THE DESCENT ON LYTTELTON.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14833, 26 November 1913, Page 9

THE DESCENT ON LYTTELTON.

WJTH THE MOtTKTBD BRIGADfI. ;5

A PEACEFUL OQO\S^OIX»X%

(by otta sptotAb aufoanufu) . it wae at I.SO »ju. yesterday tbet the repreaentativo of "The Pree»" who wftß told off to aocom-' ptiuy tho mounted force, tfoluctantly'... left his couch and caught and uaddlM. his charger, a sturdy old horio warranted to etaud fire, battle, inunfar, and sudden death without winking. Tho rain cloude of tho evening before : had cleared off beautifully, and tW ; night was war hi and etoaihy, with/ample promise of a lino day to coin*; There were still a few people poram- '- bulating the streets. A single one b*fo would walk as though ho had a purpose in hand, while knota of twos and threes would mutter together and star* curiously at tho liorsoman as h* paasod slowly by, {(peculating as to his bustness. - Near tho BLing £dt?ard Barracks, tiie clatter of a troop of horses wa* hoard. It vras a posso of mounted ngfxlitt}>oUce, under Sefgt. Emerson, of ■ AftKburton, on their way te the Addingtan camp, and the Pressman decided "to give them fiafe convoy. At the Shew Grounds, eomo dim figures .biwi tho glow of a hand lantern eliowtd-". that a watchful guard waa on duty, f DEPARTUBE rfiOI^.GAJEP. v^ It wae now , hard on throe o'cleeki aim! it was evident thai the. camp rras Tety much aetlr. The white fortat of tents lit up.one't>y one, and tho blftrk silhouettes of the aroused occupanta i

could be seen grotesquely outlined on the canvas; here one struggling with a refractory pair of trousers, and another with a garment of some other description wildly waving. Orders rippled up and down, and the subdued whistles of the troop leaden, told of units being called togetber for the parade. Gradually a black mass of men Sed up in front of the bandstand and arched steadily off towards the horse Hnes This was the mounted brigade ketting ready. Without hurry, but without delay, the honed "specials assembled under their different leaders. The force looked an imposing one, and the big men on hig horses loomed large in the now gathering light. Meanwh. 1. a force of about 100 foot "specials" were taken to the city by motors, of which a regular fleet had assembled, and much to their own disgust, about 2.so'mounted men were left in charge of the camp for' emergencies, and groaned sadly at their fate as their comrades rode out. THE DISPOSITIONS. The sections moved to Lyttelton totalled approximately 770 men of which about 320 were mounted and 4oU on foot. There -were 250 mounted men left in camp and 100 foot men, so the total force of "specials" is 1120 men all told. The whole force was under the command of Colonel Chaffey, who wont by the special train which left the camp at 6 a.m. with 300 foot "specials." A squadron of 160 mounted men rode over via Dyer's Pass and the Governor's, Bay road; another squad of similar strength rode io the Ferry road bridge and then up Mo ** n ,' s track. When nearly to the top of the track they made straight up the hill to the ridge that commanded the town, and there split in two sections; tho first followed a Tough cow-track right <]own a steep gully into the towir from thp immediate rear, while the other followed down the flagstaff ndgo and debouched on the Sumner road, enters ins the town from the nor -cast. One hundred and fifty foot "specials" were motored to Henthcote and "* had a hot walk over the Bridle, track and down into Port to join their 300 comrades by train. ■ >.■ The,main idea was for all the forces to arrive at Lyttelton simultaneously with the- arrival of the special train ■ and at the same time, to ensure that there would be no rash interference, and the operations were carried out very well, indeed. All the mounted men arrived . just a& the 6.30 tram steamed out of the tunnel, but the 150 footmen who walked over the Bridle Track made such good going that, they wore three-quarters of an hour ahead. ON THE MARCH. ' . Our representative joined the Morten's, track force. They were a hard- : bitten lot, and looked as though they could give. an excellent account of themselves, if necessary, and they set off in high spirits. Somowhore about half- . past three they passed, through tho Show Ground gates, and set off down the Lincoln road and the South belt. • Turning down Colombo street tho men swung to.the left towards Opawa, and then to the Ferry road bridge, byway of Ensor's road, scouts being sent out to the front. A few hundred yards along is.the entrance to Morten's track, .and up And up the mounteds went, the column winding slowly, snakelike, up the steep gradient cut in the hillside. The track ended a few hundred feet from the summit of the ridge, and at; its termination" a^dash'was made at the bare hillside, each man following in the steps,of his leader. The first oh- , etacle mot was a wire fence, but..; the application of- a ; pair- of wire-cutters soon -brushed ( that aside.vand a few minutes', scrambling brought "the force to the summit; immediately behind the town of Lyttelton. .-■<> ';■; •' DOWN THE HILL. ' From the ridge a most' magnificent . view stretched .on both sides. The bright sunshine—it was now 5.25 a.m.— had-dissipated the morning mists; and of Christchurch and t>Se'Plain's beyond lay spread out clear to the view, like a map in low relief. On the other lay the harbour, and Lyttelton,;' clean 'cut as a diamond, nestling .'under the rugged mountain, fide.' It ail looked so peaceful and so quiet; . not a soiil ,was stirring, and the shipping in the harbour stood out clearly and sharply each rope, and spar distinctly denned. The restful nese of the scene evidently impressed the men,, for one said, "Well, it seems a blooming shame to go/ arid disturb that, doesn't it I" and there was-a murmur of agreement.; v" , - However, the :men.were-not there to admire the view; and, in a trice.the order "Troop leaders forward," had been. given .and the chief had a map ' of the harbour laid qiit on a rock, arid was explaining his lieutenants' exactly what;was to be done. Brown -had to take half his men ajid-go sheer down the craggy : steep, trusting to a cow- '~ track - for horse footing, ■ while Smith would go out on the left flank, and come into the town by way of the' north-east better going, but a longer way.\~ ' -.. . V .-*• . ;•' v .V'At'itbis/timeythe' Dyetfe Pass force could be seen,' far in the , distance, coming along the Governor's Bay road _ 'like flies; on a wall,. but not a strike picket: could be seen iri ambush or on .. the sky line. '• ' '■' \-\ : !■■'':.■ ■■ •■ '■{" ;,;''.. ■• ; ARRIVAL AT PORT. -.:'' The reporter decided to go down the cow track, and a half-hour's slithering and.slipping with an occasional boulder - past the ears .brought that section ■ down to a little dairy farm. A halt was called, to-get the" men together, and when it was seen that the Flagstaff ridge section and the Governor's Bay. road division were-all within striking distance, an advance* on the town was commenced. Few of the inhabitants were up; a dairyman', or two - - beamed at the men, but mado no remarks, and it was not until, the. mounteSs were well into. >-the suburbs, «o to-speak, that'a few men, shirt-sleeved, and unshorn eaid: "What's the game? - Is there a war on, or what?" , The Morten's track , force at once wheeled to tho left at the railway station, and took up a position at; the Officers' Point recreation ground; the Governors*. Bay men took station at the tunnel end," with odd troops here and . there up side streets, guarding all the approaches to the wharves, and the foot specials swarmed down into the railway yards and on to .the wharves into their allotted positions] . . The Dyer's track force stated that they had had an absolutely uuventful ride, and only a few old women and cheeky boys had made'facetious remarks which, of course, were ignored. . Thus Lyttelton was peacefully occuried. The key. was turned, in the locked door, and it was once, more hospitably opened ready io welcome the commerce of the Dominion. PATROLLING THE STREETS. Practically all the morning, patrols .of mounted and foot ''specials" paraded quietly up and down the streets of Lyttelton unmolested and untroubled, and matters looked so quiet and serene,that it was not at all aii unusual thing to see a "special" strolling about alone, although this . was discountenanced by the authorities, " ; who wished to guard against the slight- ' est chance of any trouble arising. There , "could not be any * objection taken to . the demeanour of the "specials" in the ■ town,.nor to thai of the watersiders ,«it3rer; for .that matter, for both sides :&■ '■^β*?, '.Qoiet. and inoffensive. Now : and •h '*f Mn e rumours arose of trouble at tfH?"* s*™?*"or; another; out always on A- they were found 'to do . vbaseleee or almost baseless : in fact, the '&£&******'. - ****»& to la»© 'made them-

