LAST HOURS IN CAMP.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 3955, 22 January 1900, Page 5

LAST HOURS IN CAMP.

Very quiet and peaceful the camp looked on Friday evening after the horses had left the lines and been put on board the troopship. General leave was granted to tho men, and but few of them remained in camp. Those who had relatives or friends in Wellington—and nearly ’all'had one or the other—spent the evening in the city. It was tiie last night they would spend in the dear home land for many months to come. Much had to be said, many farewells had to be taken, and if they aid seek to lengthen the day by stealing a few hours from the nigtit, who snail blame them? There 1 is hard work before them in South Africa, long, weary hours in the saddle and on guard, probably desperate fighting. Before long the tropical nights and the battlefield will have received back from them a hundredfold more than they stole from the Newtown camp’ to lengthen out their last day in New Zealand. But, however late they might’ have .been overnight, every man turned out promptly when the reveille sounded at 5.30 (half an hour later than usual) on Saturday morning, and the snatches of song and bursts of laughter that* could ho . neard from tho interior of the tents and as the men went about their several duties, showed that they were in good heart and ready to face cheerfully everything that fate might have in store for them. There was no drill to be done; no arduous “stables” to be gone through. Nothing but clearing up in readiness for their departure—and that, to a soldier, is worse than drill, or stables, or almost any duty that he can be, called upon to perform.. However, they buckled to with a will, kit bags were produced, and the.kits stuffed into them so tightly that they were almost as hard as shells, and looked not unlike those deadly projectiles. Lorries were in attendance at an early hour, and the kits and other luggage were piled' on them as quickly as possible and taken down to the troopship. A THIEF IN THE CAMP.

Breakfast was served rather earlier than, usual, and it was pleasant to notice that the approaching departure made no difference to the zest with which thp men attacked their matutinal meal. Some of the officers, however, looked rather, disturbed, ti and the reason was soon made apparent. Their tents had been visited by thieves during the night, and some of their property abstracted. Lieutenant Findlay had lost a largo portmanteau full of clothing, packed so as to be handy during the voyage. Captain Smith, of the Hotchkiss Battery, • complained that a perfectly new suit of, mufti and some other articles of clothing had been taken from his lent, and some of the other officers had lost revolvers and such like. No trace of the thief was discoverable, and it appeared that, he had contented himself with taking only such things as could bo disposed of -without creating suspicion. The intruder had evidently entered the' camp before moonrise the previous evening, and '■boldly entered the tents and! taken whatever suited him. There were: niany visitors in the lines about that time, and his -work would be made very

easy for him. However, he could not be found, nor could the missing articles, and there was nothing for it but to hurl maledictions at him in his absence, and go on with the work of the day. Such acts form a very poor return for the kindness of the authorities in allowing the public such a considerable amount of freedom in visiting the camp, and it is to be hoped the offenders will receive the punishment they so richly deserve.

OLEANING-UP.

Fatigue parties were called out, and set to work to clean up the tents. All the straw and everything from inside was raked out to the front of the tents, Government property being placed on one side, to be sent to the stores at Mount Cook, the straw raked over and the rubbish taken up to the cookhouse to bo burned or otherwise disposed of, and the straw replaced in the tent. The work went gaily on, but with many interruptions, most of the men preferring to receive their friends and have a final yam rather than turning over nearly a month’s collection of rubbish and putting things shinshape. PARTING INTERVIEWS.

The public were present in very large numbers; in fact, some were in attendance when the men turned out at reveille, and never tired of watching the progress of the preparations for departure. Many of them had friends among the men, and were anxious not to lose a minute of their company. “ To think,” said one young lady to a stalwart trooper, “ that this is the last time we shall walk together for ever so long,” and as she uttered the remark her eyes grew dim with tears, which she bravely repressed, anxious not to mar the last moments in New Zealand of the soldier who was so unfeignedly rejoicing that at length the opportunity had coma to him of serving his Queen and .country at the front. The lady’s sentiment found an echo in many a heart that day, but the ladies, poor souls! bore up with splendid bravery, and though eyes uuguc be wet with tears, they veiled , their grief with smiles and laughter, though the smiles were sad and wan and the laughter somewhat forced.

DESPATCHING THE BAGGAGE,

But there was ,so much to be done that there was scarcely time for sorrow. The quartermaster-sergeant wanted all the men he could get to clear out his stores tent, and, willy-nilly, the men had to do it. Truly, the lot of a quarter-master-sergeant is not a happy one, more particularly on the eve of a departure. Turn all those things out, now sort them into heaps—bridles, stirrupleathers, boots, bits, girths, startupirons, and all th© Hundred and one things that a mounted man lias to carry with him, and a reserve supply of which is kept handy by the quartermastersergeant. Slowly order was evolved out of chaos, the work of sorting the articles was successfully carried out, and cases were filled and nailed down. Bring up that cart, sharp now 1 Lend a uand, boys. Heave ho! up she goes! and, many hands making light work, a further stage in the process of embarkation was slowly but surely reached.