The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1898-06-04
PIG 81 Ms in. w A.R SEE VICE
Would Be Employed by the United
States. 5Aa.


States.
The Government Has In Training
Many OF the FIeet-Winged
Carriers-Pigeon
stations.
The small and dainty carrier pigeon
will play an important part in the af-
fairs Of this nation should it ever be
plunged into another war. Upon the
endurance Of this bird, its speed and
accuracy will depend the victory
or defeat Of the great STRAIT
egic movements at sea, and,
what is scarcely OF less impor-
lance, the people on shore must rely on
the pigeon to bring news Of the app.
proacl. Of the enemy's fleet and the re-.
suit Of some great sea fight. There
are at present six pigeon stations along.
the coast, being situated in the princi-
pal navy yards -Po Portsmouth, N. H.;
Boston, Mass; Newport, r. T.; Brook
lyn, n. Y; Norfolk, Va; Key West, Fla,
aud Mare Island, Cal.
The pigeon cotes are 12x12 feet in
size, two stories high, and painted with
red and white stripes to make them
conspicuous from a long distance. The
lower story is used for breeders only,
with large aviary attached for their
use during warm weather; the upper
story is fitted up with nesting boxes,
drinking fountain, feeding hoppers,
and the trap, where the youngsters are
given their first lessons when they are
a month old, which consists Of a series
of drills to accustom them to passing
through the bob wires in the trap to the
cote, -. j.
These bob wires are thick wires s1ls-
pended from horizontal bar in. the
top Of the trap, and serve as grating
for it, and are so arranged that when
a bird has once passed the bobs with
O message it cannot escape until the
person in charge removes the message
extremely important in the training Of
carrier pigeons for use in the navy
that the birds should learn to enter
the trap Immediately upon their ar
rival with an important dispatch, push
ing the wires aside readily in order to
enter the trap, the wires falling back
into place Immediately upon the birds
entrance. Until the bird masters this
lesson it is useless as messenger, as
much valuable time would be lost in
securing the message attached to- the
bird, unless it Immediately enters the
cage, where a sailor is waiting to re-
heve it of it's charge. ~
The next series of drills are intend
ed to develop the pigeons staying pow
ers in the air, to strengthen their
wings, and to enable them to fly long
distances without being overcome by
exhaustion. This is done by means of
a white flag attached to a long pole.
BY futtering this among the birds they
arc started into circling fight about
the cote, which is kept up as long as the
trainer sees fit. For two months the
birds are drilled every morning in this
manner. AT the end of that time they
are given their first "fy." The first
journey is from a point several miles
from the cote in closed basket, where
the birds are liberated. This success
fully accomplished, the distance is in
creased each flight. Whenever flown, a
message, secured in an aluminium cap
sule, weighing only eight grains, is
attached to each birds leg, and is Sc
cured Immediately upon it's arrival at
the cote. .
After a course of training for two
months, with an average of two flights
per week up to so miles, they are put
aboard ships in wicker baskets holding
one dozen birds each, and liberated at
sea at greater distance than they had
been tossed previously. tits rule that
the pigeons for use in the navy must,
in training, be flown constantly over
water in order to accustom them to
it. 8 The cotes are SO arranged that
when a pigeon returns it walks on a
small treadle, thereby pressing a but
ton which rings an electric bell in the
library of the receiving ships at the
respective stations, thus announcing
its arrival to the person in charge Of
the cote. H.. -
The fact that the government has at
last been induced to make use of the
pigeon as "a message bearer from
ships at sea is attributed to the
success of the cote at Annapolis.
Md. In these experimental flights
the best long-distance toss was
made by pigeon which was released
from the United States steamship Mo-
nongahela, when 21o2 miles off Cape
Henry, or about $50 miles from the
home loft. The pigeon was out over
night, and it had about IL hours of day.
light from the time of it's liberation
till its arrival at the home loft, thus
making an average Of about 20 miles
per hour for the $50 miles. In the
swiftest fight the pigeon was liberated
at Norfolk, Va, and arrived at i the
home loft 33 hours later, thus making
an average Of 40 miles an hour for $50
miles.-Chicago Inter Ocean.
WaWling, Wowling, CaterwauIing.
The word waving and its variants
"wewling' and "wowling,'' are fairly
common N ]. in modern folk-speech. Up