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By BILL BEQUETTE
Kenneth Arnold, 32-year-old Boise, Ida., businessman pilot, today bought a $150 movie camera with a telescopic lens and vowed that next time he sees objects flying 1200 miles an hour he'll get irrefutable evidence to back his story.
Mr. Arnold, who Wednesday reported seeing saucer-like "planes" flying over the Cascade mountains in western Washington at terrific speed, took off from here early today in his single-engine, three seater plane for Boise to spend the weekend with his wife and two children.
Wasn't 'Seeing Things'
But before leaving, the six-foot, 200-pound one time Minot, D.D., football star, blasted a Portland, Ore., newsman and others who intimated Arnold's speeding objects might have been illusions caused by snow blindness or "reflections from his instrument panel."
"I don't believe it either," he wired the Portland journalist, "but I saw it."
He denied that he had been suffering from snow blindness or that there was "anything wrong with my head." He said his record as a flyer was without blemish, that he never had been charged with a violation during his three years as a licensed pilot.
"If I were the kind of a pilot who did crazy things, who did screwy flying, there might be some reason to doubt I saw what I saw.
"But I'm not," he declared.
Hadn't Sought Publicity
Arnold, who has been flying 60-100 hours monthly for the past three years in his business of installing and servicing automatic fire fighting equipment in five western states, said he hadn't told the story because he wanted publicity.
"All I wanted was an explanation," he said.
He ventured that his story might later be proven as was that of the Japanese balloons during the war.
"That story wasn't believed either at first," he said, adding that after several of the aerial weapons had been found and six people had been killed by one, the story finally was admitted to be correct.
"That's the way it may be with my story," he added.
"But, anyway," he added ruefully, patting the new camera, "next time I hope I'll have a picture of what I see."