SOUTHLANDERS IN SAMOA

Southland Times, Issue 17763, 23 September 1914, Page 5

SOUTHLANDERS IN SAMOA

~H K MEN DISAPPOINTED. "T.TaINO THE SHINE DPT OK IT." A lie-ai lartr.bfr of tile advance guard of trie New Zealand Raped R ii,n.i ry l-'ura' '■Ao: -v.-a .Samoa. p-iarnol la, Invrrea.rg'll a day or iwo inn, and when r e. n t,\- a s. a; ti 1 .l ;i nd Times rrjirfs.aiiativr nta !" .. veral interesting slatcmerns • oprcrnitis t;:t- force, and more particular! ■■■ tie- Invercargill section of it. '■e, sideri n g tim small mimhcr tliat v <■ t;' from Southland oar men are more r an ohling their own in drill and in the number v.dio ii«v» h-a-nmo non-eotn-iai-sioned orTh-e-w, Merry is n r'T-eant; Foekroft is record e!epk; Su 11 lei" at id is a r>rporal: T itrgney a la net-corpora 1 ; and '.Prehell corporal and cl.-rk to the Arrry Service Gorps. Ti •• local hoys rave la eu commended for their elticirpcv hy the officers, an-! they seem lo be giving satisfaction. A hoot a hundred of the 1 tcfi men who wont to Samira have tetnriad. I’Ut only two of them are railway men. The bulk of tim inert wim ha v« returned are those who have received, ns dical attention for colds and other aii mept -. Sr-akin; ~f the life on the island t::e returned eontlngenter said that next month was the wettest month. Preparations wei-e being taken for the pr,,-vi--;en of a water supply and during the r.ne w'ek remai'ied on the island the re t■ ; rc e 4 j ruti n and iiis comrades were beiny dosed witii pills. tin- composition of naich was a mystery, but rimy were presumed to he intended to ward off altaetp; f fever. In addition to their ordlnar- kit the men hah been Riven .ir.pim suits, hut hi the lime when lie left hi i'.e tnd of bis week's stay the men Uh.] uni heap permitted lit wear these v, ;,„n op dutv. They wore, however, nermitt.-d to wear them when off duty. A s to the disposition of the troops, there mere three ramps vine for the Auckland contingent, another for tl:e M ellington men. and a. third for the railway mom while the battery was located down near the beach. No leave was granted iluring the tirst week on the island, so that there was no Interchange of visits between the camps, and consequently the men knew little of what was going on in any of tire camps other than their own. "Yes. some of them looked upon it as a holiday." said the eontingenler, "but rtliers did not. What took the shine out hi it was that there was no tight. Now. if it bad been something like New Guinea we would have; been hotter pleased. We were prepared for resistance, r. nil whom it did not come the fellows v ere disappointed. E"'-* if one or two bad been hart, but 1