The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1919-06-06
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-Infermation Gained
From Captured Pigeons.

Paris.-At the Ternes gate of Paris
may be seen memorial. the work of
Bartholdi, on which is inscribed
Monument to the Balloonists and Car
rier Pigeons Of 1870" What memorial
Will acknowledge the services of car
rier pigeons in the worlds war of 1914
1918 remains 10 be seen. but their work
amid barrage fire. bursting shrapnel,
the zip-zip Of machine gun bullets and
the death destroying gases was of
enormous value.
Carrier pigeons We're used on all the
battlefronts but their best work was
on the western front, from the chan
mel to the Swiss border and from the
Alps to the Adriatic gulf. They car
ried messages at the Marne, when the
Huns were driven back by Marshal
Joffre. Hundreds were used in the
battle of the User, in Flanders, when
the Belgians 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
and Belgians stopped the Germans de-
cisively in the final battle at the close
of 1914. They aided in the capture of
Neuve Chapelle by the British and
they died in numbers with the British
Tommies at the second battle of Ypres
when the Germans advanced toward
the User canal using for the first time
poisonous gas. Again the birds die
valiant service when the French tried
to break through in the Champagne il
the fall of 1915, and in the whole
series of the Verdun attacks lastln:
through July, oftentimes the only com
munications with men in advanced sta
tions were the dogs that crept through
the barrages and the carrier pigeon
that returned with messages. Wher
telephone and wireless broke down
and men could not survive the storm
Of shell fire, it is recorded that 81 pc
cent Of the messages carried by carrie
pigeons came safely through.
Told of German Retreat.
When the Germans retired to tn
'Hindenburg line" it was carrier pis
cons carried forward into the froI
advance lines that brought back tn
news of the retirement long befor
telephone communication could be e
tablished. Through the whole are
1000 square miles, on front Of II
miles from Arras to Scissors, CARR,
pigeons did their work effectively. Ar
wherever the Americans fought
- Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Tore
Bouresches, Belleau wood Conde-e
= Brie. Buzancy, Jaulgonne, Fere-en-Ta
denoiS. Bligne, Cierges. Villers-Argro
:. Fismes, Frapelle, Bazoches, Juvign
. st. Mihiel Argonne forest-carri
pigeons were likewise on the Job.
carrier pigeon aided in capturil
U-boat and her crew. A coast waite
err on one of the loneliest parts Of t
ID west coast at shutdown saw the tip
n q periscope arise and then the conni
10 tower of a U-boat. The underwat
" boat stopped, and the officers and cr'
" were seen on deck. The lookout m
Y. tied a note bearing the information
)F | TIE leS VI IL CulllcI plScoh duu ItltuS
Of it from his basket. The next morni
v. German submarine, which had r
3: out of gasoline, and it's officers a
10 crew We're taken to a naval sub-bas
o. A British patrol boat was disc
cred by German Submarine and t
/, pedoed and shelled. The skipper, h
- ing on board carrier pigeon, wrot;
brief message, telling his position g
e what had happened. AS the b.
sank, the skipper began swimming
- some wreckage to cling to. The pig'
cd went up gradually in spiral, and
Germans. seeing it, began shooting
sly the bird. The skipper, drifting on
II wreckage gave up hope when he S
len the bird had been nit. Twenty m
IN. away, however, it lighted on a pat
DIV ling destroyer, its silver-gray plum