In the course of our journey the
harness of one of the horses rubbed the animal until he was lame,
stopping up the wagon. Immediately the Sergeant who was riding alongside
ordered the wagon to one side, removed the horse, installed his own,
jumped on the wagon and caught up with the others. The speed with which
he did the trick almost made me gasp with astonishment; in all my life I
never saw work of the kind handled so smoothly and swiftly. A dash of
the picturesque was added to the scene by the Algerian ration-bearers
winding their way in and out of the wagons, carrying trays of hot food
on their heads and shoulders. It was nothing short of marvelous, the
skillful manner in which they carried their precious burden of food, for
never did they have a spill unless killed or wounded.
One of the funniest sights a man can see was the way my chums of the
ammunition wagons defied the explicit and peremptory order, "No smoking
on the road at or around Ypres." There is something in the rise and
fall of the lighted cigarette when being smoked that attracts the
attention at long distances and many a man has had to pay the penalty,
which was most severe,--28 days field punishment, which means 28 days
without pay and breaking your back at fatigue duty around the camp, the
cookhouse and the wagon lines, in addition to four hours extra drill
each day.
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