Eight months had passed since the battalion left the vicinity of
peaceful civilisation, so to meet it again, crude though it was amidst
the mud huts of El Arish, filled our men with extreme curiosity. The
town was placed out of bounds because of the fear of cholera, small pox,
etc., but there was much of interest to be seen. Groves of fig trees
surrounded the place on the edge of the Wadi, and it was a matter for
speculation as to where they obtained their sustenance for it was
apparently just bare desert. Vines and date palms were also grown, and I
presume these, with fishing, constitute the main source of life to the
inhabitants. The natives, incidentally, had a most pleasing appearance,
and their older men reminded one forcibly of the patriarchs. They had a
strikingly manly and independent carriage, quite different from the lack
of respectability of the lower class Egyptian. There is probably a good
deal of Arab blood in them, which may account for the fearless manner
with which they look the foreigner straight in the face.
We were not surprised when definite orders arrived to prepare ourselves
for a return to the canal. The transport started first for they were to
trek the distance, while the personnel were to have the pleasure of
riding on a train. The men accepted this statement rather warily for
such a thing had seldom been known during their experience with the
battalion. On January 30th all the animals in the Division assembled
near our camp preparatory to commencing the trek when the aircraft alarm
was sounded.
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