The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-07-11
HOMING PIGEONS IN WAR.
Important Messenger Service Es-
tablished on Ships


portant part in the present war with
Spain, says The Feather. These wing
ed messengers are enlisted in the mes
senger service Of Uncle Sam, and i'm
portanr. indeed. viii be the duty as
signed 10 them. There Will be no /
more efficient work in the service OF |
the navy than the flights of the Homing I
Pigeon. For several years expert !
ments have been made with HOming /
Pigeons as naval messengers with re- /
markabIe success, and now that there !
is need for the pigeons, it is found that /
the navy has at its disposal more than !
500 Of the feetest little messengers /
ever placed at the call of a country.
The organization of the messenger
pigeon service for use in time of war
began with Professor Marion, OF the
Naval. Academy at Annapolis, Nd.
Lieutenant Harlow, Z. S. n, also be-
gan active experiments with the birds
some two years ago, and to these two
gentlemen is due the credit which now
attaches itself to the pigeon service Of
the navy.
An efficient messenger pigeon ser
vice could be obtained by having sta
tions at Bar Harbor, Portsmouth, Cha
than. Newport, New York, Delaware
Bay. Norfolk, Beaufort, \. c., Port
Royal, St. Augustine, Jupiter Inlet,
| Key West Tampa, Pensacola, Port
Eads and Galveston. By this system
! a shin would be within range of
s pigeon station from any position along
the coast. Some Of the above stations
have already been established, and the
others are now in contemplation.
The first practical use to which the
birds We're put was on the flagships of
the Naval academy off the coast. They
carried out with them Homing Pigeons
which were released and sent to the
Navy Department. In this way the
boats at sea kept the Navy Depart
ment at Washington and the Naval
Academy informed OF their movements.
Professor Marion who had charge of
the birds at the Naval Academy, soon
demonstrated the value of their ser
vice.
For the past two years the most ac-
tive training has been going on, and
when the cote at Key West was estab-
Hshed. Lieutenant Harlow was placed
in charge of it. As soon as active hos
tiIities were expected to break out be
tween the United States country and
Spain the Navy Department immedi-
ateIy made inquiries about the pigeon
service and found that a large number
of rapid, accurate pigeons could be
placed at IT'S disposal. The birds were
. taken to Key West, which is only nine
ty miles from Havana, and located in
Lieutenant Harlows cote there. They
were taken out from this cote TO sea
and released time and again and always
with the greatest success. Scarcely
ever did a pigeon fail to return to
its home. In the torpedo hotilla which
was equipped TO match SPANS fotilla
means were provided on every boat fOl
the accommodation Of the HOmibg
!, Pigeons.
1t is asserted that the Navy Depart
ment will use 10000 Homing Pigeons
for service during the pres nt-war with
Spain. to carry messages from the fleets
to stations on shore The Manhattan
Homing Pigeon Club has loaned the
government 1900 of their birds for this
purpose
A cote for Homing Pigeons was out
aboard the L. S. Flag Ship New York,
a few days before her departure from
the New York Navy Yard, and stocked
with twelve of the best birds bred at
the New York Loft. These birds are
TO be used by Admiral Sampson in
transmitting messages from shore to
1.-The ship, and from the ships Of the feet,
when out of signaling distance by Sc
maphores and flags. They are to be
trained to fly by sight only as the
ship is constantly changing position.
They are expected, however, to carry
messages from fifty to 100 miles to the
L. S. F. s. New York, these flights be
ing over water.
Homing pigeons have already been
used to some extent in the war. 1t is
not generally known that the second
Manila expedition had pigeons aboard
on leaving San Francisco. One Of
these was liberated off the FaralIOnes
with a message to General Merritt.
! The bird was picked up in WatsOnville
bv a small boy. 1t had on one leg a
Tin tag stamped "R1+22" To the other
was attached the usual little tin case
containing a slip OF paper, on which
was the following message:
General Merritt, San Francisco
We are passing the FaraIIone Islands
at 4:45; smooth sea; cloudy; ships are
in prescribed formation. We are max
ing eleven knots instead of ten, and I