THE INDIANS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 163, 16 December 1914, Page 7

THE INDIANS.

FINDING XEW WORLDS. AN EVENING IN CAMP. Dusk was falling as we entered the Indian camp in—incongruous conveya motor ear and descended at divisional headquarters. We had come to spend an evening in the camp, to dine tod stroll m this strange, wild atmosphere, brought from far shores, from the Hills of Napal and the lowland country ■ ii -i ' an( * established on the outskirts of an astonished French village. The scene was oddly thrilling as the' short twilight deepened. The long lines •I tents sank into the shadows of the woods, and soon the gleam of fires flashed among them as the cooks began their evening task. To the left the sky was flaming orange, and as the light grew | fainter the chant of the praying soldiers facing west rose and hung in the J '.air plaintive and long flrawn out, in' praise of the dying sun,. The tremblin"' | sound, almost a wail, filled that quiet, country air with the mystery, the lone- ! lincss of "wild, untrodden places, sometimes like the wailing of a soul pleading for dissolution, but with mystery as its ,'keynote, the mystery of the unseen and: 'unknown. The growing darkness, which left things half unseen aided the strange effect; passing figures jvvere noiseless shadows, dark eyes in invisible faces reflected the last light of the sunset like the gleam of fireflies. A thudding of drums succeeded the prayer chant, and then gave way to lesser sounds, the chattering of a thousand mouths, the crackling of fires, the restless stamping of horses. " PREPARING THE MEN. i 'We sat in the little mess tent, not mol-e than six feet wide by five high, and were told all about the men around 'us. My vis-a-vis was a captain in a Sikh regiment who had studied the Indian mind during the whole of his 13 years there. yes, they are quite, happy here." he said. ,ff The whole thing is a great game to them, and they enjoy it no end. It is difficult, though, for a European to appreciate what a change into another world it was for them to leave India.' Their idea was that there were only two countries in the world, their own and the enemy's consequently they are only just adjusting their ideas to include all the others they have seen on the way. We tried to accustom them to the things they will see, but until they actually see them they think we are all liars. I was telling my men on the way over about aeroplanes, but I'm quite sure they thought I was pulling their | legs. No, they won't be frightened I when they do see one; they'll just ga2e at it open-mouthed for a few minutes, and after that they won't take any notice of it. They'll" be the same in battle, too, in my opinion., They will look at the. big shells and the shrapnel for x minute or two, and then they won't interest them any more." i *■. QUITE HAPPY. After dinner, according to custom, the officers strolled about among the men, chatting and cracking jokes with them. The captain took me to a circle of men round a fire, and we joined in their sonversation. . It is certainly true to say that the Batives are happy in their new surroundings. We seemed to be sitting in a circle of flashing eyes, whose owners were all grinning broadly. It was a cold night, but they had been given an extra blanket each, and were quite comfortable. 'Many who knew their India will have shaken their heads when they thought of the native troops in the European winter, but they can reassure themselves. When I was at the camp the hospital was empty. During the last few days the nights have been, very cold, and a great deal of rain has fallen, and in many places the camp resembles a .quagmire, but still the natives do not suffer. They have .plenty to do, their excursions into are all the amusement they require, and they -have their accustomed food of chupatti (goat), and ghi (butter). We spent most of our time with the Sikhs, who wear an iron ring round their arms to denote that they are men of iron, but we visited also the Afridis and Pathans. They resemble each other to a very great extent. They are all wonderfully simple, "only great children," as their officers will tell you. The way they rely on their officers is almost touching; without them they would be quite lost. '"You are my father and my mother," they will often say. They are great talkers; as we passed along, each fire was surrounded with a little crowd, 'chattering and gesticulating. AFFECTION FOR OFFICERS. "They are talking over the things they i have seen," said my guide. "They discuss everything down to the smallest details till they have arrived at some "conclusion. Some of their discussions are very funny; they have a very keen sense of humor. I said to my subadarmajor the other day, 'Yqu will have smne great stories to tell your people when you get back!' The old fellow replied, 'lf I tell them a quarter of what I have seen they will turn me out of the village as a first-class liar." It is easy to see the real affection these men have for their officers, to whom they are completely devoted. "What is the secret of your hold over these, fellows?" I asked my companion. His reply was short, but mighty significant. "Justice," he replied.