The San Francisco call. [volume], July 20, 1912, Page 5, Image 5

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
RD:\Y, JULY 20, 1912.—THE JUNIOR CALJ^
UEST OF HONOR IN FRONT OF THE CORT
How their trail. Mr.
said, met with all
lie from old African
it was learned that
3 hunt the beasts of
h American hunting
success of his project
ed his good judg
inent*and common sense.
The reel showing the animals at
the water hole was greeted with
enthusiasm, and each new arrival
gained his share of the applause.
The lads were much impressed
with the bravery of the motion
picture operator, who for three
CARRIER PIGEONS HAVE BECOME PHOTOGRAPHERS
IDFidHANKS
NOWADAYS, since there are so
many means of sending' mes
sages from one person* to an
other, pigeons, which used to have con
siderable work to do as messenger
boys, have been extremely idle and
have largely devoted themselves to
sauntering about in the air and adding
to the beauty of the landscape. But re
cently It has been found that there are
other ways of employing these birds on
Important missions besides sending
them on long distance flights as mes
senger boys. The particular new field
for pigeon activities which has been
discovered is that of photography.
These pigeon photographers were
first started on their mission in life in
Germany, where a physician had been
in the habit of sending carrier pigeons
from his office in the city to a sana
torium in the nearby country. Medicine,
pills and powders were put in a little
satchel and tied to one of the pigeons,
which carried them from the doctor's
office to the sanatorium.
At last one day a pigeon with a very
Important message was despatched
from the sanatorium to the doctor's
office, and although the bird was cele
brated for Its speed and trustworthiness
it did not appear at the end of Its
journey for a month. The same thing
later happened to another bird, and the
owners of the pigeons became very
curious to know what had become of
them. Finally it occurred to some one
that since the pigeons are able to carry
one-third of their weight it would be
possible to attach small cameras to
the birds so that when they wandered
away they would return with a record
of their wanderings on the plate of the
camera.
A special camera was made, acting
automatically, so that it would take a
picture at fixed moments. The pictures
so taken were not more than half an
inch square. For a great many years
different men experimented with these
cameras until they finally invented
something that was entirely practical.
The cameras are attached to the
breast of by straps which
pass under the wings and hold a metal
plate directly between the wings in
place. This plate has two metal hooks
on which the camera fits «o securely
that there is no danger of its being
dislodged even In flight.
The cameras weigh two and a half
ounces or less, and their size varies
never being more than two and a half
by two and a half by four laches. There
are many different sorts of cameras
some of which take panoramic views,
perpendicular and horizontal views and
other repeating cameras, besides the
more common single lens camera.
In order that the picture which the
pigeon is to take may be of any par
ticular place it Is necessary to know
• Editor: I
rtie, a box of paints.
very much. They are
■nklag you again, I re-'
RUTH STANLEY.
Thank you very much
box I won last week,
urs,
LILLIAN ELKINS.
Call—Dear £ir: I was
celve the pretty paint
ng and wish to thank
for Bame. It was just
;fully yours,
-ORAINE V. MEYER.
, Junior Call—Dear Sir:
d yesterday and I have
les already; they are
a book worth winning.
I am yours very truly,
LIONEL R. SMITH.
i.
O"
wardly Em
ccordlng to Webster, Is
age." but a certain
v by Tully
i or)Rl*.ai application of
c te speak," exclaimed
statesman, "some one
iwardly egg at me."
:lnd of an egg might
an attentive listener,
rardly egg," explained
Is one that hits you and
ly Young's Magazine.
a
eal Estimate
good opinion
1 dominion;
yourself at flattering
your It or Itter:
he truth be bitter)
ie other fellows think
ts.
the planet quivers
r foot delivers
cc of the earth your
sight:
all time shall end
r; but, my friend,
>r fellows think decides
our full approval
fhat your removal
; the solar system o'er
g you may do
known as "you"
Taught—lt's what the
pie think.
ict band is swelling
be loudly telling
clous phenomenon you
instead, discerning
i think —just learning
in open market, reaches
ilan, in Leslie's Weekly.
days maintained his position in
the branches of a nearby tree in
order to catch the unsuspecting
animals who came from a distance
of 40 miles to drink, and there is
no doubt that much of their hand
clapping was directed at his un
seen self. The big Hon hunt,
Pigeon Photographer with Single Lens Camera
exactly how far tho place is from the
point at which the pigeon is started.
Then the camera apparatus is timed
according to the rate of flight of a car
rier pigeon, so that the shutter will be
open at exactly that point and not any
earlier or later.
