GOOD-BYE TO THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2504, 19 March 1902, Page 67

GOOD-BYE TO THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

Dear Dot and Little Folk,— How many of

Dot's little folk saw the departure of the ninth -contingent from Dunedin? Very many, I hope. It was a grand sight, and one that will i.ot soon be forgotten. Years hence, when tho little folk who read this have grown up to be "big fo!k," and when the -war in South Africa is a thing of the past, mention of it and of the contingents sent from New Zealand. will bring back vividly to naind the scene in Dunedin and Port Chalmers last Wednesday, when between lines of cheering spectators the boys in khaki went swinging by. Amongst those who went away were many quite evidently very young. Yet all of them will, I feel sure, acqttit themselves bravely. As their chaplain (the Key. Mi Dutton)' said : "The lads in the ninth aro .. of the same stuff as those who have gone bifore — those who, at New Zealand Hill, Ottoshcop, and Bothasberg, have earned a grand name for the soldiers sent from this colony." Tho scene in Dunedin on this occasion was tot so imposing as that on the day "of the "send-off" to the fourth and fifth. On Wednesday tho procession was made very- short, and when the men arrived at the Agricultural Hall Rnd went inside for luncheon, there was a rush for the Port Chalmers train. Such a crush and such a bustle I have rarely seen. "Oh dear, do let me in!" cried one lady. But there was no room on the train for her, either inside the carriages or on the platforms. The tiain looked like a low of St. Clair trprncars on v. ho'.iday, and a railway official nervously predicted that some of us would make work for the ambulance. Everyone, however, seemed to think that the calamity would fall on somebody else, and his words of caution against overcrowding passed by unheeded. Port Chalmers looked very gay. The street all the way from Mussel Bay station to the wharf was decorated with flags, and in the. square near to the wharf a platform had been rrectsd. The platform was almost hidden in ferns and flowers and trees and flags, and everyone said that the Port Chalmers people had'niade a very pretty sight out of it. The troopers did not arrive for some time. Meanwhile the pipers marched up and down the street, and those who had come down earlier tried to pet lunch. What a trade some of the did in cakes and fruit! The owners of them, no doubt, would like a contingent to go t v.-ay every day. Long before the troopers had come I heard one shopkeeper say she. had not s> single cake left. "Perhaps you would take seine ginger nuts?" said she to the stout gentleman who had asked her. But he didn t. General Babington came down in the train, arriving immediately before that bringing the contingent. He could not get in a carriage, and h3d to ride on the engine. Tho line of inarch was crowded with people •when the troopers came. They stopped in iront of the platform, from which speeches ■were delivered. The Premier's fine, strong voice was well heard, but not much could be made of the other speakers except by those close by. *■ Almost everybody wished to go on the wharf to see the men embark. And what a crush there was! From the Corinna we could see ihem pushing against tho barricades in one dense mass. The Kent blew her first whistle; •we saw the troopers boarding her in one steady stream; then the barricades were opened, and the wharf in front of the big steamer was in an instant packed with men and women and children. We could hear the men on board bhouting out to those on the wharf, and those oji the wharf cheering those on the ship. Then the lest whistle blew, and the steamer commenced to move. Was it an omen of good fortune that the sun should shine out so brightly then and bathe everything in glorious light? There was more cheering from those on the wharf, and this time it was returned by tho troopers. Everyone seemed happy, and yet I know there were many who did not cheer, n " For some were • silent that glorious day : The women were waiting— the women who stay." There wore mothers and sisters on that wharf who were parting with those very dear to them. They could bear up bravely, but they could not cheer. For not all of that band of soldiers •would return to these shores, and there were many fathers and mothers who realised that on Wednesday. Many a heart amongst them must have felt a sickening fecr. Slowly and surely the big troopship backed out. By-and-byc she was clear altogether. A little while in turning, and then she moved eteadily away — away on her voyage to distant Africa. The bands on our boat — there were three — struck up. The ropes were cast off, *nd we followed. Pulling boats, sailing boats, a. splashing oil launch, steamers, large and small, each with crowded decks, made up a gay procession — the final ceremony in the farewell to the ninth. The Corinna was the last to Jeave, but she soofl .nicked. uj> the other'

boats, and, passing them, the boys on our ship sarcastically asked if they wanted a tow. Past this--point ar.d past that, and then we were off the Kaik, and gaining steadily on the big black hull in front. Soon we were at the Heads, and for a time the white-clad prisoners on the hillside attracted all attention. They stopped v/ork to see us go by; one, then another, took off his hat, and merrily waved it to us, and many waved back. The most pathetic things have often a humorous side. The incongruity of the sight made many smile, but the pathos of it! How many would have gladly exchanged their dishonoured calling for the honoured one on which we were sending away the boys of the ninth! As they saw the light-hearted troopers and the singing, merry excursionists go by, one can imagine grief, and remorse in many a heart. Back to their weary, monotonous toils; back to their thoughts — their thoughts of "what might have bc3n."' One thought of Whittier's lines : "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, TII3 saddest are these: 'It might have been.' "

The little ferry boats were now turning back. But we went on. The harbour was so smooth that we had hardly felt ourselves moving. We crossed the bar, and, crossing, our ship began to heave a little, and then "Ohs" and "Ahs" and prophecies of sickness and much laughter. But no one was sick; even the ocean was too smooth to effect that. Two miles or so off the land the Kent stopped and lay motionless. What a r.oise we made as we sailed louud her! The bands played, the passengers cheered, the whisllo blew, and rockets one after another went up into the sky. The troopers cheered back ; then slowly and reluctantly we drew off ; watched the little torpedo boat gliding through the water like a snake, saw the tug go alongside and take off the Premier and those with nim, gave another parting cheer, and then turned and steamed homewaids. Soon the Kent \ was in the distance, the flag-dressed masts barely visible, and the troopers on her deck but little specks. And then we entered the heads. Bu.t 54 years ago the Philip Laing and John Wickliffe had entered these heads, bearing the pioneers of the province. l " v " four years ago tho3e hardy pionceis entered the heads to fight against swamps and forests and the dangers of a strange land; to-day hardy men, more in number than Iho3c pioneers, were sailing away from these heads to fight enemies more dangerous than swamps. What a contrast!— what an unexpected contrast! The -Journey to the wharf seemed all too short. There was music and smgmg and cheers for the captain and cheers for the bands, varied by constant whistles from the steamer. Mischievous boys would pull the rope, and the good-natured captain pretended not to see. By 6 o'clock we were back on the wharf again, «d the send-off «-^v.r. ? Your.