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LIFE .ON A TRANSPORT.
FOURTH EXPEDITIONARY
FORCE.
THE CHEERFUL AUSTRALIAN.
1I3Y Ol'li SPECIAL COIiKESI'G.SDEXT.l
Several days out, and only once seasick.
Tilings are going swimmingly in more
way's than 'one. v ?
The travels of the Fourth Expeditionary
1'orce have Jiirherlo been unbroken by any
siTiguiioiui] incident. Tie .Southern Ocean
does not jiosv oariy its cariier atmosphere
of danger. Save ior the perils of storui
and wind, the men on the transports havj
found their passage to an unknown des
tination so far pleasant. To the vast ma
jority of the soldiers the seas ' t&at swept
around Australia, a year ago carried no
real Imperial meaning. The Waters were
iihie, or grey, or foam-flecked, to tie call
ot ihe wcatlier and wind. There tlioir
meaning ended — a year ago. Xow the case
has altered. This fourth loree has passed
over -tiie horizon, far-Sway on its mission
of honor and war. jsomei-him; more uiau
a vasjue idea of the power and sheer dis
tance of lihe Kmpire is taking form. On
one of ijie JiUM-s decks juot now a band is
rciidorini; music, alternating in dehraio
Jilt and the rolling of drums. The selec
tion is a tine ipiulure of the mind ot tho
Australian soldier. With a hundred years'
history of quietness in an island continent
behind Jiim, his understanding of Imperial
power could aptly have been expreWd
in soft, sweet music. But through viie
theme, of 'hia life now rims the rolling 01
drum*; and the sterner majesty of Britain
it will need the trenches, shrapnel- and
cj'ni; and dead comrades to teach Jiim how
tliat tame .liritannic majesty has only been
created and preserved ? by the hearts' blooil
of past generations, ami that he. too, ,s
called upon to pay tribute at iu«ent.
jlowevor, as the ti-aiisjjorU strain over
several seas, he is gauiorms an inspira
tion to 'hcroismin the coming conllict.
. TJie men are happy and eager to enter
upon something more serious than 'play-
ing at soldiers.' As a captain said to me
the other day, 'The fellows are splendid
training. material. You only ihave to tell
them that such and such a tiling is wron^,
and tlhey will endeavor to avoid it in
future. I fee! sure we have left all 'cold
footers' behind. We have much more
training to undergo; but when that in
over tlie brigade ??mil render more than
a good account of itself when the real
test comes. Tlie men are so bright about
it all.' It is this brightness that is one
of tlhe striking characteristics of the men
oh these transports, for the Australian
soldier seems an eternal jester. He jests
at Broadmeadowa, ihe jests on his trans
port, he even laughs (so the story of his
Gallipoli lighting runs) .when he is smashed
to pieces with shell *]-linters and is dying.
A sergeant-major at JJroadmendows -once
said it was 'the duty of a. soldier to ban
every monotony with a light Jieart.' This
light ' 'heart' is the Australian soldicv -?
oiyn possession.
The spirit is alive on. this boat in. for
instance, the composite choice of music
I was sitting for'ard the other day. A
cornetist played Xearer, -My God, to
.Ilice. After cheerfully joining in singing
the hymn, several fellows asked the eor
uetiet for cigarettes. The conversation
pursued its ordinary course, while tho
water sni&hed from the prow of the vessel
JJhc instrument struck up Lead, Kindly
Light. The chorus grew stronger. Talk
percolated through tho singing, 'Have vou
ever heard that sung to nig time ?'' asked
one youth of another. Before the answer
could Co,ue) the tune turned to Killurnev.
The voices sivung to the rolling of t/ne
Mat. It I Survive the Battle anil the
Cannons Deadly Hat tie, and Ju-t a Wc«
JJcocih an Dons, followed in qu.ek succes
sion, lhis series of mixed songs lernii:i
ated with a great inarching favorite.
At the halt, on ihe luft, form nlatou'i
At the Jiilt, on die left, form |il:iu)on;
li the mid number., don't mark rliie two paces,
Jioiv die hell Cm the tw.iv- form iiU;ooa ?
