THE PROJECT STIGMA REPORT ON THE CONTINUING
INVESTIGATION INTO THE OCCURRENCE OF ANIMAL MUTILATIONS
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So there will likely be a delay of several months before STIGMATA
#14 appears. That Third Quarter issue will be scheduled for publica¬
tion sometime during the summer of 1981.
iniim
219
COVERT CAPERS CROWN COLORADO COW CASE
On Tuesday, September 16 1 1980 p two 350-400-pound steer calves were
discovered dead. More mutilations, * .at least in the case of one,
which had been dead no more than one to two days. The carcasses were
found about a mile and a half apart northwest pf Briggsdale, Weld
County, Colorado, in rancher Roland Ball's Pawnee grass pasture. One
animal had probably been dead about 5 days, and was beginning to de¬
teriorate to a greater degree than the other calf (described below).
But there was no bloat, according to Ball. One ear had been removed
(not by natural predators, in Ball's opinion) deep into the skull,
and the tail had been cut off into the tailbone, Some flash had been
removed from a back ankle, but the tendons there remained intact. It
might be questioned why a scavenging animal would stop at this point,
unless it had begun to feed on that ankle and quickly found the fare
to be unpalatable and distasteful. On the other calf, I % miles to
the east, the tongue and external areas around the belly and rectum
had been removed. The tail brush had been removed and the hair was
scattered around at the site, but the balance of the tail remained
intact. There were no tracks nor signs of struggle, except that the
calf's mother had been at the site, laying down near her offspring.
Iona Hoeppner is one of 63-or-so residents of Briggsdale, northeast
of Greeley, the Weld County seat, Mrs, Hoeppner is the science teach¬
er (grades 7 through 12) at Briggsdale School. She once attended
medical school, and she has degrees (B.S.) in physics, biology and
chemistry from the University of Southern Colorado, Fresno State
and Memphis State.
On September 18th, two days after the discovery of Roland Ball's
mutilated calf (and for the balance of this report, we'll be concer¬
ned with the calf to the east, dead no more than 48 hours), Iona
Hoeppner, accompanied by Mrs. Ball, went to the site to collect sam¬
ples which were to be subjected to laboratory analysis. On the day
the calf was discovered, Weld County Sheriff Harold Andrews and his
investigators arrived on the scene to procure samples of their own,
A "perfect four-inch circle" of hide had been cut out of the calf's
belly. The flesh underneath (according to Ball, interviewed by Lin¬
da Moulton Howe of KMGH-TV in Denver) had been untouched by flies,
maggots or other predator/scavengers. The sheriff cut out a triangu¬
lar-shaped piece of hide which included a portion of the original
belly incision. Although the flesh underneath the original circle
remained whitish-pink, the meat under the adjoining sheriff’s cut
220
an*
turned brown the next day. So, on the 18th, Mrs. Hoeppnl*
a portion of hide which included a part of the original
ted M cut on the belly, part of the sheriff's incision
Se, her own incision to remove the specimen. She tried
fully to obtain a blood sample from a leg vein on the c
inserted her syringe into the carotid artery, from whie
she expected to get a syringe-full. Instead, she obtain*
bout 5 cubic centimeters of a transparent maroon-colore
which she thought to be mostly serum and some corpuscle
er cut out
"mutila-
d, of cour-
unsuccess-
arcass, then
h she said
ed only a-
d fluid,
On the loose, crumbly ground near the head of the calf
of red-colored fluid about 3-4 centimeters deep and 12
across. There was a deposit of the same fluid under the
liquid appeared to be neither evaporating (though a m
blowing) nor being absorbed into the ground. Mrs. Hoeppl
ed a vial-full of this liquid. On the back of the neck,
to the right of the calf's spinal column, were two quar r
meter puncture wounds, 3 to 3,5 cm. deep and 2 cm, ap
thing was, there wasn't any interstitial fluid or blood
holes' 1 , Mrs. Hoeppner told Linda Howe, The calf’s tongu
cut out across the thickest part, back in the throat. I:
the mouth, Mrs. Hoeppner obtained smear samples of flui
arm
art
She proceeded with the samples that night to her school
boratory, where she began to prepare stains, set up cul
incubator,etc. She examined the hide sample cut from th
der a microscope (details on these findings later in th:
She then wrapped the specimen, taped it securely and pi:
a freezer among other similar packages. Around midnight
pner's husband and a friend, a school coach, arrived at
assisted in closing all the windows and locking the lab
parted for home. About hours later, around 6:30 AM,
nance crew arrived to prepare the school for the day's
September 19,1980) activities. An hour or so later, ard'
AM, a school employee called Mrs. Hoeppner to ask, "Did
the doors (to the lab) open and stuff all over the floe
rushed to the school to find the lab in disarray. The
with its old lock, was not all that secure, as one coull
it open without too much difficulty, especially by some*
what they were doing. After entering the lab, apparent!,
that door, the intruder(s) took all of the fluid sample
been gathered at the mutilation site plus all of the cv
had been prepared, placed in the incubator and stored
was a pool
to 13 cm,
belly. The
wind was
ner obtain-
about 5 cm.
ter-inch dia-
M Strange
in these
e had been
rom inside
d.
science la-
tures in an
,e belly un¬
is report),
aced it in
Mrs, Hoep-
the lab and
as they de~
the mainte-
{Friday,
und 7:30
you leave
r? lf . She
ab door,
d "jimmy’ 1
one who knew
y through
s that had
ltures that
n one of the
221
many cabinets in the room* The jar that contained the
collected from the surface of the ground was still in
ever, the intruder(s) had either poured out the fluid
red it to their own container* Mrs, Hoeppner p s chemical
been gone through, A container of formaldehyde had bee
but not taken, A newly-acquired container of methyl al
still on the shelf, but all of the alcohol was gone. Hi
ulated that, though the intruders may have initially p
serve the specimens in the formaldehyde, they may have
the alcohol instead (as Hoeppner herself had decided ti
it was overlooked or whether the intruder's task was i
fore they could acquire it, the hide sample remained i
in the freezer.
reddish fluid
the lab; how-
or transfer-
1 cabinet had
n set aside
cohol was
oeppner spec-
lanned to pre¬
opted for
o do). Whether
nterrupted be-
n its package
ar
All the windows in the lab had been locked except one
where Mrs. Hoeppner placed her students' projects, Tha:
never opened, though it was discovered open that morni
that, nothing on the ledge appeared to have been disturl
Hoeppner reported the break-in to the school superinte;
dined to contact the law enforcement authorities, fe
would "upset the school".
