MARCH OF THE NINTH

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2646, 17 December 1915, Page 8

MARCH OF THE NINTH

A-FINE EFFORT

Across the rimutaka

SINGING UP THE HILL

The Ninth Infantry .Reinforcements began their route march from Tauherenikau to Trentliam yesterday morning, and went into bivouac about two miles north of Kaitoke yesterday. ' The Ninths have been at Tauherenikau for some .weeks, and during, that .time hai'e been considerecLa remarkably quiet lot of men in camp. A'few days,ago, however, a change was noticeable, ;tlie prospect of tho forthcoming march being apparently responsible. Oil Wednesday morning tho -usual routine of camp work was done, the third phase of "the attack" being gone through. After lunch bathing parade, which is customary on . Wednesdays, was'indulged'in, and the evening, meal was: partaken of in the i tents in "the-.-usual 1 way: -After, dark,' however,"a;'different state of'things, pre-; vailed. Tho ' men; -in. full, - marching equipment,. went-into bivojiac. With a' greatcoat, two" bla&ketsj' and' a waterproof. sheet,' they" prepared to pass the night in the open, on ground adjoining tho camp. ■ .... - /

A Night in Bivouac. At ten o'clock every man's waterbottle was; filled with hot tea, not for his immediate but to be used-when tho summit' of the 'Kimutaka Hill was ... reached in-the..jnoniinc.. .When'.'tliis 1 operationwasover;' the men'got between blankets. Few;,'however; slept. Tliero . seemed to be an air of-oppressed excitement which.kept many awake. But it did not prevent some, of - thorn from using their hot water bottles as different articles of a similar name are rnsed, that' is, to Jieep thorn their blankets. Those who did- sleeji felt that, : they had hardly closed' . their -eyes . whenV; the reveille was sounded. This occurred half' an hour after midnight. Evidence that few of the 1900 soldiers wero asleep was found in th© loud cheers which ' greeted this usually . unpopular bnirlo-caj], It was sounded twice, andj at tho second sounding the . cheers were . louder „ still. I . Then the wags in the.'different companies got some fine work - in. - They . imitated their sergeants and corporals. 'Now then,"; said- one, .in tones that made , the sluggards jump, "are you go- . ■ | ing to sleep tho wholo blessed night?" ! In the darkness it was:hard to say that it was not the sergeant or cor- . ■ poral himself who_ was ; speaking, especi- : ally when the voice imitated one who I could not sound his r'gi ; i The men had' to shave in the dark, ' and! judging by their appearance when day broke, made a pretty, good fist of it. Breakfast was served at 1 o'clock. ■Then followed a free arid easj period, during which most of -the. 1 platoons ■ lighted fires of manuka, round which they gathered to sing and play pranks. The Signal to Start. Shortly before three • o'clock the buglo's "sounded.igaw:.The troops fell in in full equipmentj .which' included an overcoat, ■ haversack, waterbottle,- s . eating utensils,., trenching . tools, and.,, rifle—a \ good, swag to carry over the hill. Punctually at three o'clock they moved out of their bivouac, with' the band playing. It was still quite dark, with the stars in the sky. The Camp Commandant, Colonel N. P. Adams, rode at the head of the column. With him was Lieut.-Colonel C. R. Macdonald, who came rightthrough with the column, Colonel Adams • leaving it at the Summit, where Colonel C. M. Gibbon, Chief .of Staff, met them.E Company, under Captain Williams, was leading at the'outset.' Then came F Company, Lieut. Mills;' A Company, i Major Allen; 13 Company, "Major Bat- / ten: C Company,'Lieut; Stratbers; and D Company, Captain Thompson. Along -the road to Featherston they tramped, , the' men singing and-full of spirit. . Singing up the Hill. At Feathenston, about four miles from Camp, , the band , left the 'troops, or, .rather, it was dispersed. Most of the ; bandsmen belonged to tho Ninth In•fantry,. so the few permanont • bandsyitfen took the instruments from -their ' fellow-bandsmen, who fell' 'into ithe ranks. Featherston was very quiet, few of the residents ; being astir, though it ■ w as broad daylight when'the troops passed, singing. The "few young men who looked on .were greeted by the soldiers with.the; words "Kitchener wants you." ■ And the answer invariably was : "All right. He'll get m'e after Christmas." : ' •' ■"How these, civilians their i Christmas dinners," was tho soldiers' i comment. < With tho . morning, light .glorious., in ( the"castern'6kies, iblow- t troops breasted the stiff iii- \ ciiii©.' After tho first hour of marching E Company had halted in tho.roadway while; the column marched past, aud had then taken its placs in tho rear, allowing F Company to-lead.- A similar change was made at the end of every hoUrf;. At the discretion of company commanders the men in each file of four places. They were wiso company commanders who ordered this change, for tho man on the' left was walking on the inside and lower-level '* ill tho time, and was glad to change to the right or outside place. .. v i Thoughtful Featherston. e Early a« the column was on the roa.d,: another cavalcade had preceded it £ lbis;;was composed of wagons and' f motorcars. In the wagons were steam boilers to make tea: in tho motor-cars : Wero. a number of Featherston ladiep and- gentlemen under the direction of !' Dr. Palmer. As soon as they reached tho summit, tho boilers were put into operation, and an enormous supply of . sandwiches was set out in readiness for + the-arrival of the troops. When it is every man of the 1900 got S at least ten sandwiches some idea of ? tho hospitality of these good people can c be had. TCie troops reached tho summit at ' T 715, and sang all the way up the hill. No other body of men had done this. : Perhaps the fresh, cool morning inspired i them. Only six fell out on tho hill Of these several rejoined at tho top of the P hi 11.... Only one was exhausted and had to be, taken up by tho Red Cross motor- v car,which followed the troops. So far 1 from being tired out on reaching the summit, most of tho soldiers indulged 8 in horse-play. They are most goodnatured chaps these soldiers, yet occasions sometimes find them ready to fight. Yosterd_ay_morning several'fierce but not vindictive encounters were avoided by the prompt intervention nf n'.c.o.'s. Downhill 1 to Kaitoke. 5, / . The summit was left at a quarter to niuc, tho soldiers. cheering the ladies of the volunteer commissariat as they passed them on the march. Coming down- e hill a.good speed was maintained, without in aiiy way interfering' with march dis- n cipline. A strong wind blew, " and the „ road was dusty. Soon the marching }.] men were grey with dust from head to foot. But 110 one minded. For route- 0 marching only "denims" are worn, with j, putties. So by the winding road through jj the hills the troops came _lo their & bivouacking ground, nearly eight miles 0 away, arriving there at half-past ten. This: is considered to be tho _ fastest Cl marching yet.accomplished on this Toute. fj

