BRUCE OF EVEREST.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 161, 10 July 1922, Page 11

BRUCE OF EVEREST.

XAI.ES O2" A MOTJNTAIIfnER. A GTRKHA I1X»L. Brifrailior-GonoTal C. O. Bruce, leader of the Royal Geographical >Soeiet.v"s expedition to Mount Everest, i* one'of the most popular soldiers in India. He i? known from end to end of the Punjab as Charlie Bruce, and every cantenment in the north-west of India has at least one anecdote to tell concerning lim. He i= the idol of the little Gurkha soldiers, and it was he whd founded the famous Gurkha khud race. in which the fompotitors race ov*r mountain slones and precipices, which would fce=t the ikill of a <roat.

The outstanding thing about him is kis extraordinary physique and amazing itrenpth, two thing-? in a man which (be Gurkha soldier loves. Several typical stories are told of him by MajorGeneral Woodyatt, in ''Under ten Viceroys." "One of his feats on a 'big night."' save thp author, "was to lie en the floor and get the heaviest man Jn the room to jump up and down on his stomach: Being unavoidly absent at his farewell dinner, I inquired of a staff officer of mine—of great weight— next day if he had been aslced to earrv out this performance. Yes. indeed, iir,' he said, 'and T was jrreatly afraid that I should hurt him with my sixteen gtone. but he only told mc to jump higher."

"He was always in the highest spirits." save the same -writer, "and always ready to laugh, fight, oalanee a tumbler on his chin, or race somebody down the khud. His cverlastinp juvenility and his love of a joke were contagious, and made all his associates young again. THE FAIi, OF BUDDHA. "I remember at Atmora he -was the only man who could lift our celebrated brass image of Buddha, weighing about 2ewt. He could lift this right up, ana one night, another man talking a good deal of his strength, Bruce passed it on to him. It -was much too heavy, however, for the boaster, who dropped it and smashed his own toe. After that we kept it screwed down. ,.

Before he obtained a brigade. Genera] Bruce was colonel of tho sth Royal Gurkhas, and he has a unique knowledge of their claeses, language, and customs. Be has lived nearly all his life among the hillmen of the north-west of India, »nd mountaineering has been his lifelong hobby. When not sealing the mountains of India, he was on leave in Switzerland justifying his membership of the Alpine Club.

It was General Bruce, by the way, who first introduced "shorts" into the armyk—a daring innovation, whfch shocked all India, but the common sense of which every Digger who was in Egypt or Gallipoli will appreciate. For years "shorts" were not officially recognised in the Indian army, but the dress was adopted by regiment after regiment until, when the Commander-in. Chief in India sought to abolish them, he was warned by his quarter-master that the whole army would revolt, and finally, the army supply lists contained the entry "shorts, khaki, pairs"—and Bruce had won another of his many cheerful battles against red-tape. Although the Everest explorers are having a rough time, they have in General Bruce a man who will keep them gay. even in a north-west ■blizzard. And it is probable that had be been Captain Finch in a canvas tent 25,000 feet up, he would have insisted that his companion should jump up and down on his stomach to keep them 'both from freezing.