WITH THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 12

WITH THE NINTH CONTINGENT.

THE DEVON IN A STORM. LOSS OF HORSES AND DAMAGE. ACCIDENT TO SERGEANT LEAN. (From Our Own Correspondent with the North Island Battalion of the Ninth Contingent) AUCKLAND. April 1. The Tran&port s.s. Devon, at sea, March 26, 1802. TBE AUCKLAND SEND-OFF. I must commence this letter with a reference to the magnificent send-off accorded to us by i he citizens of Auckland. To my mind the demonstration was unsurpassed by any pre\ious farewell tendered to New Zealand tioops on their departure for the front. The memory of the event will long remain in the hearts of all, and we will always look bark with feelings of pride to the day when our Auckland friends, representing New Zealand, bade us God-speed, and sent us to do battlp for and uphold the honour of our Empire and of New Zealand. When the Premier, (4ener.il Babington and his -staff, together with their personal fuends, left the Devon and embaiked upon their own steamer, the troop,, lustily cheered them all the farowells. Tina being over we proceeded on our way, and Auckland City was 'oon lott to view. ()ffii»r« und men alike had now time to go over in their minds the doings for the daj'. In every part of the ship could be seen men taking out of their well-filled pockets ktepsake3 of every description. Photos were naturally in abundance, some of those to whom they were given destined, probably, never again to see the original) 5 . Such thoughts, however, are out of place, and therefore we muit look on the bright side of things. We now, one and all. settle down to the first business in hand — \\z., the straightening up on the vessel in preparation for the long voyage before us. Attending to the horses is the main occupation on board. On such a ship as ours is, and among such a number, theie is always plenty of work to be done. On Thumiay evening we parsed the Three Kinga Islands, and as byone impulse, all the members of the Contingent assembled to get a last view of our native shores, and varied were our feelings a* we Hatched them gradually receding from our view. THE STORM. Shortly aftci this, about 6 p.m., the bad weather came on. It suddenly blew a terrific hurricane, and threw us almost off our feet. The order was gi\en to ptand to our hoi3c=, and then our work began. Nordic =s to 'ay. boiL oSicrr- and men worked like Trojans, chief amor? the former being Vete-rinary-lieutenants Mat hews and Franks. Despite" all their effort*, during the two days the gale continued, we lost between 20 and 30 hor--es— all srlendid animals. The remainder all .-tood the strain splendidly, and j are looking well afte>- the terrible time they ! hate h-H to ko t'-rousrh. fn the opinion ot I the hh'p"- officers the weather was about I tlsc mo=l =cverc that they had ev<*r i \peri j pneed m tbe-r» part«, and you can well bolie\e it \\li n n I tell you that we were hoveto for npf rly ?A liour=. It wa<- the enly wav o! saving '■he hor=e=, and we cannot thsnk thf> chip's officers enough for th<» ./ay in which they co-operated with ii? in the 'evere --train put upon all. THE ARRANGEMENTS ON BOARD. A= regards the arrangements on board for ! our accommodation. everything po-oible seems to have been done to make our pas■jago to the Cape as plea c ant and comfort- ] able as possible. The men undoubtedly appreciate the efforts of the authorities in this direction, and all speak highly of the way in which the boat is fitted out. The ' food leaves nothing to be desired, and there j U plenty of it. Pickles and jam are issued j every second day, a 14-lb tin of jam being the' ration for each mes? table. These luxuries are highly appreciated by tho men, who are very well satisfied, winch speaks well for Lieutenant Shenparcl, who is in charge of tiiia department* under Lieutenaat-cjjiartei-

