TCD MS 10516 folio 35 verso
[14th September 1916] flowing garments; on they came waving their rifles wildly over their heads, shrieking aloud in their enthusiasm, madly gesticulating, leaping like lunatics into the air; one almost expected to see them cutting themselves with knives like the howling fanatics at the Altar of Baal. But they were recieving (sic) lead in exchange for their fervour; our rearguard was hammering them at every rush.
However, watching the advance of the Arabs was not increasing our progress to grassy mound, so I grasped at another little device which might accelerate us. I made one of my men take off his puttees; one end of these we tied to the head of the stretcher, the other end he held in his hands. Whenever we lifted, he dragged on the puttees. By this means we brought greater power to bear on the stretcher and