Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1897 — This Story is a Bird. [ARTICLE]

This Story is a Bird.

One of Andree’s or Some Other Person’s Carrier Pigeons Shot in Newton Township. Wednesday's Dally. F. W. Mauck,- of Newton Tp., was in town today exhibiting a small silver band which he took from the leg of a pigeon which he shot on his farm, last Sunday. The hawks had been after his chickens a good deal and when he shot the bird he thought it was a chicken hawk. If he had suspected it was a pigeon he would have done as the hunter in the anecdote, who shot at a calf thinking it was a deer, and missed it. Being guyed for shooting at a cdf and missing it at that, he said he thought maybe it was a calf, so he aimed to hit it if it was a deer and miss it if it was a calf In this case Mr. Mauck did not take the precaution to aim to hit it if it was a hawk and qiiss it if it was a pigeon; which had he suspected it was a pigeon he would have been careful to have done, and more especially as the shooting was done on Sunday. The silver band was engraved as follows K 9682. The pigeon was a uniform dark gray and evidently a regular carrier pigeon. Possibly it came from some remote point, and perhaps at one time carried a letter or message of some kind, under the silver band. Does anyone in this

region keep carrier pigeons? Perhaps some of our readers can explain the appearance of this bird at Mr. Mauck’s place

It is understood that the facts of this pigeon shooting have been telegraphed to the daily papers, and perhaps some information as to where the bird came from may result therefrom.