master Clumbers, 'ihe lazarette ha 3 been complete!}- carried away owing to the rough experience we have just had; and large quantities of beer and mineral waters ha\e been lost through the mishap. Sergeant Lean, of G squadron, met with a .slight accident yesterday, the 25th inst., through falling off the winch on tcv the deck, resulting in slight contusion of the back He is prog.crtsing favourably to-day, and we trust it will not be long before he will again take up his duties. Everyone on board is grieved at the mkhap, as Sergeant Leaci is a \ cry popular non-com-missioned officer. 1 CONCERT. On 4he evening of the 24th inst. we held a concert in the commodious quarters set apart for the men. Our very popular commander, Major O'Brien, was in the chair. Bugler Patterick, of F squadron, presided, at the piano. The Contingent Band, which, by the way, has made excellent progress? since its formation, opened the proceedings. The selection given, entitled " Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," was enthusiastically received, and_ an encora was iho result, which was also well rendered. Those who contributed solos were as follows: — Captain Henderson, Lieutenant Mair, Regimental Quartermister-sergeant G. F Pardons, and Privates Read, Bell, Brine, Comerford, and Saddler-sergeant Johnson. All received encores. Recitations were also given by Private Brine and Bugler Potterick. and a whistling «010 by Bugler-corporal Dormer. The proceedings closed after a slscrt speech 1)V Major O'Brien with the singing of tho Nationa' Anthem. Great credit is due to Captain Henderson for the pa : as he took in bringing the concert to such a successful ipsue. and we" only hope that it is the first, of a series of similar entertainments. I may i-tatc, when referring to the bancl. that it is duo to tho untiring pfforts of Bugler Corpora! Dormer that tho institution has turned out Fuch a great puecess. THE SIGNALLING STAFF. As we have a fair number of signallers in the Ninth Contingent, Lieutenant Grant ha-, undertaken the task of forming a class of signallers, and under his instructions the men comprising it ha\c every facility for becoming expert in the work, the sma'l flag —more suitable for mounted infanLry — to ba used in preference to the larger one. Oarbine prnctiro will be indulged in by tw immedijitely after leaving Sydney, and the men are looking forward with interest to this branch of work. No doubt a lot c( good will result from this arrangement, and it will be continued throughout the voyage. APPOINTMENTS. With regard to appointments, a move in the right direction has been made -n thf> promotion of Lieutenant Beale, of H Squadron, to Adjutant-lieutenant. Beale is one of the most popular officers in the rontingenfc, and we feel confident that in bis new sphere he will maintain the position, he has earned as a capable and efficient officer. Squadron Quartermaster Parsons, O C II Squadron, has been promoted to regimental quartermaster-sergeant, and Quarter-master-sergeant Baddoley, of F Squadron, has been transferre-d to fill the vacancy in H Squadron. Corporal Henderson, also of H Squodron, has been promoted to sergeant. A PRESENTATION. Last night, the 25th inst., the contingent officer? took the opportunity of presenting Sir Cox. managing director of the Federal Steamship Company (to which the Devon balongsK with a testimonial in recognition of the trouble he went to to make the officers as comfortable as possible. Major O'Brien made the presentation, and in doing po spoke of tho esteem in which Mr Cox was held by all. Mr Cox, in a short spe°ch, suitably responded. The evening was then spent in music and singing. There i? little doubt that we have some very fine vocalists amongst us almost every song being encored. NO SHORE LEAVE. None of the men wi'l be allowed aihore at Sydney. I think that is on aorount o£ the trouble in getting the men on boarcl again that such a-n order is issued. In previous contingents that hnvo called afc Sydney, through the men be>flg graiitr-cl leave some have in every cas«» missed thr boat.' Stopping the leave altogether, therefore, is the only way of preventing a similar experience. . c Up to the present it the intention of the- agents to scod v* direct to South Africa, not calling in at Albany The total quantity of gold saved by dredges in New South Wales during ISOI amounted to 20.5350 a»

The special trophy presented to the comJjetitOi.- v. in, ga.n-'fj i.:o-t point.-, at the Axeman's Cv.imal iirs beeu unaided to H-

It is rumoured that afl^r the Coionation Sir Conan Dcnle and Sir Eudyaid Kiphnjj will be tLe titles of two well-known novelists.