Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-05-29
CFor the Dlspatch.)

For the Dispatch.)
KEY WEST. May 26.-The carrier
r.rcon service in use here has not been
4 complete success. for many sufficient.
n net wholly satisfactory, reasons. The
rrc5u service is not made up OF the
mos. reliable birds, and the cote that is
supposed 20 be the attraction that makes
Tie birds fly landward when released
from the dispatch-5oat is enough to dis
rast any self-respecting carrier. But the
chief reason why the carrier-pigeon SER
vice has proved unreliable is that the
faams1 on board the American warships
are crack shots and can bring down q
bird on the wing with unerring regularity.
The carrier pigeons have been the
Subject Of many stories told at the ex-
ys1se Of the newspaper men at Key
West Carrier pigeons have been served
9. table on the men-of-war, according
20 some OF these stories, with the dis
patches stin attached TO their legs. and
these dispatches have been detached and
read aloud as a sort Of grace before meat
BY the unconscionable sailors who have
robbed the newspapers and deprived the
public OF a nrst-Class story Whether
exaggerated or not, il IS certain that
many OF the carriers released from thu
CslltcE-bQatS have failed to reach land
ana have been the cause of much lamen-
tauou and hard language on the part
oi tGe oYertaNed newspaper correspon-
dents.
CAN BE UTILIZED.
The carrier-pigeOn service has been
enough Of q success, however, in spite of
ar N.UrH al
EOoc BIRDS and more satisfactory at
tending circumstances, the transmission
o. war news b. this means will be a great
success.
The Homer pigeon is an eminently prac-
teal bird, and must have a profound
contempt for the Fantail, the Turbit, the
Iumbler, the owl, the Jacobin, the
P0uter, and the other fantastic yaria-
lions OK pigeon kind. IL disdains 70 ba
pe-ted; plain food, clean quarters, and
plenty OF freedom is all it asks for self
and mate. 1t is. by the way, like all
highly civilized races, homogeneous. You
can, by its note, readily tell a young bird
from an old one. The male bird shows
q proper interest in the rearing of his
family, and will take his turn at cover
Ing the brood. IL is these domestic quail
ties which help TO make the Homer. The
message IL bears is nothing to it, but il
&c its mate, its young. and its home.
How long mankind has made use Of
tbs instinct for his own profit would be
difficult to say. The sending of the dove
cut OF the Ark is sometimes quoted as
the FIRST recorded instance. There is his
torical evidence that carrier pigeons were
Used by the Greeks, and by the Romans,
IA their turn, about 120 y. g. julius
Caesar turned them 10 account in mill
tary operations. In ancient Egypt and in
the palmy days OF the Ottoman empire
they carried the post. In China they were
used as messengers centuries ago.
The garrison Of Acre, besieged by Rich
ard Of the Lion Heart, kept in touch with
the main body of the Paynims by
means Of carrier pigeons. Skipping six
centuries, history says that the ROths-
childs in this way got news Of the battle
Of Waterloo two days before the gov
eminent, and were thus able TO make a
pretty penny juggling with the national
securities.
THE SIEGE OF PARIS.
At the siege OF Paris the carrier-pigeon
was put upon its mettle. Between No
yember. 1870, and the, end Of January,
ISL, il took charge of forty-eight day
mails. and 1856 night mails. Large sums
OF money both public and private, were
remitted in this way. Correspondence
was uninterruptedly kept up between
London and Paris. Duplicate messages |
were sent in every case, for the German
sharpshooters were especially alert 1t
must have been an eminently agreeable |
pursuit. combining as 1t did the plea |
sgres Of pot-hunting with the intercept |
ton Of the enemy'S mails. The Paris |
papers set no limits to their indignation |
when II was reported that the invaders |
were training hawks 10 bring the pigeons. |
Il may not have been magnificent, but
10 vas war. The problem of how 10 pack
great many letters into a small com
pass was solved by the aid OF micro
photography. The originals were repro
dIced on thin, imponderable films Of coli
lJdion. each Of which held on an average
zoe missives. A dozen Of these films
was a fair burden for single bird. 1t
would thus be the bearer OF 24,0Oo letters.
On one occasion q bird got safely through
with 1000. AS a rule, nineteen dupii-
Gates were dispatched. so that-as it
pr0yeG-tAe chances We're all In favor
OF the post. During four months 10000
Official and 10000 private communica-
tons were taken into the French capital
OPENED THEIR EYES.
The unqualified success Of the car
rier-pigeon service opened the eyes of the
military authorities. Driven out OF the
held BY electricity, the pigeon mad been |
llged useless for other than civil pur-
poses. But the telegraph has this es-
.enual weakness: Cut its wires, and it
j. no better than a broken toy. Ger
many took the lesson 10 heart, and mill
larry lofts were established all over the
,olntry Other nations followed suit.
Belgium IS the place for the Homer.
Every town and every village have their
weekly race Pigeon-hying Is a national
astme. II was from Belgium that the
'meIle came. which, crossed with the I
english dragon, produced the modern
iomer. the epitome OF swiftness and en-
'lfance The dragon was bred first for !
lying purposes over here in 1860.
be average OF speed has increased, +
hough the distance a bird can cover in Z
single Journey remains about the same /
Le velocity Of a high-ciass Homer Is I
rom thirty 10 forty miles an hour, ac- |
ofding 10 IS condition, the wind, and !
Do state OF the atrc sphere. A record =
y took place recently from Marennes, 3
b France, to New Mills, In Lancashire, a
distance Of $40 miles. The winning j
rd arrived IN twelve hours having 4
iaYelled al an average speed OF forty y
We miles an hour. II was on the wing y
u the time Should a bird have alighted, r,
may generally be detected by traces %
7 clay or mud on its feet. A high-bred a
10 which has flown the whole distance) a.
linout stopping always arrives in
.ete Of extreme exhaustion. Nine hum y
iea miles. from Rome 20 Brussels. Is =