THE PARANÁ STATE CASE.

An extract from the article/story: SPACE BEINGS COME TO EARTH

By João Martins English Version: Alberto Francisco do Carmo

As appeared on O CRUZEIRO (Brazil) ­November 13,1954

Three O CRUZEIRO readers that probably don’t know each other, have kindly forwarded me the clippings about an event which happened in the State of Paraná. Thery are: Mr. Leony Pollato (1395, Visconde de Guarapuava Ave.- Curitiba); Mr. Raimundo Jaskulski (166, Benjamim Constant, St.) and another one who simply signed L.F.P.

The case was previously published on several papars, including the “Diário da Tarde”, from August 8,1947 and by the “Correio do Noroeste, from Bauru (SP). On that time one had not given great importance to the case. “Flying saucers” still didn’t attire general attention. As matter of fact even such denomination didn’t exist. However, what has been published is quite interesting, if one compares it with so many reports that therefore appeared. This is what has been published:

”I was, says Mr. José C. Higgins, on the 23th of July, west of the Goio Bang Colony , that is northeast of Pitanga, and southwest of Campo do Mourão, carrying out some topographic tasks, when ­while crossing one of the rare open fields of that region, a deep whistling sound, yet light, made me look at the sky. Then I saw something that chilled my hair: a strange aircraft was descending from space. Had a circular shape and with absolutely equal turned edges, equal to a medicine capsule. My men, all simple minded countrymen ran away,scared, due to what they were seeing. And I, don’t know why I did it up to now, decided to stay waiting for the facts to come.

The strange craft did a closed circle path over the terrain and softly landed, about 50 meters from the place I was. It was something amazing. It had a diameter of about 30 meters, that not included the surrounding edge, about one meter wide. It was crossed by pipes through several directions. Six of them produced the aforesaid whistle, but smokeless.

The under part was provided with curved poles that curved a little more once they touched the ground. The whole seemed to me made of a grayish-white metal, yet different of silver.

While I examined the object, but not daring to touch the surface, I found a sort of glass-made windshield, or something like this. Then I saw two people that were looking at me, apparently curious. Such people, as I realized at first sight had an odd aspect.

After a few seconds, one of them turned to the inside of the craft and, it seemed so, talked to somebody. Immediately, I heard a noise also coming from the inside and a door opened from the under part and three people came out, wearing a sort of transparent overall, that involved them all, head to the toes. It was full like a tire air vessel. On their backs they had a sort of metallic bag that seemed to be part of the overall. Through the overall I could perfectly see that those people were wearing T shirts, shorts and sandals, but not cloth-made I think, it looked like a gloss paper. Besides I realized that their strange look was due to the eyes, very big, no eyebrows, but had big eyelashes.All bald. Had no beard and their heads were very big and round.The legs were longer that the proportions we are acquainted with. As to the height they were about thirty centimeters taller than me, I who am 1,80m tall.

The most interesting is that all looked like twins, I mean the men wearing overalls and the one I saw through the windshield. One of them held a metallic tube, similar to the one of the entire craft, always pointed to me.

I noticed that they talked to each other. I heard the words perfectly but, nevertheless, I didn’t understand a thing. They spoke a language I never had heard before, but pretty and good to be heard.

Despite their bulky appearance they moved with an incredible agility and lightness, always forming a triangle around me.

Then the one who carried the tube gestured to me to enter the craft. At such gesture I approximated the door and all could see a small cubicle, limited by an other inner door and the end of a pipe coming from the inside. Also I noticed several round binding bearers, at the basis of the of the surrounding edge.

I started to talk, asking where they wished to take (me) to, also with many gestures. They understood me and the one who seemed to be the chief, draw a point on a ground surrounded by seven circles. He showed me the Sun in the space, and pointed to seventh circle and to the craft alternately. I shut myself, astonished.To go out of this world alive? No! Not on me!

IN front of this, I thought as little. To fight with them that would be impossible, because they were stronger than me either in number or physique.

I had an idea.I had noticed that they avoided to stay under the sunlight. So, I walked to the shade, and took my purse (wallet?) from my pocket and showed my wife’s picture to them, then gesturing I meant that I was going to search to her and come back.

They didn’t impeached me, and thanking God, I hided myself in the bushes around, and stayed there sneaking them. They played like children, jumping and throwing very large stones far away. After about half an hour, they just carefully searched for me around, then entered the craft that lifted off with the same noise and went away to the north, up and away till it vanished in the clouds above.