The^qucatioii is always aeked -svifch the
requisite amount, of emphasis, and an eo
cutioniiit could find no iauit -witn the de
livery of the last line. Then aaain, while
Lae sun was sinking into the sea'iost night,
a man on the boat deck could be heard
singing, .half in fun, half in earnest, Thera
is a Happy. Land, Far, Far Away. I have
quoted this strange diversity .of' songs to
«now tlhe devil-may-care type the Austra
lian soldier is. The transition from. Lead,
Kindly Light, to At' the Halt, On f.he
Lett, Form Platoon; had in it nothing
fundamentally irreverent; It ivas nie.ely
the evidence of a spirit containing some
thing of the Ironsides aud a good deal
more of the Cavaliers.
Training is proceeding rapidly in all those
directions best adapted to ship life. The
pjiysical_ drill in Che mornings is specify
interesting, since - there are very few
shirkens. Practically every iman recognised
that an efficient body js a* primary require
ment for this war of endurance. The
p'hysical 'jerks' accordingly are attended
witli a degree of mental coucontratioa
likely to give the .best clfect.
Lecture follows lecture. A special series
ot addresses is reserved for ofliuers and the !
higher non-commissioned ollicors. Others of i
a less technical, but none the less practical, j
nature are heard by the men at every op
portunity. Many of these addresses d^al
with 'health precautions.
A good deal of -time has been spent in
teaching tlhe men how to properly don their
web equipment. Much of t'.-.o pneumonia
experienced by the previous contingents is I
attributed to a loosely 'fitting pack. The I
men would go for . long route jnarche.*. j
Perhaps some of the packs would be
loosely strapped to the back. 'Mile after j
mile was marched, and all the time tjia 1
pack anifted and scraped on the back. With I
the return in the evening the skin on the I
back was ethafed und irritated. Tliiri local j
heated condition has 'been declared bv » tlie
army doctors to be a fruitful source 0:
pneumonia. So the men on these troop
ships are being told frankly and directly
tihat their ihealth and personal safetv will
more often than eiiciiirii depend upon the
measure of their attention to personal de
tails , . . *
The brigade is a mighty human kaleido
scope. It is more vitally interesting day oy
day. With the ? i-asvmi; weeks t!ie colors
shift and Mini. ;Sumeti»iKv a special situa
tion calls forth brightness anil glitter; at
otihor times the .colors are. blurred anil
blackened. The- men ii:ive brought with
them all the sirenirt'ti and ,vc-akiu'i4 of their
civilian life. But there in this 'dilfcrence.
In civil life Cney knew, perhaps, no com
mon goal. _ A man couM rise or fall with
the tide of life, and his neighbor might
never care. Here, however, there is
camaraderie. A deiinite purpose, a unity of
aim. has turned indifference into interest.
Each day is making more manifest tiaat
esprit do corps .vhich Colonel Crouch urged
upon !his battalion, 'before it left Broad
meadows. 'The battalion is goinj; to \k
the crack battalion, because 1 a-ni in it. ' j
TJiis attitude is growing day by d.iy I
throughout the brigade. Should a soldier :
do anytiliins discreditable the iingrr at -aw j
act is not restricted to his inuuevtiate '
circle. Tt is a matter tor eve;-ybody. In tie I
same -way m;u are practising tihe cult of
the helpiDg hand. The Australian 'r-as the
reputation of being prodigal wi:h money.
3'3ie soldiers on these troop ahijo are moi-e
than .prodigal. if a chum is short 0:
money he knows where to turn fur rein
forcements. 'Wo' iv all in it, oM chap.'
says the lender. 'If we don't iieip one
another now, what'll we do in action?'
1'he brigade would furnish material for anv
excellent treatise en Socialism. All these
mixed natures are now dedicated to one
Eurpose. There may be deatih ahead o£ it,
ut the soldier is prepared to risk that. It
is all in the game. The only bitlemess in
the matter is the vision of the man who
stays at home and gives arm chair
criticisms of what tilie other chap docs.
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