The next day (September 20), Iona Hoeppner called the
Sheriff's Office, She was curious about the samples thi
taken at the mutilation site. Although she did not rep
in, she explained to the sheriff's personnel that she
in comparing their findings with hers. They reluctant^,
that the samples had been forwarded to the diagnostic
Colorado State University in Fort Collins. When Mrs,
the CSU lab, she was told that the samples never arriv e
Iona Hoeppner had a friend at CSU. He discreetly asked.
the pathology lab about the specimens and was eventual,
they had indeed arrived but "they were misplaced", Mrs;
friend reported to her that, "The specimens were here,
tee you that".
Mrs, Hoeppner did not get the whole story from the she
In interviews with Linda Howe of KMGH-TV in Denver and.
son of the GREELEY (Colo,) TRIBUNE, Weld County Sherif:
reported that the hide sample he removed from Roland
examined using his own department's facilities. The slj
son (in a TRIBUNE article of November 2, I960), "We c
the hide out and under examination we found a very deft
cut. We could even tell the difference between that cl:
we had made in removing the piece of hide". Indeed, Atm
da Howe that the mutilators 1 cut was straight-up-and-
against a ledge
t window was
ng. Despite
bed. Mrs*
ndent, who de-
ing to do so
Weld County
at they had
ort the break-
was interested
y informed her
laboratory at
oeppner called
ed . Luckily,
someone in
ly told that
Hoeppner's
I can guaran-
riff's office.
with Bill Jack-
f Harold Andrews
all's calf was
eriff told Jack-
dipped a piece of
inite, smooth
t and the one
drews told Lin-
own while his
222
5
was jagged and uneven. Additionally, the sheriff sampled a white
powdery substance which was discovered on the carcass. He forward¬
ed the material to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation lab In Den¬
ver! and their analysis indicated that the substance v/as 1 'maggot
eggs 11 ,
Iona Hoeppner was not about to drop the matter. On Saturday, Sept¬
ember 20th, she returned to the mutilation site on the Ball proper¬
ty. Though scavenging birds and mammals had for the most part Ignor¬
ed the carcass, maggots were "everywhere” - except on and around the
mutilators 1 original incisions* There had, however, been notable da¬
mage by insects to the two puncture wounds on the back of the neck,
Mrs* Hoeppner was very careful while obtaining the additional sam¬
ples, including the use of sterile gloves. The fluid on the ground
looked just as it had two days previously - not absorbed, not evap¬
orated. She obtained more of that plus seven other fluid samples
from on and in the body.
Returning to her laboratory, she carefully hid the real samples she
had just acquired and took pains to put out "dummy 11 specimens in
the same racks and cabinets as before. The next morning the doors
and windows were still closed and locked - but all the dummy samples
were gone . The lab, again, would not have been all that hard to en¬
ter via the door, with its ancient and less-than-secure lock. The
only people (as far as can be ascertained) with direct knowledge of
Hoeppner *b sample gathering and of the first break-in had been the
Hoeppner family, the Ball family, the school superintendent and a
close woman friend of Mrs. Hoeppner 1 s. Judging by what occurred, it
would seem that someone else knew, too. At least Mrs, Hoeppner had
some specimens to analyse. Two of the items are of particular inter¬
est, and the results of the analyses were as follows:
(1) The reddish fluid which had pooled on the ground: Thinner than
blood, it v/as not organic. There was no detectable bacteria in the
liquid at all, Mrs, Hoeppner told Linda Howe: "It was as sterile
as anything I've ever looked at, and I looked at it both before and
after filtering through filter paper to get any soil and dirt out,
I don't have any equipment powerful enough to see viruses, but there
\iras absolutely no bacteria". Under a microscope the uniformly clear
liquid contained two constituents of interest. First, there were
"some strange looking rectangles 10 microns by 3 microns (estimated)
with striations on them running crosswise. They didn't look like
anything 1 had seen before,,,". And secondly: "One other thing in
the fluid were small crystals one by two microns*,.throughout the
liquid sample". The liquid itself remained on the ground at the mu-
223
6
tilation site for at least two weeks. It finally left a maroon-
brownish spot of discoloration on the ground, and the grass in the
immediate area was dead. Said Mrs. Hoeppner: "I don't think the liq¬
uid evaporated. I think it just slowly sank in". She took some other
liquids to the mutilation site to see how they were absorbed into the
ground. These included water, carbon tetrachloride, a potassium
chloride solution and a viscous mineral oil. All penetrated the gro¬
und easily, though the mineral oil was absorbed more slowly.
(2) The hide section , which included the mutilators' cut, the sher¬
iff's cut and Mrs. Hoeppner's own incision: She told Linda Howe that:
"I did careful microscopic exams on the tissue cut from the belly.
It was not a cut, not a laser burn. No cell was destroyed. It (the
incision) was separated between cells , cell for cell. No cell was
disrupted in the mutilator's cut. There is nothing that I know of
that could do such a thing". She explained that there is a natural
cohesion among these tissue cells and that an incision would normally
cut through the cells, such as was evident on both the sheriff's and
Hoeppner*s incisions. Incredibly, then, the cells along v/hat was the
mutilators' "incision" were separated precisely along their bounda¬
ries - not really an ordinary "incision" at all - and according to
Iona Hoeppner: "I don't think mankind has the ability to do what was
done". This sample of hide, now frozen, has been submitted to ano¬
ther laboratory for analysis. However, the deterioration of the spe¬
cimen would make it difficult if not impossible (as a result of the
freezing) to confirm Mrs. Hoeppner's original findings regarding
the cellular separation.
Sources: Linda Moulton Howe, KMGH-TV,Denver, Colorado; GREELEY (CO)
TRIBUNE, 9-18-80 (credit Bill Jackson); GREELEY TRIBUNE, 11-2-80
(credit Don Richmond).
Other Colorado Reports - 1980
EL PASO COUNTY - South of Simla, Colorado (Simla itself is in Elbert
Countj) - The death and mutilation of a 16—year-old registered quar¬
ter horse stud named "Skip Easy Cash", owned by rancher Robert Blake
and his family: The horse had been seen alive and well on Monday,
April 21, 1980, when Mrs. Blake checked the herd. On the nite of Ap¬
ril 22-23, a woman living one mile east and a little north of the
mutilation site-to-be heard what sounded to her like a helicopter or
"loud farm machinery". That same night, around 3:00 AM, Mr. and Mrs.
224
7
Blake heard what they thought was an expected feed truck gearing
down while approaching cattle guards on the way to the Blake
ranch (the feed trucks may come at any hour of the day or night)*
Though the sound subsided, no truck showed up. An hour or so la¬
ter, around 4:00 AM, the Slakes heard the sound again; but still
no truck. It is suspected that "Skip EasyCash" died either that
night or the following night. Later, the Blakes found themselves
wondering whether the sound they heard could have been from a
helicopter associated with the eventual mutilation-event.
