In the Chicago Tribune, dated November 12, 1912, on page three—below a story about a Police raid on a “Mystic House” and another story of detectives looking for the murderer of Policeman Charles T. Jones—there is a story about a carrier pigeon. This bird was found exhausted from his return trip to Milwaukee by a tugboat fireman.
Only a hundred years ago, carrier pigeons were used to send messages. The story doesn’t say whether or not a return message was attached—just the metal band—but it could have been routine or maybe even military messages of some sort or another. The Wikipedia article about carrier pigeons states that carrier pigeons were used all the way up to the 1980s in Germany. These pigeons carried medicine or lab specimens between hospitals.
This carrier pigeon was lucky. He was picked up by the tugboat fireman and taken home. I wonder if the bird tried to finish his journey once he got the rest he needed—or did he just enjoy his life of luxury and rest.