The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-27
BUILDING UP Of Al Army
moW nEsEnvES ARE TURNED INTO
nEGULARs At ALDERsnOr.
- lack Of Intesestfng Stghta ~
Great Britain's Mtg Ca1p-seae
Recruits Hsstea - Drill without
unifovms-Censtant Gan Practice.


and making Il with all the speed they can
n Is an event which happens only cnce
e. twice IN 3 lifetime. and then causes
exestemen. throughout the world Yet
ona cGEsa walk All over Aidershot depot
hsE a dozen times and unless he knew
fhe place Intimately would come away
With the firm impression that nothing un-
usual was proceeding.
saw some statement TO the effect tina.
AldeYshat vas all hustle and excitement.
h e. not. They do nor make an army like
shat II you expect 20 see orderises rush
mg about and soldiers on cycles wnfxxlng
pas:--wesi that In not AZ Aidershut.
still there In excitement at Aldershot-
HI, il n Of sort that you Do not see.
There are officers tearing their hair, II
n said because now that they have got
their men ready and have 10 be OF IN
day or two they have got no clothing to
cot on them and cannot find out when IL
4 likely 70 arrive 1T will be ready Tor
the ensharkasion.'' rays Pinlico with pas
s..e calmness. and with that Aldershot
haa TO BE- content.
The results OF this are visible. though
an the excitement Is hidden beneath tho
red tape bands that hold complaints"
Some Of the results make our soldiers look
Almost comic. For instance. enc sees the
mounted infantry. They have got their
but not Their khaki tunies. So the poor
chaps are left looking almost like guys
In very loose breaches surYnourted by very
tight old scarlet TUNES.
The colonial helmets nave arrived, great
packing cases full of them all slowed in
side one another. while the gilt adorn-
ments and chin straps are separate in
other cases There II no stopping TO TX
them together and number the helmets.
Hf hat nj nj n
little game Of shop. Up marches file OF
men IN field caps. Halt! Front turni
Answer 10 your names Right turn,
march. Right turn. haiti Now, then. pick
out q helmet and hurry upr'
The file has drawn up IN front OF a line
Of open packing cases. The moment the
men halt on comes each cap and each
man seizss a helmet and dabs It onto his
head Not one In six tries a second.
Then q auartermaster tries one or two
Of the worst fitting. A captain sees
whether he can get little more head of
this man out Of the helmet and little
more OF that mans I'm. The quarter
master explains that each man must num-
Der his own. Then Right turn. march
again, and as they pass by the heaps put
ready. each man picks up the gilt adorn-
menfs and this chin strap, and goes of
wondering how everything could be made
Meanwhile other flies are passing. bear
Ing old home kits 10 the stores. Each
has an armful of tunics in one file In
another each man IL loaded with leg
stngH Others are carrying away the old
helmets.
The reserve men are of course the great
feature of interest just now. As to Alder
shot, they may be divided into two sets
those who come in alone direct TO the de-
pot. and those who marched I'm I'm large
parties from other barracks. Bands and
cheers always meet these big parties
But the great human interest. after all,
eentered in the separate men. The others
had got over their partings and leave
takings. These had only Just come
through the thick Of IL.
Once inside the camp the reserve man
stands end twists his mustache In wonder
ment at the changes of recent years The
wilderness had become town.
l came across one man who had Just
hurried back from Monte Carlo from the
service NJ a eountsss-and even he was
Rot sorry. Every man seemed delighted
WITH the chance % being In action.
But the reservist IN not In the depot long
before he has 20 fan IA with some part of
the movement for maxim. an army IL his
uniform has come he IL served out with
II and with sheet OF brown paper. a
label. and n bit OF string These last are
Tor wrapping Up all that Is left Of the civil
Ian. II his uniform has not come no mat
ter. there Ia a rife and a hayonet ana belt
handy. 80 of he goes TO drili In Ma own
civilian dress. Some Of the reserYis,s were
drilling la morning coats. howiers or alpine
hats. and one mana nsvvy~was stili
wearing the ''yorks'' holding w his trous-
erx hssow the knee. During the first drill
be topk one 81 there straps OF. so that ne
should be quite sure cf not forgetting which
WAS bis right leg
Faen IN little corners here and there ore
could see the making OF the army going
ahead AZ ihe school men were getting re
fres5ers In the art Of signaling Al TIE
hospital men were being dGssi wtsh In
leesicns OF some pater; raeposed 70 make
them PROOF sssins, en,eric fever The en-
E'nsers were practic;ng with pontoans for
bridge making. In the Weiungtou lines
the gun carriages ana wagons were being
painted from the usual gray 10 sSrs u
drsh like ento khaki Ana away in the
distance could he heard the sound that e.
row hesrg heard at Mafeking and Ksrnber-
ley. All day long men were pTsetfeln< At
tae bats london Leader