Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1855-01-04

Carrier Pigeons.

Pope beautifully imagined origin of letters,
in the eager anxiety of absent lovers or captive
maids to communicate intelligence of their
whom they loved, could only be improved by
supposing that, when the mystic scroll was
traced, the instinct of a beautiful bird was
called into exercise, in order that the cartel of
affection might, with speed such as almost to
satisfy even lover, be conveyed to the place
of its destination. Whatever might be the or
igin of epistoary correspondence, it is certain
that it has been, from times of very remote an
tiquity, carried on by means of birds, especial
ly in that proper land of wonders and of poe
try, the East, where, from the vast extent of
territory between one seat of population and
another, and the defective nature of all other
means of communication, no expedient could
have been more appropriate or more servicea-
BILE. Nor is it alone for the speed with which
they can cross desert tracts that the bird letter
carriers have been appreciated. Towering up
from the hand of him who despatched it, and
proceeding at an unapproachable height above
the earth to the individual to whom it was di-
rected, the winged messenger would set at de-
fance all interruption and tampering, whether
from jealousy or rivalry, or even the hospitali-
ty of beleaguering army The practice, in
deed, was a romance reduced to human con-
venlency.
The bird chiefly used in all times and coun-
tries for the communication of intelligence is
one of the pigeon tribe, columbia tabellaia,)
usually, from this service which it pays to
man, denominated the carrier-pigeon. 1t is
larger than the ordinary pigeon, being fifteen
inches in length from the bill to the tail, and
weighing about twenty ounces. 1t is gener-
ally black or dun, and occasionally blue or pie
bald, and has very large cere hanging down
by the sides Of its bill, like the male turkey.
The species is supposed to have been indigo
nous to Persia, though it is now to be found in
has rendered the carrier-pigeon so serviceable,
is one manifested, under various notifications,
by many other animals-an instinct by which
the creature, if it becomes attached to any
place at home, as a scene of habitual gratfca-
ton, or as the place where it has recently
brought forth young, is able to find its way
thither from any distance to which it may have
been removed, if no physical distractions of
an absolutely insurmountable character should
intervene. Though the carrier-pigeon is nat
urally prompted to revert to the place of its
ordinary residence, man has adopted various
precautionary measures in order to make its
return on particular occasions more certain.
A male and female are usually kept together,
and treated well and one of these, when
taken elsewhere, is supposed to have the
greater inducement to come back. 1t is even
considered necessary by some, that the bird
should have left eggs in the process of incuba-
ton, or unfedged young ones at home, in or
der TO make the return certain but probably
these are superduous precautions. 1t is obv
GUS that the carrier-pigeon can only be put to
use in conformity with some contemplated
plan, for which the proper preparations have
been made 1t must have been taken to
place for which it is wished that it should re.
turn, and it must, at the moment when its SER
vices are wanted, be temporarily at the place
from which the intelligence is to be conveyed.
1t is usually taken to that place hoodwinked,
or in covered basket the instinct by which
it finds its way back upon its own wings,
must of course be Independent of all knowl-
edge Of the intermediate localities. When
the moment for employing it has arrived, the
individual requiring its services writes small
billet upon thin silk paper, in the East, there
is kind of peculiar fneness, called on this
account bird-papr, which is placed length
wise under the wing, and fastened by pin to
one of the feathers, with some precautions TO
prevent the pin from pricking, and the paper
from filling with air, so as to retard and
weary the bird. On being released, the car
rier ascends to a great height, takes one or
two turns in the air, and then commences its
forward career According to one account, it
can fly 1000 parasangs, or abont $4,000
English miles in a day; but several expert
ments of recent date seem to concur in estab-
fishing 40 miles in the hour, or about 900 a
day, as the average flight. The last computa-
ton, we may remark, gives inferior results 10
some which have been ascertained in refer
ence to other birds. The common swift has
been known to fly go, and the wild duck 90
miles in an hour. A swallow was once found
to traverse 20 miles in I3 minutes
Allusions to carrer-pigeons are very fire.
quent in the ancient classic writers, and in the
Arabic poets. Anacreon informs US that he
held correspondence with his lovely Bathilus
by means of dove. 1t is related by A1an
that Taurosthenes, a victor in the Olympus
games, despatched pigeon stained with pur-
pie to announce his triumph TO his father, then
residing in the island Egina. Pliny also mar
rates that correspondence by means of pig
cons was carried on, during the siege of Mode
ma, between Decimus Brutus and Hirtius-
OF what avail says he, were sentinels
circumvallalions, or nets obstructing the rv-
ers, when intelligence could be conveyed BY
erial messengers = In The Crusades, the
practice was tried by the besieged inhabitant'