In the nearby Hamah area another horse had been found mutilated
on Monday, April 21, 1980 - Rebel, owned by the Gary Bohrer fami¬
ly, Rebel was found minus his right eyelid, part of the right ear
and some unspecified internal organs. The anal area had been "ream¬
ed" out and the penis "skinned". Since a 9-month-old Arabian stal¬
lion had been found mutilated in the snow 25 feet from the owner’s
back door in Cripple Creek, Colorado in March, the death of Rebel
marked the second horse mutilation in the area within a few weeks,
and "Skip Easy Cash" would be equine victim number three*
In an article by staff writer and long-time mutilation-reporter
Dorothy Aldridge, the Colorado Springs GAZETTE-TELEGRAPH reported
the death of Rebel on April 26 - and on that date the carcass of
"Skip Easy Cash" was discovered about a mile from Robert Blake’s
ranch house. The animal lay on its left side in a grove of trees.
The right ear had been cut off at the scalp* The right side of
the lower lip had been cut away "in a kind of bevelled shape",
sliced off from the center of the mouth back to the jaw hinge.
Strips of skin were cut away from the area of the genitals* The
strip furthest to the right was about 2 inches long and 3/4" wide,
the next was somewhat shorter, the next even shorter, and the next
shorter still. Most notable of all, the right eyeball was intact,
but a circle of tissue completely surrounding the eyeball had been
cut out in some fashion, leaving the orb to languish like an is¬
land in the socket.
Upon turning the animal over, two small puncture wounds were found
on the left flank. An investigating deputy suspected small caliber
bullet wounds, but rancher Blake thought the holes too small and
wondered if darts could have made them. The official investigation
was performed by El Paso County deputies Donna Cunningham, David
Smith and detective Robert Demetry. Cunningham's report indicated
the investigators thought natural causes and scavenging animals
v/ere to blame. But Blake told Dorothy Aldridge that he traps every
winter and uses dead calves and oheep as bait. He stated: "We used
a horse for bait once, and the coyotes ate everything but the head.
225
8
That's the last thing they'll touch, unless its the to
our horse's tongue wasn't even touched. On top of that
tor would eat around the eyeball for two inches deep t
and leave the eyeball in t as was done on our horse"*
TELEGRAPH, Colorado Springs, 5-12-80). Bleke also said
gators were "very interested" in -a^branoh found near
which had been stripped of most of the small twigs al
length (they were there, strewn on the ground) and whi
appearance of a water witching device or "dowsing" rod
ngue, and
, no preda¬
te the bone
((gazette-
the invest!-
the horse
□ng its
ch had the
th
About 8 feet from the horse's head stood a tree that h
bent and twisted severely, the damage mostly occurring
feet off the ground. The deputies thought a storm resp
of the fifty-or-so trees of the same size and age in t
was the only one so damaged. About 25 feet east of the
other tree was scorched black on one side (the northwe
at about four feet from the ground and extending four
trunk. According to Linda Howe of KMGH-TV in Denver,
ches of the tree also appeared to be blackened and sco
the bright green limbs on either side. Ms, Howe visite
v/ith a video tape crew on May 23rd, about one month fo
estimated date of the horse's death. The crew taped an
ment which would be included in "A Strange Harvest",
documentary on livestock mutilations. The carcass exhi
markable lack of deterioration. Only on that day - May
maggots first seen on the horse. Two weeks after the h
Robert Blake told reporter Aldridge that the carcass '
ed and there's no odor around him. No flies or ants ha
him and no predators have been at him", Blake directed
to a downed cow that died around the same time and lay
mile away. "That cow carcass really stinks", said Blak
smell it an eighth of a mile away". In fact it wasn't
or so after death that the horse had noticeably begun
On May 30, 1980 Linda Hov/e again went to the site, acc
mining operator and UFO investigator Richard Sigismond
Colorado, and they took photographs and samples, Becaui
ments and analyses in other cases, Howe and Sigismond
to check for fluorescence on and around the horse usi
and short wave ultraviolet light ("black light"). With
ter, Sigismond checked the level of radioactivity in
only abnormality was indicated by a reading, not on th|<
on the bent and twisted tree 8 feet away. As a matter
reports that the sheriff's team had also detected hlgHf
radioactivity on the same tree.
ad been both
about four
onsible. But
he area, this
carcass, an-
st), starting
feet up the
e top bran-
rched, amid
d the site
1lowing the
update seg-
Howe's
bited a re-
23rd - were
orse's death
'hasn't bloat-
ve touched
the deputies
a quarter-
e, "You can
until a month
to deteriorate
Ms
ompanied by
of Boulder,
se of experi-
were prepared
both long
a geiger coun
e area. The
e horse, but
of fact, Blake
er-than-normal
ng
th«
226
9
Using the black light, especially the long-wave, a rectangular
patch of fluorescence was visible on the horse's head under the
damaged right eye. Nothing was visible there to the naked eye. The
glowing patch was cut out for analysis. On the horse's flank, a
non-fluorescing "control" patch of hide and hair was cut out. As
this was done, Blake was amazed at the fresh appearance of the pink
flesh underneath the incised area.
Three weeks after the horse died, some of Blake's sheep developed
a bluish-white eye coloration. The animals seemed blind and they
foamed at the mouth. Blake used "pink eye" medicine on the sheep
and the eyes began to clear up, though one ewe seemed to remain af¬
fected. Howe and Sigismond beamed a flashlight at her from several
feet away and the eyes glowed blue-white. No fluorescence was noted
on the 3heep.
An independent lab in New Mexico, Schoenfeld Clinical Laboratory in
Albuquerque, confirmed that the patch of hide from below the hor¬
se 1 s eye does indeed fluoresce - both under short and long-wave ul¬
traviolet light, but especially the latter. Even the backside or
"internal" side of the hide fluoresced. Chemically, nothing espec¬
ially unusual or significant could be detected on the sample. This
fluorescence, of course, is rarely tested for on potentially-mutila¬
ted animals, but positive reactions of this sort under black light
have been reported in cases in New Mexico and Iowa.
A number of our readers are aware that hallucinogens have been de¬
tected in a few apparently-mutilated carcasses. Another report rea¬
ching us says that the presence of lysergic acid derivatives (LSD)
can produce fluorescence under ultraviolet light. As far as we know,
LSD has not been detected yet in any mute samples, including the
glowing ones (though we cannot say whether specific samples have
been analysed for LSD).
