DUCKING A REPORTER.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 95, 29 April 1913, Page 8

DUCKING A REPORTER.

AT THE GRIND I CAMP. Following closely on the incident or a reporter being ducked at a Territorial Camp in Otago, comes the news of an attempt to repeat the performance at the Oringi Camp, it seems that the reporter, who was a private in one of the Taranaki companies, has supplied a report to two newspapers in reference to the attempted march to Dannevirke on .Saturday before last. The papers, with the report reached camp on Thursday night and roused a gopd ; deal. ,of feeling among the men. Garbled accounts of the report were busily circulated, and fired by the example set them in Otago, the men announced their intention of “ducking the reporter,” the latter being soop. ipade aware of “what was,-coming, to him.” The climax was reached a few minutes after “lights,out” that night, when a struggling i mob, two or three hundred strong, surrounded the ten in which ho was billeted, yelling “come out and be settled, you— — reporter.” The tent was rushed, but the reporter was not inside. The uproar caused a general gathering in the quarter, and the search continued. The reporter’s own company, which was one of the most seriously criticised in his report, were, however, reserving him for their own special object of vengeance, and did not take in all kindly to being deprived of their little bit of pleasure. A cry was therefore raised of “B Company to the rescue,” and a battle-royal ensued with the luckless reporter as the prize. The men of his company were however outnumbered, and although they put up a good resistance capitulated, when the use of bayonets was threatened by some of the foremost. It was then found that tne reporter had taken advantage of the opportunity to make himself scarce. He appeared on parade next morning, but upon being warned that “there was something more serious than a ducking in store for him,” decided to “pad the hoof” to Woodville. After his departure from the camp the men were fairly quiet. B Com- ' pan were hooted and threatened wherever they went, but nothing but nothing more serious took place. Hie fact that a large number of visitors were present, perhaps restrained the men a little. In the evening the camp became a little more lively, and B Company kept a sharp look out, suffering several false alarms. Luckily the company who had taken the leading part in the disturbance bad to entrain for home at about 8 p.m., and were obliged to content themselves with boots and threats as to what they would do next camp. The remainder of the moh of the night before evidently thought' better of it, in the light of the determined resistance they had met with. Except for the usual skylarking of a last night in camp, no disturbance took place, though many of the B Company men spent the night fully or partially Iressod.