Show I d dI 1 B Ri I I r 3 I I Iff ff i ii ii i i I 9 n z I Uncanny Instinct of Homers Saved Lives of Manu Soldiers During Durino St Struggle Q gle J Just st Ended s r 4 HE records of ot this this' war are replete with stories of the courageous work performed by carrier pigeons while 11 saving the lives of ot our out soldiers but no Incident better Illustrates i what they have bave accomplished than their b I activities In the battle of ot Bethun- Bethun court and Dead Mans Man's hill An entire entire entire en en- tire French regiment was was cut off oft from their comrades completely surrounded for tor four tour da days and with no method of communicating word of heir their plight to the general In command That fourth night one of ot the men scouting in No Mans Man's Land Laud stumbled over a dead comrade on whose back was strapped a basket carrying two little pigeons that during the four-day four battle had been ben safeguarded by the body of thel caretaker Tenderly Tenderly Tenderly Ten Ten- derly the scout scout brought the basket and birds back to the colonel on the hill bill Early the ne next t morning messages were written affixed d' d to the legs of the birds which exhausted and dust dust- soiled but Imbued with indomitable spirit and pluck were liberated wafted liberated wafted into the air by the prayers and ond wishes of the regiment bearing with them hem the only remaining hope for these thousands of ot men and the happiness of ot other thousands In fn their families at home Shortly afterward both birds fluttered wearily Into their loft back bask at nt headquarters and in a sortie ordered by the general general gen- gen eral oral the enemy was driven back and the r regiment sa saved cd One of ot the officers of that regiment is now In InVa Va Washington and he has promised himself Ul that t DOW now the war Is Is' over he will have a loft of ot the best birds he can an get and find the best care and attention at at- that Is 11 possible will be but a sl slight part of ot his hiss measure mea of appreciation and gratitude to tl the little feathered mt messengers to whom he be and his comrades owe their lives These little birds have been used In almost very conceivable le way to get et word back to the rt reserves sen-es or to headquarters headquarter when all ail other means menns of communication failed Carrier pl pigeons eons are not only used by the infantry tn in In Infantry fantry and the navy but are used frequently by bythe bythe bythe the air sen service ser Ice At the Dunkirk hydroplane st stagy lion they have an nn enviable record There has hns not been a single accident to a plane nor the loss of ot ota ofa a n plane In combat where word of ot the occurrence was vas not brought back hack by the pigeons which are arc area arca a part of the tho equipment of the planes In Instances of ot the value of the messengers could be he multiplied multi multi- multiplied plied without number but It Is more inure Interesting to recount how these birds are bred bled reared and arid housed under war conditions The Time pigeons pigeon's ability to do all fin of ot these tasks lies In Its fa faculty of orientation n that Is Its power to know as soon Mon as it lt Is released In what direction its home loft Is and to fly lly directly to it ft The perfection to which orientation Is developed In the highly bred and trained homer was recently demonstrated t at a pigeon pIg fly conducted by the the pigeon section of ot the signal corps when n homing pl pigeons were f released len ed In Washington for fora forn a n fly lly to New ew York city 4 miles mile To a It single le bird these se pigeons ran run out of ot their coops and arose In the air with the speed of an nn express s' s strain train anti and after taking a fl half circle to get their bearing were off oft for New York Ever Every one of ol the pigeons pigeon was reported to have e arrived promptly prompt prompt- ly and find the first arrival made the trip In 5 hours and end 40 minutes Surely It did not stop to read many sign posts on the way Just how the homing pigeon developed de this power of ot orientation Is a moot question but it t Is certain that It has been cultivated through centuries centuries centuries cen cen- until now v It is almost un uncanny anny What guides betides the time pigeon back to the loft where It first took to the air is a quality called culled by many names and you will find that each ench person knows that he has hns the answer to the riddle Some call It innate love of ot home others attribute it to faculty fac faculty nc- nc atmospheric conditions sight or memory Personally I cannot call It anything more or less less' than Instinct InstInct hl highly developed de We find It In lesser degree deglee In In horses dogs and eats cats and In inEther other Ether birds It seems to be he developed o a D little It less ss markedly