WELD COUNTY - Between New Raymer and the Wyoming border, on a ranch
operated by Wyoming resident Ross Younglund, his brother Walter (a
Colorado state representative) and Walter's son Monty. On or about
Monday, May 26, 1980, Monty Younglund was riding horseback along a
section line. He found, over a total distance of about 1 % miles,
5 cows laying dead in a "straight line", with each carcass facing
north. All the animals were about 6—8 years old. To Younglund, the
cow laying the furthest east "had clearly died of larkspur poison¬
ing", become bloated, and coyotes or other scavengers had obvious¬
ly been feasting on the bovine corporeality. However, preceding a-
long the section line to the west, it vias noted that the other four
carcasses had not bloated nor been touch by scavengers. Instead, each
227
10
ung
(wi
of the four had a "perfect square cut out of the bell
udder had been". The cuts appeared "straight" to Yoi
torn. The recturns of all four were "cored out"* leavi
ches wide and 4 to 6 inches deep. On two of the cows,
the face was gone to the bone and the ear on that sid
"cut down to the skull". The heads of the other cows
Younglund did not check any of the animals to see if
were present. On one carcass a round patch of hair
lying hide intact) was missing from the center of the
four animals had their legs drawn up funny "as if the
down after death and sort of crumpled on their legs",
tracks, signs of struggle nor blood in evidence aroun
ground around the larkspur-poisoned cow, however, ind
kicked and flailed before death. Linda Howe of KMGH- 1
asked Monty Younglund how he would compare the predat
vs. mutilation damage: "On the one cow to the east wh
had been at her, her rectum was torn out about a foot
a half wide - pretty jagged and clear down to the bon
four, the recturns were smaller holes that were pretty
round as if cored out by something".
y where the
lund, not
og a hole 6 in-
one half of
e had been
were untouched,
the tongues
th the under¬
belly. All
:|y were set
There were no
d the four. The
icated she had
in Denver
;|or/ sc avenger
ere the coyotes
to a foot and
e. On the other
much perfectly
TV
PARK COUNTY - Near Kenosha Pass. On Wednesday, July 1
ing guide Steve Zachary was leading a group of hikers
Pass down into South Park (a large mountain-ringed va
Oolorado). According to Zachary's statement to Linda
eral area used a lot by cattle, the group passed thro
crossed a creek and hiked about two miles into a larg
rock they found a marmot (a groundhog-like rodent, co
Rockies), spread-eagled on its stomach, with all four
ed out straight. The carcass was flipped over with a
armpit on the heart side was a hole the size of a qui
perfectly round and about one-quarter-inch deep into
with some bone showing. Zachary observed, "It was likl
something like a cookie cutter and took out a round s
there was "absolutely no blood" around the wound or o|:
There were some flies around but no maggots or ants,
left in the meadow and no one, unfortunately, had a c
WELD COUNTY - North of Briggs dale - On Tuesday, Septe |3
on the Eagle Rock Ranch, south of the Wyoming border
Hereford, ranch-hand Jessie Frazier rode out to separ)i
maining bull from a herd of cows. He found the 6-ye;
6, 1980, hik-
over Kenosha
lley in central
Howe: In a gen-
ugh a campground,
e meadow. On a
mmon in the
legs stretch-
stick . Near the
alrter, almost
muscle tissue,
e someone took
action". And
n the rock.
The carcass was
amera with them.
mber 2, 1980,
and west of
ate the last ve¬
ld bull, all
ar-o
228
th
right. It was lying flat on itB back 30-40 feet from
drive road. The head was "straight" with the horns on
There was no sign of tracks or a struggle in the soft
said: "Usually we see signs of death struggle. He sho
have thrown that head of his and those horns would ha
ground. But there was no sign of anything. It’s as if
down there like that dead...I never found any animal
fore". Frazier began to examine the carcass, noting
balls had been removed. There were little trickles of
from both eyes down toward the throat and brisket, ini
the eyeballs had been removed when the bull was in an
tion. With what appeared to be a straight cut, the to:
removed "as if you had pulled it out as far as you co
off". The testicles and penis had been removed - but
skin of the penis (as in a horse mutilation near Gast
Carolina in February 1980). Where the testicles had b
was a "real smooth cut-out circle about 4 inches aero
turn, tail and both ears appeared normal and intact,
that the animal had been killed the previous day (Sep
August 31st. Except for some maggots and flies there
of predator/scavenger activity.
A week after Frazier found the bull, he found a cow that had died
11
a four-wheel—
the ground,
sand. Frazier
uld at least
ve dug up the
he was laid
like that be¬
at both eye-
blood running
dieating that
upright posi—
ngue had been
uld and cut it
not the fore-
onia. North
een, there
86". The rec-
razier figured
t. 1) or on
were no signs
had "torn
the mutilated
an apparently natural death. By the next day, coyotes
into her down to the bone", but they had not touched
bul. Frazier recalled to Linda Howe when coyotes attacked one of his
calves while It was still alive -and chewed into its rectum. There
was blood everywhere. But on the bull, the trickles under the eye
sockets were the only blood in evidence.
Virgil Prewett of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma is a lifelong rancher
and the owner of the Eagle Rock Ranch. He and Frazier 1 were disturb¬
ed, not only by the mutilation, but by the cool reception they re¬
ceived at the sheriff's office when they visited there* Neverthe¬
less, regarding the mutilation of his bull, Prewett told Project
Stigma that "they don't die that way". Prewett feele the killing
and mutilation of the hull was not done where it was found: "All
the evidence was that it was done away from there and brought back
and set back down". Prewett thinks the possibility of cult involve¬
ment should be looked into more closely. He suspects
night have been used to transport the bull, but the lighting of a
helicopter in that area would not be all that uncommon due to the
ranch's proximity to Warren Air Force Base, across border in
Wyoming.
229
12
V/ELD COUNTY - Southeast of Hereford, Colorado. It is of interest
to briefly examine this case because of the contrasting coyote ac¬
tivity reported. On Wednesday, October 1, 1980, rancher Orvil
Harms found a five-month-old steer calf in the middle of his buf¬
falo grass pasture. The calf had not been there on Monday, Septem¬
ber 29th. The carcass was somewhat bloated, and Harms figured it
had been there about 36 hours. Hfcrms told Linda Howe that where the
calf's genitals had been, there was a 24-inch long by 3-inch wide
oval area cut out. "It was definitely cut with a knife because it
was sort of jagged like they had stopped and started over at pla¬
ces trying to cut". The rectum appeared cored out with no disten¬
tion of the intestines. Both ears were cut off "like they'd done
it with a scalpel". Six inches up the nose and between the eyes, a
6-inch by 6-inch oval of hide was missing. There were no tracks
and no sign of a death struggle. There was some kind of liquid on
the ground. Harms thought it might be "coming out of the stomach
from the bloat". County Sheriff Harold Andrews investigated.
