The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-12-01
Carrier Pigeons and Falcon. in War

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Carrier Pigeons and Falcon. ira War.
| A caoleg-anl Informs us thai PRUSSIA. in
! bes:egirg the Capital Of France, has revived
an old custom. The Paris;ars employ car
| rier pigeons in holding communication with
/ the outside world, and 70 destroy this line %
communication, We arc told that the Prls-
! SLAMS have called trained hawks into their
! service. The origin O: i;.IcOnry, or hawking,
. Is traced back to the middle OF the fourth
/ century Il was once the fayori.c pas.;me
+ % the nobility on the Continent and liz Eng
land, and there.was i lime n France when
the King never rode or on any occasion %
! consequence without being attended by his
/ .alcOnIer, VINO was an officer Of eniEence.
In war.ike days this exclusive spoIt was pa-
t-OniZed BIZ the commanders OF me forces.
Ero.ssa-t informs Us that wnen E1ward Hi.
invaded France he had with his amy thirty
falconers on horseback, whose soc dug was
10 look amer the hawks. The King, when
weary o. the hustle o. camp, would ride Gu;
into the forests and fields with an escort, and
with the aid of his hawks indulge in the
p!essuees % The chase. But Bismarck, We
believe, has been the frs. to turn fall
conry 70 practical use in time OF war. There |
was no way to stop the return flight OF the car
rler p. geoas taken OF: Of Paris by balloon, but
by calllngto hisassis-ance trained hawks. The !
hight o. the falcon is amazing in It's swift |
ness. Henry ~, King Of France, had |
haw.; which escaped from him al Fontain- !
n-.1u, AID III twen;y--Our hours a-Ier YVES 4
cUEd n Malta, space c. 10. less than |
$50 miles. Now, as the -alcol does not !
~ by night, and if we allow e.g hteen hours 1
Tor daylight, we have 4 velocity OF seventy
five miles an hour. The allowance OF day
light IS probably tc0 much, sill ii * better
10 underestimate rather than oyer-es,lnlate /
the performance. The flight o. the pigeon
is also long and rapid, bur nc. equal - that
o. the hawk. While the one viii DO is
hundred miles in some hing Ike two hours,
lie other WILL accomplish.the same distance
IN about an hour and i quarter. The pigeon
wit communicate only one way. IL has
strong instructive love o. home, and, when
carried from home and sc. irce, ii the dis
iance is moi more than $40 miles, will swiftly
Teiurl 10 the Old nest. Nan takes advaH-
Ja2c Of dis feeling, and by entrus ing mes
saces 10 the birds brought from home, he
rests assured that each message Will safely be
delivered 20 friends lett behind. An Eng
Iish writer tells US: ''TAc courage and
love OF home OF any OF these birds Is
20 remarkable that good old birds,
Il kept IN confinement and bred from
for any length of lime VERY COM
monty two years, will, when they are let
out, ;eavc the place the instant they are Z:
liberty, and forSakc mate, eggs, and young
20 Try and find their Old home. Many in
stances are known where Z cock and hen
rom one lo.l have been shut up thus; the
cock has been let out while the hen has beel
setting on eCCs-this is commonly done be-
cause It Is well known to be q strong tie to
the bird, ard prevents all but good ones from
leaving; bIt as soon as he has satisfied HIM
self that his home is to be rcgained, he has
rushed in TO the hen, drove ner off the nes.
and out, and both have sailed away together.
Frequently, after long absence, the bird
finds its old home pulled down its former
owner having removed. II VIII then hang
about the place, resisting all the efforts OF the
other pigeon keepers 10 catch it 10y getting 1t
TO settle with their binds and cntic.ng it with
food into their traps. !, will in some cases
s.arve 10 death, and o:tcn becomes 50 weak
that il it flies down into the streets to
search for food, il is too cx-
haus.ci 10 fly up, and is. taken in
the hand. When such 4 bird appears at 4
place il this way, ncighboring pigeon keep
ers KNOW il 20 be OF a good kind, and resort
10 every ar..-:cc TO catch it, in order to i'm
prove their strain. Sometimes the bird find
ing IS home gone, will return to the place
fron which !. WAS let out, mostly on The sec
old lu. oTgn on the third day after. The
experienced piSe~ keeper lets it rest for I
day or two, entres 4 AA little hemp seed,
and again les it out cary in the morning.
Ii Is nearly sure to leave again, but does not
stop 80 long, ard returns before night!all. 1t
is then let out daily, and Its visits to the old
home constantly decrease until after Il few
days they cease altogether.
France WAS poorly supplied with carrier
pigeons at Ia breaking out of The war, but it
appears that she has been making the best
use ul what she can command. In Belgium,
pigeon tiving is Il national amusement, and
If we want the best birds we must go to that
for them. Pigeons have often been
with in war, Dat the perfection
OF the signal corps has nearly superseded
them: Still there are many cises--srIch a.
tue siege OF Paris, for instance-where the
signal corps is powerless, while pigeons are
employed to advantage. In times of
siege these home-loving birds are the best
dependence. History tells Us that when
Modern was besieged, Brutus, within tie
walls. kept an uninterrupted correspondence
witt, HirtiUs without, and this by the assist
ancc of pigeons; setting atnaught every STRAIT
egem of the besieger Antony to stop these
winged couriers." Trochu, a; Paris, has
been following in the steps of Brutus, but
Bismarck, If we may believe the dispatches,
has devised plan to outwit the French.
With his trained hawks he will be able TO
stop the flight OF many a pigeon freighted
with important dispatches from the govern
ment at Tours to the head OF the department
defence cooped up in Paris. There will be
no fierce battles in the clouds, since thetrlRsy
messengers of the French will not be able to
offer resistance against the strong beak and
sharp talons of the Prussian falcon. But it
will require sharp lookout on the part of
the invaders 10 discover all the pigeons let
loose at Tours in time to successfully direct
against them the trained hawks OF the Prus-
sian camp. We thus see war reviving the
customs of the past. The Use of carrier pig
cons calls iorthe Use OF falcons, and hereafter
trained birds promise TO play an important
part in every prominent siege.
Thirty Years I'm Office.
From the New York Sun.