The mirror., 1907-01-17
Gbe Life Of Gon1n1y E.tkins.


of "a" company. The right half, re-
cruiCed in British Columbia, was quar-
tered in garrison at Esquimalt. B, C|
and d companies were raised in On
tario, E and F in Quebec, & in New
Brunswick, and A in Nova Scotia. l
was appointed acting color sergeant of
my half company. A color sergeant
corresponds to the first sergeant in the
American army, and is responsible for
the company stores, pay sheet, etc.
The mobilization camp presented a
busy appearance. Squads of recruits
were constantly arriving, and motley
looking crowd they made. They wore
all manner of clothes, from complete
civilian attire, to the uniform of their
individual corps, from which they en-
listed The transformation was sur
prising, when, after visit to the
barber shop and the quartermaster,
they appeared in scarlet serge jacket
with white facings, blue trousers with
red stripe, a glengarry cap and closely
cropped hair.
Many people ridicule the uniform of
the British infantryman, but it is un-
deniable that it gives smart soldierly
appearance to its wearer, and instills
| in his mind desire to improve his
physique and carriage.
When all the recruits had arrived,
we were marched to the railWay.sta-
tiOn and entrained for thru run to
Halifax, picking up E company at
Montreal. and F company at Point
1 Lewis, upposfte Quebec. fhe trip
passed without incident, and we arrived
in Halifax on the 9th of March. We
were all curious to see what the city
was like, but were not gratified, for
Wellington Barracks, where we were
to live, is situated in close proximity to
the railway station, and five minutes
tramp. up hill all the way, found us
inside the barrack enclosure.
Once inside, we were forbidden to 60
out, and guard was placed on the
gates, to enforce the order. It was a
week before any of us were permitted
to, visit the city, and in the meantime
we were drilled almost necessarily, in
} marching and saluting, and then, only
men, whose appearance and carriage
were approved by the sergeant major
, were allowed to expose themselves tt
r the public gaze. Our colonel was yer!
anxious to create good impression OF
! the citizens, for there were three Othe
regiments of British regulars also il
garrison. We were a pretty slopp.
! crowd at first, but after few week
4 drill, the colonel had no reason to b.
i ashamed of his command.
One of the first things that is done
S when regiment takes up new quar-
t ters, is to make proclamation to tn
e people. The drum major drives abou
/ the city, and at intervals, after ringin
i a bell, he reads the commanding off
GERS notification that his regiment ha
n arrived in barracks, and that he wi
g not be responsible for any debts II
= Cured by individual soldiers and f0
l people to trust them at their peril, 9
70 words to that effect. A British sOldie
IS cannot be sued for debt.
a Any of you who have soldiered, ca
10 imagine the makeup of the regimen
1t Our sergeant major and few Other
10 were regular soldiers, sent from tf
Al military schools to instruct the rest {
d us. Many of the N. c. O.'s and me
had served short periods in militia rel
q. iments, but the great majority wel
IN clodhoppers, who had to learn fro
K the beginning. The officers were lit
IN better. Many of them had to 60 I'M
10 the recruit squads, and learn from Il
TO drill sergeants, the same as the me
p And the drill, as have said, was i
"a cessant. Here is days routine, as '
ne followed it, for the first six month
ey Reveille $50 q. m. Parade for physic
Ut drill six to seven q. 10. Breakfast I'll
IN Drill without arms eight to mir
y, Guard mounting and orderly room9:
IS to ten. Drill with arms 1915 to twel,
re Dinner 1890. Drill from two to 81;
to Five and q quarter hours drill per da
re to say nothing Of the other duties.
to kept as busy TIL four p. m. every ds