The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware register., 1824-10-07
CARRIER PIDGEONS.

plovmcnt of pigeons, as lettcr carriers, IL u!
Ovid in his Metamorphoses, who tells us
that Taurosthenes, by pigeon stained "lth
purple, gave notice of his having been victor
at the Olympic games cn the very same day
to his father at .E8ina. n
Plinv informs US, that during the siege OF
Modena BY Mark Anthony, pigeons were
employed BY Rrutus to keep up a cores
pondcncc with the besicgcd.
When the city Of ptolcmas, in Syria, was
invested bv the French and Ncnitians, and II
was ready to fall into their hands, they OBJ
served Il pigeon lying over them, and immc- I
diately coniccturcd that it was charged with
letters TO the garrison. On this the whole !
army raising Il loud shout, so contounded the
poor urial post, that 1t fell to the ground,
and on being seized, Il letter was found under
it's wings, from the sultan, IN which he as
sured the garrison, that " he would be with
them in three tlavs, with an army sufficient
to raise the siege For this letter the be-
sie~ers substituted another to this purpose,
that the garrison must see to their own
safety, for the sultan had such other affairs
pressing him, that it was impossible Tor INN
= to come to their succour," and with this false
intelligence they let the pigeon free to pur-
4 sue his course The garrison, deprived by
this decree Of all hope of relief, Immediately
surrendered. The sultan appeared on the
third day, us promised, with poWcrtn! ar
my, and Was rot little mortified to hnd
the city already in the hands OF the Christ
ians.
\ Carrier pigeons were again employed, but
with better success, at the siege Of i.cydcn,
in 1878. The garrison were, by means of
the information thus conveyed to them, in
duccd to stand out, till the enemy, despair
ing of reducing the place, withdrew On the
siege being raised the Prince OF Orange or
dered that the pigeons who had rendered
such essential service should be maintained
at the public eXpcncc, and that at therdeat
they should be embalmcd and preserved in
the town house, as a perpetual token OF graf
. itude.
, In the cast, the employment Of pigeons for
the conveyance of letters is still very com-
. mon; particularly in SYRIA, Arabia, and H.
/. gypt Every bashaw has generally basket
full of them sent him from the grand scras-
lio. where they arc bred, and in case OF any
! insurrection, or other emergency, he IS eni,-
blcd, by letting loose two or more OF these
!. extraordinary messengers, to convey intclli-
a gcncc to the government long before 1t could
e be possibly obtained by other means.
Y In Flanders great encouragement is also
/. given to the training of pigeons; and at Ant
o society of pigeon fancicrs.
d In the United States, they have been also re-
i Gently cmpovcd, with ncfarous success, b,
n a set of lottery gamblers. The numbers o
d the tickets drawn at Philadelphia wcrt
S known by this mode of conveyance, within ST
e inconceivahly short IL period, at New York
i or if drawn at New York, known at Philadel
e phia, and SO with other towns, that the great
ii est frauds were committed on the public bl
d those in possession Of this secret means Of i'll
u tellgcnce.
II In England, the use Of carrier pigeons is a
il present wholly confined TO the gentlemen o
Il Mr Gncu, who inherited it from the hcroc
IN of TybuIn, with whom it was of old a favor
y itc practice to let loose Il number of pigeon
+ at the moment the fatal cart WAS drawn away
j. to notify to distant friends the departure q
e the unhappy criminal
re The diligence and speed With which thcs
W fcathcrcd messengers wing their course
ir extraordinary. From tile instant Of thci
[y liberation, their flight is directed throug
ut the clouds at an immense height to the plnc
m of their destination. They are bcicN cd t
,c dart onwar,s in a straight line, and ne, cr dc
C. sccnd except hen at loss for breath, al
lit then arc tobc seen commonly at dawn of day
at living on thciG backs on the ground, with thci
is bills open, sucking in with hasty aNidlty til
q. dew Of the morning. Ofthcir speed, the in
er stances related are almost incredible.
lie The consul of Alexandria sends despatchc
by this means to Nlcppo in five hours, thong
nd couricrs occupy the whole day nprocectlin
to with the utmost expedition from one town
ny the other.
az az Some years ago. a gentleman sent a Cal
~. nv rier pigeon from London By the stage coacl
a- .a- to his friend at ST. Edmundsbury, togethe
,he with note, desiring that the pigeon, tw
~ ~ days after the arrival there, might be throw
/ r. up precisely When the clock struck nine
:. !. the morning This was done accorlingl,
~, and the pigeon arrived i'll London and flew
" the Bull Inn in Bishopsgate street, into I'll
" loft, and was there shown ut half an hour pa
. eleven O'Clock, having flown seventy tw
~ miles i'll two hours and a half, At the annu
'us competition of the Antwerp pigeon fancie
IL in 1919, one Of the thirty-two pigeons b
longing to that city, who had been conveyt
ao to London and there let loose, made the tral
a sit back, being distance in direct line
ny one hundred and eighty miles, in six hours
on 1t is through the attachment of the an
ie! mails to the place of their birth, and parti
ularly to the spot where they had broug
up their young, that they are thus render
useful to mankind.
but When young one flies very hard at HON
per and is come to its full strength, it is carri