THE FIFTH CONTINGENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11432, 24 July 1900, Page 5

THE FIFTH CONTINGENT.

, .' '; ■■■■'■ ' ■ "' ■"'''•.V"i''-l^i^ FROM BEIRA TO MARANDEI/I/AB DESCRIPTION OF THE JOURNEY, •TJNDM ORDERS FOR BULUWAYO, [rKOM : OUR SrKCUI, WAR conRSsroNDPT.]-. % Tolesrapli from phristcliurcli.] ""■;.. " 's : JIARAHDEii-AS ) ; A portion of tho Fifth Contingent, con-i sisting of the Auckland and Canterbury com-J panies, has at length arrived at Marandellas,!-'.. after wasting over three weeks at. Beta,. They, delay in moving the troops forward wutf: caused chiefly by: the insufficiency of the rolling stock on the line. There are justf enough waggons to carry at most about 150' horses and men. The first stage is feoint Beira to Bamboo Creek, a distance of about? 60 miles. There all hands aro transhipped,; as this is Hie terminus of the narrow gauge* line. A 4ft gauge rims from here. Inthisf line, too, .the rolling stock is very limited,and consequently the transport; of troops is very slow,' to tho great annoyance of all the? men, who are anxious to get to tba front* However, tho companies are being sent ore as fast as possible under the circumstanced They are leaving the Beira camp in tho order; in which their boats arrived- in the estuary.-, The Victorians, including tho Capetown, Scouts and the Queensland, were the first to}, leave to go right through to Marandellas,.Tho Monowai's portion of the Fourth Contingent followed. A number of divisions of tho Imperial Yeomanry, who arrived soma time later than any of the Fifth New Zealand Contingent, were sent on, .some tor Twenty-throe Creek, some to Umtali, and others "to Marandellas, a couple of days aften leaving the Galatea.. It was not till May, 19 that the first arrivals of tho Fifth NeW, Zealanders, the Auckland Company and a division of the Canterbury Company, were ordered to hold themselves in readiness t» leave on Sunday, the 20th. On the morning of the 20th, tho Canterbury men, who had' packed kits and were all ready to move, wero told that there was only room for thai Aueklanders, and they wero ordered to Iw ready to leave next afternoon, when all hands again lined up with kit and baggage, and had their horses all ready to put on tho, trucks. The men hung about waiting further, orders until dark, when they were once mow, ordered into camp with their baggage. For-, tunately they had not taken down their tents as they had arranged that the Gymeric meni of the Fourth, who had just come ashore,;' should exchange tents with them. They, wero then told to turn out and leave next, morning. This time final arrangements seemed to have been made, bub tho move-,

ments of the officials showed that they were either incompetent or were in no hurry to get the men to the front. The men themselves, on the other hand, showed great keen.4 ness to get away, and were complimented os( the smart manner in which they entrained their horses. A FRESH DISAPPOINTMENT. Wo got aboard then at half-past nine a.m.,-, on May 22, thinking that we would change' trains at Bamboo Creek and travel night and day till wo got to tho base camp. But on; arriving at tho creel: at dark wo wero officially informed that wo would have to remairti here at least four days. At this further*' delay tho disappointment of tho men—ins creased by the fact that Bamboo Creek id now known as the white man's sepulchre—« was expressed in forcible terns. However, 1 we had to smother our chagrin and set ta work to pitch camp, untruck and picket outf horses in the darkness. This was soon done,-, and the four following days passed with thcr usual routine of camp duties, except Ihatt wo had the luxury of a daily) swim. The horses, which, as a rule,, are very low in condition, began to improve.. One or two were slightly injured on the] journey up from Beira. . A track containing; four horses belonging to Lieutenants White 1 and Tuekey (of the Wellington Company) £ got off the line,-and' although it was at-, tached to the engine, it was dragged along, a distance of three chains,' till it capsized.-; Tho drivers then seemed to notice that, there was something wrong. ' Strangely! enough, these horses were not even scratched.! But the serious neglect on tho part of the drivers occasioned a delay of about twohours, and thus blocked a train convoying, Mr. Cecil Rhodes (who visited our camp tho' previous day), from Beira to Salisbury.

