Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-05-23
CARRIER PIGEONS.
Where and When Used and What
They are Capable of Doinu.

Where and When Used and What
They are Capable of Doing.
THE New Popularit-T of the Carrier
Pigeon" is the title of an article by
George Ethelbert Walsh, which ap-
pears in St. Nicholas. Both in war
and peace the carrier-pigeon has won
new laurels in the past yea, and it's
popularity as a wellbred pet and do
nestle messenger has become as great
as its usefulness as a carrier of war
dispatches where telegraph and tele-
phone lines are not established. That
so innocent creature as the dove
like carrier should be selected for i'm
pOrtant war purposes, and taken into
the service for furthering the bloody
conflicts Of modern armies seems out
Of keeping with the aims of nature
and an abuse of mans power. The
pigeon is eminently a peace-loving
bird and it's nature is so different
from those of the screaming eagle and
falcon that as an emblem of war it
should be a total failure. Neverthe-
less, the timid bird has served armies
in times of need, and is cultivated
for it's practical war usefulness to an
extent never dreamed of for either the
falcon or eagle. In a sense it is the
war bird of the day.
The pigeon post at Duban, in South
Africa. was the beginning of the
pigeon experiments conducted in re-
cent campaigns between the English
and beers, and scores of messages
were carried from one part of the
English army to another by means Of
the birds. Colonel Hassard of the
Royal Engineers, a staff-officer at the
Cape, had made a life study of the
carrier-pigeons, and before the war
broke out he had established pigeon
posts between most of the beleagured
cities. From Ladysmith, Kimberley,
and Mafekirg, pigeons early in the
sieges regularly brought messages
from the English soldiers cooped up
in the towns. Sir George Whites
first message from Ladysmith was car
ried by a pigeon, and this means of
communicating with the outside
world continued until the number of
birds in the city was exhausted.
1t was only short time before the
outbreak of the war in south Africa
that the English government had de-
cided to establish service of carrier
pigeons. In the navy, pigeon posts
were recognized means of carrying in
formation as early as 1896, and there
are over a thousand birds recorded on
the books of the royal navy. The first
naval loft was at Portsmouth and
now there are two others. In the
English army the posts have been
confined almost exclusively to the
cape, where the nature of the countrS
makes the homing-pigeon service of
more value than in England.
The development of the war HON |
ing-pigeon service throughout Europe |
has been more rapid than elsewhere, !
and army posts support large num-
bers of them. Strict laws are made |
to protect those in private lofts AS a
great military camp, Europe looks up
On the carrier-pigeon as menace 10
he county if not held under strict
control. In Germany, for
Instance, every pigeon raised by pri-
7ate breeders must be registered, and
he pigeon cannot be taken out of the
country or sold without permission
rom the military authorities. In the
event of a war, the German authori-
les reserve the right to claim and
axe possession of every carrier
pigeon in the land In addition to
his, every fortress and camp on Ger
nan soil has its pigeon service, and
'ver ten thousand dollars is appropri-
ted annually for the support Of this
ervice. There are upwards of ten
thousand pigeons belonging to the war
department., and every bird is careful
y trained and tested.
The United States military and