RECENTLY there wus added
to the war collections of
the National museum In
the Smithsonian institu-
tion in Washington an
exhibit that is unique.
In strange contrast to the
imposing array of trophies
and other relics of the
conflicts in which this na-
tion has engaged is the
4 stuffed body of a scraggly-
tailed pigeon with one leg shattered
and twisted out of shape, yet it is
mute testimony to one of the herole
deeds of the World war. For this bird
is “President Wilson,” the most fa-
mous carrier pigeon of all that served
with the A. E. F. and hero of innumer-
able long and dangerous flights during
the World war.
It began at Grand Pre. On the
morning of November 5, 1018, advance
units of the Americans were dismayed
to find their communication lines dead.
Radio failed, too, because of the over-
crowded air. At Rampont, 25 miles
away, was headquarters where staff
officers anxiously awnited word from
Grand Pre. Between the two points
lay an inferno of fire and smoke, shot
and shell. But there was other
way. The all-important message was
intrusted to “Presid®nt Wilson” which
was soon winging Its way toward
Rampont,
no
Twenty-five minutes later the pant
ing bird fluttered down in front of
headquarters at Rampont, the mes.
sage, Intact, dangling from the torn
ligaments of its wounded leg. Like
many a human warrior “President
Wilson” had been safely through the
fighting from the start only
mishap with armistice almost
hand. ’
That was
to meet
the at
the faithful little flyer's
last time under fire. Nursed back to
recovery “President Wilson” for the
past eleven years has been an active
member of the army pigeon loft at
Fort Monmouth, N. J. giving the
younger birds valuable pointers in the
art of message bearing under war con-
ditions. Death eame quietly to the
famous bird while asleep recently and
the army decided to have the body
stuffed and mounted. An officer of
the signal corps accompanied it to the
Smithsonian institution where it Is
pow enshrined.
jut even though “Taps” have sound-
ed for this hero bird, there are still
living others of his tribe whase rec-
ords are pearly as remarkable. Visit
Fort Monmouth, between Red Bank
and long Branch, N, J, today and
you can see some of them,
Here you will see most of the fa-
mous war birds which rendered such
valiant service with the signal corps
in France, among them those two vet-
erans, “Spike” and “Mocker,” glmost
as renowned as “President Wilson.”
Here also you will see 8 number of
captured German birds, but perhaps
most interesting of all are the various
pigeons which played an important
role in the operations of the famous
*Lost Battalion”
The story of the “Lost Battalion” Is
go familiar to most Americans that it
needs no retelling—even though the
name is a misnomer and most Amer:
lcans therefore have a wrong idea
about it. For Major Whittlesey's out-
fit never was really “lost” —it was “ent
off” or “beleaguered.” But be that as
it may, the fact remains that had it
not been for seven carrier pigeons,
which the commander of that devoted
band sent out from time to time, Ma-
Jor Whittlesey could not have sent
word of his loeatica back to his su-
perior officers, they could not have
rendered him such aid as they did, the
Germans probably would have wiped
the detachment out of existence be.
fore help arrived and it would have
been a “Lost Battalion” indeed.
It was during the “push” of the
Sevgnty-seventh division in the Ar
ne on October 2 that six compa-
nies of the first and second battalions
of the Three Hundred and Eighth in-
fantry, one company of the Three Hun-
dred and Seventh infantry and two see-
tions from the Three Hundred and
Sixth machine gun battalion, all con-
solldated under the command of Maj.
Charles W. Whittiesey, discovered that
German forces were behind them and
they were cut off from communecation
with the rear. At £:50 a. m. on Oec-
tober 3, Major Whittlesey sent his first
pigeon with this message “We are be-
ing shelled by German artillery, Can
we net have artillery support? Fire
t# eraning from northwest.” At vari.
The Plattsburgh Game Cock
ous Intervals that day he sent mes
sages by pigeon, keeping his regiment.
al commander informed of develop
ments, By the morning of October 4,
he had only two pigeons left, and
about eleven o'clock he sent one of
with a message telling of the
growing seriousness of the situation
for the detachment,
That afternoon the American artil-
lery started to lay down a barrage, but
instead of falling upon the enemy It
rained and shrapnel upon the
beleaguered detachment. Then out of
that inferno dust and con-
fusion flew Whittlesey's pigeon.
Late that evening a soldier In charge
of the pigeon cote at head-
quarters came upon a pigeon, blinded
shot and
standing upon one leg. The other leg
severed and attached
the pellet
this message: “We
paralleled 270.4.
is dropping a barrage direct
these
shell
of noise,
last
division
in one eye by scattered
almost
Was
the
{0
taneline
aat I
gliing leg was con
+
taining are along
the road Our own
artillery
iy on us. For heaven's sake, stop it.”
