"HELL WITH THE LID OFF."

Taranaki Daily News, 22 January 1916, Page 11

"HELL WITH THE LID OFF."

WHERE XEW ZEALANDERS ARE OPERATING.

Of the engagement at Mersa Matruh, in which some of the Xew Zealand troops took part recentlv, little h known as yet, and perhaps Joss is known of the country in which the New Zealanders were operating. A relief picture of the conditions at Mersa Matruh, however, is given in a letter, written on November 28 by Private. A. 0. Ponder, a young Christchurch resident, who interrupted a brilliant. University course to enli.-.t in the 2nd Battalion of the Trcntham Regiment. In his interesting letter he says;—"We are now in a place that may adequately be described as 'Hell with the lid off'—Dahaa, .to wit. or Duhaa.

We were camped near Alexandria when we got word to move.. Next morning we packed up our gear, marched four mile? to the station in the sweltering heat, and there entrained. To reach this benighted place one goes 110 miles west from Alexandria and reaches a spot about five or six miles from the sea. .lust out of Alexandria the desert begins, and it continues all the way to our camp. I don't, suppose there is a tret within a hundred miles. The undulating country stretches as far as the eye cair eee—not sand, as I had always supposed, but an impalpable yellow powder, which fills the eyes, hair, ears, clothes, yea, tfven the bowels. We were dumped down unceremoniously a>i. a station consisting of a couple of buildings. Here there was an armoured train filled with Ohurkas and containing machine guns, sandbags, hospital gear and other necessaries of the gentle art of war. The wind was blowing a gale and the clouds of dust swept across the land in a fashion far excelling the Papnnui Road on a nor'; west day. We got to it and unloaded the train, pitched tents and settled down for the night. Soon the moon rose, making the avid waste look almost beautiful On the coast, a searchlight played, and theliglws of other camps could be seen twinkling around—Sikhs and Oiliurkas, Camel Corps, Yeomanry and so forth.

"Now as to the reason for our advent to this accursed spot. There is, ts usual, unrest among the natives fomented by Germans and Turks. A couple of days ago a force seventy miles away sacked a couple of villages. The danger is that, a 'success' of this kind might cause trouble in Egypt, and so we are to do our best to keep the Arabs under. They are the same gentlemen who led the Italians such a dance, aiul are well armed and are tigers for fighting. Between us and civilisation lies a single, line of railway, made, by K'rupps, by the way. Water trains come out daily, and now and then .troops, but wo are the advance post, and the railway ends with us. I should add that only the 2nd Battalion is so far on duty, the Ist, owing to inoculation and vaccination, being still in camp. Our men are scattered all along the line, but we are the largest post. Near by the Naval llotor Branch has a barracks containing many motor-cars, armoured, armed and otherwise. They scour the country u.tily. and are bringing in many refugees. We have been busy digging trenches, and are now nearly ready with the machine guns posted. . . . The. climate is fearful, the day roasting, with dust clouds blowing over the desert. To-day it is impossible to see ten yards in front. Then in the evenings it gels bitterly cold and a breeze conies in from iihe sea. The (■;:trn;>es make it unbearable. Already dysentery lnia made its appearance, and sand colic is prevalent. In. addition to the work in the day we have guard duty every other night. Some of us have had the job of wandering round the country hunting for stray Bedouins. We had one prisoner a couple of days ago, and he was • sent up to Alexandria and charged with being a spy,