BEYOND BAGDAD.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 October 1917, Page 5

BEYOND BAGDAD.

WITH THE BRITISH FORGES, ,' HOT WEATHER PREVENT^ 4 FIGHTING/ ' Many people in Australi% have WON. V dcred why they have heard so tittle j-' from the British force in Mesopotamia l since it so brilliantly captured Bagdid ' v and advanced a few miles further nortit! f The reason is given in the following i|i« . teresting letter, which a Sydney lady lai ; received from a chaplain with the force* at the front. He writes!— , f| to! 'This comes to you from the heart of v the Mesopotamia!! desert, and from a * shade temperature of 120 deg. We forni. .i£ the advance barrier half-way betwein".;| Bagdad and the" Turkish lines. We can* not go back, for Bagdad, and all that/Js leads up to it, must be retained, tHe heat is too great to enable us to at fc tack the Turks just now. So we j digging ourselves into the ground just behind our advanced outposts. We liaw a quite good food and plenty of water . (Tigris), but the heat is insuffcrabW<" We wear spine pads and curtains to our '": V helmets, and try to keep under WVS#. ,4" from 8 to 5. 1 ' <i' • 'jj

"Wc have little to fear from our fsei /'J at present—the conditions are just tts trying for them. We cannot meet again ,r? for four months. We yet their flying, Vj machines over our camps at about 6 in j"| the morning, but apart from a few shot* > from our anti-aircraft guns, <pid a few i; bombs from thorn, no damage is dOM..; There is a certain amount of mutual chasing of each other between the Turki. JV and our own machines, but we have, v i lost interest in them. . "We get away our cases of hwt ' j strokes every (morning by motor 8c4., * Cross boats, sonding them down to Bag* dad, and fn this way give the men $ fairly good chance of recovery, ?■'> IN BIBLE LANDS. \) 'We are not in the Holy Land, but 'h we ale in Bible lands, and traverse the ; soil crossed and recrossod and dwelt on " by Abraham, Aliasuerus, Esther-Sorgxjn, ■ 'j Tiglath, Pelieassar..the rivers of Babylon and Ui of the CHaldces>. lam giving' t our men lectures on Bible history, >•> which seem to have become very popuv t lar. These lectures are given in the , 'fi centres of the camps. It is quite unique, ■ to bo standing in the full light of a , clear white moon; or, the moon beiiig gone, under the glorious clear heavens, ,i filled with scintillating starlight, and' talk to these hundreds of men, lying on 1 , 'J the ground in the shirt sleeves, smoking. , They listen to the story of Estheir, of the . Babylonians', captivity, of Ezra's entreaty ;'. ( to Cyrus, king of Persia, of Siiushan, of |jj Ruth and the kingdom of Ohaswes, and the story of Ctesiphon. 1 "1 "The Crusador3 brought the crow, to the Holy Land; the British foldle* s»,' | bringing it to Mesopotamia. England • ilj will not sweep away the Cresent, for tlmt is not her way but she sets up' the cross beside it. It means, at least, ,i the sweeping away of Turkish tyranny, Mohametan cruelty, and the establish- -foment of just laws, freedom and ■ V| to human life. , J "i PREPARING FOR MIGHTY ENTER*' 1 *! " PRISE. v | "Chaldean and Syrian priests, also representatives of the Latin Church, and- '■ Jews, have all spoken to me of the unfolding of tho light of freedom ana dispersion of darkness Mich has eonm' * with this advent of British rule. If wonderful to see the wharves, dodj».\' railways, water systems, which hat* • ' S been established, and the mighty plan* Ji for development of this desolata land/ y It is costing vast millions of money, [{J, sacrifice of British yenth, and withe*- y ing up of tlie life of those advanced In . s i years; but it is worth it all. As soon "jj as peace comes vast enterprises wW" rush into this land, and find condition* ' i'-} ready for it all. 1 , "So there is not so much ineptitude .( in these- regions as is sometimes credit- Jy cd to us, nor is it only a 'little side show' which does not affect the war one' iota, andr so forth. We are trying to hold the fort and do our bit, looking forward to the time when wc can get down this river to tho open sea lo freib. clean air, clean clothes, and clean, cold water." t! - ■ 4