selves scarce, for the streets of the Port were more, empty than usual. CAMPING -ARRANGEMENTS. The "specials" came into Lyttc-lton fully equipped and ready for a week's stay if necessary, but as things are at present it does not look as if that would be necessary. Already some of the mounteds have been allowed to go back to town, but there are still i>n on hand to preserve order. The men will not us© either of the recreation grounds as camping places, but will camp in "the Coronation. Hall, and the Harbour Board and Railway sheds, while horse lines will be made in the railway yards, this work already, being in hand. The special train that brought the footmen, carried a week's supply of forage for the horses; a week's supply ot food for the men; the men's bedding and gear, and, in fact, a complete outfit of all kinds for a week's sojourn. The cooking arrangements had been made very complete close to the Coronation Hall, and a staff of cooks were busy at work ensuring that the men's internal economy would not be unprovided for. AN INCIDENT. A littlo incident, which shows rather well the attitude of some of the Lytelton men, happened to our special reporter with the mounted men. The horse he had ridden over from Christ-church happened to have cast a shoe, and he asked one of the firms who do blacksmitbing in Lyttelton, Messrs H. Smith and Co., if they would nail a slipper on. The reply from the men was a point-blank refusal. Thinking they might have taken him for a special constable, the Pressman said that he was a newspaper reporter. ' "From 'The Press' Office, are you?" asked one of the men. , "Yes," was the reply. "Well, that's just as.bad!" said the man, and intimated that .the horse hadn't a chance of getting shod. This was all very terrible, of course, but the only individual in the argument that it happened .to; injure was the poor unfortunate horse, which, after all, was an innocent offender, however deep-eyed a villain the dastardly reporter might have been!