WITH THE TROOPS IN EGYPT

New Zealand Tablet, 20 May 1915, Page 17

WITH THE TROOPS IN EGYPT

INTERESTING LETTER FROM A CHAPLAIN. We take the following extracts from a letter written by Rev. Father McMenamin, Chaplain to the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces in Egypt, to his mother. It was written at Zeitoun Camp, Cairo, on March 11 : ' I wrote two weeks ago, just after we returned from the Suez Canal, where we had been fighting the Turks. Though the month there was exciting and interesting, I was glad to get back here, for 1 felt the need of a rest. Nearly all the time while at the Canal I had, like most others, been sleeping in the open air on the sand, and, as I was on my feet all day from about 5.30 a.m., I grew somewhat weary. I think I told you in my last letter that I had grown thin, though feeling very fit all the same. The couple of weeks' rest here has benefited me very much, and I am sure that I have just about recovered . whatever weight I had lost. To give you an idea of how fit I am, I will tell you of a long march we had last week. I went out with the troops at a quarter to 8 a.m. and we came home at 7.30 p.m., after walking over 20 miles, mostly over deep sand, which makes very heavy marching. The day was very hot, and quite 200 of the men collapsed in the ranks from the excessive heat and fatigue. Well, at the end of the day I finished up quite fresh, and after a cup of tea I felt good enough for another walk. ' I thank God that I am so well, for sick or weak men are not wanted here. As soon as a man falls sick, he is rushed into a hospital, another man takes his place in the ranks, and that is the end of him as far as anybody seems to care. A large number of our men are being sent home as medically unfit, and the hospitals are always full. Pneumonia is a serious complaint here, and is very common owing to the very hot days being followed usually by freezing nights; and if one has to sleep out, the dew wets the blankets through like rain. Throat troubles and dysentery are very common too, owing to the amount of sand we have to swallow in our food. I have great sympathy for our sick soldiers, and make a special point of visiting them often and trying to cheer them up. It is sad to be laid aside so far from home, and to feel you are an encumbrance to the army. I felt rather flattered the other day when a Protestant chaplain came to our camp, and told me that there was a sick man in a hospital some distance from here, who was asking especially for me to visit him. I asked who the man was, and he told me the name, but that made me no wiser. Then he said: '"The 'man is not a Catholic, but he says he knows you, and would be glad if you would go to him." I, of course, went at once, and was surprised to find a poor fellow whom. I had met a month ago. I was passing a tent one day, and I saw this man inside, looking frightfully ill. It was nobody's

