IN THE DESERT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 9249, 17 January 1916, Page 6

IN THE DESERT

A RIFLEMAN'S LETTER WAITING FOR. THE SHNtTSSI. Rifleman H. G. Bell, of the 2nd Battalion of file New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), writes from Dabaa. Sahara Desert, under date of November’ 25 tn, 1915, as follows: ■ “We arrived here two days ago in A sandstorm. VV e are on a rail-head 110 miles west of Alexandria, five miles from the coast, and 100 miles into the desert. Wo are supposed to be somewnere near tue boruers of Egypt and Tripoli. The Senussi and Bedouin trines of these parts and the hinterland of Tripoli Uave risen at last, and we expect trouble here any day and any hour. We Uave some men about six miles out, guarding some wells; also outposts, guards, paipois, and sentries closer in. Last night our own platoon was the inlying jncaet, and we nau to sleep in fud uniiom, with rifle and equipment at om side* ifrom now on wo must just snatch our sleep and meals as we may, for when we are not on guard-duty of some sort wo are soul over the hill to mg in the trenches. “X suppose we are iucity to be here, and not away from the railway. At any rate, the water-train comes out once a day, and our biscuits and bully beef are always more than we can face. We get about six biscuits, a tin of bully beef, one tin of Jam, and a quart _ of black tea per diem —no butter or milk, bread or 'duff,' or anything like that—not good stuff to work on. ihe chief trouble, of course, is so much, salt meat and never any vegetables, but jam. Naturally, there is nothing to buy here: even water is pncoiCßS- -There are a few donkeys, camels, sheep, and goats belonging to a fow friendly Arabs, who wander about looking tor pasture where there is none —only occasional sage brush. . “Our view is not very extensive; the dry desert rolls away everywhere in a white glare, the rails end abruptly, the permanent Egyptian coastguard barracks swelter away to the right, the small Arab village with diminutive mosque sprawls unclean at our back, our forlorn, score of tents flap idly in the | prevailing winds. Just over the mil w jur trenches, and beyond that a cavalry screen, motor-cycle scouts, and armoured motor-cars. To prevent the line being cut at our rear there is an armoured train and also pickets scattered back to Alexandria over 100 mUes_ of railway. To our right lies the Mediterranean, and probably Admiralty .support “The climate is as hot as Hades ail day the sand sends up a glare that s baffling eyes already, a blows avery day between 10 a.m. and 5 P- m -' and raises clouds of dust, which peuecrates everything— food, clothes, nechanism, oars, eyes, nose. ,i he tents ifford little shelter, and we lust lie in them in sheer abandon, awaiting the mil. The night comes early and swift; the desert is no sooner turned from'white to red than it changes to black, ihe desert suuset is strikingly brief, and the desert moonlight is like daylight, only cool and white like a searchlight. At night, too, the date it becomes desperately cold, and one wants all the Shelter and cloches ae can pile on ,as the night goes on and the heat ot day radiates oat of the wand. vVe ail have bad ooids as the result of ,he quick change. The extreme is strikmg enough at Cairo and Alexandria, but here it is too sudden. Another evil from which we all suuer, more or less, is sand colic. Our binary here is one KoyaT magazine. . . "But we are very happy to have got to the front so soon. VVe have met Tommies who have been in the war since the beginning and never seen light, and Australians who have been in Egypt for six months, yet we get our chance uiUuu a week of landing and before wo have been soldiers six mouths. The 15th Bikhs, the 4th Gurkhas. Australian night morse, Worcestershire Yeomanry, Egyptian xafantry. Machine-gun Sections. Armoured Corps, Transport, Ambulance, Signallers, and Air Corps are here, besides all the usual details.

“Eißdt armoured cars came in last fight from the desert with refugees fleeing before th© face of the advancing tribes. These tribes are supposed to fce led by Germans and Turks, with Krupp and' machine-guns. They are the same tribes that the Italians never subdued, and are supposed to be in thousands. If they oomo at us it will be fierce indeed, as they must get at the wells behind us or face the Sahara waterless. They ar© expected any time, though they may never com© v If they delay much longer we shall be more than ready for them. Our trenches have to be cut through shallow reefs of rock. but they are biting in ever more secure/*