DJ.·. Donald Henz~:l
M:L·s. !ifle Boyd
Ha~-d Collc3e Obser.~tory
Ca r:ibr1dge 38, l·nsaachusetts
Dear Don ana Iqle:
29 April 19J5
At lo~ last. I a!!l preparC\1 to t:Rke a re?ly to your letter of Feb:t"'..!lll'Y 19.
I a:J al.so encloslns a piece of the identical type of cardbco.:r:i o:d.,:1inall:1
picked up l:ry !:le at the lnndlng site. T'.::.:e only dlrfercr.ce betveen t l:is
cardban·:i and the one t'bo.t I pi ~cl up and tu:..'lled into t he Air Fol'ce is
that the ori"'inal plece had ctarred edges wilich uJ.y or ney not :have 'had uny
connection vith t he alle~ed landing. But tl1c.'Lt it was cbl.rl'ed I will attest
to. This sort o! ca.rdboe:d. gets cnught under r nrry of the uu3hes in t l"lut
area. As you know the wlnds there can get verJ high in the windy sooson ~
ani yoo nat otD.y see tu:.:!bleT..reeds batting acroos t 1:e ccunt1-y, 'but ~pe r s,
old lunch boxes, ptlcking c:rat~a, etc. also r::-err i~ batting alon3. These
get wedged in under the bushes ani otay there to Weather somet.i!.iCS fcl~
a year or !!lOre, I would Ju'lC"· This cardboard., a,;3 you ca.n see, r.as
pJ.alnlY been veathered quite SO!:le time a.nd. is l~l'dly the kind t!-at woul,'t
have been used to fake a :noclel of a spaceship.
I ahc~lld !:!entlon that I llacu.ssed this whole \~tter 'o."ith l·i'lJor Quintamlla.,
and he a~1 I are in ~-e~nt on wrAt foll~J.
In ~ visit to Socor:tq I determined that Za.::x:lra tad been urged by the 1·Ay'or·
t.o get into the l!.:CVie and tha.t . he hi!~elf l~:vl been rather reluctant to uo
so. The txw!e is due to rove its world pre:;.d.e:t·e in Scorro, and I a ::i hoping
to get down to see it!
I don •t think we can ~ too wch about the :f'la.;Je \ihlch could be pretty
subjective. A swirl or duzt 1 etc. r.light :fror1 the dintnnce rave been
inte..'"P!"et.ed as a f1&.1e. An far as st:cke or a burnine bush, etc. , I could.n ·~
get anyone to say at this th-.e that they r.ad seen s'ooke or tba.t anything
'Ua3 burnint;. Chavez inslated. only on the :f"a.ct tr..at a grease-wood bush
appeared to be cha.rreJ. in spots or rather seared and tl:e.t the searing w.s
highly localized. Greas~ltood is notoriously hard to 1c;nite, and. a t:utcl1 or
ordinary fkne held to it r.a1·dly af'f'ects lt. Chavez said tlat the ourns
appeared as thou.g..l'\ intonoe but localized fla nes had seared the grass and t he
uaheo, but r~~ked that right next to a sear~l portion he =ound po~ions
cr..t!te urrtoucht..>d. A.:}ain, I don •t knov hov ~tch credence can be pla~e-1 on all the
burning bu.Gh 1 etc. I tr.J.nk we r.nat ~o to other rujor points.Rob Mercer