Immediately barrage lifted and
Whittlesey's men were no longer swept
by the fire of thelr artillery
A “war bird” of another type and
more picturesque, perhaps, than these
feathered veterans of the World war
wis the famous eagle “Old Abe” which
three years of the
war with a Wisconsin regiment,
taking part In 22 battles and 30 skirm-
and being wounded in three of
them. “Old Abe” was captured by an
Iedian, Chief Sky, on the banks of the
Flambeau river In northern Wisconsin
in 1861. The Indian gold the bird and
finally it came into possession of a
company which was formed at Ean
Claire and which became Company C
of the Eighth Wisconsin regiment
when it went into camp at Madison.
There Captain Perkins of Company C
named him “Old Abe,” In honor of the
President, a standard was made for
him and he was carried beside the reg-
imental flag.
When the regiment went into action,
"Old Abe” gave evidence of thé wild.
est delight in the smoke and roar of
battle. Spreading his wings he would
Jump up and down on his perch, utter.
ing wild and piercing screams which
could be clearly heard above the nolses
of the conflict. But this Berserker
spirit was not the only evidence of
“Old Abe's” being a true soldier. If
we are to believe the stories that have
been told of him, before he had been a
year in the service, he would give heed
to the commands of the officers on pa-
rade, or when preparations for n
march began. Of his military habits
one chronicler has written :
“With his head obliquely to the
front, hig right eye turned upon the
commander, he would listen and obey
orders, noting time carefully. After
parade had been dismissed, and the
ranks were being closed by the ser
geant, he would lay aside his soldierly
manner, flap his wings, loll about and
make himself at home generally.
“When there was an order to form
for battle, he and the colors were the
first upon the line. His actions upon
those occasions were uneasy. He
would turn his head anxiously from
right to left, looking to see when the
line was completed. As soon as the
regiment got ready, faced and began
to march, he would assume a steady
and quiet demeanor. He could always
be seen a little above the heads of the
soldjers, close by the flag. That po-
sition of honor was never disallowed
him, :
“At the battle of Farmington May
9, 1862, the men were ordered to lle
down on the ground. The Instant they
did so, ‘Old Abe’ flow from his perch.
He insisted upon being protected as
well as they, and flattened himself on
the ground, remaining there until the
the
own
served through
Civil
ishes
men rose, when, with outspread wings,
-*
U.S ARMY Bioanal CORPS
PicromiaL SEavice
Protos
he flew back to his place of peril, and
held it until the close of the contest.
At the battle of Corinth the Confed
erate general, Price, discovered him
and ordered his men to take him If
they could not kill him, that
‘he would rather capture bird
than the whole brigade."
It is of “Old Abe's” conduct at this
battle of Corinth that ancther
historian writes: “The regiment Is in
Mower's brigade and ‘Old Abe’ Is on
his perch, looking out over the scene.
Cannon are thundering around him:
there are long rolls of musketry:; the
air Is thick with From the
flank comes a fearful volley, enfilading
the line, cutting down scores of men,
and severing the cord which holds ‘Old
Abe’ to the staff. He flaps his wings,
rises above the two armies, circles out
adding
same
bullets,
over the Confederates, then back again
to 1
is frends and lights once more ou
The regiment is in retreat,
to be In
out
his perch,
and Old
of
nll
Al
Almost as renowned as
Abe goes with It,
and to
“
sOOre
bhatties come of
them unharmed
“Old Abe” of
ir national tradition
which enjoyed a brief
War
Ma
of a
Cham
the Civil war in ot
Is a game cock
moment of fame during the
1514 Lieut, Thon
Inced In
fleet on
of
i512. In
Donough
small
plain
which
as
was p cl
American Lake
British fleet
to resist a
was moving down the
attack northern New York
morning of September 11
strong
lake to
On the
the British
attacked the Americans in Plattshurgh
bay. At the bheginning
Downie, the British commander,
his flagship. the Confiance, a
break the American line but
by a devastating fire from
toga, MacDonough's flagship.