Harms told Linda Howe that coyotes had pulled chunks of hide off of
the carcass, dropped them on the ground and left them there, des¬
pite the fact that "we got a lot of coyotes out here and they're
starving all the time". No bird droppings were in evidence at the
site. On September 30th, an antelope had apparently been hit and
killed by the highway near Harms' place. By about 12 hours later,
early on October 1st, the coyotes had "eaten everything but bones
and a little patch of skin". Then, on October 9th, one of Harms'
calves died, apparently from pneumonia. To confirm the diagnosis,
he had a veterinarian cut into the animal. It was left in the pas¬
ture. By the next day, coyotes hadn't touched it. Harms specula¬
ted this was because of the "human smell" associated with it.
CITY OF LITTLETON, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO - Because of our con¬
tinuing interest in the suggested connection between some classic
animal mutilations and sightings of "mystery helicopters", we pre¬
sent this account, not that of a mutilation, but of an apparent
helicopter that seemed to change shape into "something else".
September 23, 1980. John Cumby and his family live next to a pasture
area that is part of a horse boarding operation. Cattle often graze
in the pasture, as well. Cumby was on the telephone at 7:00 PM that
Tuesday, looking out a window that afforded him a view of the pas-
tureland and beyond to the foothills and mountains west and south¬
west of Denver. He saw what appeared to be a helicopter flying to¬
ward his house. Its low altitude, 100 feet or so, caught his atten¬
tion. It seemed to stop about a mile away and against the light of
230
13
ot establish
out the sight-
o noise* The
ise slowly*
,s a silver
the western sky (the sun had set 5-10 minutes previously) and be¬
tween the mountains p he could see the silouetrte of th|e helicopter.
He could not see the rotor blades, though. He could
visually whether they were there and spinning. Thro'
ing (which he recounted to Linda Howe), Cumby heard
chopper, after seeming to stop in mid-air, began to
It had been merely a dark color; but suddenly there
tint and the "chopper" turned into a ball-shappd object , somewhat
smaller than the "original" craft. It ascended out of John Cumby's
view. However, upon first seeing the "helicopter", hei called to
his mother-in-law and 6-year-old child. By the time the "bail-
shape" appeared, the mother-in-law had run into the back yard. Af¬
ter it passed from Cumby f s view, she saw the "ball" assume a "squ¬
are shape" at perhaps an altitude of 4,000 above the ground. There
then appeared a sort of slightly elongated appendage which hung
down from-one side of the craft. This "appendage" appeared to be
moving in a "fluttering" motion in relation to the main body of
the object, which was ascending at a rate of perhaps 3,000 feet per
minute. Suddenly, as the mother-in-law watched, the entire object
vanished - but then just a second or two later, it re-appeared at
perhaps several hundred feet to the (viewer T s) right. The flutter^
ing appendage was still there. The object then shot straight up,
to be lost from sight in about a second, John Cumby had left the
phone and grabbed his binoculars, but the whatever-it-was had de¬
parted by the time he reached the back yard.
After hearing Cumby's story, Linda Howe called the horse boarding
operation next door to the Cumby place. The owner*s wife said she
and her husband were home at 7:00 PM Tuesday but knew of nothing
unusual going on. However, she volunteered an unrelatfE
an event that occurred in April of 1978 1
ed account of
lake, and all
said that a-
left
There are three houses on the property, set around a
3 were occupied at the time. The horse-boarder's wife
round 11:00 or 12:00 o'clock one night, the house doorbell sudden¬
ly sounded and wouldn't stop. One of the two glass doors to their
bath/shower shattered completely. There was no piece of glass
that was more than a quarter-inch across. The other shower door was
unaffected. And, a massager under a bed was activated. In one of
the other houses, the middle one, a woman felt a "pressure" and
heard a sound that "sounded like something sat down on the roof of
the house.An electrician was called in to check the first house. He
was puzzled that a lovr voltage door bell and a higher
sager would both be set off at the same time.
voltage mas-
231
IOWA
WASHINGTON COUNTY - We are presenting a resume of the
case for two reasons: First, it was thoroughly inves - :
the animal was necropsied by experienced veterinary
and diagnosticians. Secondly, that analysis did in
that a classic livestock mutilation took place.
following
igated and
pathologists
ct confirm
fin
th
and
It was on his Washington County farm on Sunday morni
1980, that James Waterhouse found the remains of his
with the mother cow standing nearby, bellowing. On
the field, which was dry and hard, there were no sigpi
no tracks and no blood in evidence. The calf lay on
25 yards from a creek. Both eyes had been removed
some blood in the eye sockets and on the calf's face
had been removed and the teeth were coated with blood
was left of the tongue appeared to have "hacking cut*3
were blood smears on the right shoulder of the calf
mutilator(s) may have wiped either hands or an inst:
calf's hide. And, the scrotum and testicles had beejfr
a very clean incision. Mr. Waterhouse had last seen
and healthy on the evening of Friday, May 9* 1980.
county authorities and when the officers arrived at
on the 11th, a slight amount of bloat was beginning
on the carcass, but there was no rigormortis.
mirt
There were rumors, not only of at least one other
this area, but that unidentified helicopters had beep
fact, Mrs. Waterhouse reported a lit-up helicopter o
their farm one night at about 10:00 PM. No mutilatiop-
be established here, as the incident occurred in Dec
But there were indications of other sightings closer
of mutilations. One area law officer could only tell
pie that have been interviewed state they have obserp-
ters in the area of the mutilations but have not beep
tify them". One unconfirmed rumor was that all old,
ter had landed by a farmer out on his property. An a]
nondescript male got out, stared at the nearby timbep
ation, and asked the farmer if he might "buy some of
Something about the man and the situation, though,
for the farmer, and he told the invader to scram,
is that the chopper pilot may legitimately have been
forest service employee on some sort of survey; authp
said to be considering this though as far as our know
the report remains unconfirmed.
0m
pg, May 11,
bull calf,
e ground in
s of struggle,
its left side
there was
The tongue
and what
" on it. There
ps though the
ent on the
removed with
the calf alive
contacted
pround 4:30 PM
to be evident
rum
Hi 5
ilation in
seen. In
per part of
i-link could
pmber, 1979.
to the time
us that "peo-
ed helicop-
able to iden-
at-up helicop-
pparently
with admir-
his trees",
d not "add up"
possibility
a forestry or
rities were
ledge extends,
232
15
It was decided that the remains of the Waterhouse calf were fresh
enough to justify an attempt at a thorough investigation. Under the
auspices of Special Agent Joe Motsinger of the Iowa Department of
Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation, the calf was
transported to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab¬
oratory in Ames, Iowa. There, a necropsy examination was conducted
by John J. Andrews, D.V.M., Professor of Pathology and G.W. Steven¬
son, D.V.M., Post-Doctoral Associate. Gerald W. Shanahan, Chief of
the Division of Criminal Investigation, has informed us that:
Special Agent Motsinger observed part of the examination,
at which time both doctors stated that the animal had been
cut with" a very sharp instrument and that it was definite¬
ly not the work of predators. Dr. Stevenson stated that he
was especially interested in the removal of the eyes in
that it was a very neat job. Dr. Stevenson further stated
that it would have been hard for him to duplicate the same
removal.
