb ? t,hing ent higher into the air and REL- ,L  away towa.rds Cardiff. I was t?-) fz.I.ghtenc,d to move for a time, but I pulle1 ray'f;elf together, and as soon as I came h? ? told my reople about what I had ?.n t. Lethbridge's Story Tested. i e You been reading the papers lately?" I $d. I," was the answer. "I don't read rs," }?  you heard pco?o ta'kin? about air- °?? seen about the place lately?" I the answer again. "&uc!i 0, iline the an:gwor a-gaiii. "Ruell "J" S never occurred t? me." «.y 111 are œrtain of the fur coats and Cat>s p' 6? ??s, positive. They were two tall, "0 They were two ta.11, H)?. y??Q? men; and I am also certain th, t they did not speak English, for when l k:ooked towards me they spolie very ?Mi ? ?' each other, as if qua?elling' or and 1 mad-o up my mind at once t?..  s.nd I made 'up iDy mind a.t once ula. t t y were foreigners. It is no joke to I ?ct?? ? experience of that kind on Ih lOp of a Lonely Mountain, I °?<? of the night, with only the I ll,Q?UT44, sheep to protect you if ttho men 't? ??'? sheep to protect you if the men ? rough!" -? hat ??? ??. doing, do you think?" a"t ?B??ino. but I have beem thinkiu?  thät th?y must ha.vc bepn d?ing some- ? to th? geeue of the thin?. for they ?? ?? to b? ?ckin?' eome things up in a ? '?.a4 the7 cex"inly did not look  t?o "bj1 ? ? ?!" "? y?? h?ar anything besides their ?)?? "Oh When the O%jng went into the air I distinctly saw what looked like a couple of wheels on the bottom of a. little carriage, and at the tail end of it was a fan whirring away as you hear a niotor-oar do some- times." The Scene of the Ascent. Ijethbridge's credibility was tested in various little ways known to an experienced journalist, and as he came unshaken out of the <• rcss-enammation of several of the office staff it was decided to take him to the spot. Caerphilly Mountain is well known to CardifiLa-ns, because it is the highest ground in the district. For miles around the spot in question there is not a hedgerow to be seen. It is open hill land, with, but few houses near, and the only living things to be seen on the expanse are the little moun- talin shoop which at this time of the year race over the whole ground with their lamb?, unrestrained by any barriers. A more londy sipot, go near the centre of a vast population as Cardiff is, would be hardly conceivable. The incline within a quarter of a mile of tlie spot in question is so steep that the taxicnb failed to negotiate it, and had to be left behind while we c-ondueted our investiga- tions. Without the slightest hesitation Mr. Leth- bridge pointed out the spot, shown in the accompanying photograph, as place where the airship lay aground. It certainly is about the most even patch in the vicinity. I and in the little ridge of loose earth, running < diagonally across the patch of green between the two roads converging at this point, there ) ware found distinct tramo of recent dis- turbance, as if a plough-oh?mve, or some tmch hard contrivance, had boan drawn "i,oss it. Asked to iicte the extent of f ground t,he object covered, Mr. Ijethbridge marked out the distance, which patetl out at about 45 feet. The photograph will explain the position to a, nicety. Coming from the direction of Caer- philly, he had to turn a fairly sharp bend, which brought him on to the skyline of the men standing on the spot where a cigar- shaped mark has been added to the picture. The ridfee of loose earth referred to will be plainly seen within that mark. Notwithstanding the hard state of the ground, owing to the drought, there were signs of recent trampling on the grass, and although the vicinity was very free from any loose substances, other than stones, there was quite a collection of torn papers, &0" on the spot itself. One result of the search made was the finding of a red label attached to a chain and small plug. The accompany- ¡ ing photograph of it carries it,s own tale. Amother lind was of peculiar interest. It was the notehead of a London firm of stock, share, and bond doalers out in two. On the rapper portion, which bea.rs the flrm,g address, there is not the slightest trace of amy writing, but on the lower portion there s-till remai.i faint outlines of a typewritten letter, and amongst the words that can bo deciphered on this piece, with some diffi- culty, aTe" provincial centres, "rest assiured that we shall not," the fullest con- fid-ollsoe," this letter amply justified," &c. Whatever kind of ink wa.s ospd for this letter, it certainly is not of an indelible nature. All About Airships. I A giaiioe over the slips of newspapers found on the spot revealed the very remark- able faot that almost every one of them contained refenemioefl to airships or to the Germa,n Army. For instance, a piece of a weekly newspaper" bears an a.rtiole with the headings, IVo.,r in tho air. Government appoints a committee of experts. Bid for supremacy. Wright Brothers have a con- fereiKse with Mr. Haldame," Ac. A piece of the "Daily Telegraph" has reference to the German Emperor and Army. Strewn all over the place were about a I couple of dozen of small bits of well-made blue paper, bearing a mass of figures and letters of the alphabet formed in a style distinctly different to that of the average English caiigraphy. There was also quite a I quantity of pulpy paper, somewha,t similar I to papier-mache, such as might be used as | packing, and not. very dissimilar to the j appearance of a cartridge wad. The inference immediately drawn. of course, was that ?he machine had been grounded in order to repair some of the gear, and that this stuff was used in the procees. Another thing pioked up as a strange find on such an outlandish spot was the lid of a tin box, bearing words showing that the box c,ont,a-i-n-ed paste for polish it! g metal. Whatever the explanation of these finds may be, there appears to be absolutely no reason to lightly dismiss the story of Mr. Lethbridge. In fact, they circumstantially bear him out, and, in view of the undoubted j appearances of mysterious airships on other parts of the coast, there is every reason to conclude tnat the Bristol Channel is now j claiming the atteThtion of those sailing the air, with good or bad indent. SEEN OVER THE CARDIFF DOCKS1, "Swishing Sound" Overhead I In the early hours of this morning we received a telephonic intimation from the Queen Alexandra Dock that. an airship j had been seen overhead at about 1.20, i and the names of no less than seven witnesses were given to vouch for the story. These w?je five Waltriiumers, ~iz.: -W. John, C. Hayman, A. Bra?ey, C. Har- wood, and J. Thomas—a signalman named Westlake, and Dick Squires, another work- man employed about the dock. At the time given, states our informant, they were near the' foreshore, when a swishing" sound overhead attracted their attention. It was too dark to clearly dieting-uiah any object. but the men saw two lighta-" a kind of flashing searchlight," they explained- which were visible for about three or four minutes, and appeared to be going in the direction of Newport, and then turning towards Weston. Others on duty at the Docks at the time failed to notice the strange visitor. Westlake's Statement Robert Westlake, signalman, in a statement made to-day, is reported to have said: At 1.15 this morning, while attending to my duties signalling trains at King's Junc- tion, Queen Alexandra Dock, I was startled by a weird obj-oct flying in the air. In appearance it represented a boat of cigar shape, and wa-s making a whizzing noise. It was lit by two lights, which could be plainly seem. It was travelling at a great rate, and was elevated at a distance of half- a-mile, making for eastward. A number of men working on the steam- ship Arndale also saw the airship. It came from the direction of Newport, took a curve over the docks, and passed over the Channel towards Weeton, being clearly in view for a minute or two before the lights on board were suddenly extinguished. No Official Report. It has been stated in some quarters that an official report concerning the nocturnal visitant has been made to the Cardiff Rail- way Company, but this, we are informed, is not correct. On the other hand, it is stated that the men named above as eye-witnesses of the ship are above the average in intelli- gence, and are not likely to have imagined anything of the sort. The Docks police have received no report in the matter, and amongst the members of that force an open mind is being maintained.

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