but hut with sufficient accuracy cy so that they hey mi migrate rate annually ally thousands thousand I of miles without the aid of an any other compass than their Instinct When we remember the potent power of selee- selee selection lion tion and think of the years and gE generations of ot careful breeding and anel selection which the till homing pigeon pigeon has hns undergone It Is not so wonderful that they have hu developed th the homing Instinct to a u hl high h dl degree grce I have seen their cousins the tailed fan pigeons pIgeon bred to o such a degree of fineness ness that they hey weighed only a few ounces apiece and were a I Il l a ci 41 F Wf IV T CJ I Y G FOe FO FOel R 1 l 1 J YE S S 1 GF f E t 0 OH 1 TH FI IT P 0 A T so nervous th that t they could not stand still they still they were re like t the e hn spring hair of a watch constan constantly ly preening and ducking and on the move In v very ry early times homing pigeons were Ver In vogue In Egypt Greece and aud among the Romans Racing pigeons has hns been a royal and national sport in Belgium France Italy Turkey Ei Egypt and England England Eng Eng- land f for r hundreds of ot years It was vas introduced Into this country In the seventies and hits has enjoyed a fair and steady growth r until now nw there are ure three national homing pigeon associations with n a a membership of ot more than 2000 breeders Is spent In teaching the pigeon all all' allot of ot the tricks which count when the bird Is actually racing In competition with other pigeons It 1 is taught to enter the loft immediately upon Its return return re re- turn for a abird bird that does not enter that the message it carries can be taken from froni it Is of ot very little value as a n messenger Nothing Is more exasperating to the fancier or racer than to have havethe havethe havethe the pigeon return and cool Its anatomy and andIew view the scenery for a half hour our b before fore entering the loft It Is nearly sufficient cause to make the trainer of ot pigeons lose his faith In pigeon nature besides it gives the neighbors a chance to mn make e remarks about the men playing with birdies Once the bird is inside the loft It cannot cannot cannot can can- not emerge since each cach loft Is equipped with a trap through which the bird can enter at nt any time but bat cannot go out unless the th trap is set for exit xit The ordinary barn variety of ot pigeon or those I bred for the production of ot squabs for market and the racing homing pigeon should not be confused con con- fused They are as us distinct dl and have as ns man many points of difference as 11 have hare lve the big draft horse horle and the strung high nervous racing horse The ordinary pigeon has ver very little tittle homing ability whereas S 'S the homing pigeon Is kept and bred cx- cx x- x elusively for that faculty They are also bred for tor speed and every muscle which Is used In flight ht is developed almost at the expense of the other muscles of Its body bOlly In races the actual speed d recorded Is almost beyond belief bellet Speeds of 1850 to 1000 1900 1 OO yards pei minute or DO 90 miles per hour have been made for tor short distances and It Is not extraordinary for a n bird to coyer cover In iii excess of ot miles mile In n a single day The record for 1000 miles Is 1 dy dry 11 it hours 24 minutes and 11 seconds and was made by hI a bird named Bullet anti and the tIC longest successful race was miles from Denver Colo to Springfield Mass Mas time 22 days 3 hours hour 22 minutes although Instances are recorded where birds st sent nt from New York to tl the t Pacific coast as ns br breeders eders have on liberation or escape re returned from California over the mountains and ld plains to their old homes In Nt New w At various arlous times in this country tl the e army army anti nav navy have dt decided to m us- us use carrier pigeons pigeons t In in their th work but with hilt indifferent success until the recent war The Theold old are rather amusing when considered In ht the light of present present knowl knowledge d edge odge t of what can cnn he be done clone with the birds when handled properly Pigeons were used Inthe navy nan more than 20 10 years ear ngo ago hut but failed through Inck lack t proper care At the time of the Mexican l border border barder bor bar der trouble pl pigeons fons were again tried but hut with little success ss for the same reason and I through h lack of time for acclimatization Homing pigeons were WE're first put on a businesslike business business- like basis hasl In the army army in In March 1917 1017 in the eastern department In November of ot that year ear earthe the pigeon section of or the land division of the signal sig signal IiI sig- nal corps was organized and since then rapid progress has been made In this country and 9 lt A abroad Hundreds of ot lofts have been built