YOUNG HERO OF ANZAC.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 December 1915, Page 5

YOUNG HERO OF ANZAC.

A PERILOUS ADVENTURE. SCOUTING BY NIGHT. BRAVE AUSTRALIAN'S DEATH. The following story of a young Australian hero who met his death in llallipoli is told as follows by Captain C. E. W. Bean, the Australian press representative:— "There was to be a scouting parly sent out after dark on very dangerous work. Opposite the lines then'hold by the First Australian Battalion was a trench, about 70 yards distailt. In one corner of it, as is r.he Turkish practice, had been built a machine-gun position. Three times we had in.-:do" raids upon that machine-gun—the last time in some force—but it was doubtful anv of these raids had succeeded. .For the purpose of some business that wa* tlrei: pending, the powers that be exceedingly wanted to know whether that machinegun had been knocked out in the last night's raid, or whether it was still there, and if it were, then how many men were in that trench also.

"There was placed in charge of the business of discovering litis a most oxpcrioncoil scout—a man who had learned his business in South Africa, in Mexico, in every corner of the world where there is usually expected to tie a,tight ■corner, lie decided to limit ids party to two, besides himself. He thought of two Now -South Wales boys—two of.the youngest in the battalion. lie knew they were keen,, and they jumped at the chance. One was named Morris; the other was named Elart. Now. Elart is a very peculiar name. Except in the rolls of the First Australian Battalion, it probably does not exist—in the Eng-lish-speaking world at any rate. And the boy who enlisted under it had once borne the name of Uart. "The reason why Hart called himself Elart was, I -believe, told by himself in a letter to his general'just before this -excursion. He bad, I am told, enlisted in the Australian navy some time before, and had been a seaman in H.M.A.S. Australia. He had deserted, but when the war broke out there weighed upon bis mind the fact that at a time when he ought to be doing something for hi> country he had in a manner failed her. He would have gone back to the naval authorities, but he was afraid of how naval discipline might look upon hia offence. So he went oil' and enlisted in the First Battalion, lie changed his name to Elart, I suppose, because ft was easy to make that change in the mark upon his linen. From that day on the object he lived for was to write and tell his sister that he had done something for his country, which would put him at ease with himself. That i? what lie told his mate's, who told it to me. And now tlie chance had come.

THE OUTPOST TEENCH. "There was a good deal of risk, but the experienced scout knew that the chief risk was not in going out—it wa-3 in coming home. If in returning from such an excursion yon run unexpectedly upon your own rrcuehes you stand in much deadlier danger from them than from the enemy—that is one of the risks of the game. With hold men, prepared to act together without hesitation, the journey towards the enemy's lines succeeds surprisingly often. At half-past ten at night, they crept oat of their own trench- -vot showing anywhere against the sky-line. To their left front, within a few yards, was a small sniping trench of the enemy's. "It so happened that this night the Turks in this trench were aware of another patrol of ours which was working out in nunt of the next trench to the north. The small scouting party of three crawled out of their trench almost in front of the Turkish trench, but the Turks were engrossed in blazing at the sound,; of the patrol, and didn't have the Iciut suspicion that any other party hnd emerged, and was crawling on its elbows within a few yards of the left end of their parapet.

PERFECTLY SUCCESSFUL EXCURSION. "They crept past the outpost trench, and straight for the corner of the main tre.nch\, where the machine-gun had previously been. The scout knew just where it was, for he had spent his time, during the previous sortie wntching'for the flashes of it. At a certain point right behind the outpost trench lie left his two hoys lying in the grass, and went on a few yards alone, ife crawled right to the loopholes where the inu-ehine-guns had ibcen, and threw two bombs into the mouth of them. No machine-gun answered him at all. Only three rifles spoke—two flashed at the corner of the trench and one in front, of it. That seemed to show that whatever had been there the night before there was no machine-gun there now, FATALITY OF A LOOSE WIRE. "The bombs being finished and the ■ •spedition thoroughly successful, the chief -scout steered it for home. He •ent the youngsters on first—they had done splendidly, and it was a matter of honor with him if possible to bring them safely back. In order to make sure in the dark, he told the boys to crawl ahead of him, while he tugged either the right toe or the left' of the lad ahead of him. and so steered them quietly through the grass in whatever direction be wanted. Tin satisfied, Harry,' said one of the boy* in a whisper, 'l'll come again with you any time you want.'

•'They were just getting to the place where they would be near enough to give their privttti- prearranged sign to their own trenchiirt witlioui noticed by the Turks. .Suddenly one "of them caught in something. A piece of loose wire wagged. There was a flash ahead in the night-one flash—before the sign could he given. Both bova rolled overone shot through the face, the other .through the head 4>v the same bullet. •Elart' had achieved tlj honor—and 4ua-