Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-30
CARRIER PIGEONS.

The pigeon post established at Lady
smith and Durham for carrying war
messages has been such a success that
special appropriations for increasing
the service will be recommended by the
war office. A good deal Of this success
OF the pigeon service is due to the skill
and energy Of Colonel Hassard Of the
Royal Engineers, who has spent years
In pigeon culture for Just this sort Of
an emergency. and he has demonstrated
the fitness Of the birds for war pur-
poses. Colonel Hassard, who was sta
toned OF the Cape before hostilitles
broke out, Systematically trained his
pigeons for carrying messages across
the rough, mountainous land, and his
various pigeon posts were OF the
greatest value In keeping the home
office apprized Of the exact condition OF
the army.
Nearly every civilized government
now has carrler-pigeons connected with
both their war and navy departments.
France has entered into pigeon culture
more extensively than any other Euro
pean power and IL Is roughly estimated
that there are two hundred and nifty
thousand pigeons in that country
trained for war emergencies. The main
pigeon loft or training station IS at
Chalons, where several thousand BIRDS
are kept all the time. Every frontier
post and fortress has smaller lofts. and
three times a week regular commune
cation is kept up between these places
by means Of the pigeons. This pigeon
post In constant practice in times OF
peace would be Of Immediate service
In times OF war. The State protects
the carriers, and any one caught shoot
ing a pigeon of any kind in France is
heavily fined. The pigeon service has
been established in France since 1870.
The German war department owns
about ten thousand pigeons, but they
have system Of reserves which they
can call into service In times OF war.
The owners Of private Ions have to
register their carrier pigeons, and The
war department knows exactly how
many of the birds Ii can obtain at a
moments notice,
The Austrian government also relies
largely upon private owners pigeons Tor
service la times Of war Every bird
In the country has 10 be registered, and
not one can be sold or sent out Of the
country without permission Since 1878
a few thousand pigeons have been IN
regular service at the fortesses ana
frontier posts. Russia has a military
pigeon system, which is maintained by
the officers In the corps OF engineers.
Little is known about her system, ex-
ceDt that lofts are scattered through
out the empire, including bleak Siberia.
The intense cold OF the winter months
In che latter place seriously interleres
with the success Of the pigeon post
and partly neutralzes the good effect
Of Il. Italy's pigeon post was estab-
lished In 1872, and Spain and Portugal
inaugurated similar systems a Few years
later.
There are one thousand homing pig
cons on the books Of the British navy,
and several times this number on the
books OF the army, IN the past ten
years the United States army and navy
departments have been interested In the
carrier pigeons, and we have posts es-
tablished at different points through
out the country. Their services have
been useful chiefly In the navy, and ex-
periments are being made constantly
in communicating by this means be-
tween the shore and the ships, There
is no system Of registering homlng pig
cons In private lofte and IN an emer-
gency The government In need Of more
pigeons would have Go depend upon the
patriotism Of the private owners for
Increasing its supply. That there would
be plenty OF volunteers no one doubts a
moment.--Collers Weekly