38 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
"The pigeon-man in the army," he explained, 
"to begin with, rises at six in the morning-, and 
stands reveille first of all. Sometimes he feeds 
the pigeons before reveille, other times immediate- 
lv after. Whether before or after, it Is done before 
the man eats his own breakfast; for these birds 
must be kept prepared." 
" As a matter of fact, though, the work of 
giving pigeons breakfast before having one's own 
meal isn't really half so bad as it seems. The 
nigfht fire-£:uard awakens the men who are to at- 
tend this the given morning. Only two will be 
assigned the given task any one day, and even 
they will alternate — the one feeding, the other 
cleaning the coop — turn by turn." 
"Pigeons breakfast, dine and sup on cracked 
corn, dry pease and a grit mixture. Just before 
a meal they are let out for exercise; then the 
pigeon's especial waiter rings a dinner-bell and 
calls them in to the feast," 
The sergeant took a tin can, filled with peb- 
bles, from a ledge and rattled this merrily. The 
pigeons have long since learned that this means 
feeding-time and down they sweep. For the pur- 
pose of the picture, getting the birds within range, 
that's to say, some food was scattered on the 
earth here, but, as a rule, the birds are fed inside 
the coop from a box placed inside there. After 
feeding, they find themselves locked in until the 
pigeon-men have had their own morning meal. 
Breakfast over, Uncle Sam's pigeon-men take 
physical exercise to keep them in proper trim; 
then there is drill in certain features of the work 
of the signal corps, and these lessons learned, the 
sergeant assembles the men for drill with the 
pigeons themselves. 
We had chanced along, very luckily now, just 
in season for this. Twenty-five or thirty of the 
birds were selected as a class. These were al- 
lowed tO' pass from the coop into a cage called the 
"box." This box, a private and three first-class 
privates took in hand, as it takes four men to 
carry it. Where the trip is to be a short one, say 
three or four miles in the country, the men often 
carry it all the way, the better to grow accustomed 
to it; where the trip is to be a longer one, say of 
ten miles, a motor-cycle is used. 
The men carrying the box march out rapidly, 
taking the shortest cuts to the goal, as they would 
do in war. 
Then the birds which are being drilled to carry 
the messages of war are released, the wkole com- 
pany of them at the first, that the stronger may 
help the weaker return. Watching the birds 
there, one notes that they first wheel; then rise 
in air; then, alone, are they off; and then, verv 
presently, comes the word that thev are back at 
the trap ! 
Then the next day and the next and the next 
these birds are taken out, farther and farther each 
time, and allowed to find their way home, for 
this is the real, the big, matter of their training. 
Each loft at the coop has a special mark at 
the top, which these birds know and, recognise to 
mean home, and toward it they steer their flight 
and, arriving there, of course stop, and wonder- 
ful? Indeed it is wonderful — and just how they 
do it — how they find their ways through the un- 
marked skies — is the unsolved riddle of centuries ! 
Released here, beside the road, or from some 
practice-trench, as they would be in war, the birds 
hop_ about a moment, as though to rally their 
strength. Then they rise very quickly into the 
air, circle about, usually three times in all, then 
up — up — up — they go, to the height of perhaps 
three city blocks set on end, and then away and 
for home. Never do they fail; seldom do they 
tarry ! 
Call it instinct, second-sense — what you willj 
no one has as yet definitely explained just how the 
birds find their way. Food will not distract the 
pigeon, then, from his errand. He seems to 
know that he will get food he can trust, and eat 
in safety, when he reaches' home. The bird's 
mate, kept in the cote there, too, is an additional 
magnet to overcome anv possible inclination to 
dally. 
The birds, what is more, will go a long, long 
time without food on such trip; but water they 
must have when thirsty. In order to insure quick- 
return, the pigeons are not fed in the period just 
before their flying. In war zones, birds are always 
kept waiting for food, that some bird with empty 
stomach may be sent with a message home, where 
he knows such food awaits him. 
Our own birds, here at Sherman, off to their 
empty cage now, we make our way back to the 
coop. As we junket, the sergeant, enthusiastic 
over his pets, tells some interesting facts anent 
them. 
In the training, he states, the distances of the 
birds' flights are increased daily; unless great 
storms should arise. Even in those, though, the 
birds are taught to come swiftly home. The far- 
thest a bird may be safely entrusted with flight, 
any time, is about thirty miles, although some 
have gone considerably farther than this. If a 
bird is liberated thirty miles away, it will be at 
the coop in half an hour; for 'pigeons fly a mile 
a minute in air — this according to government 
test. 
All shades and hues of pigeons are used in 
this work; the birds, are so small and fly so high 
that camouflage is not needed. After ten weeks 
of drilling they are regarded as trustworthy for 
carrying' messages of State. 