THE LEE-SPEED RIFLE. On arriving at Bamboo Creak every matt'; was supplied with a Lee-Speed magazine? rifle. Tho Lee-Speed is a Lee-Metford,{ with ono or two slight alterations. The; magazine carries 10 cartridges, . and an. vraqunnp oqi u; pauiuD eq Ami q}iioA9]af After firing this cartridge, in going through' the motions of unloading the rifle is 'again* loaded. This will always be the case as long as there is ono cartridge left in the! magazine, Of course tho magazino need not be used, but the rifle may be loaded!, in the ordinary way with a single cartridge.] Tho rifle, which.is much heavier, and of; course much longer that tho Lee-Metforil! carbine, is not at all a convenient firearm 1 ; for mounted men. Tho carbine supplied to; tho Fourth Contingent in New Zealand has' been taken away from them, and the Lee-' Speed supplied in its place. The change; has caused great dissatisfaction amongst the men.

THE CAMP AT BAMBOO CREEK. * - To return to tho camp at Bamboo Creek/, the guard, on being mounted at ten each, morning, was supplied with ammunition.; Wild animals camo close to the camp dur- ! i' ing the night, and the roar of the lion and the cries of hyenas and jackals could bo distinctly heard from the picket tent, although! none of the animals camo close enough to* afford any sport or excitement. On tho* way to the base camp at three a.m. orY the fourth day (Sunday), the Company* and a portion of the Auckland j again struck camp, and left Bamboo Creek* for the baso camp. . The majority 01 tho' Aucklanders, with their horses, under Cap* tain Majoi, and 42 Canterbury horses, under' Sergeant Strong, and eight men, loft the dayj before wo arrived at a small village named. Mandegas. There we untrucked our horse* and fed and watered them. At eight? o'clock we again started foi Umtali, a small' village 100 miles from Mandegas, ,The. horses were again fed and watered, and somf. that were rather badly injured coming up were taken up to the sick lines, which are about a mile Irom the railway station. Um fortunately four of our men, who had left' the creek suffering from fever, were too ill' to go on, and had to bo left at the hospital in Umtali. ' At ten o'clock at night we left Umtali, and got into Marandellas at about twelvo noon nest day, having tra-s veiled 300 miles in two days and two nights.,. ORDERED TO BULUWAYO.

On arriving in camp we were all anxious ' to know what the next move would bo. We; soon learnt that we were to go on to Bulu j > wayo as soon as our horses were fit for the journey, a distance of nearly 400 miles. Wo are not sure whether we will have to waif? for the Wellington and Hawke's Bay port tion of the contingent, . who are still in Beira. The Auckland men have now, joined an artillery corps. Volunteers for a battery were asked for at Bamboo Creek., 1 Nearly half the Auckland men applied, and to avoid » split-up, Captain Major offered the whole company. Ho was warmly complimented, and at onco promoted to tlia rank of major, and Lieutenant Boswortli was promoted to that of captain. ;,' THE COUNTRY FROM BEIRA TO MARANDELLAS, After leaving Beira the line passes through' about three miles of real South African swamp, covered-with a rank jungle grass and swarming with ants, crabs, and frogs.r There are 3ft of deep black soil, with asticky slate-coloured clay ' bottom. •' M would take millions to, drain, the land< which, in its present state, is utterly", use, less. Working in the soil is said 'to be,; deadly, and it is unlikely. that anything Will be dono to improve it unless blacks can ba' ; . employed. --For the next 25 miles you pass ■• through a. ragged bush, sufficiently open- m* most parts to be ridden through. On Jeavt ; ing this,bush the- train passes over lout stevella bridge, the ; building of ..which; it, said tohave cost soveral hundreds of li-urot ■-. pean lives. W'A' few were killed, the resC did J from -' sevore I attacks f.of -fever, cwgMj v from the fresh turned-uu swamp_ soil. M next 10 miles after leaving the bridge com sist ' of . an-extensive water-logged; ~ over which clouds of ■ locusts M^B?.f7M£ tote mp &mt^msyb • ' , , . .. /&'.

