Sighting

Transcription of the article:

Airship Here Again

This Time It Can Be Seen in Daylight and Is a
Reality.

The airship has again been seen in
the vicinity of Decatur. For two days
it has been visible to the naked eye in
broad daylight.

Hundreds, yes, thousands, of people in
and near Decatur are ready to testify
that during Sunday afternoon and Monday
forenoon a strange object hovered
over the south part of the city and
went through more difficult maneuvers
than were ever attributed to the airship.

The object was of goodly proportions
and every movement could be plainly
seen. It resembled a raft more than
a ship and as it sailed gracefully through
the air or made a sudden dive toward
the earth it attracted the attention of
nearly everybody and comparatively few
could account for its presence over the
city.

It was simply another case of a man
having his "kite out." Charles Klein of
the Linn & Scruggs store is responsible
for the whole thing. It was an aeroplane
or box kite, the kind that scientists and
military experts have been experimenting
with for about a year. It is one of the
most easily constructed and by far the
most satisfactory kites that have as yet
been invented. It is a sure winner.

The kite frame is made the shape of a
box, the frame looks as though it might
be the foundation for a small chicken
coop without the slats, around each end
of this frame a piece of strong red oiled
muslin is stretched. The muslin is about
eight or ten inches wide, and there is
a space of about a foot and a half between
the strips.

The kite can be laid flat on the ground
and started by simply jerking the string.
No tail is required with this kite. It is
not known why it flies so well, except that
its peculiar shape enables it to do so.
An ordinary kite looks far more like a
scientific success while on the ground
than this box-shaped, tailless thing does,
but once in the air and the box kite is
king of them all.

These kites are quite popular this summer
and are being flown in all the large
cities.

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