Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-06-10

men wien some one USSAIou ~ "
facetious. Since tests have shown
that the pigeon can be depended up
on to carry a message under n con-
ditions and in a length of time fire.
quently impossible for any other
means of communication, this ma
ceased.
One Of these tests vas recently.
made for the. benefit of Major Gen.
Harry c. Hale, commander OF In
army, at Camp Zachary Taylor. "A
bird was released from an encamp-
ment at La Grange with a message
ordering that a runner be sent from
the pigeon lofts at Camp Taylor to the
Telegraph tower with orders to send
the weather forecast for the succeed
ing day by helion.
Nineteen minutes after the bird was
released q paper was handed to Gen.
Hale by the hello operator at La
Grange giving the weather forecast
for the next day. The pigeon had
flown thirteen miles to Camp Taylor,
had beer trapped and the message it
carried taken from it's leg, a runner
had gone several hundred yards to
the hello tower and the weather fore
cast had been transmitted in that
time.
The request for the transmission OF
the weather forecast by hello could
have been sent of course by the same
means, but if it had been a cloudy
day or if the ground had been over
hung by fog it would have been i'm
possible to use such a means OF com
munication. If the force encamped
at La Grange had been an enemy II
would have still been possible. now
ever, to send q. message for re-en-
forcements by using the pigeon. And
it is when men are hard pressed, and
all other means Of communication
fail, when the, sun is hidden n when
an enemy's fire is so great as to make
1t suicidal for a runner to attempt
to get to the ear, that the pigeon
comes int his own.
"F. None of the birds now in the lofts
at Camp Zachary Taylor or at other
training centers will ever be used on
the batlefelds of Europe, they are
simply for use in training of members
of the National Army in the care n
use of such birds and in the making
Of experiments. -.
The birds EACH body of troops will
use in Europe will be issued to each
= detachment, at points of embarkation.
These will be young birds which new
err have been allowed to learn to fly
and they will be carried in cages un-
til the division to which the men are
attached has settled down and divi-
sional headquarters have been estap-
lished. Then lofts will be establish.
cd at divisional headquarters and the
birds released. Within a day or Two
they will have learned to fly and from
then on that loft will be home to the
birds, for home to the carrier pigeon
is always the loft from which it has
learned to use its wings.
Other, lofts will be established al
genera. headquarters and here toe
young kt>ds will he released.
Each b>dy of troops going into the
trenches will carry pigeons by which
messages may be sent to either divi.
sional or general headquarters and a
each divisional headquarters bird
will be kept which when released will
Immediately wing their way to homt
lofts about general headquarters.
Reliable Curriers'.
The pigeons IRE extremely reliable
messengers az was illustrated recent
Taylor loft came in exhausted and al
;: but ready to drop to the ground, will
it's breast muscles torn by shot bu
still struggling toward home. More
over they are extremely fast. TIL
average speed at distance ranginl
from two hundred miles well up to
thousand will closely approach a mil
a minute. and on short distanc
flights the speed will frequently rul
well more than, two thousand yards
minute. f
In n Of the two lofts at CAM
Zachary Taylor there are a number 9
young birds which gave promise Q
extreme speed. One Of these, fv
months old, recently made a 2o0-mil
flight at an average speed OF 1,57
yards q n u
ing birds. practically all Of them loan
ed for the purpose by members Q
homine pigeon clubs in Louisville an
this vicinity. 1t is with the onsprin
OF. these birds, which, will have COZ
the army practically nothing, tina
Lieut.. Hagan purposes to conduct ex
periments.
to teach young birds to ny at nign'
the homing pigeon being 9 daylish
flyer and seeking a roost when dark
ness falls. The French within tn
last two years have taught thei
birds to fy at night and Lieut.. Haga
hopes to repeat the performance.
Lofts to Be Moved. !,
Another experiment Will % WAY
moving lofts to see how far It VIII Q
and still have the bird return to !
He believes that It may be posstbl
to move the, lofts w constderaol
distances by making he change =
sn" "The Homins pigeon q real n
telliRence," he declares. and CIV
him time enough to get used to h
surroundings with each n
believe you could move him owe
considerable distances. He has
memory AZ Tong as that Of an eie
nhant. and an observant eye TOR tn
1andmarks of a locality that is r.
" Illustrating the memory possesse
nv the homing pigeon he told OF on
bird that he caught while 1t was ca,
4 ing from his hand. Never 3
was I able to get that pigeon to q
rom my hand" he said. "A ma
dozen birds might be eating from m
MAIN but he would stand just out
reaching distance with n y q
ways upon me.
.sThey are Just like human beint
N a lot of ways. The hen pigeol
once mated is mated for life. and tht
the male. just like many e w
nirt a little bit on the side II ne Sc
= the chance. What happens when !
does. His 'old lady hnaAy catch.
him at 1t and az usual with a won
an blames it all on h other fema