Airship Sighting Near Sidney BC

Airship Sighting Near Sidney, BC William Retoff, "UFOs in History: The Great Canadian Starship Invasion" Ideal's UFO Magazine, No. 11, Aug. 1980, p. 54. *UFOBC NOTE:** On the 16th of May, 1896, the Swedish Government informed Canada that they would be sending a balloon from Sweden heading to the North Pole in the early summer of 1896. This information was requested to be widely disseminated across Canada so that any sightings could be reported back to Sweden and any assistance could be given to the explorers if needed. However, due to poor weather, the departure was delayed until the following year. Eventually the balloon set sale on July 11, 1897, but crashed on the pack ice after only 2 days (nowhere near Canada). Strangely enough, many sightings that were assumed to be this balloon were reported in Canada and the USA in 1896 and early 1987 (including this one).
Airship fever rekindled in late July near the inland port of Sydney, British Columbia, according to the Manitoba Daily. “An illuminated aerial visitor that has been mystifying the people of the Northwest for several months past made two recent appearances near Victoria,” stated a correspondent. “Three ladies camping at Sidney, a few nights ago, saw it, and watched it for half an hour. It appeared to be moving slowly to the north. One lady described it as a red column of fire apparently 50 feet long.”
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