The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1917-07-12
ANIMALS aS.....
Horses, Dogs and Pigeons l'cg
Played Important Part.
Even the Elephant and the Sea Gu
Figure in Events Of an Unusual
Nature on Land and Water.

When the historian writes the stor!
OF the world war he viii devote severn
chapters to the work of animals an
birds, for they have played their pal
in II. and well. Dogs, horses, carrici
pigeons were modified early and evtl
u use has been found for elephants
the work of heavy hauling.
Two stories of an UNUSUAL sort tell
how an angry elephant butted into q
skirmlsh aud made both sides retreat
stopping the fighting for time, and
how sea gulls saved British cruiser
with 500 men on board from German
submarine.
The scene OF the elephant story was
In West Africa. A sbirmlsh had been
! going on for some time when suddenly
out Of the jungle came an angry ele-
| phant between the two contending
| parties. The elephant charged one
side, then the other. The soldiers on
| both sides retreated to await a more
| favorable opportunity to resume the
| fight.
| The British cruiser which was saved
| by a flock of sea gulls was proceeding
on its course when a bluejacket called
the attention of the officer on duty to
commotion among the sea gulls not
far away. When the sea gulls arose
periscope was seen; a moment later a
zgzag course took the warship out of
danger.
Practically all the European nations
now at war have made use of dogs
on the battlefield attached to the am
bulance corps, as dispatch carriers, on
patrol duty at far-advanced outposts,
as drawers of quick-iiring guns and
as aids in taking their masters fam
lilies out of the line of invasion and
into places of refuge.
In their devotion to duty thousands
upon thousands of dogs have given up
their lives. Some day, some time,
somewhere, somebody will erect a
monument to the memory of the great
work they did in the war.
Although the modern general goes to
war in an auto, horses still play a tre-
mendo1s part in the war. How great
has been the wastage of horse flesh is
told In brief report of the British
war office, which mentioned that the
life of war horse in the first year
Of the war was ten days. In the sec
ond year of the war the mortality was
reduced somewhat.
So far as statistics can be gathered
the first six months of the war called
for tho foIloUipu nnnhprs of hnrcps
by the various nations: Germany,
for complete mobilization of the
army. 100000; French cavalry, 250,0O0
Figures for the other branches of the
service not available) for the British
army, 100000 Austria. 250,000, and
Russia because of her lack of railways,
100000.
Carrier pigeons have done conspicu-
Gus work in this war, living up to their
reputation in the Franco Prussian and
other wars in which they We're EN-
ployod. In the siege of Paris, 1t will
be recalled, mlcrophotogiaph of mill
tary dispatches and even newspapers
We're printed upon films of collodlon
and carried by the birds. AS soon as
message was received II was en-
larged by photographers and made
legible.
With telephone and telegraph wires
cut carrier pigeons at times are inval-
liable. Spies with carrier pigeons con-
cealed in fishing baskets, the men
themselves pretending to be simple
/ fishermen, have been numerous.