246 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



the coast to the seat of government ; and from 

 that time to the present these messengers have 

 continued to perform the office assigned to them. 

 The road being almost a straight line, the birds 

 usually accomplish the passage of the seventy-two 

 miles (well laden with manuscript and printed 

 slips) in from one to two hours. As soon as they 

 arrive a special flag is hoisted to announce the 

 event, and every one hastens to the office to hear 

 the overland news. 



It may be well supposed that the war intel- 

 ligence had been most eagerly awaited ; and when 

 the despatch announcing the details of the fall of 

 Sebastopol so full of joy and grief for multitudes 

 reached the capital of the distant colony of 

 Ceylon, great was the excitement. Orders were 

 immediately issued by the commander-in-chief, for 

 a royal salute to be fired in honour of the event, 

 which was done accordingly on the faith of intel- 

 ligence transmitted by no more regular channel 

 than the carrier pigeons of the Colombo Observer 

 office. 



The natives of Ceylon quite appreciate the 

 value of these news-bearing birds, and when 

 occasionally the pigeons go astray, driven out of 

 their course by a strong wind, <5r bewildered by 

 rainy or hazy weather, they are almost invariably 

 caught and sent to the Observer office by the people. 