At the risk of alienating some of our more casual readers, we are
going to quote a substantial portion of the necropsy summary presen¬
ted to Motsinger by Doctors Andrews and Stevenson, as it will begin
to give other diagnosticians an idea of what to look for:
The animal was extremely autolyzed. Necropsy examination
revealed two large irregularly shaped hairless areas on the
left shoulder and left hip where the hide was abraded. It
appeared as if the animal had been dragged a distance on its
side. There was a subcutaneous blood clot in the left jug¬
ular groove extending the length of the jugular vein which
would su gg est a possible intravenous injection. There was
also a subcutaneous blood clot measuring approx* 5 cm. by
4 cm. in the left abdominal area indicating fairly recent
trauma. The distal one-fourth of the right ear was absent.
The margin of the remaining ear was irregular and very
dried, which made the age and cause of the lesion difficult
to determine.
The tongue was absent from the level of the second premolar
distally. The margin of the remaining stump was in a near¬
ly transverse plane and somewhat jagged with clotted or
dried blood adherent to its surface. There were high num¬
bers of maggots present in the mouth making more critical
evaluation difficult. Both eyes were absent while the eye¬
lids remained intact and appeared to be normal. The left
globe was missing while the conjunctival membranes and at-
233
16
tendant connective tissue remained. The right globe, con¬
junctival membranes and connective tissue were absent
leaving the periosteum of the orbit exposed.
The scrotum and testicles were absent with a well cir¬
cumscribed circular to slightly ovoid hole in the
remaining in the inguinal region. The hole measure
prox. 6% to 7 inches in diameter with the margins
very uniform and smooth in a linear direction and
sharp and well demarcated vertically. The prepuce
is remained intact and appeared to be normal. Ther
dried or clotted blood on the hair extending app
to 3 inches peripherally from the circular lesion
were unable to determine whether this lesion occur
ante or post mortem.The carcass appeared to c
a normal amount of blood which would not be compat
with exsanguination.
skin
i ap-
being
very
and pen-
|e was
x, 2
We
ired
ontain
ible
ro
ar
A black light was used to examine the external sur
of the animal for fluorescent material. There were
:prox. 10 to lh% one-cm. foci of fluorescent materi
the left hip and left shoulder. The material appe
be only on the tips of the hair and only in very s
amounts and could be rubbed off easily with the fi
(STIGMATA note: see report this issue; Colorado, E
County, Blake horse case).
Chemical analysis of the stomach contents did not reveal
the presence of arsenic or strychnine. Bacterial cultures
and histopathology were not done due to the advanced de¬
gree of post mortem autolysis.
urn
ur
In conclusion, these preliminary laboratory result
not contain information which would implicate a sp
cause of this animal's death. It is our opinion th|<
gross appearance of some lesions highly suggest hi
tervention. More specifically, the level at which
tongue was missing would make it nearly impossible
a predator to have accomplished the removal. In o
oratory we compared a calf of a similar age by mar|i
extending the tongue as far as possible with firm
sure and cutting it at the level of the teeth with
When the stump had retracted the result was a near
tical lesion. In addition, the uniformity and acui
the margin of the lesion in the inguinal area sugg
that a sharp instrument was used in the removal of
face
ap-
al on
ed to
mall
ngers
1 Paso
s do
ecific
at the
lan in-
the
for
lab-
ually
pres-
a knife,
ly iden-
ty of
;ests
the
234
17
scrotum and testicles. The margin appeared to be too uni¬
form to have been made by predators. Finally, the presence
of a blood clot in the left jugular groove suggests that
an intravenous injection may have been made; however,
this lesion could also be produced by a severe blow.
Regarding chemical analyses, the doctors reported that:
Thin layer chromatography procedures did not demonstrate
the presence of commonly used short acting injectable
anesthetics in the blood. More specifically, the com¬
pounds which were tested for were: barbiturates, Keta¬
mine and xylazine.
One school of thought - which has been retained by the Iowa autho¬
rities - is that the truly "classic 11 mutilations in that state (of
which this would be one) are being performed by religious cultists
or pseudo-occultists. Some outside investigators have been convin¬
ced (or near^convinced) that this is, indeed, the case. But addi¬
tionally, some Iowa authorities feel that the Iowa classic mutila¬
tions represent a different and separate phenomenon from those mu¬
tilations (though also deemed "classic", in that they are also .
caused by premeditated and unnatural means) that have occurred in
some of the states in the western and southwestern United States.
NOTES REGARDING SOURCES
COLORADO: Obviously, our Colorado summary of representative reports
would not have been possible without the diligent investigative
work performed by Linda Moulton Howe, Director of Special Projects
at KMGH-TV in Denver and, as many readers know, the writer, editor,
producer and director of the mutilation documentary, "A Strange
Harvest". So we extend a very special thanks to her.
IOWA: We are indebted to Chief Gerald Shanahan and Special Agent
Joe Motsinger of the Division of Criminal Investigation in Des
Moines for furnishing ue with their own commentary plus the Water-
house-calf necropsy results. While, to us, the majority of law en¬
forcement agencies have proven to be more a part of the problem
than a part of the solution, we commend the DCI for their forth¬
right and objective investigations and for their willingness to
communicate with the investigative community in the continuing ef¬
fort toward a synergistic accumulation of evidence designed, hope¬
fully, to provide us with some at-least-partial solutions.
235
The AMP Report
Introduction : With thiA iAAue we inaugurate a nem feature, written
by. poet-plnyuviight-muAician-Aong writer-architect-Aoctal revolution¬
ary David PerhinA, director of. Animat Mutilation Probe (AMP) at
Box. 0; ForiUta, Colorado 81D37. The AMP in.veAtLgati.ve team of. Per—
kina and Cari Seawall haA contributed "now data" to Pro feet Stigma,
and they've conducted numerouA field inveAtigationA of mutilations
and othen. unexplained phenomena. David 4 poke at the Schmitt Mutila¬
tion Conference in April 1979, and he 'a authored articleA on the
Aubfect foe High Timer, TaoA and Boulder. Monthly . He war a conAul-
tant and interviewee on Linda Howe 'a mutilation documentary, "A
Strange SarveAt n and he war interviewed for the cancelled mutila¬
tion report prepared by A BO-TV* a n 20/20 ", PerhinA' commentary mill
not neceAAanily reflect the viewA of Prefect Stigma, 3n thiA ini¬
tial inAtaJJment he revlewA Tom. Bearden'A long.—awaited book:
For the past month or so, we've been reading and re-reading a most
absorbing book by Thomas E. Bearden. EXCALIBUH BRIEFING - Explaining
Paranormal Phenomena is Bearden's "agonizing effort" to account for
everything which is currently unaccountable. A BIG task I Bearden ‘
gives us a BIG effort with this monumental and inspiring piece of
research.
