Many aspects of the UFO phenomena require a great deal of scientific inquiry. There are those who examine scientific data quite closely, watching social trends and gathering statistics to create a tight scientific model of an unpredictable phenomenon. There is another aspect to UFO data collection and reporting – the storytelling aspect. Folklore has a long history throughout our existence and though they are culturally looked down upon, there are many great stories whose veracity comes in close second to the entertainment value therein. And the paranormal field, unfortunately is frequently victim of this tall tale spinning as well.
We have frequently mentioned stories of leprechauns, teleporting dwarves, screaming dolls, and it often comes up whether these stories are true or not. Surprisingly enough, there is often a surprisingly abundant wealth of evidence to support even those stories who, upon first inspection, appear entirely fabricated and ridiculous. Those who wisely take every story both fantastic and mundane with a grain of salt are often in these cases followed by a troubling amount of eyewitness testimony connected to corroborating reports nearby on the same night before the first incident is even reported. Often those who are left wondering if they are the ones who have the wrong impression of reality are those who attempt to explain away such stories.
There is a chapter in an official textbook on military science handed out for years to those taking the Introductory Space Science courses. The book makes mention of Alexander Hamilton, who in a sworn affidavit documented one of the earliest cases of cattle mutilation by beings with technology that perhaps far exceeded our own. The question heard in one infamous sound byte from an unnamed popular cable news network, “Why do extraterrestrials only appear to people named ‘Bubba’ at the fringes of social acceptability,” is answered quite clearly in this case. Alexander Hamilton, of course, is not only the face of the ten dollar US banknote, but is also one of the founding fathers of the United States and the first US Secretary of the Treasury.
Hamilton’s encounter was documented by other witnesses as well and turned in as an official affidavit which was considered apparently true by many members of the government even in official circles. After all, to attack the credibility of one of the most revered men in American history would be a very difficult task indeed. Hamilton tells of a mysterious “dirigible like” craft that had a red thread-like rope around a two year old heifer’s neck pulling it up into the craft. Two days later the cow’s head, hide, and legs were discovered by a friend of Hamilton’s. It was assumed the creature was dropped from the mysterious craft as there were no footprints leading up to the creature from anywhere nearby.
Can a story such as this just be discounted as a tall tale when it was submitted in affidavit form by one of the greatest founders of our country? Why then was it also picked up by the Air Force in Chapter XIII of their textbook “Introductory Space Science?” It seems the hyperbole negative associations many have with UFO sightings pale in comparison to this, yet there is no mention in any of Hamilton’s numerous historical accounts or biographies that he was anything even approaching a crackpot. In fact, it seems many of the “crackpots” in the UFO community are actually in good company.