Commodore
on
ed to
was met
the Sara
Thereupon the battle resolved Itself
into a sort of a duel between the two
flagships, both of which dropped an
and at a Cistance of 230
from each other prepared to “shoot it
out.” The first broadside from
Conflance, which had heavier guns
than the Saratoga, all but wrecked
the American vessel. But it did some
thing else. According to one of our
school histories "At the first broadside
fired by the enemy. a young game cock
kept as a pet on board MacDonough's
ship, the Saratoga, flew up upon a
gun: flapping his wings, he gave =»
crow of defiance that rang like th»
hlast of a trumpet. Swinging their
hats, MacDonough's men cheered the
plucky bird again and again. He had
foretold victory. That was enough.
They went Into the fight with such
ardor, and managed their vessels with
such skill that in less than three hours
all of the British ships that had not
hauled down their flags were scudding
to a piace of safety as rapidly as pos
sible.”
chor yards
tho
Cyrus Townsend Brady gives a
slightly less theatrical version of the
incident, He says "It has been fondly
noted by various writers that the first
terrible broadside of the Confiance
smashed a chicken coop on one of the
American vessels, thus liberating »
game cock, which sprang into the rig
ging and with lusty crowing encour
aged the cheering crews, Inasmuch as
nearly every writer puis the chicken
in a different ship, it is safe to con.
clude that there must have been one
chicken there, and the incident prob.
ably did occur. At any rate, if It was
an American chicken, it would certain.
ly crow upon being made free”
Before the battle began “MacDon-
ough bade his waiting crews to prayer,
There at thelr stations with bowed
heads they knelt down upon the white
Gecks, soon to be stained with their
own blood, while with hig own lips, in
the familinr words of the Book of
Common" Pagyer, the young comman-
der Invoked the protection of the God
of Battles for the coming conflict—a
rare and memorable scene indeed!”
Spears, the naval historian, In com.
menting upon these two incidents,
says, “with all due respect to religion,
that for the purpose of rousing the
seamen a rooster In the rigging is
worth more than a dozen prayers op
the quarter deck.”
hp!
.e
Importance of Proper
House Design Apparent
Through a better appreciation of
architecture, home lovers more and
more are striving toward perfection
und beauty of house design. As a re-
sult, a knowledge of historic styles is
well defined in the minds of interest-
ed discriminating home builders. To-
day people know approximately what
they want in the way of a home, and
recognize the importance of architec-
tural guidance, Only well-proportioned
homes with artistic and correct archi-
tectural treatment attract and appeal.
To assure the {deal home—he its
size ever so small—the technically
trained architect should be consulted.
No one thinks of going to a dentist
with bodily ills, By the same token
no one should 7o to a contractor for
home design. Home design Is a highly
specialized fleld, and only an architect
can reflect and crystallize your home
ideas properly and correctly Into a
design possessing merit.
One often hears “because I'm bulld-
ing a small house, I can't afford an
architect—Dbesides, © know where | can
get some plans cheap.”
This attitude has accounted for hun-
dreds of unattractive hcomes which
have no resale value—eyesores and
a disgrace to the community. —Cleve-
innd Leader,
Store Front Counts as
Good Business Asset
“The store front indicates the char.
acter of 4 business establishment as
well as of the men of it, and
that holds good whether the business
is clothing, shoes, plumbing or what
pot,” Howard H. Edmonds writes In
article called Fronts.” in a
back
“Store
Edmonds draws upon his experience
for many Cleveland companies for the
materin! in his article,
“The front is a silent
which works 365 days In
and if given half a
return its cost many times
volume,” he continfied.
of the advantages of
snles
the
will
in
store
chance
over
“A few great
publie improvement; it
in
gradually
center
It beconws a
the entire
hullds
in w
activity
up =
trading hich
do business.”
Attractive Homes an Asset
it the American
Home
Two ideas ul
ret re-
(ine Is that
hold
» growth in
the
a fair pos
had a
Years
itn
cont dwelling
is 10 im
comparatively recent lure
ments from the outside, must dispiny
thai
other
gltirnctiveness and good taste
many of
But It has become
evident, that the
the home up to the
level Is even more a matter
god taste skillful
these
increas
ton, tusk of
desired
and
=
The element of cost must be consid
ut attractiveness of the hest sort may
bene ns of the motor car of a similar
Getting on Airman’s Map
Communities that want the world to
they are air-minded-—and most
of them apparently have this desire—
can make alr marking one of their frst
important objectives Labeling the
town, village, city or hamlet with Its
name painted In large and legible let-
ters on the roof of the tallest build.
ing may seem rather a humble siart
in the direction of aviation. Far from
it.
“It is the easiest way to get on
the alrman’s map,” says a pilot with
hundreds of hours of cross-country
flying to his credit,
The Fireless City
The fire prevention idea has de
terprise in the city of Albany, Ga.
