James D. Long, a Waco truck driver, came upon "it" four miles west of Levelland and fainted as it roared over his truck. Ronald Martin, another truck driver, was stopped east of Levelland, as was Newell Wright, a Texas Tech student. Jim Wheeler, Jose Alvarez and Frank Williams added their stories to the melee.

All of those who had been attacked told Sheriff Clem a similar story: "The 'Thing' was shaped something like an egg standing on end. It was fiery red, more like a red neon light. It was about 200 feet long and was about 200 feet in the air. When it came close to cars the engines would stop and the lights would go out."

"Everyone," Sheriff Clem said, "seemed very excited."

That night everyone in West Texas saw UFO's. Sheriff Clem saw a brilliant light in the distance. Highway patrolmen Lee Hargrove and Floyd Cavin reported similar brilliant lights at the same time but from a different location. The control tower operators at the Amarillo Airport, to the north, saw a "blue, gaseous object which moved swiftly and left an amber trail."

There were dozens more. It was a memorable Saturday night in Levelland.

But unbeknown to Sheriff Clem or the residents of West Texas, they weren't alone on the visitor's list.

At 2:30A.M. on Sunday morning, only a few hours after the "Thing" raised havoc around Levelland, an army military police patrol was cruising the supersecret White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico.

Here is their report as they gave it to Air Force UFO investigators:

"At approximately 0230, 3 November 1957, Source, together with PFC ------, were on a routine patrol of the up range area of the White Sands Proving Ground when Source noticed a 'very bright' object high in the sky. This object slowly descended to an altitude estimated to be approximately 50 yards where it remained motionless for about 3 minutes, then it descended to the ground where the light went out. The object was not blurred or fuzzy, emitted no vapor or smoke. The object was in view for about 10 minutes, and Source estimated that it was approximately 2 or 3 miles away. It was estimated to be between 75 and 100 yards in diameter and shaped like an egg. Source stated that it was as large as a grapefruit held at arm's length. The weather was cold, drizzling and windy, and Source stated no stars were visible. After the light went out Source and PFC ------ continued north to the STALLION SITE CAMP and reported the incident to the Sergeant of the Guard who returned to the area but failed to find anything."

The flap was on.

On Monday, the 4th, the "Levelland Thing" struck again near the White Sands Proving Ground. James Stokes, a 20-year Navy veteran, and an electronics engineer, had the engine of his new Mercury stopped as "a brilliant, egg-shaped" object made a pass at the highway. As it went over, Stokes said, "it felt like the radiation of a giant sun lamp."

Stokes said there were ten other carloads of people stopped but if this is true no one ever found out who they were.

The Air Force wrote off Stokes' story as, "Hoax, presumably suggested by the Levelland, Texas, reports."

Maybe the Air Force didn't believe James Stokes but when the Coast Guard Cutter Seabago radioed in their report from the Gulf of Mexico wheels began to turn--fast.

On Tuesday morning, the 5th, the Seabago was about 200 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River on a northerly heading. At 5:10A.M. her radar picked up a target off to the left at a distance of about 14 miles. This was really nothing unusual because they were under heavily traveled air lanes.

The early morning watch is always rough and as the small group of officers and men in the Combat Information Center quietly watched the target, with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, it moved south, made a turn, and headed back to the north again. A few of the men noticed that the turn looked "a little different," but this early in the morning they didn't give it much thought.

At 5:14 the target went off the scope to the north.

At 5:16 it was back and the lassitude was instantly gone. Now the target was 22 miles south of the ship. No one in the CIC had to draw a picture. Something, in two minutes, had disappeared off the scope to the north, made a big swing around the ship, out of radar range, and had swung in from the south!

Word went up to the lookouts. They tensed up and began to scan the sky.

The radar contacts continued.

This second contact, south of the ship, was held for two full minutes as the target moved out from 22 to 55 miles. Then it faded.

At 5:20 the target was back but now it was north of the ship again, and it was hovering!

Again the lookouts were called. Could they see anything now? Their "No" answers didn't hold for long because seconds later their terse reports began to come into the CIC. A "brilliant light, like a planet" was streaking across the northwest sky about 30 degrees above the horizon. Unfortunately the radar had lost contact for a moment when the visual report came in.

At 5:37 the target disappeared from the scopes and was gone for good.