The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-09-23
Foreign Letter.
Regular Correspondence. J


little lake, it stands-a tiny OASIS OF green
in the midst of sandy waste. A tranquil,
retired spot under whose shady avenues of
acacias 'twere pleasant to SIT and dream;
in whose fowery hotel courtyards 1t would
be delightful to imbibe cold sherbet or
well.iced lemonade; on whose silent waters
il weuld be soothing TO float and mediate.
| All this in peace time. But we are now at
war; and, more than that, have developed
into "base" Faithfully to depict what
that small monosyllable implies would re-
qulre complete number of the thickest
monthly magazine. A base" is apparent
ly an equine Bedlam, where horses are al
ways breaking loose from their ropes and
careering wildly away; where mules are
forever running a-muck, upsetting tents
and making havoc of camp-kettles; where
roads are Uttered with excessively dirty
men in condition of unutterablc exhaus-
ton; where piles upon piles of stores, am
munition, private baggage trusses OF hay,
and soldiers kits are being gradually built
into semblance of the ruins of Carthage;
where onehalf teeming population are
constantly shouting orders, of which the
other half take no notice whatever. The
peaceful lake is crammed to suffocation
with transports, gunboats, vessels of war
of every kind-at early dawn, indeed,
which was the hour of my arrival, 1t pre-.
sented the aspect of a miniature Liverpool,
with ITS forests of masts rising out of a
dun. grey vapor. Over the condition of the
landing stage it were best to draw veil,
for the oaths and excavations, drawn
by harsh circumstances from despairing
marines ana blucjackets, are as distressing
TO cultured ear as the sharp corners of
the multitude of boxes and packing cases
are to sensitive shins. Hard by the land.
ing stage is the Hotel DIES Bans, which
has been taken torcible possession of by
the authorities, and established as a con.
centrated, doubly-distilled "base;" cen
trail speck out of whose midst springs or
der as the lordly oak grows from the tiny
acorn. Officers, orderlles, correspondents,
coolies, washerwomen, rush IN and out
like ants,-enterlng gloomily, but coming
out with hopeful vlsages, for there seems
to be nothing that cannot be arranged
within these sacred portals, whether 1t be
the despatching of kilograms, the sending
of transports to the front, or. shirts and
collars to the laundress. Turn to the left,
ascend q flight OF stairs, and you find
yourself ON a balcony overlooking a gar
uen, in one corner of which balcony table
is spread; for every officer who comes up
here to take orders or deliver messages is
sure to be asked by the CHEEKY chief to
quench his thirst and try bit of luncheon.
Sir Owen Lanyon is here the presiding
genius and it Is his mission to evolve or
der from chaos And how glad are the
new arrivals, poor fellows, to accept his
hospitality while he cons his letters! You
hear them declaring between ravenously
swallowed mouthfuls that they have lived
on biscuit and dirty water sup at the front"
for three days at least. And what orders
he has to give! One man reports that u
horses carcass is lying in the town; what
Is to be done with the dangerous and In.
iectlng agent? Another brings news that
after the last conflict Arab tossed his dead
INTO the Sweet Water Canal, in order to
poison the entire army. A third Is bearer
OF message to the effect that the troops
on the extreme right have had no rations
served for torty-eight hours, while the sup.
ply of ammunition ran out long ago. 1--WE
can exist without food up to q certain
point" runs the sarcastic missive, but
without cartridges our occupations gone"
'lts all right" declares the deus CT macht.
aa, we've organized steam pinnaces, and
broken down the dams; before you get
back food for both man and rifle will be
there in plenty" 1t is difficult enough to
hear what Is said on either side, for the
disem barkatlon of troops is going on
steadily hard by, and the horses are kick
ing at each other and neighing with glee
at being again on terra .frma, while their
masters halloa and shout, and fill the air
with din Presently there is lull in bust
ness, and the ruling spirit orders US to lun-
cheon. General Earle, on the summons,
energies from contiguous nook, while
his Serene IIIgbness the Duke of Teck
comes forth from another; aldes-de-Camp
trot brlskly to and fro, and presently we
have before US steaming coffee, an ONE
lctte, some claret and water, and wonder
of wonders, cherished moTsel Of ice.
Some one remarks that 1t is fortunate for
us that the harbor is land locked. Owing
to early mIsmanagement troops are late in
arriving; If we were subject to storms the
operation of getting SO many animals on
land would last till doomsday, but as
things are we seem to he recovering from
the initial blunders, and are now working
away merrily enough.
Heavens! what an uproar as we debouch
from our rooms and plunge into the hustle
of the avenue. 1t is no easy matter to pick
a way among the horses legs. At a cor
ner, under shadier tree than the rest, a
gentleman in q white coat and large tope-
hat is calmly whiting cigarette as he
writes letters, using one box for seat, an
nthnr for n fable "What ia he doing there