IN PALESTINE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17703, 1 February 1918, Page 5

IN PALESTINE.

1 OUR TROOPS ON THE MARCH. The thing: that was that I 'ave seen, In barracKs, camp and action too; I tell thtm over \o niysoii, , An' sometimes wencier if they're true. —Kipling. An Australian was once asked what tho desert was like. His answer was expressive. " i'ou get miles and miles of sand," he said, "then miles of'miles ot blooming sand, and then d—n all!" And so it must have seemed to those who, in the early days of driving the Turk back from the canal, had to cross that monotonous and seemingly unlimited stretch of country that lies east of the Suez Canal. Different from the Libyan desert, which is all stony; it is just rolling sand dunes covered to a slight extent in places with a coarse, camel grass, and very rarely are one'', eyes soothed by the, greenness of a palm grove. Our work on the western front being accomplished, reorganised and reequipped, we found ourselves one early morning waiting to entrain on. ' the Eastern express- The familiar green of the engine, with its letters L. and S.W.R. turned the thoughts of many of us to our " little grey homes in tho west." But not for us this time the string of palatial cars that roll oub of Waterloo, rather the useful freighter whoso home is at Nine Elms. In we bundle, officers and men, the only ditto once being that the former are allowed more room, and so the fortunacc possessors of camp chairs can spread them out, while others sit on their valises. The time being early spring, there was no necessity to spread an awning of blankets to keep off the sun. A warning whistle from the engine prepares us tor the jolt, and a good jolt it is, as. punctual to the moment, our train pulls outWe then proceed to make ourselves comfortable for the journey that lies' before us. The wise campaigner will always have something on him to read, so books and any old newspapers soon appear from the various haversacks, and aro shared round by all. The permanent way is not the essence of smoothness, but as an tngineering proposition it is a marvellous accomplishment, as, although only ballasted with sand it successfully stands the strain of the heavy freight trains carrying supplies to the front: and even athome you do not see. larger or more heavily loaded trucks. With no cuttings and not many deviations to escape gradients, the line stretches away to its distant goal, and the slowness of an uphill pull is compensated by the downward run, when the train apparently taking charge, the enginedriver, to show that he is really in authority, momentarily jams on the brakes, producing a jolt sufficient to shake out your teeth. It is all in the day's work, and there are more ways of travelling than in a Pullman car.

The increasing heat, with its accompanying glare, begins to make reading rather a trial, and eyelids droop, and one by one we drop off into a fitful slumber, but when the word is passed that wo are overtaking some Yeomanry regiments, everyone hastily rises. Greetings are for we recognise many of tho riders, and until a fold of the l ground shuts them out of our sight, we gaze with admiring, but envious eeys, at the marching squadrons, for we cannot forget that wo, too, were once mounte'd, and the hope that we might get otir horses bac-k has never completely died. There was no halt for lunch, so, at midday, the contents of the luncheon basket (or rather, box) were duly examined and tested. Then followed a pipe, and a return to "slumber while we may." It was close on four o'clock when the roar of the surf told us we were approaching the end of our journey, and, well up to time, our train ran into a collection of sidings. Detraining did not take longj tor when a man carries his belongmgs on his back he never has to go running round looking for his luggage. Our orders were quickly given us, and away we marched over some of the heaviest sand we have met (and our knowledge of sand is considerably extensive). Across a wadi, lined by palm trees—their feathery tops waving to tho sea breezes—and up througii some fig orchards wo went, ami out into the open plain, on the far side of which wo found our camping ground. Tents were there waiting for us, aiiei' sobln tlie only sound to be heard was that of the mallet striking the pegs, which were well sunk into the ground, and when sand had been piled on the curtain wo felt we were all secure agamst storm. In exploring round next morning wo found some of an lurkkh machine-gun entrenchment. lho adjacent town had for a long time been the headquarters of the Turkish army, and their old horse and camel lines were only a quarter of i» mile awaj from us. The town of El Arish was tho cleanest wo have met in Egypt, and we were much struck by the fact that many of its inhabitants had red hair; most picturesque they looked with their vari«-

gated coloured robes of sheepskin, thfl natural shades of brown, black, and white being most effectively wei* blended. Here wo had an example of the excellent shooting of our as the fort is a heap of ruins, tho surrounding houses being untouched by ouf shells.