The bivouac in which, weather permitthe troops were to pass last night is situated at a dairy farm. As soon as the companies had been allotted their camping ground, there was a rush of men with mugs to the dairy, where milk was sold at 3d. a pannikin. It is said that/ono man had an extra- largo mug, and tliat he was passed over time after time until lie managed to borrow a smaller pannikin. Sore Feet Parade. !/£ swim'in the river was the next item, and 'a. much-appreciated one. The men returned to bivouac looking clean 'and fresh, and ready for lunch, which I was a bread and cheese and jam one, with tea to wash it down. After lunch many slept, others shaved each other and themselves, a, number attended sore feet parade, blisters and swellings having been induced by the march. These barefooted ones, gathered .in a circle under a big tree —one of a grove which partly sheltered the bivouac from the wind—and awaited the ministrations of the Army Medical men. Some had iodine applied,-and others had blisters lanced. There wpre none who were very crippled, and none that complained; in fact, all were rather proud of their marehing. Some of the men of the baggage guard, who were ordered to accompany the

men's luggage by rail, openly expressed their disgust at missing the march. Heavy Rain Sets In,

Shortly after noon the wind blew up a I misty, rainj which settled into a steady downpour. The Army Service wagons had brought the men's blankets and Waterproof sheets from Kaitoke Station, and all preparations were made for a night in, the 'open, to be followed tomorrow. by manoeuvres and a night attack at Mungaroa. The rain put a different complexion on matters, and at dusk there was some doubt expressed as to ; whether t"he men would march on .to May Mom for the night, to bo taken -by special troop train to Trentham.