HUMOURS OF WAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1909, 30 November 1918, Page 4

HUMOURS OF WAR.

LIGHTS OX ■ WELLIXGTOX

HILLS

During the period oi' the war, and particularly daring the earlier singer, there were many lesser alarms regarding unauthorised light* in lonely planes, some of which were reported in the newspapers, while others were not. In most eases the .suspicion was that Germans af liberty were attempting to communicate with Somes Island or with ■ships off the coast. All these alarms were investigated, and often amusing solutions were found to account for the strange winking lights.

One one occasion a very bold attempt to Morse news appeared to have been discovered. , A strong, clear light was seen Hashing and winking in ;i delimit manner. Its messages were dillieull to read, lull. letters of the alphabet were decipherable, and it was assumed that the messages were in a code. Attempts were made to arrest the signaller, but whenever the soldiers approached the place where the light was it went out. At last, on a wild, windy night, two men got within a few yards of the winking light. Then they rushed to catch tlit; German, and found —a lamp post, with its lamp suffering from intermittent spasms of current, due to a broken filament. The post, shaking in the wind, caused brief contacts to be made, am! the result was the ‘‘code'’ messages which had puzzled the cx-

peris. Some time after this a most unusual kind of light was seen below (lie Day's Bay hills. If danced to and fro as if flashed, and it was obviously a signal to the men on the

Cam!. Again’a storming parly set out, and after numb strategy discovered a staid citizen and his hide son planting ’potatoes hy the light of a la id cm which the small boy carried. The Hashes were made by the movement of die potato planter's iegs as he passed to and fro along his furrows.

On a, Iliu'd oceu-lon, t!n.• quest weal fun her alield, over (lie hills towards Ternwhili, where, ;t puss'. ing coaster ropfrrted. a lamp was •Morsiug a I night. The hunters soon round Ihe , ami stalked it JL'ov some lime, when it weal oul. TJiey crept oji, and suddenly saw a man !vim?.on the hillside, As ihey prepared in rush him, Ids lamp suddenly Hashed again, and Ihey saw (he misereaiu deliberately stand up. wall; a lew pact's, kneel down, and lake —a rabbit oul of a trap. He was a rabbiter, going the round oi' his traps at night.

And another lime —but (lie in-

stances run into dozens, and it need oldv lie added that the wav in which

each report ok wig-waging' lights was sitleti is a testimony to the thoroughness oi: the authorities and their armed parties oi! investigation. —Post.