Cattle mutilations are discussed as clear examples of paranormal
events...the crown jewel in Bearden's elaborate hypothesis. Tom
Bearden, a retired Army officer and guitar player, among other
things, advances a bold and disconcerting theory that must be rec¬
koned with.
Cattle-mutilating Tulpoids From Inner Space???
The Theory
The entire human unconscious mind is somehow linked (Here Bearden
draws heavily from Carl Jung's theories on the collective uncon¬
scious). Thoughts have "energy" and "life". Through a process called
"kindling" the unconscious mind is capable of materializing "thought-
236
19
forms’* which can and do effect physical reality * These material¬
ized entities (tulpoids) are responsible for mutilations f Sas-
quatch, UFOs and occupants, Men-in-Black t water monsters... you
name it.
The human collective unconscious is "layered" into "multiple-
mind loops", Each mind in the loop is a stage in the "amplifier".
Thus, sufficient psycho-kinetic power can be generated to mater¬
ialize symbolic dreams which represent the unsolved conflicts of
the species.
The tulpa concept filtered into the West from Tibet. The books of
Alexandra David-Neel and Nicholas Roerich,published in the 1930’s,
were largely responsible for introducing the idea.
For such a work-horse concept, it’s odd that Bearden scarcely men¬
tions the Tibetan connection. Instead, he chooses to substantiate
his theory with data drawn from modern physics, psychology and
parapsychology,
Fart One is a dizzying excursion through the unknown: UFOs, mys¬
tery lights, psychic surgery, dowsing, remote viewing and the
"psi" field in general. The message is: Our understanding of the
universe is pitifully incomplete. We create our own realities.
Fart Two is Bearden’s attempt to construct a "new** model of real¬
ity that can explain all paranormal phenomena. Welcome to the
realm of biofields, psychotronic devices, nested virtual states,
inceptive cyborg effects, negative time, hyperspatia! flux and
clustered cross-talking orthogonal worlds. Much of the evidence
here is highly theoretical and the physics is truly para-Exnstein-
ian, but Bearden weaves his way through using come well-chosen ex¬
amples from the classic experiments of modern science.
Fart Three is entitled New Military Applications of Fsi Research .
This is where cattle mutilations enter the picture. Bearden fin¬
gers the culprit.
The Russians Did It I
Funny thing is, they may not have even known they were doing it
(or causing it). According to Bearden, the mutilations are
materialized precognitive nightmares indicating
the horror of the Armageddon to come...these
nightmarish-paranormal mutilations reveal the
true nature of the times.
In this case, the Armageddon is a massive Russian attack on the
237
20
United States and the West. The Soviet attack plan, Fen-de-Lance
(therefore the title EXCALIBUR BRIEFING) calls for quick annihila¬
tion of the U.S. using a vast array of "fantastic" weapons.
Mutilations are nature's-way of warning us that the Russians are
plotting our doom. Unconsciously, we are feeling the vast hate
emanating from the Soviet Union. As Bearden explains it, the con¬
sistent hate pressure works its way down into the deeper layers of
the collective unconscious through the "psi channel" and then
"pops-out" in the form of mutilations, UFOs, ghost rockets, etc.
It's up to us to determine the "metapsychological implications"
of these "prophetic, symbolic tulpoids".
Noted researcher/author John White gets it all out front in his
introduction:
It is not tinlikely that Tom will be dismissed
as a paranoid crackpot.
In a way, it's too bad EXCALIBUR BRIEFING wasn't two books: one
book-dealing exclusively with paranormal phenomena and one detail¬
ing the case against the Soviets. I'm hoping that those who reject
Bearden's "political" views won't overlook his positive contribu¬
tions to paranormal research. Politics and scientific inquiry us¬
ually mix like oil and water. Tom Bearden has two tigers by the
tail. He has entered the Bear Den.
If the Soviets do have the weapons Bearden claims, the entire Am¬
erican military effort (offense/defense) is obsolete . We are ef¬
fectively at war now. We should fold our tents on mutilation re¬
search and concentrate on survival.
I can live with prophetic tulpoids running around out in the cow
pastures, but being zapped continuously by Russian behemoth hyper-
space howitzers i3 not my idea of "having a nice day".
Earlier research by Andrija Puharich, Andrew Michrowski and others
(along with Bearden's evidence) does present a convincing case
that the Soviets have been experimenting with the effects of Tes¬
la-style transmitting devices since at least 1976. These pulsed
electromagnetic signals can act on the human brain to influence
behavior through mind control. Use your imagination as to what's
possible.
During his career with the Army, Bearden (a nuclear engineer) spent
over 25 years in defense systems, technical intelligence, compu¬
terized wargames, etc. So...you figure he ought to know. We might
note that the military establishment, while grudgingly acknowled-
238
ging the weird "woodpecker signals", Btill officially
them to Soviet experiments with "over-the-horizon radi
her words, no big dealt Their radar won't pick up our
"invisible" planes anyway. Right?
Conflict as the Source of ALL Paranormal Phenomi
tir
ona
Carl Jung told us that the dreams of an individual show his unre¬
solved conflicts. Tom Bearden tells us that materialised tulpoids
of the collective unconscious show the larger unresolved con¬
flicts: "Tulpoidal phenomena symbolize man against himself".
Following this analysis, the major unresolved conflict: of our
times, the Cold War, was directly responsible for the advent of
the UFO tulpoids. Each wave- of UFOs or other tulpoidal phenomena
since the 1940's has coincided with "peak pressure surges" on the
collective unconscious.
Ghost rockets over Scandanavia (near Russia) in 1946
tulpa systems" alerting us to the threat of Soviet doi
Then the materializations began occurring in the Unit 4
1947. The Kenneth Arnold sighting took place in Wash!
(closest Btate to Russia). Critical periods in the Ko
1950 and 1952, produced UFO waves. Sputnik triggered
UFO wave. The Arab/Israeli War and near U.S./U.S.S.R.
tion in 1973 sparked the UFO wave of 1973 with its dri
crease in abductions and close encounter "contact" ca^
but not least, the completion of Soviet attack prepare l 1
the mid-1970's produced the 1975-77 wave of livestock
in the U.S, "Heartland".
em¬
it
A neat .package - more or less consistent with a Jungi
terpretation of events. The catch is, unless the Sovi^
attack or we can positively verify the attack plans,
cult to establish a direct correlation between Soviet
and cattle-mutilating tulpoids from inner space.
