Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-01
SHORTLY TO Be
SENT TO FRENCH Front
A. r. W. Mackrcth Writes Interest
4 tngly Of Life In Canadian
Training Camp.
JOINS ARTILLERY BRANCH
$Well-Known Richmond Newspaper
Man Is Now Driving Wheel Team
in Field Artillery Battalion-Life
in the Camp.

A.. r. w. Mackrcth. for many years
a member OF the local staff of The
Times-Dispatch, who is now a
of the Canadian artillery in training
at Kingston. Ontario. and who expects
shortly to be sent abroad, writing from
Camp P~etawawa. Ontario. describes the
busy preparations for active warfare
most interestingly. He says:
we arrived at after An
all-night journey from Kingston. The
lamp is a beautiful place. situated on
the Ottawa River, with the blue Lau'
rentia Mountains lying just beyond.
We have settled down and attained
some comfort in our tents. We had
wooden floors in the tents. but were
forced to give them up. Our mattresses
are now placed on 4 rubber sheet.
we do not know just when there
will be a draft, but we do know that
our training is being intensified. We
have physical culture every morning.
cavalry drill afterward, and. in the
afternoon, gun drill in the plains. Foot
drill is showed in at odd moments. we
take the additional training as indica-
tive that a troop movement may come
soon. But. of course. this is all specu-
lation. We cannot be sure until the
order comes from Ottawa. We ride in
the morning, going across fields and
then to an open place, where we are
instructed in Workmanship and maneu-
verinE. This morning we took the
guns out and, on our way to the plains.
we passed by one Of the British army
test guns being used by the Russians
to test ammunition. 1t Is an ~
FOUNDER, just the sort we have. The
firing gives forth a peculiar sound.
There Is the shock OF the explosion as
the charge is fred and then comes a
revereeration like the roll OF thunder.
accompanied by q loud. whist.ins
sound something like that OF a rocket.
If one can imagine that accentuated
thousands Of times ard attended by a
tremendous roll one can gain an idea
OF what It is like TO hear 4 gun fred.
And then hundreds are fred at the
same moment. We hear these guns all
day in camp. and We have become ac-
customed to them.
DRIVES TEAM NEXT
TO THE Gun WAGON
1T drive a wheel team-that is the
team next to the gun wagon. The gun
wagon follows the gun. for 1t carries
ammunition. The gun. in action. is
coupled to a two-whecled carriage,
called the I'll timber. There are six
horses to a vchicle Driving is not so
easy as II appears, for we have to fol-
low hand signals, which, unless fol-
lowed closely and accurately, become
confusing. We have begun battle
action drill. and both the colonel and
the officer commanding complimented
US on our work.
: 1--WE had a tremendous hailstorm yes
terday. followed by a heavy downpour.
Several OF the tents were flooded SO
that the men had to move out. The
hail was the largest ! have ever seen.
It came dow go rapidly and heavily
that the groun was covered with balls
of ice. Fortunately, everybody was in
doors, or there would have been Sc
rious injury. One stone struck me from
the outside OF the ten as / had my
head pressed against 1t from the in
side, and / was glad that / was not
exposed. This storm was followed by
a lull of about fifteen minutes. and then
came the rain in wind driven sheets.
The tents of my section are on a slope.
SO we scaped the flood, but those be-
low us were swamped. The water
couldn't run of, and the men had to
dig holes so that it could sceD through
the sand. One of the officers came
around to see that we were all right
and to lend n helping hand. His popu-