Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1917-07-10
ANIMALS IN WAR
Horses, Dogs and Pigeons Have
Played important Part.
Even the Elephant and the Sea Gull
Figure In Events Of an Unusual
Nature on Land and Water.

When the historian writes the story
of the world war he will devote several
chapters to the work Of animals and
birds, for they have played their part
In II, and well. Dogs, horses, carrier
pigeons were modified early and even
use has been found for elephants
the work of heavy hauling.
Two stories of an unusual sort tell
how an angry elephant butted into a
skirmish and made both sides retreat,
stopping the fighting for time, and
how sea gulls saved a British cruiser
with 800 men on board from q German
submarine.
The scene Of the elephant story was
In West Africa. A skirmish had been
going on for some time when suddenly
out Of the jungle came an angry ele-
plant between the two cOntending
parties. The elephant charged one
side, then the other. The soldiers on
both sides retreated to await more
favorable opportunity to resume the
fight.
The British cruiser which was saved
by 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; moment later a
zigzag 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
buhnce corps, as dispatch carriers, on
patrol duty at far-advanced outpOsts,
as drawers of quick-fring 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-
mendOus part in the war. How great
has been the wastage of horse flesh is
told in a brief report of the British
war office, which mentioned that the
life of a 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 the following numbers, of horses
! by the various nations: uermany,
for complete mobilization of the
army, 100000; French cavalry, 250OOO
| 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-Prusslan and
other wars in which they were en-
ployed. In the siege of Paris, it will
be recalled, microphotographs of mill
tary dispatches and even newspapers
were printed upon films Of collodion
and carried by the birds. AS soon as
a message was received it was en-
targed 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.