TERRITORIALS IN EGYPT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2335, 17 December 1914, Page 7

TERRITORIALS IN EGYPT

BARRACK . LIFE AT KHARTOUM, (Extract from letter sent by Private J. Riley, 7th Manchester Regiment (Territorials), to friends in Manchester.) We arrived here (Khartoum) on Mon day, October 5, after a voyage of nearly a month, three weeks of which wore spent on hoard tho Grantully Castle, At Alexandria we parted with the rest of the ships, as only our boat had to go further on to Port Sudan.' We had a few hours' leave at Alexandria to stretch our legs, and 1 spent a very interesting aitornoon looking round,Wo had a nice passage down tho Suez Canal and the ltod boo until we came to .fort Sudan, where we disembarked. The regiment we are relieving 'wero waiting at Port Sudan. Wo got. a right royal reception from them, and have never seen men so overjoyed, some of tliem having been stationed abroad for seven years, five of which have been spent in various parts of Egypt. The barracks here ar splendidly situated on tho Blue Nile, there being plenty of trees around for shade and to relievo the eye from the glare of the sand. There are dozens of wash and shower baths, and we can use those , as often as we Ike, besides which 1 believe there is a portion of the Nile allotted us for swimming. The rooms are on the bungalow system, fitted all' through with electric lights and, fans. Tho ians are well needed to keep the rooms cool, as the heat in the shade varies from 105 to 115 degrees. There are swarms of insects attracted to the lights when they are switched on, and they pester us for hours even after lights are switched out, making sleep impossible. There aro dozens of different kinds of small flies, besides locusts, and a kind of flying beetle, twice tho size of an ordinary ono, which is the worst of all, but which is not considered dangerous. Then thero is the scorpion, a sting from which causes death in twenty-four hours if not attended to immediately,- but fortunately' this inseot is very rare, as also are mosquitoes, this effect being brought about by the very good sanitary condiitions prevailing at the barracks and in its vicinity. . ' : There is a mineral water factory, whore all' the minerals sold in the can-r teen are made, and there is also a magazine, which at the present time is working full strength, a good numbe*' of our men having been attached there:to assist in the work, of course on extra pay on account of ihe dangerous nature , of the job. There are natiyes here who for five piastres (Is. ojd.)'a week irom each man in the room do all tho washing of tins, ecrub the tables and floors, and make , the room tidy in all respects. Thero aro lots of donkey boys at the gates, end for half a piastre (lid.) we can ride right into Khartoum. Ihe trams run on wheels, but are driven by mules, and are built on the style of the Irish jaunting-car, holding about 16 persons each. : \'< It k very' interesting to watch the native women washing clothes in the Nile. Thoy soak them well in'the water, and then scrub them well with both hands and feet, afterwards ueing the rocks as a kind cf extra scrubber, and the cleanliness of them when finished is surprising. The meals are very good taking all matters into consideration. We get a cup of tea or coffee and a few small biscuits at 6.30 a.m., bread, jam, or herrings or other kind of preserved food for breakfast, a good stow for dinner, and bread and tea and some kind of tinned fruit for tea. Wβ rise at 6 a.m., and have two hours good drill from 6 to 8 a.m. The drilling is then finished for the day, but we are by no means at leisure, as tf'ere is an inspection by the colonel of beds and equipment at 10 a-.m., followed at 11 a.m. by an inspection of rifles and bayonets, and woe betide the man with dirty belongings, as we are ■ under strict military law, and the least offence ie punished promptly, On all parades the tunio is not worn, on account of the heat. ■ ,