bunt and equipped In this co country and In the Dearly early days many pigeons pigeons were shipped shipped shipped ship ship- ped overseas Men have been selected and trained in the science of ot pigeon breeding rearing and fly- fly Ing Many of these have already found service overseas in the care of ot lofts and the birds of our armies It has been necessary necessary necessary essary to train a n large number of people In this work as It was yas practically cally new to each person who took It up The training of officers and men In the use and care of the birds at the front and In the forwarding of ot messages al all took time Ume Unfortunately the pigeons pigeons pigeons pig pig- eons could only fly and could not talk necessitating ing lag the writing of ot the messages Some wag has proposed to improve the pigeon by crossing It with a parrot thus elim mating the necessity of writing the messages to However r the pigeon n might have something say about the matter One of ot the most difficult parts of the work of Introducing pigeons into the fhe army service was to Instill Into the minds of ot the officers and men the fact tact that the pigeons are reliable That they are reliable Is proved by the experience overseas where the birds are retained In forward positions while hile any any other method whether t telephone telegraph telegraph telegraph tele tele- graph Induction n buzzers wireless wigwag or runner runner runner run run- ner is available and only when everything else falls fails and only the birds remain then through barrage gas and every every other of the diabolical Inventions Inventions' of war more than 97 87 per cent of the messages ted to our pigeons are safely and sp speedily edil d delivered by them to headquarters These messengers are carried to the front In especially constructed wicker baskets which can be carried handily by the soldier with th their lr care Back of the lines line the pigeons are kept In either of ot two 1 kinds of ot lofts or home stationary stationary stationary station station- ary or movable but the the essential feature of ot each ench Is the same Every effort is made to m make ke each bird comfortable happy and attached to its home This Is done dont most effectively by the method of ot feeding as t the e approach to the birds bird's affection is hI through its stomach the same saute as with genus homo Each Ench loft loft loftIs Is equipped with a trap through which the birds are taught to enter and leave without fear Ea Each ch time the bird enters the trap an nn alarm Is automatically rung notifying the attendant of the return of ot the bird that the mess message message mes mes- s sage e ma may be Immediately obtained and forwarded to headquarters Before the late war If Ji you had told a pigeon fancier that you could move his his' pigeon loft as far tar faras faras taras as 50 miles and that the pigeons would r return turn to It IL swiftly and accurately he would probably have laughed at you and said something about your being a novice i In i the pigeon racing and breeding game The Time movable able loft is one of ot the advances In pigeon lore that the war has brought out This is a very Important dev development nt as It Is Is- highly desirable that the lofts a always ways be be benear near to military ht headquarters and av available for Instant removal with headquarters as conditions may re re- quire These movable lofts are very ery well constructed constructed con con- and are Interesting homes for these Itinerant itinerant Itin itin- messengers They are outfitted with nesting boxes observation n traps traps' storage space for tor feed water and accommodations for one one or two att attendants at at- attendants t lants who tire are constantly on on dut duty In In fact tact they remind on ono of the circus wagons that travel with th the smaller r circuses about the country Another Innovation Inno developed was the owl express ex ex- ex- ex pr press There were tere pigeons at the front that developed eloped the faculty for for forst st seeing cing at night and these were called veritable human night owls In fact they came home much more steadily and accurately than than some Rome of ot ott t their leir civilian brethren who were wont t to be b riders of the owl express ss The sport of racing and breeding pigeons Is due to to receive an Impetus as a civilian sport now that the war Is Ii ended and uld ulde the e pro progress ress made under oar var war conditions should not be allowed to Iap lapse t Thousands Thousands' of soldiers will have become familiar with the birds and will have a warm regard for them There will be many many who I will I share the feeling of ot the officer who was was- mentioned In the first part of ot this article as having ha been saved by bythe bythe bythe the pl pigeons eons In the battle of and I Dead Mans Man's hill hIlI I Ii i w |