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<v Speaker 1>Chapter seven of the British Army from Within by E.

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<v Speaker 1>Charles Vivian. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter seven in Camp. In going to camp, transferring from

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<v Speaker 1>the solid shelter of barracks to the more doubtful comfort

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<v Speaker 1>of crowding under a canvas roof, the soldier feels that

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<v Speaker 1>he is getting somewhere near the conditions under which he

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<v Speaker 1>will be placed on active service. The pitching of camp,

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<v Speaker 1>especially by an infantry battalion, is a parade movement, and

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<v Speaker 1>as such is an interesting business. It begins with the

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<v Speaker 1>laying out of the tents in their bags and the

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<v Speaker 1>tent poles beside them, near the positions which the erected

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<v Speaker 1>tents will occupy. The bags are emptied of their contents,

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<v Speaker 1>men are told off to poles, guy ropes, mallets and pegs.

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<v Speaker 1>The tents are fully unfolded, and at a given word

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<v Speaker 1>of command, every tent goes up to be pegged into place.

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<v Speaker 1>In the shortest possible space of time, at the beginning

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<v Speaker 1>of a given ten minutes, there will be lying on

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<v Speaker 1>otherwise unoccupied ground rows of bags and poles. At the

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<v Speaker 1>end of that same ten minutes, a canvas town is

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<v Speaker 1>in being, and the men who are to occupy that

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<v Speaker 1>town are thinking of fetching in their kits. Under ordinary circumstances,

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<v Speaker 1>from four to eight men are told off to occupy

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<v Speaker 1>each tent, but on maneuvers and on active service, these

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<v Speaker 1>numbers are exceeded more often than not. During the South

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<v Speaker 1>African War, the present writer once had the doubtful pleasure

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<v Speaker 1>of being the twenty fourth man in an ordinary military

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<v Speaker 1>bell tent. The next night, and thereafter, wet or fine,

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<v Speaker 1>half the men allotted to that tent made a point

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<v Speaker 1>of sleeping in the open air. It was preferable. Life

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<v Speaker 1>in camp is an enjoyable business so long as the

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<v Speaker 1>weather continues fine and not too boisterous. Discipline is relaxed

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<v Speaker 1>to a certain extent, while under canvas, open air life

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<v Speaker 1>renders the appetite keener, and one's enjoyment of life is

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<v Speaker 1>more thorough than is the case in barracks. Wet weather, however,

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<v Speaker 1>changes all this. The luxury of floor boards is a

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<v Speaker 1>rare one, even in a standing camp, and no matter

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<v Speaker 1>what one may do in the way of digging trenches

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<v Speaker 1>round the tent and draining off surplus water by all

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<v Speaker 1>possible means, a moist unpleasantness renders life a burden and

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<v Speaker 1>causes equipment and arms to need about twice as much

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<v Speaker 1>cleaning as under normal circumstances. Camp life breeds yarns unending,

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<v Speaker 1>and in wet weather or in the hours after dark,

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<v Speaker 1>men sit and tell hearsuit chestnuts to each other for

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<v Speaker 1>lack of better occupation. If the weather is fine. There

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<v Speaker 1>are plenty of varieties of sport, including the ubiquitous football,

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<v Speaker 1>to occupy spare moments, but yarns and tobacco form the

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<v Speaker 1>principal solace of ours, which cannot be filled in more

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<v Speaker 1>active ways. There is one yarn, which, like all yarns,

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<v Speaker 1>as the merit of being perfectly true, but unlike most,

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<v Speaker 1>is not nearly so well known as it ought to be.

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<v Speaker 1>It concerns a cavalry regiment which settled down for a

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<v Speaker 1>brief space at Potchestroom after the signing of peace in

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<v Speaker 1>South Africa. Some months previous to the signing of peace,

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<v Speaker 1>a certain lieutenant of this regiment, known to his men

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<v Speaker 1>and his fellow officers as Bolgie, became possessed of a

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<v Speaker 1>young baboon which grew and throve exceedingly at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of a stout chain that secured the captive to one

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<v Speaker 1>of the transport wagons of the regiment. Bolgie's servant was

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<v Speaker 1>entrusted with the care of the monkey, which, after the

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<v Speaker 1>manner of baboons, was a competent thief from infancy and

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<v Speaker 1>inclined to be savage if thwarted. On one occasion in particular,

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<v Speaker 1>Bolgie's monkey got loose and got at the officer's mess wagon.

