The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1896-07-03
THE GREAT PIGEON RAGE
1t Will Take Place on the
Fourth
LOS ANGELES TO san FRANCISCO
Birds to Be Liberated at the
Herald Office
WILL BE A VERY LONG FLIGHT
San Francisco Birds Will Be Released
at the Examiner Office
Some Of the Difficulties That Have Had to Be
Encountered
WILL BE A VERY LONG FLIGHT
San Francisco Birds Will Be Released
at the Examiner Office
Some Of the Difficulties That Have Had to Be
Encountered
There VIII Also DO Races From Santa Monica
on the Pourth-Names Of the Own.
ers Who VIII Participate
In the Sport

The arrangements for the longest
pigeon race ever attempted west of the
Rocky mountains have been completed
between San Francisco and Los Angeles,
an air line distance of 800 miles, with q
time allowance of forty-eight hours.
The race is for purse, but mainly for
the championship of the Pacific coast.
The manner in which this race has
been brought about reflects great credit
on the pigeon fanciers of Southern Cali
fornia, as it shows that the gentlemen
at the head of pigeon raising in South
ern California have faith in their birds.
Some days ago the members of the Cali
fornia Homing Pigeon club Of San Fran
cisco challenged the chicken fanciers
Of Southern California for a race. The
challenge was promptly accepted by
Messrs. w. X. Crawford Of No. 1886 South
Bunker Hill avenue. ]. c. Clifton Of No.
1941 Park Grove avenue and o. F. Zahn
of No. APT South Hope street. These gen.
tlemen promptly proceeded to get their
birds in shape, and the preliminaries for
the match were soon arranged.
The birds belonging to the San Fran
cisco men will arrive in Los Angeles to-
day, and will be liberated July 4th at s
a. M, sharp, in front of The Herald
business office, on Third street, between
Spring and Broadway. The two Los
Angeles birds, one belonging to w. K.
Crawford and the other to o. F. Zahn,
were shipped to San Francisco last even
ing, and will be liberated in front Of the
Examiner office in that city at the same
hour on the morning of the Fourth.
1t is hardly to be expected that the
pigeons in this, the first long distance
race, will reach home much before the
time limit (forty- eight hours), because
the time before the race was too short
to train them properly, and secondly.
because they will have over 100 miles OF
strange territory to hunt their way over.
Besides this, the weather Is very warm,
and there Is the MoJave desert and the
Tehachepi range, 5000 feet high, to make
their way over.
Mr.. Girton, who, by the way, has had
years of experience in the east with
pigeon racing, is authority for the state
ment that he believes record from San
Francisco to Los Angeles is so difficult
that Ii is equal to an 500 mile record in the
eastern states.
In this connection it might be we'll to
state that many homers fly from 500
miles, but few will come from any dis
lance over that, and they never make
1t in less than three to five days. The
bird that holds the long-distance record
for 1S9495 is j. Carter, and it took him
1914 days to come from 946 miles. Other
birds were sent to the same station, but
failed to show up at all. 1t may be
Theo. is a full sister TO this champion,
and the two pigeons which were sent to
San Francisco were both bred from her.
Champion ~. Carter" is owned by
Theo. p. Green Of Woodbury., N. j., and
the bird flew from Pensacola, Fla, to
his loft in New Jersey. Some of the
fanciers in Southern California are
race in November or December.
In the big San Francisco race. before
The birds are liberated at that city, they
will be counter marked These numbers
will be kept secret from the San Fran
cisco fanciers, and when the birds arrive
in Los Angeles their band-numbers and
counter-marks will be at once tele-
graphed to San Francisco, and If they
correspond with the numbers on their
books then the record will be official.
The birds that will be liberated here will
also be counter-marked in the same
manner.
The San Francisco men entering birds
are L. Koeing, 1912 Jackson street, and
G. T. Marsh, II Clement street, and T.
w. Leydecker, city trustee of Alameda.
They have had races among themselves
from Salinas, eighty five miles, in which
Leydecker won; Paso Robes. $50 miles,
in which Leydecker won (time about
seven hours). and Santa Barbara, $50
miles. in which Marsh was the winner,
the time being very poor on account of
contrary winds.
The three Los Angeles fanciers had
training flies from Lang, distance "A
miles. all birds home. Crawford's first;
time hour 80 minutes; Tehachapi, 100
miles. all in except two, best time by
Zahn's; time, hours 10 minutes; Poso,
1876 miles. only Crawford and Zahn en-
tered birds here; all home except two;
best time by Zahn's; Traver, $50 miles,
three birds liberated, all home, best time
by Zahn's; time, hours minutes; Los
Banos, $50 miles, lost one, best time by
w. Is. Crawford's bird.
SANTA MONICA RACE
BESIDES the big San Francisco race
tnere Will be races to Santa Monica
merely for pleasure, there being no
purses and no entrance fees. The race
takes place on the Fourth at about II
d, H. wnen all the birds will start at the
same instant. The birds will bear mes
sages to their owners. stating the result
OF the santa Monica road race. Those
entering birds are:
Mr.. O'Neil. S21 Hemlock street, num-
Der of birds, 5; Charles Order, 1903 South
Nehei al nN chue, D, II. Rowe, 512 West
Temple street, S; B. C, Casenave sSs
South Crocker street. 4; r. Girton, 1871
Park Grove avenue, 6; c. De Garmo,
7z9 North Hill, 2; H. Arnold, 2sO3 East
First street, 2; Hugh Russell, S12 West
lake avenue, 8; O. F. zahn, 427 South
Hope street, g.
Air line distances to the different lofts
will not be the same, but will be allowed
for. None of the birds have flown from
Santa Monica this year.
Every Saturday following for
month or more the same
parties will have races fror,
Santa Monica. Hereafter each partv's
birds will be liberated at intervals of ten
minutes or so, and timers placed at their
lofts. Every one having kit of hom-
ers Is invited to take part. Several OF
the birds entering this race have not
been trained in this direction at all.
None of those belonging to Mr.. O'Neil
have flown in this direction or any other
more than few miles, and he deserves
to be called sporty or plucky.