Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1895 — Carrier Pigeons. [ARTICLE]

Carrier Pigeons.

In the middle of the square around which the Herald building is built in New York city is a carrier-pigeon house on a level with the roof. Great care is taken with the pigeons. Their pedigree is kept and they are all named. Then, too, a murk is stamped on their under wings, so there shall bo no mistake, and by this means the/ have often been recovered and sent home when they have lost their bearings or have been stolen. The man whose duty it is to attend to them takes a personal interest in each and every kind. When a newspaper tug starts down the bay for the yacht races, one of the principal articles taken aboard is a basket with carrier-pigeons, and each bird has a brass band on its foot. At different times during the race messages are written on the thinnest of paper and made into small parcels. These are attached to the band, and the birds thrown up into the air. A pair are usually sent off together, as they fly better, it is thought, in that way . For a moment they wheel about apparently dazed, poise themselves for perhaps a second, and then fly straight for home. On one of these races from half an hour to thirty-five minutes was the longest time taken from the moment they were thrown into the air until they arrived at their destination, and the messages were taken from their feet. It was a beautiful sight, and a wondrous one, to see these birds arrive. Curiously enough, in some instances they brought back with them strange pigeons who had joined them on the trip, evidently much interested to know the outcome of the yacht race. The strange birds did not stay at the cote after nightfall, and apparently felt themselves quite out of place with pigeons of such intelligence.