business *to look after him. It was a very hot day, and I could see the poor fellow was parched with thirst, so I went away and 'brought him. a drink, and , I really believe it saved his life. It was a real joy to me to see how he enjoyed it, and how much better the drink, made him. That was all I could do for him, as he was sent away next day, and I lost sight of him, but he seemed quite delighted to see me again. He will never be well enough to go on with us, and will be sent home. I don't know why I- am telling you this little incident I suppose it is because it made an impression on me to find the poor man so grateful. As I said before, when a man falls sick here he gets very lonely and downcast, and he is inclined to magnify any little kindness. We have had very few deaths, about ten altogether. The Australians, who are camped in a very different place, have fared much worse, as 170 of their men have died — nearly all from pneumonia. That is an average of about two every day. Only one Catholic of our lot has died-the first in Egypt. I anointed two others who were very ill with pneumonia, but both got well. I am a great believer in the efficacy of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction in effecting cures. The Turks killed one'of our boys on the Canal, and that is the only one we have lost so far in actual fighting. We were very lucky not to lose a great many more, as the Turks dropped shells all round us, but did no damage as far as we were concerned. A good number of the Indians, who were fighting alongside of us, were killed or wounded. The Turks lost some thousands of men. The warships in the Canal with their big guns simply blew them to bits. We had an aeroplane flying out and giving the directions for the shots, and the big guns did the rest. Our men did a lot of damage, too, with the rifles. The Turks tried to cross the Canal in big steel boats which they had dragged across the desert. They launched the boats at daylight, and our men waited till the Turks got into the boats, and then opened fire at quite close range—only about 100 yards. We got all the boats, and practically all the Turks in them were, killed. Over 700 Turkish prisoners are now in Cairo. One of the reasons why the Turks did us so little damage is that they did most of their fighting in the dark. They would hide a long way out during the day, and as soon as it got dark they would creep up quite close to our trenches and blaze away, usually about 1 a.m. They attacked five points on the Canal at once, and were beaten off everywhere, and have now , left for whence they came, only much fewer in numbers. ' We will be leaving Egypt any day now, so this, I believe, will be the last letter I will write you from here. Our destination is uncertain, but the men are being well served with warm clothing, so we must be off to a cold place. You will, I expect, know where we are going Jong before you get this letter. I would like to go after the Turks to Palestine, but Constantinople is more likely. I really don't bother much, and am content to go anywhere so long as I can keep well and strong. There is much to console one in this work. The dangers of the war are like a mission on the men, and many have returned to their duties after being away for years. I had a strange experience one night on the banks of the Canal. Our men were scattered, and I went to a strange camp. It was pitch dark when I got there, and the colonel in charge gave me a tent and said he would call out the Catholics for me. A long double file of men marched before the tent, and I went out and spoke to them in the dark. I simply told them of the. dangers that were likely to come (and did come that week from the Turks), and that as I was the only priest on the Canal they might have no further chance of going to confession as I had to go to another place next day. I said there was no compulsion about it, but that if they refused to go when they had the chance, the sole responsibility would be theirs. I mentioned that, because the sergeant told me when they came up that many of the men had complained of being marched out to confession. To my great surprise and pleasure, every single man stayed till late in- the night,, and all went to confession. But that is not 'what I started to tell you: it was about my

strange . experience. When I was about half way through with these men, a young fellow came in like the rest and knelt down beside me on the sand. Then he said, . I don’t know whether I have any right to come in here,- Rather.” I said, “Of course you have as much right as any one else.” Then he staggered me by saying, “But I am not a .Catholic, but a Protestant. I had to admit that that circumstance complicated matters somewhat, and I asked him what put it into his mind to come in. He said, “ I felt that I would like to come in, and I want to be a Catholic.” I chatted with him for a little while, and then he went away after I had arranged to instruct him. Unfortunately I had to go away to say Mass elsewhere, and in the war excitement I lost the run of him till we all came back here. In war-time we have to do things quickly, and so he is going through in time to be confirmed by a Greek Catholic Bishop next Sunday. I had fourteen of my men confirmed a few weeks ago, and next Sunday I will have six more. This war will prove a great revival for the Catholic Church all the world over, and especially in France. ‘ During the past three days the heat has been simply awful j the summer appears to have come upon us all at once, and the sooner we are out of Egypt the better. lam writing on my knees, as you will guess from the shaky letters. One of the joys of my life hex is to visit as often as I can an orphanage not far away. It is in charge of the Sisters of*St. Vincent de Paul, and has 60 boys, mostly from six to seven years old. There is one little Irish laddie there named Maurice Dillon. His father was an officer in the English army out here, where I think he was killed. A few of the other children are Italians and French, but the great majority are Egyptians. I have taught them to sing ‘ It’s a long way to Tipperary, 5 ‘ The ‘dear little shamrock,’ and ‘ God save the King,’ and they sing them all very well. 1 play games with them, and the poor little waifs are delighted. I get a great reception every time I can go there, and I would rather spend an hour there than tire myself out inspecting the antiquities of Egypt. Before I forget, let me tell you that I saw the mummy of Raineses 11. at the Cairo Museum the other day. His bod} is there with the teeth still in the head, and the hair nicely parted as if it had been done yesterday. You may not remember the gentleman, as he was a bit before your time, so I will tell you who lie was. He was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the very man who gave Moses so much trouble before he would allow him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Just think of the age of that mummy! Yet it locks almost life-like. ‘ I hope my letters reach you all right, and there is no reason why they should not, as we are supposed to have a direct mail. I will write again as soon as I can, but do not be anxious if you do not hear very regularly, as there are times when we are not allowed to write. I hope this will find you all well and happy.’