I’ll never know whether they were men or women. Yet I can state that they were handsome and healthy, despite the odd aspect I pointed out. On the other hand it’s difficult to put their language into our lettering. Yet I remember two words, “Alamo” and “Orque”, that for the Sun and the latter for the seventh circle. Had I be sure that I certainly would come back, God knows where I would be now.

Was it a dream? Was it real? Sometimes I doubt that this might have really happened, because it might have been a strange but beautiful dream”.

This is the story which has been publish on August 1947. Imagination, hallucination or unbelievable truth? Anyway in case he invented all this, Mr. José Higgins anticipated himself to many other stories that appeared after, from many parts of the world.

Comments by Alberto Francisco do Carmo.

As one may infer, Mr. José C. Higgins was a qualified witness, a topographer. He expresses himself very well, and his sense of orientation is perfect. It’s not usual in Brazil’s culture to care very much about directions, north, south, west like Americans do. Furthermore, he just told the story and vanished in the crowd. By the time of the case unveiling, it’s clear that it reached only the local press, not appearing either in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo papers, the main cultural axis in Brazil, for many years yet to come.

The case then had a sort of revival, due to clippings forwarded to João Martins, who published the story -on November 13, 1954- on the magazine O CRUZEIRO, the most important magazine in Brazil in that time and many years to come.

This is very important to be put. João Martins was one of witnesses of the famous Barra da Tijuca case (May 1952) in which five extraordinary photographs have been taken been by Ed Keffel (Eduard Schultz Keffel) of a UFO that caught the reporters duo by surprise, after an unsuccessful search of a wanted Nazi, allegedly hidden in the area of the Barra da Tijuca beach, a very desert place, by 1954. Now it’s a fully inhabited upper-class residential area.

Many people, in Brazil and abroad, insist to label such a case a hoax. It’s not. Both Martins and Keffel were successful professionals and didn’t need to risk themselves as hoaxers.

It seems that the case touched very much João Martins, while Keffel preferred to return to the ordinary duties of a very requested and respected photographer.

For two or three years João Martins became a sort of paladin of the UFO cause in Brazil. Traveled abroad many times, presenting all he could pick to the readers of the most important magazine of the country. Also investigated national cases, and stimulated many early UFO investigators. I had the pleasure of having an fair acquaintance with him, but only when he was in his final years. In 1952 I was a kid.

João Martins died some years ago,discreetly, and proud of being a very honest man. The same happened and applies to Ed Keffel.

Returning to the Higgins case itself, foreigners would notice the odd strange names of the readers who forwarded the clippings to João Martins. Far from typical Latin names. Explanation: the state of Paraná had lots of immigrants in the past: Italians, Germans, Polish, Ukrainians and other countries of Western Europe. Yet the name Goio Bang is Indian. As it happens in Australia, Brazilians incorporated many indigenous names to their language, names of places not to mention a strong Indian influence in their habits. Brazil is a melting pot.

Most probably the “explanation” the aliens gave to Higgins, as to their origins, was a hoax. If they meant our Solar System, the seventh circle would be Neptune, where a form of life ­and intelligent- could not stand even for a fraction of seconds. By the way, by that time, mankind and especially ordinary and even educated people didn’t know much about cosmology. So alien tricks like presenting themselves as “Venusians”, “Martinas” or even coming from a planet turning around Wolf 424, were possible. By the way Wolf 424 is a very little, old and not very hot, binary star system.

The story also shows that aliens, from the beginning, never have been a model of democracy or peace. They entered and still enter our planet stealthily. Higgins is kept under siege by three aliens all the time.One of them, always pointing a tube towards him. A weapon, probably. They don’t invite or ask Higgins whether he wished or not to go with them. Their “invitation” had a scent of orderÉ

At the end of the story, one may notice, the oddity of the story (probably a true story) embarrasses both Higgins and Martins. The naïve comments about was it real, or a dream, or an hallucination just seem too simple and debunking. Rarely dreams are so much detailed and precise. As a dream it has nothing of oneiric. Also hallucinations don’t happen as a flash and then, nothing. Persons who experience hallucinations also have a sort of prelude, the hallucination itself and then the recovery process. And they tend to be repeated. That’s not the case. Higgins just told the story a bit too much careful about what people would say about it and about him. Yet this is easy to understand when one thinks of the time, place and culture where the event took place.

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