VOYAGING TO EGYPT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13575, 31 December 1914, Page 3

VOYAGING TO EGYPT.

INCIDENTS BY THE WAY.

TROOPSHIP, November.— Men who two days ago were limp, depressed, and disgruntled after the spell of enervating tropical heat, revived to a remarkable degree when an order was issued statiqg that letters posted /at would not be subject to censorship. The glad news was brought while we were peering at the dull grey silhouette of , away on the 'horizon to the south. Since then pints of ink have been used up, and a really heroic effort made to atone for the enforced silence of three weeks or more. How eager we were to tell you the story of the Sydney's smashing of the Emden on tfie glorious morning of November 9 ; how the Sydney, shooting with deadly accuracy and manoeuvring and outranging the enemy, sent 560 shells to make an inferno of the Emden, ; which only struck its flag when the last shot from the last locker had been fired. But the censor was inexorable, and now of course it is very ancient history to you all. Though we could hot hear the j cannonade, the memory of that historic morning will not easily fade. A cruiser had flashed back with a powerful helio [ bare news of the victory ; officers had scurried about the ship reading brief [messages to the men, who cheered heartily, and the band on the bridge deck struck' up "Sons'of the Sea." This was followed by the National Anthem, and with its last bars poor Lowe, who had been fighting hard for his life oh the after deck, passed away. The wet canteens were then opened for an extra •naif -hour to celebrate the fate of the Emden. Three Imperial Reservists paid us a call at — — by dropping overboard from their ship, swimming some 600 yards across to us, and scaling the ladders, After a. smoke and a chat, they swam back again. A match famine, which had transformed us into an army of light cadgers on the run up from Albany, disappeared , at . Ordinary boxes of wooden matches had been fetching Is each; three boxes changed hands for 6s >he day before the Line was crossed. The dearth of cigarettes was almost as bad, Is being eagerly paid for 3d packets. One notoriously mean individual was charging 3d each for cigarettes. The prices now are normal. ! Our Colonel does not object to legitimate money-making among the men. By buying bottles of. limejuice cordial at 2s at the dry canteen,- and retailing the stun* when mixed with water in the shape of "coolers" at 3d each, a profit of 2s 6d per bottle can be shown. The only money game, allowed is threepenny V House." Fortunate owners of sets of the cards and numerals necessary for this, game— they cost from Is 6d to 2a per on s-hore-7-are reaping as much as £4 and £5 per day. For every 6s taken in a game of "House <* the owner retains Is. • In one busy hour big profits are about 15s,^-Auckland Star.

Phyote Reg. Scarfe, a Gisborne boy, writing a t S ea, gives some interesting news in a letter just received. The writer mentions that a fracas with the Chinese crew occurred, on one of the troopships. The Celestials, who had been refused leave, rushed the sentry, finnjf revolvers as they came on. One of , . the officers was shot in the arm whilst one of the Chinese was bayonet tod through the head, and subsequently died, several others bein* l»id out with fire, bars The troopships, he adds, could # only steam nine knots, havW to wait ior one of the other vessels which has had trouble with her Chinese firemen. The ships were hove-to for an hour whilst some men- from the warShip were transferred aboard the particular transport, and the writer ventures the opinion that there would be fun in the stokehold if the Celestials refused to work. A lot of the men were very seasick, although , thev had only had moderate, seas until the dav of writing when the boats were dw>K ing mto a big swell, and thev were all down below, with dead lights dajMun

on. "Talk about an inferno," he remarked, "men sick everywhere, no ventilation, and *«ie a»«i(3 roaring outside. 15 ut on the wnoie we are having a decent time. We have only had physical drill so far, as all the officers are seasick. During the day we lie around tlie decks,' gramophones g°i n g> acoordioiis, fencing, boxing, and all kinds of amusements. Canteen prices are very low — everything art cost price." A later entry in the epistle states: "Had a pretty rough time last night, the ship being very • fight, she rolls and pitches terribly. . . There is to be a burial to-night. A chap in one of the other boats was crushed to death by one of the horses rolling on him. . . It is a tine sight to see the ducking into the big blue seas, especially just as the sun is setting. I will be glad when we reach — — , I have a terrible thirst, as the water is all red with rusfc through the ship rolling and stirring tip the tanks." In the course of subsequent remarks Private Scarfe states that wire r less news is obtained every morning, they are well posted in war news, receiving^ all the official messages. They are going to teach the men French, a class having, been started, 4here being several French and Russians in the ranks. There is not much room to themselves between decks, all the space being taken, up by equipment, rifles, and sea kits. There is a great scramble to get into bunks when "lights out" is sounded. The "kai" is not so bad, he states, indeed better than what they had in camp. The sighting of a, steamer, a school tii whales, and other incidents of a sea 4 trip all supply interesting details of life aboard the troopships.