EXTRACT FROM TRANSPORT NEWSPAPER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1445, 11 September 1915, Page 4

EXTRACT FROM TRANSPORT NEWSPAPER.

On the voyage to Egypt, a cleverly-written newspaper called the Maunganuiau was produced on one of the transports conveying the Fifth Reinforcements to the front. An extract from the paper is given below, it purporting to be an' historical document dug up from the ruins of London by some archaeologist in the dim and distant future: —

“THE COMING OF THE FIFFTHIS.

“And it came to pass in the reign of good King George, a great war arose between the tribe of the Brits and the tribe of the Huns, and the Brits did smite their enemies hip and thigh, so that they became as a tree that was fallen and was low upon the earth. But for a while it went hardly with the Brits, so the chiefs of the tribe did speak among themselves, and one Kitchen, son of Warr, spoke thus : Lo, it hath come to pass, ray brethren, that the hand ol the enemy is heavy upon us. Wish ye not that the help of the tribe of Bil, the Masseite, be asked ? The chief men did agree, and a fleet messenger, whose name was A, Cable, was sent to Bil the Masseite, and charged him to say, ‘Come over and help us, speedily,’ “Now, the tribe of Bil dwelt in a far-off land, by name Noosealand —a goodly place, fruitful, and wherein dwelt much prosperity. And the young men of this land were many and great fighters, and the maidens fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when Cable had delivered unto Bil his message, Bil took counsel with his trusty hencemau Jimalan, and spoke unto the maidens of the land thus : ‘Give us your young men, that they might be great warriors and help the Brits. But there was exceeding great sorrow among the women, and the names of Bil and Jimalan became sour in their mouths. Then did Bil promise the young men the goodly sum of five shekels per diem, cf which the women were to receive three, and so they dried their eyes, and the names of Bil and Jimalan became once more of favour In the land.

“Now, a great encampment was made at a place called Trent Ham, which, being interpreted, means mud. A great man was made captaiu of the hosts at that place, and the name of him was Kernal, which means Potter. And. many trained men went forth from Trent Ham to give battle to the Huns, and lo a lesser tribe, the Turks, who rendered allegiance to the Huns. And the fighting men did wield their implements of war, and short sword and shooting spear valiantly, but their enemies were strong, and moved not, and the people of the tribe of Bil did begin to murmur. “But Bil was a raanofgieat spirit and great resource, so he called upon the Fiffthis, a mighty tribe which dwelt in the silent places of the land. So he sent forth messengers to the Fiffthis, who were known among other men as the Dandies, and they came in their tens and in their thousands, and with their chariots of war, and there was. exceeding joy in the land at their coming. Among the Fiffthis were men of the company of Gunuis, who rode war chariots into battle, and with them those who looked to the war horses, and who were called Drivers and Harddoas. Likewise there were the troopi, who rode war horses and swoie mightily. There also were with them the Bodisnatchers, men meek and mild of spirit, but possessed of much skill with a weapon called pillbox. There were many more of divers companies, and a host from the In-lan-tri, skilled in the art. of gravel crushing, and also great linguists withal. At last the time drew near when those valiant Fiffthis were to depart, and there was much sorrow in the land. The women bestowed gifts of apparel and iood upon the warriors, and the mighty ships went torth upon the deep, and the place of their fathers knew them no more,

“And it came to pass that the winds blew mightily and the sea rose, and the warriors were much cast down within them, and cast overboard many of the comforts given them by the maidens werewith to refresh themselves. Even the great ones, the captains of the hosts, were stricken down, and all were prostrated.’’