A TERRIBLE JOURNEY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2129, 22 April 1914, Page 7

A TERRIBLE JOURNEY

600 MILES ON A STRETCHER

WOUNDED OFFICER'S TRIALS . Renter has received from East Africa details .or an incident on tho AnjjloAbyssmiau frontier that will rank high in the aimais of heroism ami pluck displayed in tiiO' discharge of duty iri an isolated oiit.ptfsfc of Bmpire, says to "Daily NOws."

lieutenant Lloyd Jnrtes with fifty King's African Rifles and a machine Run, ivas in charge of a remoto station to the south-cast of Lake Rudolf, known nil LoiyaiigC'ia'naj sqjJig 6ix ■weeks' march, from Nairobi, 'flioro Were continued rumours of Abyssinian raids, and in view of shortness of food caused by tlife non-arrival, of the supply caravan, it Was decided to go in Search of a raiding party known to bo in the neighbourhood. The force .ooftsisted of tho tvo white officers* 25 King's African Riflei!, a score of so of camels, and a: dozen Somali constabulary. ' A : t first tho search Was vain, but Oarly on the morniug of the fourth clay a valley was reached, Which seemed to bo a M:ely hiding piaco of tho robbers, Scouts wero sent out, ■ and, reported tlio existence of a strong stockade held by riflemen.

, ~ flHs'hed....fhd tara6|. . It "was liecesary: to,tush *he raiders, and I>imiteiia«t Lloyd Jones leaving tlio majority of the men behind, advanced with fifteen rifles. , Ho soon c.amo upon a circular, thorn zarctra ion feet liiglh, and taking advantage of a <lrv river bed. he worked his way round So as to rush tbo only enfranco to tho placo. At So yards dietanco. lio placed his men: m V-shripo formation, so as to provent alt egrcM from tho stockade. Reforo firing tho inmates wcro told that if they, came out thoir lives, would bo spared. . No answer being given, tho bugler sounded tho charge.

At this moment a nmn was .seen crawling to this entrance of tiro y.iircba to close the thorn gatt). Ilk movement bring -covered by an Abyssian armed with a rifle. In answer to the bitftlo rail, tlio soldiers with a yell rushed forward, firing a volley, lml; the bugler Wfts hit, white a saMre'r. to tho left of tho commander was killed. Orders were heard in Abyssinian to shoot tlio ivljjto mail, and as Lieutenant Llovd Jones reached tlic gats ?ie dropped, having ten Bliofc through both legs.

OffloSfs Left .Alone, It was then keen that twelve of the soldiers had retreated, leaving tlio white. olDcers With only three urderKos entirely lit the mercy of the raiders-. Tho Ofrlerlies attempted to carry their commandant off the ik'ld, tot lie told (item to leave liim, and to rush tho narrow jjato. This they accomplished, killing every .iji.nn inside tho ptreba. . The wtrtindod efficer was carried (o tho lop of a ndghbottfing hill,- whefo tiro night was spent. ' Next morning a start. was made for itarsa'bit, a post six days distant. The political officer did all that was possible i'or the wounded, .111 d fashioned splints oitt of lifs drawing-bos. Three, days later tlio little patty returned to their posts on Lako Rudolf. Ten days after the fight- an Indian tnfcdiftal aesistaiit arrived after a. forced march over a waterless country, but. Lieutenant Lloyd Jones had been steadily growing Worse. One leg bad bcttomo septic, the pain was maddening, and the Scanty supply o:f chloroform began to giraS out. It bcdaniii urgently iie'c'essnry io move, and Lieuicniiiifc Llovd Jones. accompanied by tho poliiieal onicer, the iiidriin assistant, and a small essort, began another ten davs' trek across a. waterless country. TVo days later lockjaw supervened, and with what few drugs were available, efforts were llindf! to relieve the terrible sufferings ■of 'the wounded man. Three weeks after the fight Marsahit was reached,, but tlio doctor was on tour, and messengers wire sent ;o endeavour to find a surgeon, and obtain chloroform and worphia. There Lieutenant Llovd Jones was taken (fevgft of by Captain Dickinson, who was 011 his way home. Charged by Rhinos, Two days out of.Marsabit at dawn » couple* of rhinos charged 'tho wounded officer's stretcher, but beth animals worn turned a.t; thirty yards hv the two orderlies , who- remained with their lender to the end. 15, v this time the sufferings of Lieutenant Llovd Jones WerO terrible. There was Still no doctor and no anaesthetic was ?eft. It Was not ftntil 4.1 days after be bad been hit that tho officer readied Nveri, he found a doctor and a mirse, His muscles had shrunk, and one Jog was four inches short"? flia.ll the other, rendering him a I'fe-tatg cripple. Ho evi, dured a .stretcher burner of SOO wiles before to rcacW Nairobi fetid a hospital ■ , After tetanus set, in he was delirious pracHtfalJv all tho time, ana the dilators at Nairobi regarded ms arrival time alive as almost miraculous.