The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-01-16

3SoOAl oia ~
0AA~J tire French regiment was cut of from
their comrades, completely surrounded for FOUR
days, and with no, method of communicating worn
OF their plight to the general in command. Inat
fourth night one of the men scouting In NO Mans
Land stumbled over a dead comrade on whose
back was strapped a basket carrying two little
pigeons that during the four-day battle had been
safeguarded by the body of their caretaker. Ten
derly the scout brought the basket and bros
back to the colonel on the. hill. Early the next
morning messages We're written. affixed to the
aegs of the birds. which, exhausted and dust
soiled, but imbued with indomitable spirit and
pluck, were n~berated-wafted into the air by the
prayers and wishes of the regiment, bearing with
them the only remaining hope for these thousands
OF men and the happiness of other thousands IN
their families ut home. Shortly afterward both
birds futtered YEARLY into their loft back at
Headquarters; and In q sortie ordered ny the gen.
eral the enemy was driven back and the regiment
saved. f5#
One OF the officers of that regiment is now in
Washington. and he has promised himself that
now the war is over he will have a loft of the
hest birds he can get, md the best care and at
tention that IS possible will be but a slight pare
OF his measure OF appreciation and. gratitude to
the little feathered messengers to whom he and
his comrades, owe their lives. @.
These little birds have been used in almost
every conceivable way to get word back to the
reserves or to headquarters when all other
means of communication failed.
Carrier pigeons are not only used by the in
fantry and the navy, but are used frequently by
the. air service. Al the Dunkirk hydroplane sta
ton they have an enyiable record. There has not
been a single accident to a plane, nor the loss of
q plane in combat, where. word Of the occurrence
was not brought BACK by the pigeons which are
q part Of the equipment of the planes. Instances
Of the value Of the Messengers could be multi
plied without number. but It is more interesting
to recount how. these birds are bred. reared and
housed under war conditions.
The pigeons ability to do oil. of these wonderful
tasks lies In Its faculty of orientation, that is. its
mower to know as soon as it Is released in what
direction its home loft Is and to fly directly to 1t.
The perfection to which orientation is developed
iii the highly bred and trained homer was recently
demonstrated at a pigeon fly conducted by the
pigeon section OF the signal corps, when S,1OO
homing pigeons We're released in Washington for
8 fy to New York city. 224 miles. To q single
bird. these pigeons ran ont Of their c0ops and
rose id the air with the speed Of an express
train, and after taking 9 half circle to get their
bearing were on for New York Every one Of
the pigeons was reported TO have arrived prompt
IN and the nrst arrival made the trip In 5 hours
and 40 minutes. Surely II did not stop to read
many sign posts on the way
Inst how the h0ming pigeon developed this
saver Of orientatioh Is q moot question, but ii is
scertain that IT has been cultivated through cen
Snr,as until now 1t lis almost uncanny. What
snides the pigeon back to the loft where 1t frst
stook to the air. II q quality called BY many
names. and you WIN fnd that each person knows
that he has the answer to the riddle. Some call
Il innate love o. home others attribute It 10 fnc-
nv. atmospheric conditions, sight, orssmemoyy.
personally, / cannot call It anything more OF less
shnn instinct, luahly developed. We find HI ia
iasaers aegree In h0rses,adogs and cats. and TIN
nther birds it seems to be developed 4 little less
markedly,. but with sufficient accuracy 10 TINT
1hav migrate annually thousands of miles without
ma I'D of any other compass than their Instinct
when We remember the potent power of seIec,s
don and think of the years and generations Of
s.rafu1 breeding and selection which the anoming
ncconsha undergone II III nor 90 wonderful TINT
fhev have developed the honing sinstinctstc 4 high
deeree: i have seen their cousins tn fan-tailed
nireon4 bred ~ suchss 4 degree ofs dneness that
3hev weighed only astsE aesncee apteceS end Wexs