went to the shore and found it littered with a glassy material and silver foil. Military authorities and the FBI, in a very confused series of investigations, attributed the case to a hoax: "analysis of the fragments shows them to be from a Tacoma slag mill." ⁷ To this author's knowledge, however, the composition of the original samples, assuming that they were in fact studied by the FBI, was never released.

     In a book he co-authored with Kenneth Arnold (whose own classic observation took place three days later, on June 24, 1947), popular writer Ray Palmer published an analysis of the original fragments, whose primary constituents were calcium, iron, zinc and titanium. Also found were aluminum, manganese, copper, magnesium and silicon, nickel, lead, strontium and chromium. Traces of silver, tin and cadmium were also reported.

     Those investigators who regard the case as a hoax base their opinion on the fact that it was Crisman who initially sent the samples to Ray Palmer, linking them to alleged experiences involving the "Shaver Mystery," a science-fiction tale of underground beings. In their opinion it is only after the Kenneth Arnold observation had been published that the story was changed to involve the alleged UFO incident. For the purpose of this discussion we will keep this weak case in the present list, but it is clear that no firm conclusion can be drawn from the reported facts. As Ray Palmer commented: "There we have it. The samples first sent by Crisman and Dahl were not slag nor were they natural rock. What were they ?"

     According to journalist Frank Edwards a metallic fragment coming from an object that fell in 1952 was examined a few years later by a Canadian researcher, Mr. Wilbert Smith. The fragment had been sawed off from the recovered sample, representing about one third of its volume. Over one inch in size, it was remarkably hard and reportedly consisted of "a matrix of magnesium orthosilicate" composed of "particles of 15 microns" (Edwards, 1996). Interviewed by two civilian researchers, Messrs. C.W. Fitch of Cleveland (Ohio) and George Popovitch of Akron (Ohio), Smith stated that a Navy pilot had been chasing a flying disk when he saw a bright "scintillating" fragment detach itself and fall to the ground. It was recovered an hour later and weighed in at 250 grams. Smith reportedly showed the sample to Admiral Knowles. Unfortunately there is no report of an independent analysis in the literature, and the sample is not available for further study.

     ⁷FBI teletype message dated August 5, 1947, on file. The Maury island case is mentioned in many books and magazines, notably in Ronald Story: The Encyclopedia of UFOs (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980). Details can be found in Fate Magazine no. 1, Spring 1948, p. #31 and in the book by Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, pp. 106-108.