With a population of 2000, it has
the lowest annual loss by fire of any
city in the country. There were but
91 alarms of fire during 1928 and the
total loss was bot $4520. This has
heen necomplished by wiping out many
fire hazards and by maintaining ap
energetic fire patrol nightly,
Much Money for Building
Fifty-six life insurance companies,
located In cities throughout the coun
try, lent $174011,450.30 on American
homes in 1028, according to the Na-
tional Association of Real Estate
Boards,
Scouts to Plant Trees
Boy Scouts of Canandaigua, N. Y.,
have contracted to plant 8000 trees
this summer as part of the Ontario
county reforestation project,
Alabama's Good Work
Thirty-eight mile® of shade trees
have been planted along Alabama
Lighways this season,
Good roads do not necessarlly make
a town, The town has got to make
itself. — Country Howe,
|
|
Pipe-Organ to Sound
in Famous Tabernacle
One wonders what Spurgeon would
have thought of the new organ which
On” In the London Daily Chronicle,
The great preacher shared
Scottish dislike of “a kist 'o
ties,” and In time
no musical Instrument any
in the tabernacle all
singing being led by a precentor, w
announced the hymns and
through the first line to give
gregation a start, “In recent
an American organ has
but the famous church in Newington
sutts has had to walt until now for
its first pipe-organ, It should be add
ed that, or bec of?
the lack of instrumental aid, the con-
whis
would
of
gervices,
his
been used,
despite nuse
FP EaEre sei i ert orf
gregational singing at
has alw
ays been notably good.
OLD DOCTOR'S IDEA
IS BIG HELP TO
ELDERLY PEOPLE
5, old Dr. Caldwe
discovery for which
the prai
Years of pragtice convinced
that many l
ing thelr hex
cholce of tives,
Il made a
elderly people
world over s¢ him today!
'
}
111 by a car 3
So he bega:
gearch for a harmless prescription
1
wii}
which
Victery for Eagles
aon from
penalty of
ed to a new
to the eagl
Buffalo in the Arctics
of thie sSucees
faloes
Year ago at Jarvis creek
were liberated more ti
WIRE,
Bargain
ForlvyPoisoning :
Try Har:ford’s
Balisam of Myrrh |
All dealers are authorized to refund your
money forthe first bottie if not suited.
FOULTRY NETTING, BARBED
SCREEN CLOTH. Bligbtly used
11 Write for ii Kis Lone
Ave Brookivn N y
——————— il)
WORMS—A CHILD'S
GREATEST ENEMY
Look for these symptoms in
your child—gritting the tecth,
picking the nostrils, disor
dered stomach. These signs
may mean worms, And worms
left in the body mean broken
health.
Don't delay one hour. Frey's Vere
mifuge rids a child of worms quickly.
For 75 years it has been America's
safe, vegetable worm medicine. At
all druggists!
Expels Worms
= ne Drop
:
Bourbon Poultry Medicine
foreach chickdaily in drink or feed stim-
uinles appetite, sds digest) rego-
istes bowels, promotes health, lossens
chanoe of disease infection OO market
for 26 years, Small size 60, half pinot 8.
pint $1.00 At drugsista. or sent by mail
Bourbon Remedy Co., Box 7, Lexington, Ky.
Nonsen:ze
im »
people's excuses for 1
watched have been
special care, except an occ:
given
sional ra-
tion of food when nature had cut off
the supply, The lust reports indicate
that the animals were thriving in the
most satisfactory manner,
they
breathing due to indigestion you need
a medicine as well
Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills are
both. Only 26¢ a box. Ady.
Airplanes are transporting all ma.
terials for building the town of Wau
in the Edie Creek goldfields of New
Guinen, From the of New
Guinean the planes need only thirty
const
takes nine days by ground through
Jungles and over mountains,
When two men who know it all be-
gin to instruct each other, it soon
becomes a contest of showing off,
¥T took Lydia E. Pinkham’s
Vegetable Compound when |
was tired, nervous and run-
| §down. I saw the advertisement
| §and decided to try it because |
| was hardly able to do my
housework. It has helped me
in every way. My nerves arc
better, 1 have a good appetite,
I sleep well and I do not tire so
easily. I recommend the Vege
table Compound to other
women for it gives me so much
strength and makes me feel
like a new person.” —Mrs. Lena §
Young, R. # 1, Ellsworth, Maine.
Lydia E. Pinkham's
pr Gampouni
| W. N. U, BALTIMORE, NO. 23-1930.
to kill all mosquitoes in
and