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<v Speaker 1>It had a good feed of biscuits and other delicacies,

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<v Speaker 1>and retired at length, followed by the mess caterer, who

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<v Speaker 1>exposed postulated violently both with Bulgie's servant and with Bulgie's monkey,

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<v Speaker 1>until a tin of ox tongues skillfully aimed by the

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<v Speaker 1>monkey caught him below the belt and winded him. After that,

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<v Speaker 1>as brett Hart says, the subsequent proceedings interested him no

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<v Speaker 1>more well. The regiment arrived at Ponchestroom and settled down

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<v Speaker 1>under canvas, with an average of eight men to a tent,

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<v Speaker 1>and the horse lines of each troop placed at right

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<v Speaker 1>angles to the lines of tents. Bulge's monkey was given

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<v Speaker 1>a place away on the outside of the lines, with

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<v Speaker 1>the other end of his chain attached to a tree

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<v Speaker 1>stump and there for a time he rested, fed sparingly,

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<v Speaker 1>and abused plentifully by Bulgie's servant. In the regiment itself.

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<v Speaker 1>Money was plentiful at the time, and it was the

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<v Speaker 1>custom in the tents which housed drinking men for the

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<v Speaker 1>eight tent mates to get in a can of beer

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<v Speaker 1>before the canteen closed. Over the beer, they would sit

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<v Speaker 1>and yarn and play cards until bill lights out sounded.

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<v Speaker 1>One night, eight men sat around their can of beer

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<v Speaker 1>in a tent of a squadron to which, by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>Bulgey belonged. These eight had nearly reached the bottom of

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<v Speaker 1>the can. They had blown out all the candles in

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<v Speaker 1>the tent, save one, which would remain for illumination until

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<v Speaker 1>lights out sounded. The last man to unroll his blankets

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<v Speaker 1>and get to bed had just finished and was sitting

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<v Speaker 1>up in order to blow out the last remaining candle

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<v Speaker 1>when the flap of the tent was raised from the back,

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<v Speaker 1>and a hairy, grinning, evil face which might have been

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<v Speaker 1>that of the devil himself, looked in on the sleepy warriors. They,

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<v Speaker 1>for their part, were too startled to investigate the occurrence,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sight of that face prevented them from stopping

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<v Speaker 1>to unfasten the tent flap in order to get out,

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<v Speaker 1>they simply went out under the flies. Anyhow, one man

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<v Speaker 1>tried to climb the tent pole, possibly with a vague

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<v Speaker 1>idea of getting out through the ventilating hole at the top,

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<v Speaker 1>but he finally went out under the fly of the

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<v Speaker 1>tent like the rest, taking with him the sting of

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<v Speaker 1>a vicious swack, which the hairy devil aimed at him

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<v Speaker 1>with a chain that it carried. While these eight men

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<v Speaker 1>were fleeing through the night, the devil with a chain

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<v Speaker 1>came out from the tent, and, seeing a line of

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<v Speaker 1>startled horses before it, leaped upon the back of the

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<v Speaker 1>nearest horse, gave the animal a thundering blow with its chain,

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<v Speaker 1>and hopped lightly on to the back of the next

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<v Speaker 1>horse in the row, repeating the performance. There In almost

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<v Speaker 1>as little time as it takes to tell, a squadron

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<v Speaker 1>of stampeding horses followed the eight men of the tent

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<v Speaker 1>on their journey toward the skyline, and in the black

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<v Speaker 1>and windy dark, the remaining men of a squadron turned

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<v Speaker 1>out to fetch their terrified horses back to camp, and

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<v Speaker 1>when they knew the cause of the disturbance to curse

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<v Speaker 1>Bulgi's monkey even more fervently than Bulgi's servant had cursed it.

