One of the beauties of life is that there are some mysteries that just can't be explained and never will be understood. There is one in the desert near here whose discovery is attributed to the family Ellison. My Dad's grandfather Robert Reed Ellison is the first white man to notice and talk about the Marfa Lights, those dancing unexplained orbs that can be seen in the area near to where my Dad was raised. His grandfather Robert was an area rancher (and also wrote a journal) who made the very first trail drive from the Big Bend area to Abilene, Kansas with his cattle. On one of those drives he noticed the 'Lights' off in the distance.
Robert Ellison came to Maria in 1883 and off-loaded his cattle in Alpine He then drove the herd west and on the second night out, while camped just west of Paisano Pass, he saw strange lights in the distance. At first, he feared that they were Apache signal fires. Ellison searched the countryside by horseback, and finally realized that the lights were not man-made. Other early settlers assured him that they had also seen the lights and had never been able to identify them. by Marfa Chamber of Commerce
The story is basically family history passed down through the generations because Robert never actually wrote about the 'Lights' in his journal about a cattle drive. But all in the family know the story and that he was the first to note them and talk about them to the locals and the family. In researching the lights, some say his wife was with him at the time but that is not confirmed although ranching wives did go on cattle drives with their husbands but his story does not include her presence or any mention of her.
Named after Marfa, Texas, the Marfa Lights were first reported in 1883 by Robert Reed Ellison. Ellison along with other witnesses believed the lights to be a campfire in the distance. Upon investigation, they never found any ashes or traces that a campfire had been where the lights were seen. The strange appearance of these nocturnal lights have continued to wow onlookers and researchers to this day. The lights have been reported as appearing spherical and reddish-orange in color. "The balls are said to hover at about shoulder height, or to move laterally at low speeds, or sometimes to shoot around rapidly in any direction. They often appear in pairs or groups, according to reports, to divide into pairs or merge together, to disappear and reappear, and sometimes to move in seemingly regular patterns. Their sizes are typically said to resemble soccer balls or basketballs." *Encounters of the Unexplained*
With all science has to offer, there is still no explanation of the Marfa Lights or what causes them and the state has set up and maintains the viewing area where folks still can see the lights occasionally dancing in the distance. My Dad was also a blogger and here is his recounting of the Marfa Lights from his online journal Carolina Callings written in Feb, 2005:
I am going to deviate a little from my planned writing, because I have received a very important request from a reader. And I learned a long time ago that important requests are never ignored. This request was for me to relate an amazing tale of a discovery made by my Grandfather in the early part of the nineteen hundreds, probably somewhere about 1910. (my note: actually late eighteen hundreds.)
First, I guess I had better introduce him. My Grandfather was a cowboy and later rancher in the Big Bend area of Texas. He was in that area because of the large cattle drives from West Texas to Abilene, Kansas. He had participated in several of them as a young cowboy, and had returned to the Persidio County of the Big Bend to go into the ranching business. He had a pretty large ranch of some forty sections (spelled square miles) south of the small town of Marfa. This was back in the days when a man could go to the top of a hill, mesa, or mountain and say " Everything you can see from here is mine" and if he could back it up, it was true. He had two sons and plenty of Mexicans to work the ranch, and life was good.
Now that you have been introduced, I will discuss his amazing discovery. On one of his horseback trips into Marfa, he was going home after nightfall, when he noticed some curious lights in the distance, and thinking they were campfires of cowboys, indians, or Mexicans, he decided to investigate. And, anyway, a good cup of camp coffee would go a long way in chasing the chill of the night. He rode for an hour or two, and felt he would surely come up on the cause of the lights, but no such luck. He finally gave up, and finished his trip back to the ranch. He could not forget the lights, and determined to go back and do a little more investigating. He went back to the place he had first noticed them, waited for nightfall, and sure enough, there they were again, dancing on the horizon. He and his horse set off in the general direction, and after riding an hour or two, the lights were still ahead of him, no closer that when he started out. Again, he gave up and went back to the ranch, this time telling his wife and sons about them.
The next night, he and his sons went to find the lights, and sure enough, there they were, dancing on the horizon. The three of them split up and approached from different directions, all with no success. The source of the lights kept just out of sight, so close and yet so far. This was a mystery to them all, and was related in town on their next trip. Several of the men around town expressed doubt as to the veracity of this tall tale, and as a result, a trip out to see them was arraigned. The group gathered just after dark, and off they went to prove or debunk. There was to be no debunking that night, as the lights were present in all their glory for all to see. The whole crowd set off in the general direction, but gave up after some long rides, and longer ones back to town. This amazing phenom(can't spell the whole word) soon became the talk of the whole country, and looking for and at the lights became a regular activity in that little town in West Texas.
Now, let's let a few years gently pass, and believe it or not, the lights were still an oddity in the early 1930's when I first saw them. I had heard of them for years, and finally got the chance to see them. Ghostly, amazing, and almost unbelievable. There they were dancing on the horizon in the distance. Trying to convince anyone who has not witnessed them is impossible.
During World War Two, the Air Force had a training base in the area, and the lights became a large concern to them. They needed to know what they were, and where they came from. Good Luck. Many an hour and many a dollar were spent in those years, and the lights remained a mystery. All kinds of specialists were called in, the best equipment was used, and the most educated people available all tried to solve the puzzle. No success. Many answers were presented; automobile headlights, star reflections, phosphorus glows, moon glow, cowboys riding horseback smoking, but none stood up. There were no automobiles when my Grandfather first reported the lights, and I have never seen a horse with head lights; stars have to have something to reflect off of, there is nothing but dirt there, and it doesn't reflect; there is no phosphorus in the area; moon glow is like stars; and cowboys are not in the same place riding and smoking every night.
I have seen them several times since the war, and don't care for proof. Everything in this old world does not have proof, and that is the way it is. I have seen them, I believe them, I have enjoyed them, and accept them as just another phenom (still can't spell it) that needs no explanation.
The Texas Highway Department believes them. They have made a permanent parking area at the viewing point, complete with restrooms for the convenience of the visitors. If anyone is interested in viewing an amazing sight, drive to Marfa on a clear night, and you may enjoy a real treat. If you are unlucky and the lights don't show, then enjoy looking up into the velvety night sky and enjoy real stars. There is nothing like it on the face of this earth.
Freedom's just another word...
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