In going through tho fig orchards one wondered at the bareness of the lower branches, until tho explanation was furnished by the sight of a large herd! of goats, most of them standing o» their hind legs to reach the leaxeis. What those goats lived on must alwayn be a mystery. Grass there was nones—• pickings there were none; an occasional fig leaf could hardly be called » rwsW» but the effect of their presence was to turn what should have been masses it greenery into barren scarecrows. Via had a good example of how the sand' covers everything in time. It waa necessary to dig what is commonly <»!»* ed a "funk-hole,'' when the party struck the top of a large dome. They broke through it, only to find it ti*ledf Kvith a very fine, dry sand, finer than; that outside. Whether it was a tomb or well-head we do not know, ,as wo got orders to march before it could ba cleared out. Perhaps some unit is now enriched hy some rare find of antiques ; perhaps not! I think not, decidedly not. At any rate we shall never know, a 8 I am suro nobody will ever go hack to look. . . • Half-past five one evening found tho" brigade fa'ilen in full marching order, and, punctually to time, wc sot out on the first stage of that march which was to bring us to tho battle line once'inore. North of the camp we struck the road, that monument of a great brain-wava on somebody's part. Pleasant to walk on; carrying a good spring, it stretches from tho canal to the front, but the heavilv laden infantrymen must beware of holes, for, should ho catch his foot, a nasty shaking fall! is the result] we were one of those who fell, so we know.. Hence frequently down the line comes the old hunting cry, " 'Ware hole." A few days' march brought us "to the old boundary line of Palestine, and we were spread out in detached parts in a wide semi-circle ; a line of tho ground above the station falling to our particulor lot. Our dug-outs were sunk in high ryegrass, and very pleasant it was to look over miles of green cultivated land, reminding one very much of our own downs at home.

A stay of a few days was.made un* forgettable by a Khamseen which came on; and, as.digging parties had W bo formed all day, the men's endurance was tested to tho utmost. We left at 1.30 p.m. with the Khamseen still blowing. After a morning's digging, great was our relief when wo. arrived at our new position under the trees of Khan Yunus. Khan Yunus, they toll me, was the home of Delilah* From what we saw, there are at present no fatal beauties which are at all likely ever to make a man turn hia head towards them, much less turn it! for him. We suppose the breed has died out. , In the centre of the town js a well of excellent water about 150 or morel, feet deep. The motive power is supplied by a little old engine that saw its origin in our own country. We told the R.E. corporal that if she got out of order we coife! easily produce soma of the boys who helped to make her. Overlooking tho well is a mosque. which, it is said, was once a castle, built by Godfrey do Bouillon. It may be so—the ponderous wall looks like it. We were bivouacked on tho ridge north-east of the town, in grassy fields with cactus hedges, most of company headquarters being able to find trees to provide shades for our dug-outs- A short stav here and we soon found ourselves digging shelter holes behind the light ground south-east of Gaza. We had onlv to go about a hundred yard* to look down over the valley where the Wadi GuiKze runs, and see, away in the distance, the minarets of Gaza showing white amidst tho palm groves. And again, on the right hand, the distant hills, where lay the Turkish lines. Digging was the order, and good trenches were dug in those fields of barley -excellent barley most of it was, too. Many of our frugal-minded husbandmen cut ancl stacked lots of it* May it be of some use to somebody. Probably sonio mounted troops will benefit by it later. In the barley were quail, many quail, so wo must needs sally forth one afternoon in front of our wire*, after having warned everybody likely to misunderstand our proceedings. What matter that a Turkish aeroplane sailed high above one, its course marked by the white puffs of our bursting shrapnel. Ten brace were, broupht down in one and a half hours, and the mess provided with a welcome addition to its usual menu. Another move to a scene of greater ''liveliness" at a hive of dug-»ats rnado in the sides of various wadis, where amidst the dust of their beds, kicked up by passing traffic, settling on all and sundry, we realise the old. old truth, "Beatu's ille qui procut negotiis,' etc.