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<v Speaker 1>The end of it all was that eight men of

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<v Speaker 1>a squadron signed the pledge, and Bulgy left off keeping

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<v Speaker 1>the monkey. It was too expensive a form of amusement.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a typical camp yarn, and a military camp

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<v Speaker 1>is full of yarns, some better than this and some worse.

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<v Speaker 1>In camp, more than anywhere else, the soldier learns to

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<v Speaker 1>be handy. The South African War taught men to kill

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<v Speaker 1>and cut up their own meat, to make a cooking

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<v Speaker 1>fire out of nothing, to cook for themselves, to wash up,

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<v Speaker 1>though most of them had learned this in barracks, to

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<v Speaker 1>wash their own underclothing, darn their own socks, and do

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<v Speaker 1>all necessary mending to their clothes. It taught cavalrymen the

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<v Speaker 1>value of a horse, in addition to giving them an

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<v Speaker 1>insight to the foregoing list of accomplishments. It was, for

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<v Speaker 1>the first year or so a strenuous business of fighting,

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<v Speaker 1>but the last twelve months of the war consisted, for

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<v Speaker 1>many men far more of marching and camp experience than

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<v Speaker 1>actual war service. It was an ideal training school and

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<v Speaker 1>gave an insight into camp life under the best possible circumstances.

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<v Speaker 1>Its lessons were invaluable, and much of the practice of

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<v Speaker 1>the army of today is derived from experience obtained during

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<v Speaker 1>that campaign. One failing to which men, and especially young soldiers,

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<v Speaker 1>are liable in camp life, consists in that when they

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<v Speaker 1>return to camp thoroughly tired after a long day's maneuvering

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<v Speaker 1>or marching, they will not take the trouble to cook

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<v Speaker 1>and get ready for themselves the food without which they

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<v Speaker 1>ought not to be allowed to retire to rest. In

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<v Speaker 1>the French Army, officers make a point of urging their

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<v Speaker 1>men to prepare food for themselves immediately on their return

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<v Speaker 1>to camp, but in the English Army this matter is

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<v Speaker 1>left to the discretion of the men themselves, with the

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<v Speaker 1>result that many of them frequently go to bed for

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<v Speaker 1>the night without being properly fed. This course, if persisted in,

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<v Speaker 1>almost invariably leads to illness, and it is imported that

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<v Speaker 1>men under canvas should be properly fed at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the day, as well as at the beginning and

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<v Speaker 1>during the course of their work when under canvas in

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<v Speaker 1>time of peace, the authorities of most units reduce their

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<v Speaker 1>demands on their men in comparison with barrack life. It

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<v Speaker 1>is generally understood that a man cannot turn out in

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<v Speaker 1>review order or in burnish and fake with the restrictions

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<v Speaker 1>of a canvas town about him. In some units, however,

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<v Speaker 1>this point is not sufficiently considered, and as much is

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<v Speaker 1>asked of men as when they have the convenience of

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<v Speaker 1>barracks all about them. The result of this is sullenness

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<v Speaker 1>and bad working on the part of the men. The

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<v Speaker 1>short sightedness of officers leads them to press their demands

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<v Speaker 1>while men are in a bad temper caused by too

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<v Speaker 1>much being put upon them, and the final result is

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<v Speaker 1>what is known technically in the army as an excess

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<v Speaker 1>of crime. A string of men far in excess of

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<v Speaker 1>the usual number is whe up in front of the

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<v Speaker 1>company or commanding officer to be weighed off, and the

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<v Speaker 1>number of men on defaulter's parade or undergoing punishment fatigues

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<v Speaker 1>steadily increases. Although in theory the soldier has the right

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<v Speaker 1>of complaint if he feels himself aggrieved to successive officers,

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<v Speaker 1>even up to the general officer commanding the brigade or division.

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<v Speaker 1>In which he is serving. In practice, he finds these

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<v Speaker 1>complaints of so little real use to him that he

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<v Speaker 1>expresses his discontent by means of incurring a crime, or

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<v Speaker 1>in other words, of getting into trouble in some way.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no accounting for this habit. It is the

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<v Speaker 1>way of the soldier, and no further explanation can be given.

