The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1919-06-20
Carriers Of Vital Messages Ever
Since Battle of Marine
in 1914.
U-BOAT IS TRAPPED BY BIRD
News From Trenches Taken at Full
Speed to Headquarters and Supply
lines-Information Gained
From Captured Pigeons.

Paris.-At the Ternes gate of Paris
may be seen memorial, the work OF
I'artholdi, on which is inscribed
adjournment to the Balloonists and Car.
pier Pigeons Of 1870" What memorial
mill acknowledge the services of car.
pier pigeons I'm the worlds war of 1914
ibis remains to be seen, but their work
amid barrnge fire. bursting shrapnel,
sthe zip-zip Of machine-gun bullets and
che death destroying gases was of
enormous value.
Carrier pigeons were used on all the
battlefrOnts but their best work was
Pn the western front, from the chan
pel to the Swiss border and from the
Alps to the Adriatic gulf They car
ried messages at the Marine when the
Huns were driven back by Marshal
lJoffre. Hundreds were used In the
battle of the User, In Flanders, when
the Bclgians and the French halted
the German advance; and they made
many and frequent trips In the first
battle Of Ypres. In the drive on the
channel ports when the British, French
hnd Belgians stopped the Germans de-
Icisively In the final battle at the close
1of 1914. They aided In the capture Of
ENeuve Chapelle by the British and
lthey died In numbers with the British
lTommles at the second battle of Ypres,
when the Germans advanced toward
the User canal using for the first time
poisonous gas. Again the birds did
valiant service when the French tried
70 break through In the Champagne In
the fall Of 1915. and In the whole
series OF the Verdun attacks lasting
Through July, oftentimes the only com
munications with men IN advanced sta
yGions were the dogs that crept through
Ifhe barrages and the carrier pigeons
lfhat returned with messages. Where
Hclephone and wireless broke down,
Ssnd men could not survive the storm
tof shell fire. II Is recorded that 81 per
tcent of the messages carried by carrier
tpigeons came safely through.
Told Of German Retreat.
When the Germans retired to the
rsHindenburg line" II was carrier pig
icons carried forward into the front
t8dvance lines that brought back the
news Of the retirement long before
feiephonic communication could he es-
dablished. Through the whole area.
h-SO0 square miles. on front of 100
Fnilcs from Arras to Scissors, carrier
pigeons did their work effectively. And
wherever the Americans fought, at
CantIgny, Chateau-Thierry. Torcy.
tlSOuresches. Belleau wood. Conde-en-
H8ric. Buzancy. JauIgonne, Fcrc-en-Tar-
ltIenois. Bligne. CIerges. Villers-Argron
grIsmes, Frapelle. Bazoches. Juvigny.
SHt. Mihiel, Argonne forest-carrier
t,igeons were likewise on the job.
A carrier pigeon aided in capturing
y, ULboat and her crew. A coast watch
der on one OF the lonelIcst parts of the
lwest coast Mt shutdown saw the tip of
q pcriscope arise and then the coming
aowcr of U-boat. The underwater
boat stopped. and the officers and crew
4werc seen on deck. The lookout man
tiled a note bearing the information to
thc leg of a carrier pigeon and released
1T from his basket. The next morning
IN German submarine, which had run
lout of gasoline. and It's officers and
1crew were taken to naval sub-base.
A British patrol boat was discov.
kered by German submarine and tor.
pedoed and shelled. Tho skipper. hav.
tng on board carrier pigeon. wrote a
brief message, telling his position and
|what had happened. AS the boat
sank, the skipper began swimming for
lsome wrecknge to cling to. The pigeon
went up gradually In spiral. and the
Gcrmans, seeing 1t. began shooting at
ahe bird. The skipper. drifting on the
wreckage. gave up hope when he saw
the bird had been hit. Twenty miles
away, however. It lighted on a patrol
Hing destroyer. Its siiver-gruy plumage