One of his diary entries, for October 12, 1796 allegedly contains the first report of a UFO sighting in modern North America. Perkins reports the tale circulating at the time of a young lady and two men living at New Minas, Nova Scotia on upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy, who, during a recent sunrise, saw as many as fifteen “ships in the air ... and a man forward with his hand stretched out.” Perkins continues, "the story did not obtain universal credit but some people believed it."