The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-27
GETTING THE NEWS TO MANILA,

The Use of Carrier-P Pigeons in Report
 ing Battles.
 Harry A. Armstrong writes from Ma
 nila to the Pittsburg Post as follows:
 Carrier pigeons again are coming into
 the service of the newspapers. though
 they are not what they once were in | importance, because of the military or
 der which permits of the use of the tel
 egraph in the field They are again
 pushing along to the front on the south
 ern campaign, and until the advance
 gets too far away will carry messages
 back to the cable office and will assist
 in prompt service. These little messen-
 gers went into the service last April,
 when the advance was at Malolos. It
 was necessary to get word back to town
 promptly as to how that battle went. The first pigeon was let out of the ar mored car when General Hale's guns began to boom over on the right. The
 message sent by that first carrier an-
 nounced that the battle of the Bagbag was on. The next that went over the
 hills and rice fields carried the word that the battle had been won by the Americans and that the insurgents had
 been driven back up the railroad track.
 The pigeons were owned and raised in Manila, the property of a Spaniard named Juan Martyr, who had long been in the employ of the Tobacco Univer- sale Fabrica, and was permitted by that corporation to build his cote on the long tiled roof of tobacco shed. The site of the house itself overlooks the Pa sig river. The cote itself is made of wood and is generous, in size, There are two families of the pigeons-the Ma eros and the Hembras. But they nev- CT get into the wrong cotes, though they eat from the same s.eve of grain and sit cooing and preening on the same roofs of the great factory Each of the birds when he was large enough to demon- strate that he was going to live was registered and silver ring put around his right leg above the foot This ring had number on 1t, but Senor Martyr knows his feathered friends by name and does not need the assistance of a number to pick out the individual They know him, too, for they fly about his shoulders, and if he is not very careful some of the bolder spirits will alight on his pan of pail before he is ready and spill the entire meal on the roof. Then the senor scolds in Spanish and not one of the birds pays the least attention, but swoops down on the tiles to meal that is better spread than usual
 When there are carriers out the front | door of the cote is shut and the pigeons that get in are compelled to come in the back way, and by so doing they step on a trap that rings an electric bell. Then | whoever is watching will look to see if | a message Is carried by the newcomer. If so, the note is clipped from the ring ! and the pigeon turned loose where it i can get something to eat and drink, This is after it is recorded with the time it arrives. When the message was , taken from the pigeon it was hurried f away to the censor-for the censor had t in his power to pass or not to pass, 10 matter what the enterprise of the And from the censor, if he matter passed the message went to he cable office, and from there to the 'eadera in America.
 However, all the birds did not do their work. One was so well pleased with the treatment he received on the armored TdlIl tIidl HG ltlSlSlcu Oll lIldhlHS ludt sis home. When he was given his lib- rty and should have flown back to Ma lila he merely cireled around and came ,acl1 into the car where his fellows we're in a basket. That pigeon, having roved useless, was carried back to his ome with a bad report. But that was he only useless one. in the basket, and ever after that was he taken out o, Ianila. When a call was made for the irds Senor Martyr would catch them nd shove them Into baskets, with cups or food and water. With them went a az of pail or unhulled rice. He would ak to them like a father and the pig ons would coo as if they understood that was being said and we're promising faithful service { Day after day these pigeons flew, al- "a Vs pnttiro f1rtllar and fa rtbar frn,,,