The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-12-29
BIRDS OF PEACE IN WAR.

hdo DCCh ludCe uuIlHB the pdSi
five or six years with the pigeons at
the Naval Academy. There has been
no. appropriation for this work and
the loft has been conducted by private
contributions from officers at the Ma
val Academy, and has been managed
entirely by several officers and profess
sors at Annapolis, who have given
over their time and their labor in the
hope Of convincing the people at Wash
ington of the desirability of the ser.
vice. Prof. Marion, an instructor in
French at the Naval Academy, who has
studied the habits of homing pigeons
most carefully, has had most to do
with this work. and to him perhaps
the greatest credit is due for the ulti-
mate success of the scheme. Lieut..
Austin M. Knight, United States Navy,
and Edward w. Eberle have also de-
voted some time and attention to the
question, and have published papers
In the proceedings Of the Naval In
stitute which have called the matter
to the attention of the officers in the
service, most of whom have through
this means been shown the value OF
the plan. During last Summer IS pig
cons made total of 110 flights.
Lieutenant knight writes concerning
them:
Let us consider the case of a fleet
entrusted with the defense Of that part
Of our coast from Block Island to the
capes Of the Delaware. Whatever DO.
sition might be taken up by such
fleet, there would be thrown out many
miles beyond it line Of light, swift
vessels as scouts, and upon the rapid
ity with which these vessels could
communicate with the inner line and
with the shore would depend, in a
large measure, the success of the de-
fense. Suppose a vessel of this outer
line to discover an enemy's fleet stand
ing to the westward; she would hasten
toward the squadron Of defense or to-
ward the nearest point of the coast
from which it might be possible to
communicate with the squadron with
Washington and with the cities threat
ened, and If not overtaken by the
enemy's cruiser or by a shell from a
battleship, and if she did not break
down, she would ultimately communi-
cate the fact that at a certain time
already long past-the enemy's Leet,
OF unknown strength, was standing in
from some unknown point on the
coast. Let us suppose now, that in
stead of fastening off herself she could
dispatch a number of pigeons, with
the certainty that they would carry
the news quite as surely as she could
carry it, and far more quickly; and
that then, holding the enemy in view,
she could follow his movements, and
from time to time send off new mes
sengers with particulars of his
strength, his course, and his appar-
ent intentions. 1t is not difficult to
see the immense value of a system
which promises the possibility of such
service as this"
In view of these facts 1t will be in
teresting to note some of the over-wa-
ter possibilities of the homing- pigeons.
They have been taught to regard
ship as their home, and thus their SER
vices can be utilized both ways; but
their greatest usefulness for naval pur-
poses will be the carrying of messages
from ships to the shore. The dis
tance one of these birds will fly over
the water to the land is still uncer-
tain; but 1t is thought to be about
one hundred and fifty miles. During
series OF experiments one bird was
kept over three weeks in confinement
on board a ship, and when liberated
was some two hundred miles from Its
cote; yet 1t returned In good time and
condition. This last was an import
ant experiment, inasmuch as 1t showed
that homing-pigeons can be kept on
board ship for several weeks at a
time; and yet retain their strength of
wing and ability to find their way
home. During the experiment very
few birds were lost, which establishes
the practical certainty Of their mes
senger service.
In speed they are excelled only by
the telegraph and the telephone. One
hundred and tifty-one statute miles
have been made in three hours and
fifty minutes. In Belgium one bird
covered distance of two hundred and
fifteen miles at the rate Of over seven
ty miles an hour. The average speed.
however, is much lower than this; for
ty-five miles an hour, for short dis
tances. being usually considered good
time.
The messages are fastened to the
leg of the bird or tied lengthways un.
derneath the tail feathers.
During the siege of Paris, 1901: as
many as forty thousand messages were
safely borne into the city by a single
pigeon at one journey. When the
messages reached their destination
they were enlarged by photography
and read.
The ability of the pigeon to find its
way home is commonly supposed To be