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<v Speaker 1>Squadrons of cavalry have been known to cut all their

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<v Speaker 1>saddlery to pieces, and companies of infantry to render their

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<v Speaker 1>belts and equipment useless by way of expressing their discontent

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<v Speaker 1>or disgust at undue, harshness, the relaxation of discipline, and

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<v Speaker 1>the absence of barrack room. Soldiering, when under canvass is

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<v Speaker 1>a privilege which the soldier values highly, and it ought

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<v Speaker 1>not to be curtailed in any way. A pleasant form

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<v Speaker 1>of camping, which many units on home service enjoy is

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<v Speaker 1>the annual musketry camp. It happens often that there is

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<v Speaker 1>no musketry range with inconvenient marching distance of the place

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<v Speaker 1>in which a unit is stationed, and in that case

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<v Speaker 1>the unit sends its men one or two companies or

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<v Speaker 1>squadrons at a time to camp in the vicinity of

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<v Speaker 1>the musketry range allotted to their use. The firing of

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<v Speaker 1>the actual musketry course is in itself an interesting business,

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<v Speaker 1>and it brings out a pleasant spirit of emulation among

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<v Speaker 1>the men concerned. Keenness is always displayed in the attempt

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<v Speaker 1>to attain the coveted score, which entitles a man to

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<v Speaker 1>wear crossed guns on his sleep for the ensuing twelve

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<v Speaker 1>months and proclaims him a marksman. In addition to this,

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<v Speaker 1>there is the pleasant sense of freedom engendered by life

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<v Speaker 1>under canvas and the access of health induced thereby. The soldier,

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<v Speaker 1>in common with most healthy men, enjoys roughing it up

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<v Speaker 1>to a point, and life in a musketry camp seldom

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<v Speaker 1>takes him beyond the point at which enjoyment ceases. Infantry

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<v Speaker 1>units serving in foreign and colonial stations are frequently split

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<v Speaker 1>up into detachments, consisting of one or more companies and

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<v Speaker 1>serving each at a different place. This detachment duty, as

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<v Speaker 1>it is called, as often as not, involves life under canvas,

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<v Speaker 1>and it may be understood that life under the tropical

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<v Speaker 1>or subtropical conditions of foreign and colonial stations can be

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<v Speaker 1>very pleasant thing. Here, as in home stations, sufficient work

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<v Speaker 1>is provided to keep the soldier from over much meditation.

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<v Speaker 1>Time is allowed, however, for sport and recreation, and even

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<v Speaker 1>when thrown entirely on their own resources for amusement, troops

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<v Speaker 1>are capable of making the time pass quickly and easily.

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<v Speaker 1>While on the subject of camping, there is one more

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<v Speaker 1>yarn of South Africa and the war which merits telling,

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<v Speaker 1>although it only concerns a bad case of nerves. It

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<v Speaker 1>happened during the last year of the war that a

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<v Speaker 1>column crossed the Motor River from south to north, going

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<v Speaker 1>in the direction of Brantford, and camp was pitched for

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<v Speaker 1>the night just to the north of Glen Drift. At

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<v Speaker 1>this point in its course, the Morter runs between steep

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<v Speaker 1>cliff like banks, from which a belt of mimosa scrub

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<v Speaker 1>stretches out for nearly a quarter of a mile on

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<v Speaker 1>each side of the river. After camp had been pitched

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<v Speaker 1>for the night, the sentries round about the camp were

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<v Speaker 1>finally posted with a special view to guarding the drift.

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<v Speaker 1>The northward front of the column and its flanks. Only

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<v Speaker 1>two or three centuries, however, were considered necessary to protect

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<v Speaker 1>the rear, which rested on the impenetrable belt of mimosa scrub.

