PIGEONS

PIGEONS. The City Council at its July 6, 1880 meeting approved to destruction of all the pigeons in the city and the issue was turned over to the city marshal. (1) This action led to the following response from the writers of the Dubuque Herald: (2)

              This is a legitimate "fly" item. The city marshal has been
              instructed by a resolution of the city council to enforce
              the ordinance in relation to pigeons, which means he is
              presented with an excellent opportunity to become a crack
              pigeon shootist. He he ain't able to pick the eyes out of
              a pigeon on sight before the summer is over we think he has
              missed his aim for one season at least.

                      Shoot now boys, shoot with care,
                      Shoot tame pigeons everywhere,
                      Go for 'em sharp, it's just the thing,
                      Take 'em sitting, or on the wing.
                      Shy sticks and stones at their head,
                      For the city council says they must be dead.

Sportsmen in the late 1800s used live birds in competitive shooting. An article published the Dubuque Herald in 1900 linked the rise in the number of shooting clubs to "a genius from Illinois" who discovered that glass balls could be used "so that spectators might see pieces of material fly." Clubs were no longer forced to trap pigeons. (3)

The reputation of pigeons rose in around 1905 as stories of them being used to carry messages appeared in the news. In 1906 an article in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald was entitled "Some of the Many Things Your Young Folks Want to Know" and addressed the subject of pigeons-raising. (4) Carrier pigeon races were held in the 1920s. In 1927 a flight between Davenport and Platteville, Wisconsin was struck by a heavy storm just after the race began. "Birds valued at thousands of dollars were lost by owners." Some began disoriented and took up residence in Dubuque. (5)

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Source:

1. "City Council," Dubuque Herald, July 7, 1880, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18800707&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, July 8, 1880, p. 4. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18800708&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

3. "Trap Shooting is a Sport That is with Us," The Dubuque Herald, July 15, 1900, p. 14

4. "Some of the Many Things Your Young Folks Want to Know"," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, September 16, 1906, p. 21

5. "Stranded Carrier Pigeons Are Making Home in Dubuque," Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal, May 17, 1927, p. 3