EN ROUTE TO EGYPT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 81, 9 April 1915, Page 7

EN ROUTE TO EGYPT.

PASSINC BY THE EMDEN. A Stratford member of the third Now Zealand reinforcements writes as follows to a friend in Stratford:— "After leaving Wellington one day was very much like another until Albany was reached; and after Albany was left the days again took on a great resemblance to one another, except that some were fine and some rough—in numerous general features they were all alike. But a change came on Friday, March sth. On the previous day there was a good deal of talk—extremely learned aud extremely unlearned —about Cocos Island, one budding F.R.G.S., m the course of an argument, contending "with no little heat," that the Equator ran north and south. Perhaps he was finally convinced of the fallacy of his contention. (By the way: I am no great geographer myself, but many of the ideas about the lie of the land which T hear give me some amusement. Probably those of us who are not called to the honorable post of angels will come back with a better knowledge of where different lands lie.) Well: On Thursday we argued Cocos Island all round the coast of Africa, Arabia, India and Australia; and made bets on different versions of the Sydney-Em-den light: and at eleven o'clock on Friday, a black fringe .on the sky-lino which looked like a scrubbing-brush a little down at heel, became visible—all that could be seen was a fringe of tree-tops. By mid-day the island was well in sight. Properly there is a string of islands, ami there appeared roughly to be a frontage of five miles on the side we passed. The islands are no doubt of coral formation. They are low-lying, with line white beaches. Vegetation (palms chiefly visible) is very thick and of a fine, bright deep green color. Coral reefs here and there seemed to exist, but at the same time well-defined deep passages between the islands were visible. No wireless mast was visible. Passing along, argument broke out at high pressure as to where the Emden was, the general opinion being that she was on Cocos Island. The Emden was found at sundry points on various islands—in the imagination of the soldiers, but by one o'clock the islands were falling behind, and still nobody had seen anything he could take his Book oath was the Emden. A little later another shabby-genteel scrub-bing-brush shoved itself up above the sky-line and was eagerly watched until it came into plain view. Approaching two o J clock a tall mast came into sight, and opinion was equally divided as to whether it was the wireless mast or a mast of the Emden. It turned out to be a mast of the Emden. At two o'clock the drill bugle sounded its more or less welcome note; but the soldiers had no more than gone twice through "slope arms—one, two, three" before the word was passed round that drill could take a back seat until the soldiers had had a good look at the Emden. ' Keeling Island is a small island standing by itself. It is similarv ) iji., t eJ^urae ; tcr s to the islands previously passed. The Emden lies on a nice white beach which would be a grand surf-bathing place. The whole of the hull is visible above the water, showing that the sand shelves out very gradually. Her nose is at right angles to the beach. The bow is well out of the water, the ram (or rammer?) being visible. (By the ram is meant the point formed by the meeting of the outward bend from the stern and the inward bend to the keel.) The stern lies lower (naturally) and the amount of rust here gives the impression that she has had a coat of red paint. The hind (or near) mast still stands, and appears almost undamaged. The two funnels are leaning against each other over the rail. The vessel does not look over-imposing as she lies on the beach. The general opinion i s that she is about of the size of the British warship Pyramus. But her history of slippery life and hot and sudden death made her highly interesting. At half-past two everybody had seen as much as necessary of the Emden and the ship was steered back to her course, which had been deviated from so that the soldiers might view the much-talked-of German vessel; and in a short time the daily routine was resumed and before long the island tucked its head under' the sky line and presumably went to by-by.

The visit to the island made a pleasant liroak. For a week the soldiers had had nothing to see but sea, and sea gets very monotonous. Even the .joke about what a fine green paddock it is and the speculation as to how many cows it would carry to the acre become stale. The sea-birds seen around the islands were of a different character to those seen elsewhere. The bodies run away to a liner point at the tail and the beaks are longer and slender. I have seen a few flying fish, but they were very small, and either they were very young or I have a wrong idea of what size they should be. The ones .1 saw wvie only the size of a small herring.