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<v Speaker 1>Along the river bank. One of these entries along the

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<v Speaker 1>scrub came on duty at midnight, just after the moon

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<v Speaker 1>had gone down. He took over from the sentry who

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<v Speaker 1>preceded him on the post, and started to keep watch

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<v Speaker 1>according to order, though in his particular position there was

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<v Speaker 1>little enough to watch. Quite suddenly he grew terribly afraid,

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<v Speaker 1>not with a natural kind of fear, but with a

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<v Speaker 1>nightmarish kind of terror that children are known to experience

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<v Speaker 1>in the dark. His reason told him that in the

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<v Speaker 1>position that he occupied, there was nothing which could possibly

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<v Speaker 1>harm him, for behind him was the bush through which

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<v Speaker 1>a man could not even crawl, while before him on

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<v Speaker 1>either side was the chain of centuries of which he

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<v Speaker 1>formed a part, surrounding his sleeping comrades. His imagination, however,

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<v Speaker 1>or possibly his instinct, insisted that something uncanny and evil

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<v Speaker 1>was watching him from the darkness of the tangled mimosa bushes,

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<v Speaker 1>and was waiting a chance to strike at him in

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<v Speaker 1>some horrible fashion. He tried to shake off this childish fear,

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<v Speaker 1>to assure himself that it could not possibly be other

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<v Speaker 1>than a trick of nerves brought on by darkness and

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<v Speaker 1>the need for keeping watch. When crash. Something struck him

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<v Speaker 1>with tremendous force in the back and sent him forward

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<v Speaker 1>on his face. Half stunned, he picked himself up from

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, and the pain in his back was sufficient

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<v Speaker 1>to assure him that he had not merely fallen asleep,

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<v Speaker 1>and imagined the whole business. With his loaded rifle at

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<v Speaker 1>the ready, he searched the edge of the mimosa bush

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<v Speaker 1>as closely as he was able, but could discover nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>He had an idea of communicating with his sentry next

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<v Speaker 1>in a line to himself, but since there was no

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<v Speaker 1>further disturbance and nothing to show, he decided to say nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>but simply to stick to his post until the next

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<v Speaker 1>relief came round. Suddenly, the uncanny sense of terror returned

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<v Speaker 1>to him, intensified. He felt certain this time that the

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<v Speaker 1>evie thing which had struck him before would strike again,

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<v Speaker 1>and he felt certain that he was being watched by

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<v Speaker 1>unseen eyes. He was new to the country as an irregular,

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<v Speaker 1>He was new to military ways, and he promised himself

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<v Speaker 1>that if he ever got safely home, he would not

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<v Speaker 1>volunteer for active service again. The sense of something unseen

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<v Speaker 1>and watching him grew, and with it grew also the

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<v Speaker 1>nightmarish terror until he was actually afraid to move. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>by means of the same mysterious agency, he was struck

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<v Speaker 1>again to the ground, and this time he lay only

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<v Speaker 1>partially conscious and quite helpless, until the reliefs came round.

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<v Speaker 1>The sergeant in charge of the reliefs had an idea

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<v Speaker 1>at first of making the man a close prisoners for

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<v Speaker 1>lying down and sleeping at his post, but after a

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<v Speaker 1>little investigation he changed his mind and sent one of

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<v Speaker 1>his men for the doctor instead. The doctor announced, after

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<v Speaker 1>examine nation that if the blow which felt the man

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<v Speaker 1>had struck him a few inches higher up in the back,

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<v Speaker 1>he would have not been alive to remember it, and

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<v Speaker 1>the man himself was taken into hospital for a few

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<v Speaker 1>days to recover from the injuries so mysteriously inflicted. In

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<v Speaker 1>the morning, the column moved off on its way, and

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<v Speaker 1>no satisfactory reason could be a deuce for the midnight occurrence.

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<v Speaker 1>But residents in the district will tell you unto this

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<v Speaker 1>day that one who has the patience to keep quiet

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<v Speaker 1>and watch in the moonlight can see baboons come up

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<v Speaker 1>from the mimosious shrub and amuse themselves by throwing clods

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<v Speaker 1>of earth and rocks at each other. It is a

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<v Speaker 1>good camp story, and I tell it as it was

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<v Speaker 1>told to me, without vouching for its truth. Any man

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<v Speaker 1>who cares to go into a military camp by permission

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<v Speaker 1>of the officer commanding, of course, and has the tact

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<v Speaker 1>and patience to win the confidence of the soldiers in

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<v Speaker 1>the camp, can hear stories equally good, and plenty of them, for,

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<v Speaker 1>as previously remarked, camp life breeds yarns. End of Chapter

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<v Speaker 1>seven