One way In which this is done is to
havo a small ball of rubber attached to
the mechanism which holds the shutter
In place. This ball is blown up before
the pigeon is started, so that before it
collapses the picture will be taken. The
ball Is marked with the different places
to which It must be blown up in order
that It may collapse at the proper mo
A GOOD OLD DUCAL GOSSIP
Duke Max of Bavaria had no greater
delight than leaning over the counter
of some small shopkeeper talking gos
sip or purchasing toys for his great
granddaughters in Austria. Innumera
ble stories are told Illustrating his
character. It H. Goldschmldt, a wealby
banker of Frankfort, was* once jour
neying to Vienna. Opposite him on the
velvet cushion of the first class car sat
an old gentleman whose dress and looks
betrayed no uncommon rank. "Are you
on a pleasure trip?" asked the bank
er's vis-a-vis. "Yes," answered the lat
ter, "I am going to visit my daughter,
who, thank God! fortunately married
the banker Wiener in Vienna'!*' "How
strange," replied his companion; "the
incentive to my trip is the same. I am
going to visit my daughter in Vienna.
which brought the afternoon's en
tertainment to a close was all too
short and the boys left the theater
reluctantly. From the glowing, in
terested expressions of their faces,
however, it is an assured fact that
The Junior Call and Mr. Rainey
stand ace high in their favor.
ment for any given distance. For In
stance, If the operator knows that the
place which he wants the pigeon to
photograph is ten minutes away ac
cording to the pigeon's rate of flying,
the ball is blown up to the ten mlnnte
mark, which is made possible by the
nature of the apparatus. The air es
capes through a small hole in the ball
until just at the proper moment It is
all out of the ball and the shutter opens
so that the photograph is taken.
Of course the pigeon, just like human
beings, is not at all grateful when this
new burden is first placed upon it, and
It struggles hard for a while to rid
Thank God! she, too, is rather fortu
nately married to the emperor of Aus
tria." The duke's pocketbook was open
to all. Many a poor creature In that
Catholic city told off beads for "good
Duke Max," and blessed his name. A
disciple of old Baltaearine, whose art
had once charmed the ballet lovers of
music, having grown old in her profes
sion, was unable to get employment. In
despair she wrote to Duke Max, giving
an account of her situation. His secre
tary handed him the letter with the
remark, "She deserves nothing; she has
lived a fast life." "Then," answered
his highness, "she will miss her former
splendor so much the more," and. sit
ting down, he wrote her a letter, In-
Closing money, and signed "From an
admirer of your art."—Argonaut.
Saved by a Stump
Up In the mountain district of north
ern California a farmer set a trap for
a bear and caught It the very first
night. Jhen he should have killed the
animal, but he took a notion that he
would make It a prisoner, and perhaps
make money exhibiting it.
So he got a stout rope, proposing to
tic the bear's legs in such a way that it
could only walk slowly. This he did
after considerable maneuvering, and
then sprung the trao. But ho must have
slipped the knots, for no sooner was the
bear released than it started for him In
very lively fashion.
The man immediately ran for home,
but tbe ground w_s rough, and he soon
realised that the bear was gaining.
He could at last hear the heavy tread
at.llls- heels, and gave himself up for
lost, when Ha hea*d a crash and a-deep
snarl, and when be paused at a safe
distance to look back he saw the bear'
on the ground!
The trailing rope had somehow
caught In a stump and checked tbe bear
with such force as to break its leg, and
at the same time hold It fast
The farmer hurried bkck to the trap,
got his gun, and this time made no mis
take about disposing of tbe bear.—St
Louis Globe-Democrat
_—_,- -
A Lion and a Mouse
In the Berlin soo a mouse was put In
the Cage of a lion to teat whether, si
tbe old story asserts, there was a
natural affection between the**. : Tbe
experiment was rattler astonishing.
Tbe lion saw tbe mouse before he was
fairly through the bars, and was after
him Instantly. A***ray went tke little
fellow,, soeaking in t right When h«
had gone.a few yards tbe Hob beaded
him off, and this **as repeated until
the,mouse stood still;
The Hon.then Stood over bin% sfttdr
iag him wKh interest and pres*ntly he
brought his paw down on the mouse,
but so gently that it was not injured
In tha least. Then the lion played with
tht mouse, ndw letting him run a f4w
Inches aad stopping him.again.
Suddenly the mouse cbanked his tac
tics and instead of nmnlng when the
lion lifted Ms paw, sprang straight at
the blf animal's head.
The Hon, terrified, gave a great l#p
backward and roareff In «-tre_W fright,
while tbe little mouse t»ad« his escape.
Of the two, the lion wks the moire
frightened.—St Louis Globe-Democrat
Equipped with Double
Lens Camera
itself of its queer harness. But when
It finds this Impossible at last it settles
down to carrying Its little camera
faithfully, snd after a few weeks* train
ing It Is apparently quite as comfort
able with It as without it No one
knows what will be the final use to
which the work of these pigeon pho
tographers will be put, but in Germany
they are hoping 'that some use, will
Anally be made of them by the war de
partment, which may send out the
pigeons to take photographs of the de
fences of the enemy or the country over
which it Is desired that a body of
troops shall be sent.
Couldn't Fool Them
According to a southern correspond
ent, a great, gaunt, colored man entered
the express office in a small town and
asked If there had been anything re
ceived for George Washington.
The clerk gave him a knowing look,
and said, sharply, "What game are you
trying,to work on me? Washington
died long ago!"
This is a companion to the story of
the congressman who began an ad
dress by saying: "As Daniel Webster
says in his great dictionary:
"it was Noah who wrote the diction
ary," whispered a member at the next
desk.
"Noah," repff*tl the speaker, con
temptuously. "Non'ienje! Noah built
the ark."'—St. Louis Globe Democrat
5