With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia | Page 5

and were taken up by two river boats, with barges attached on either side.
Not a man who made that journey and is still alive will ever forget the "P-7" or the "Salimi." The time since leaving France had not been wasted; everything that could possibly be done to keep the men fit and their minds active was done. Physical drill every morning, sports were got up, concerts,--the Colonel himself taking a big interest and share in everything that tended to the comfort of his men. At the best of times, life on a Troopship is a cramped existence, but in comparison to the up river voyages, it is a life of luxury. The world has been scoured for river boats for this campaign; steamers from the Nile, the Irrawady and the Thames are doing excellent work in carrying troops and supplies to the fighting line. Part of the river is so narrow that it is dangerous for paddle boats to attempt the journey without lighters attached as bumping into the sides of the bank the paddle boxes would be smashed. The trip up the river in January is by no means a pleasure one. It is not now! and it was much less so in January 1916. The nights are cold and in the early morning the river is lost in mist. At nights it is usually necessary to tie up at the side of the bank or to anchor in midstream. Only on bright moonlight nights, and not always then, can progress be made. The flood season on the Tigris is at its height about May and continues so till about the end of June. The river gradually falls in July and August and is at its lowest level during the months of September, October and November. It rises during the rains in December and January, sometimes as much as four or five feet, and this keeps the river fairly high during the following two months. In April the river rises still higher owing to the melting of the snow on the mountains in the north. These are the normal changes that come as regularly as winter follows autumn. There may be slight variations such as more rain one winter season than another, for instance, January 1916 was far wetter than January 1917. There are occasional high floods owing to the rain, and in January 1896 the river rose eight feet in one night at Baghdad.
[Illustration: Capt. MACQUEEN, R.A.M.C., On His Way To Europe.]
[Illustration: Entrance To Ashar Barracks.]
[Illustration: Basrah Barracks.]
[Illustration: Arabs Enjoy An Al Fresco Meal Of Dates.]
[Illustration: The Sheik Of Zobeir And His Son.]
[Illustration: Arab Bazaar.]
The men crowded on to the barges attached to the side of the paddle boats and of course everything was of interest, everything was new in this, the oldest country in the world. Because Kurnah at the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates has the reputation of being the site of the Garden of Eden, many and various are the jokes which have been made against this most unfortunate of places by members of the Expeditionary Force, but all amount to the one thing--that Adam and Eve had very little to lose in being driven out, if it is unchanged since those days.
The belt of Palm trees which so attracted our attention along the banks from the mouth of the Gulf to Basrah still continues, but they are thinning down very considerably and by the time Kurnah is reached the belt has no depth at all. There is no question of a halt, no question of a rest, "Push On" is the order of the day. It may seem somewhat absurd now, but it brings home to one the eagerness of all to share in the relief of Kut, that the first thing the Colonel did on landing at Basra was to wire to the Corps Commander at the front asking him to arrange for the Battalion to follow up the Relieving Column if it had passed Ali Garbi before the Regiment arrived. Regardless of risk, regardless of orders, urged on by the Colonel, the two steamers bearing the battalion pushed forward by night as by day for fear of not overtaking the Relieving Column. The winding of the river seemed interminable to those eager to be at the front, and there is little to relieve the monotony of the flat plain, save the colouring at dawn and dusk, and the appearance of a few mahelas floating down stream with their broad sails outspread to catch the north-west wind.
At Kurnah the Palm belt ceases and only at odd places and around villages are trees again to be seen. One cannot fail to be struck with the enormous possibilities the country offers for cultivation if only properly irrigated. Thousands and thousands of acres