The last 25 or 30 miles ■ before reaching Bamboo Creek Is much higher, and this soil • •is gritty and more open. '7vWith.a New Zealand climate this land would grow cereals . fruits, and ' any. of the sub-tropical vegetation. ; .Yet'here not even an acre of it if . 1 Utilised in any : way. •■ ,- > THE PROSPECTS FOR LABOUR. " Bamboo Creek' is simply a convenient rail- ' Wav stopping place. ■• It has about 400 in-->*habitants, mostly Portuguese. The rail-v--way being under tho Rhodesiah Government His t carried on chiefly by : British officials, Sorn. of the firemen employed are Portuguese or Greek. =•;Here, too, are railway .^'workshops, -where carriages, trucks, and [/roadside waggons are being built far toe slowly to meet'the present demands. Then seems to be plenty "of scope'for competent men. from the British colonies, as men /who have had no training in the work re- '•: ceive from £20 to £25 per month. Gangers' men, who understand platelaying and bank- , ing, receive a/similar wage. . The great 'drawback is, of course, the unhealthy climate, but this Would not be felt so much in "case of firemen, for instance, who are constantly on the move. For the first 10 miles after leaving Bamboo Creek there is a gradual incline,.passing through a thin bush, 'then we come suddenly upon a cluster of ' thickly-wooded "knolls, all about 100 ft high. From here the line winds gradually up till ■it gets to the eastern top of what must be an immense chain of hills and kopjes, expending to about five miles to the west of 'Marandellas. All along the lino the hills, .valleys, and ravines are covered with thick bush. The trees in some places rise to a • height of/over 200 ft, and undergrowth is covered with climbers, bearing largo purple blossoms. The kopjes are all about 500 ft -high, and they are so strongly fortified with ' big, sharp rocks, that it is easy to realise at a glance what a tremendous undertaking it must have been to dislodge several parties of the enemy .posted on these natural forts. •The whole country from the creek to Malandellas is splendidly watered by thousands of clear running streams, which pass down the ravines arid valleys. On the low-lying land, along the eastern coast, the only villages of any importance passed through are Mandegas and Umtali, both of which are Portuguese settlements. To the north of these "settlements the mines have been worked, but just now there seems to be scarcity of men. From 25s to 35s per day are offered for men who can take charge of the working of diamond-drills, underground tunnelling, fitting engines, etc. I was present when an overseer of mines, near Salisbury, offered to take as many men as would go with him, and pay them 30s per day to begin with. Living in Rhodesia is about £10 per month. The mines north of Umtali are still being worked, chiefly owing to the 'fact that Mr. Rhodes' farm 5s near to them, and that the surrounding district may in time become more thickly settled. -'■ THE CAMP AT MARANDELLAS. ; Marandellas has sprung into existence, 'with the advent of the troops through Portuguese East Africa. The land about here 5 very poor. ■ There is nothing to induce 'anyone to settle here. It is of interest, (because within a very short distance of the •township the last great stand of the Matabeles took place. The rocks in three different parts are marked with red paint and crosses, to indicate where the three last important battles took place. It is reported -in camp that the natives resent the influx of white men to their territory, and that many of them are being armed, and may • rise in rebellion at any moment. Whether ihis be true 6% not the camping ground is protected with two large guns, under the • charge of Imperial artillerymen, and the ■. pickets are ordered to keep a sharp lookout in case of surprise. There is reason ': •to believe 1,1];;'; the Boers, as they trek into Matabelelai-.d, will do all they can to fan 'any smouldering of rebellion. The men : - bow in camp would be glad of a little whole- '.; eome excitement, although it might prove a . 'serious matter to have to contend against native troubles in the present stale of affairs. •' '•./ : SICK MEN. i*" A great many of tho men of the Fifth 'Contingent have suffered slight attacks of the malariai fever, but most of them are recovering, and after a few days in such a bracing climate as we are experiencing here, ; wll should be about again in a few days. ; Lieutenants White, Bosworth, and Potter, who were sent to the hospitalship in Bcira, " have quite' recovered, and are able to attend to their duties again. Dr. De Renzi, .who was taken to Umtali Hospital, is not •yet able to come on.to join his new command, under Sir F. Carrington. Corporal 'rEight is again on duty at Beira, and I v. think Hawkins is about again. Seymour, Thomas, Guest, and Savage had to be removed from the train to Umtali Hospital, but it was found they had very slight at- % tacks of the fever,'and will be able to come ''-on.as soon as the company is ready to leave for Buluwayo. After a week's camping In Beira, Dr. De Renzi suddenly took a trip up country, to arrange, as we learned later. ; >, transfer from the New Zealand companies . to ono under direct command of Sir F. Carrington. Havlnj, made all arrangements ■ satisfactory to himself, he came back, •packed up, and left us. The sick men, therefore, had to obtain the attention of surgeons, who had no right to afford the time. Much praise is due to Dr. Thomas 'aid the doctors of the Imperial Yeomanry, fit the manner in which they placed all :?ieir available time at our disposal.