This one-to-one symbolic interpretation is the most troublesome
aspect of all the material presented here.
ml
The cow is the Western female symbol par excelled
Western children nurse on cow's milk...If the U.
tress is to be violated, then the female symbol
be violated as the time for the Soviet assault ne
The U.S.'s lifeblood is going to be drained, totEi!
as all the blood 1 b usually drained from the catt:
The children of the West shall be cut off from thu
21
attributes
«. In ot-
stealthy
were "phallic
rjii nation.
d States in
hgton State
rean War,
the 1959/60
confronta-
amatic in-
es. Last,
tions In
mutilations
i-style in-
ts actually
s diffi-
intentions
ice;
for—
11
ars...
iiy.
le...
,eir
239
22
sustenance, and so the cow's teats are removed,..
Free speech and freedom to hear will be cut off, so
the cow's lips, tongues and ears are excised...
Castration...symbolizes total loss of power...
and impotency.
One can't help but wonder If Bearden isn't letting his personal
conflict/anxiety over the Soviet threat (founded or unfounded)
spill over and color his meta-psychological interpretations. Is
he using mutilations as ammunition in his crusade against the So¬
viets? Vlhat if the Russian antics are part of an elaborate psy¬
chological warfare game to make us think they're far ahead of us.
Using this ploy they could induce a self-consuming fear in us.
If we do create our own reality as Bearden suggests, then we are
responsible for the Soviet Imenace. What can you do? Go after the
Russians, thereby intensifying Cold War mentality (which produces
more tulpoids)? Or - dismiss the Soviet threat?
1 wouldn't want to be the one to tell you to dismiss any of the
material in EXCALIEUR BRIEFING.
Serious researchers should buy it, and read itI
We solicit feedback snd new information. If anything here rings a
bell with you sophisticated STIGMATA readers, please contact AMP
immediately (if not before). We'll attempt to respond accordingly.
AMP
Box 0
Farisita, Colorado 81037
(303) 746-2350
In the next installment, we'll examine some other posBible "meta-
psycho logical" interpretations of animal mutilations.
EXCALIBUR BRIEFING by Thomas E. Bearden is a Walnut Hill book pub¬
lished by Strawberry Hill Press in San Francisco, California. To
obtain a copy of EXCALIBUR BRIEFING, send check or money order
in the amount of $9.95 (postpaid) to:
EXCALIBUR - P.0. Box 1472 - Huntsville, Alabama 35807 USA
Tom Bearden Is also editor of SPECULA, the quarterly Journal of the
American Association of Meta-Science. For Info on obtaining SPECU¬
LA or joining A.A.M.S.:A.A.M.S.;P.0.Box 1182 ;Huntsvilie,AL 35807.
SPECULA Is invariably crammed with interesting tidbits. Try ItI
240
MISC. MUTE MEANDERINGS
Continuing to follow-up on our report on possible "cult" activity
(which may or may not be related to animal mutes): Numerous sight¬
ings of from one to seven hooded men (some robed,some wearing dark
clothing with pillow-case-type hoods) were reported in the New Wa¬
ver ly area of southern Walker County, Texas (about 60 mi* north of
Houston) during several weeks in October and November of 1980* A
teenaged girl was grabbed by 2 of the men; but after starting to
carry her into a field, they released her, A woman observed the
figures from her house on several occasions as they milled around
in a field and even in her yard. She watched them "scrambling a-
round and scratching on the ground. As soon as ^they leave I've
gone over that ground and I can't find anything". The "hoods" were
blamed for a dog disappearance, and airplanes had been seen dipp- *
ing to treetop level over the field where the men were most often
seen* Area residents formed a vigilante committee but the reports
apparently ceased after November (Huntsville,TX ITEM; November 13,
14 and 27, 1980)...Dr* Nancy H* Owen, University of
Arkansas anthropologist* has received an additional grant ($2500)
from the Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities for her continued
research into livestock mutilations in that state* Dr, Owen will
present a paper on the subject at the annual meetings of the South¬
ern Anthropological Society in Ft.Worth, Texas, April 1-4, 1981*
Regarding our comments (STIGMATA #11) about her work on the com¬
pilation of the Rommel mutilation report. Dr, Owen writes: "I
thought I'd better clarify that matter.*,I wrote the text (of the
Rommel report) based on the information, ideas, and opinions he
gave me, I didn't type it or edit it - and I regret that the man¬
uscript wasn't more carefully edited, but as this was done after I
had already left New Mexico, there was little I could do about it.
In other words, the spelling errors were typos - and not deliberp.
ate slurs on anybody' 1 *,...The magazine ARKANSAS TIMES
(Feb,1981-credit: Lucius Farish) reports that Dr. Owen is "satis¬
fied that mundane or natural causes explain most mutilations, and
that "Dr* Owen still sees the reports as worthy of study as a cla¬
ssic example of how rumors are born, spread and eventually estab¬
lished as f national lore 1 ,*. the story begins in 1967 with the"Snip-
py the horse" case in Colorado, widens in 1974 through a diio joo-
key's joke about cut-up cows and,apparently, continues indefinite¬
ly as a virulent form of a self-fulfilling, modern media phenome¬
non",*.**,*,In the next STIGMATA: more 1980 reports (Tex. &
Canada); the international scene; 1981 (reports now filtering in).
241
SPECIAL NOTICE
This edition of STIGMATA is being sent to a number
of law enforcement agencies. We are asking those a -
gencies to quickly inform us of any potential live stock
mutilations that are reported within their jurisdiction.
This is especially urgent if the potentially - mutilated
carcass is fresh. We will place the law enforcement
agency or the livestock owner in contact with persons
in their general area - persons who can acquire sam¬
ples from the victim animal. These specimens will
then be analyzed in laboratories which have agreed to
be of assistance by performing such examinations. This
is particularly true in such areas as New Mexico, Co¬
lorado (especially Northern Colorado or Southern Wyo¬
ming) and the northern half of Texas, as the laborator¬
ies are located in these regions. Perhaps, before long,
we can locate labs in other areas which would be will¬
ing to examine samples. Even though a carcass may
be discovered far away from the above-mentioned areas,
please contact us anyway, since we may have establish¬
ed a contact in that area by then - or, arrangements
could be made to transport the samples by mail or by
freight. The most important step in the process is to
notify us right away. Telephone: (Code 214) 784-5922.
An answering device will take your message if we're
away. If you'll leave your name and number we’ll get
back in touch with you as soon as possible.
As a follow-up to the Littleton, Colorado case described on pages 12 &
13 in this issue: Reader Donald H. Robey of Huntington Beach,CA,writes:
In reading over STIGMATA #12 (ed.note:we briefly described the
case in that issue)... (the case) reminded me of a sighting by a
bomber pilot in WW II where a fiery ball (Foo Fighter) turned
into an airplane. If the incident (in Colo.) actually occurred as
reported, it tends to give more credibility to the sighting in
