Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1898 — ANDREE’S MESSENGER. [ARTICLE]

ANDREE’S MESSENGER.

The Killing of the Pigeon Bearing the Explorer's Dispatch. In the Century Jonas Stadling, a Swedish journalist, gave an account of “Andree’s Flight Into the Unknown.” To a later Century he sent a facsimile of the only message received from Andree since his departure, brought back by carrier-pigeon. In the latest Century Mr. Stadling has an account of the capture of this pigeon and a photograph of the bira. He says: It may perhaps interest the readers of the Century to know some details about its capture, condensed from the report of the captain of the whaler Aiken. On July 15, the Aiken was on the border of the drift-ice, In 80 deg. 44 min. north latitude, 20 deg. 20 min. east longitude. Between 1 and 2 o’clock in the morning the helmsman called out to the captain, who was sleeping in his cabin: “A strange bird has lighted on the gaff! You must come and shoot it, it looks so queer!” The captain, who had been sleeping soundly, gave a rather rough reply; hut the next moment his curiosity brought him to his feet and up ou deck. The bird resembled a ptarmigan; but as It was sitting close behind a block, the captain could not shoot withbut-risk of injuring the block. So he climbed up the rigging, with his rifle, and shot it, the strange bird falling forthwith into the sea. The captain commanded the man on the lookout, In a barrel fastened near the top of the mast, to come down and lower a boat, and fetch the bird. The man objected to taking so much trouble for a miserable little bird which probably was of no use. So the captain went to bed again, and the bird was left In the water. Having sailed for some distance, following the ice, the Aiken met with another Whaler. On hearing the sitory of the strange bird, the captain of the second whaler exclaimed: “Perhaps it is one of Andree’s carrierpigeons.” The captain of the Aiken, who did not know about Andree’s ascension, at once returned to the region where the bird was shot, and sent out two boats for a careful search, having been lucky enough to find “the strange bird,” Which indeed proved to be one of the carrier-pigeons, carrying the despatch of which I have sent the Century a facsimile. There can be no doubt whatever of the genuiness of the despatch. It is undoubtedly written in Andree’s hand, on the special paper which he took with him, and on which a line was printed: and I recognize the pigeon so completely that I can take my oath that it was among those taken with the balloon. The bird had flown about one hundred and twenty miles from the balloon toward Stockholm, and some twen-ty-four miles north again, from the nearest land to the whaler, on the gaff of which it sat down, so utterly tired •hat it at once put its head under its wing until it was shot. It could, of course, have been easily caught alive, If the captain had known that it was a carrier-pigeon.