From Nature, Vol 8, 1873.
"It is announced that the Transatlantic Balloon will leave New York to-day. It will carry four passengers—Prof. Wise and Mr. Donaldson, the aeronauts; an officer of the United States Signal Service, and an agent of the Daily Graphic. They hope to reach some point on the English or Continental coast in about sixty hours from their departure from New York. They have with them six very powerful and experienced carrier-pigeons, purchased in Belgium, which, if liberated from the balloon within "pigeon flight" of the coast, are expected to fly directly to their old homes. Each of these has painted on his breast, in indelible ink, the outline of a balloon, and on his wings the words, "Send news attached to the neareset newspaper." Despatches received by these pigeons should be sent to the nearest newspaper for publication. We wish these daring men a safe landing; but while we do this we regard the enterprise as one needlessly hazardous, so far as the settlement of the scientific problem is concerned."
I wonder what their fate was ...
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