Animals: Molly Pitcher

Six weeks ago Thomas Ross, civilian pigeon expert for the U. S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Fort Monmouth, N. J. was a worried man. His favorite bird, Molly Pitcher, was missing. He had sent her to the pigeon flying at Chattanooga, Tenn., Kentucky Derby of U. S. pigeondom. Loosed there from Lookout Mountain, she had failed to fly home. Ross was sure she knew the way (600 mi.), and of the 500 war couriers under his care, she is one of the fastest. Last year in the Grand National race at Danville, Va., she was second.

After three worried days, Ross received a radio message from Camp Dix (Wrightstown, N. J.). A Fort Monmouth bird had come down there badly wounded. He hurried to Camp Dix, found his Molly. Like many another pigeon, she had been attacked by a hawk. There was a big hole in her back. Her weight, usually 14 oz., was down to six. Although sad to see Molly’s condition, Pigeonman Ross was proud that she had chosen an Army camp for refuge. She had never seen Camp Dix before.

Last week Molly Pitcher was home again in the pigeon hospital at Fort Monmouth. Said Thomas Ross: ”She’s just a pitiful little handful of skin and bones and she hasn’t got many feathers left but she’s coming along. She’ll fly again.”

Carrier pigeons fly at about 70 m.p.h., can outspeed most hawks if they see them coming. Army pigeons are now being taught to fly by night.

Home of pigeon-flying is Belgium. In the first half of the 19th Century, fanciers banded together, formed clubs to breed a fast racing bird. Today Belgium has 300,000 fanciers, seven million carriers. Greatest annual event is a race held over the concours national 500 mi. from Toulouse to Brussels. Winners are painted in oils. Many a proud household has a stuffed champion over the mantelpiece. Belgian patriots last month celebrated the centenary of Belgium’s independence with a pigeon race. Starting from Algiers, the birds flew across the Mediterranean, over France, a distance of 1,000 mi.*

* Reputed world’s champion pigeon flight: From Vanceboro, Maine, to San Antonio, Tex. (2,100 airline miles) by an army pigeon.