With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia | Page 5

and arrived a day or so in
advance and were awaiting the arrival of the main body at Basrah. They
were very interested in the place and were full of their adventures and
of rumours. One thing was evident, one thing alone mattered, troops
were needed, urgently needed, at the front; and we were at once
ordered to proceed up river. The Regiment transshipped in midstream,
not even having time to land, 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