ten
o’clock
The start was from the deck of the Transatlantic steamship Spartan , at ten o'clock on the evening of the day of starting , the vessel being then reckoned to be about a hundred miles from the land . The bird which reached home first was to be declared the winner . Considerable caution had , we believe , to be observed , as some captains have a prejudice against the bringing off of sporting events aboard their vessels . In spite of some little difficulty at the last moment , the trap was sprung almost exactly at ten o'clock . `` Muller 's bird arrived in Lowell in an extreme state of exhaustion on the following morning , while Flannigan 's has not been heard of . The backers of the latter have the satisfaction of knowing , however , that the whole affair has been characterised by extreme fairness . The pigeons were confined in a specially invented trap , which could only be opened by the spring .