SIDELIGHTS OF THE WAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1320, 5 November 1914, Page 4

SIDELIGHTS OF THE WAR.

interesting glimpses FROM ALL SOURCES.

THE "CAT” FOR SAILORS

Considerable sensation has been created in Petrograd by discoveries made on board the German cruiser Madgeburg, that was blown up after going ashore at the entrance of the Finnish Gulf. Among the articles lying about the decks on the after part, where boats were lowered for the majority of the ciew to escape on the accompanying destroyers, were several specimens of the old “cat o’ nine tails.” "When the Russian authorities went through the ship they found one of these instruments in every officer’s cabin, and all bore signs of long and, in some cases, of hard usage. These curious attributes of naval rank are all alike in having a handle eight inches long, ■ with a loop for the wrists. From the other end depend nine leather thongs of formidable appearance,, nearly as thick as the little finger, and twelve inches long. In each case the officer’s name was inscribed on the handle. A GURKHA STORY. A characteristic story of a Gurkha. A small surveying expedition was at work among the hills on the North-Western frontier of India. One night the officers were awakened by a commotion in camp. No shot had been fired, but there had been much hurrying to and fro and some shouting. A gathering in the direction of the “store tent” indicated the scene of the disturbance —whatever might be the occasion of it. On arrival, the commanding officer was informed that the sentry, a Gurkha, had killed a nocturnal visitor, and on questioning the man he received the following explanation “I was walking up and down on my post. I saw a Palhau budmash crawling on his belly towards the store tent. I took no notice. I kept walking up and down on my post. But I watched him. When I saw his head and shoulders pass under the 0y of the tent I stuck my bayonet into his back and called out, ‘Halt ! who comes there!’ Then I went on walking up and down on my post; but the budmash had given a yell, and some men turned out. I did' not mean to disturb the sahibs for so small a thing.”

UHLANS IN ENGLAND. Three German Uhlauswho were in the thick ol the fighting in Belgium, were wounded and taken prisoners, and removed to England.

All three bore signs of the ordeal through which they had passed, their grey uniforms were torn and covered with blood and dirt, but they talked amicably, though in broken English with the Royal Army Medical Corps who were attending them. They were splendid men, two of them well over 6ft. iu height. One spoke English fluently, and he described the recent cavalry action to me.

He was full of praise lor the English cavalry. “They are good men ; they ride hard,” he said. He himself was one of the picked men who have been skirmishing with such daring so far inadvance of the main body—the Kaiser’s Special Scouts he tells me they were called. In one particular be admitted English superiority. “Our kit,” be said, “is much too heavy. Our boots and leggings are twice the weight of yours, and so our men and horses were too tired to charge.” He was full of confidence, “We shall win,” he said. “Of course we shall win, although I shall be shut up here until our fellows come and let me cut.”

AN 1870 EPISODE“I was surprised at a polite but firm refusal to be permitted to hire a partially-demolished house at Bagneux, which had evidently been unoccupied for years, says G. H. Perris in the Chronicle. Wondering why it had remained unoccupied, I insisted on a personal interview with the ground landlord, and told him that he ought to let me have the place cheap. T won’t let you have it cheap,’ he said, ‘and I won’t let you or anybody else have it at all so long as lam alive. My* father was killed by the shell that smashed that roof in, and my mother died shortly afterwards from shock resulting irom an assault I will not describe.

“ ‘Two hundred ot my employees are at the front, and 300 more are at the depots ready to replace them. Their womenfolk and children are receiving from all the food, fuel and clothing they require, and when the men come back—l mean those that may—they will find their old jobs open for them, even if they are maimed.

“ ‘Directly General Gallieni’s word comes along I shall go to the front myself. I have specified that that old house is uot to be occupied unless I am killed in battle, and then it will be made into an annexe of the orphanage iounded 19 years ago, and reserved for the children of French and British soldiers killed in this war.’ ” HOW THE DOCTOR FOUND THE BATTLEFIELD.

Free from apprehension, untroubled by guns near or far, Parisians are enjoying their little joke at the expense of the magnificently equipped American ambulance. It sallied forth the other night to fetch wounded from the battlefield, and, having no very precise indications as to the whereabouts of the armies, it wandered through village after village, but saw nothing resembling a field of battle. The surgeon-major got out of the motor-ambulance, and proceeded to reconnoitre on foot. Suddenly he came upon a French officer. He seemed vexed. "What in the name of thunder," said he, "are you doing there ?’’ "Excuse me, mon colonel," replied the doctor, "I am here with my ambulance trying to find the battlefield." "Well, sir," said the Frenchman, "you are right in the middle oi it, and what is more you are exactly on the line of fire. Oblige me by putting out those blazing headlights of yours in double-quick time, or we’ll all be dead. The enemy have been directing their fire to this spot for the last three hours !”

TERRIFIED HORSES. Interviewed regarding his war experiences, Trooper P. Ryan, ol the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, now home on leave with a party of wounded, said : “I am not at all surprised to find the Germans cracking up before the swift advance of the Allies, They gave us the impression at first that they were in too big a hurry to keep going for long at a time. The Germans themselves are not very terrible as fighters. It is the strangeness of their methods and the up-to-date character of their appliances tuat count for a good deal. You do not expect to be half-blinded with searchlights when marching at night, and though we got used to it soou, the horses do not, and I found that we often got into tight corners through the horses getting terrified at the glare of the light. Aeroplanes, when they fly low, are a source of much trouble because of their effect on the horses, and also the motors with our own and the German army sometimes cause panic among the horses.

though they are quite used to shell fire, and seldom show signs ot fear.”

A GOOD ENGLISH SWEAR

Of the order of events In the long retreat from Mons I have no very clear impression, says an English captain. It was too like a nightmare for that. My battery were on the move from August 18th to 30th without rest, and from the Sunday we were attacked at Moos until the following Sunday, not one of us in the battery had a wink of sleep except those who were sleeping the sleep of the dead. It was bad enough through the long days in the blazing hot sun, withstanding the repeated attacks of the Germans, but it was worse at night when we had to pick our way through a strange country, not knowing whether we were going to stumble into a German ambush. It was pitch dark, the roads were bad, and we could not show lights for fear of putting the Germans on our track. Now and then their searchlights played full on us as we straggled and struggled aiong, and when our ghostly march was shown In that way we always got a heavy artillery and rifle fire Into us. One night when we were toiling along like to drop with fatigue we ran right into a big party ot horsemen posted near a wood. We thought they were Germans, for we couldn’t make out the colour of the uniforms or anything else until we heard someone sing out, “Where the hell do you think you’re going to ?” Then we knew they were friends, and I don’t think I was ever so glad to hear a real good English swear.