Streets were laid out; miles of water pipes, sunk in machine-made ditches, were connected to hundreds of taps and shower baths; electric light was installed; three miles of rifle butts completed, and in two weeks the camp was practically finished--the finest camp that the first Canadians were destined to see. The building of Valcartier camp was characteristic of the driving power, vision and genius of the Minister of Militia, General Sir Sam Hughes. Of the 33,000 men assembled at Valcartier, the great majority were civilians without any previous training in warfare. About 7,000 Canadians had taken part in the South African war, fifteen years before, and some of these, together with a few ex-regulars who had seen active service, were formed into the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry. Otherwise, with the exception of the 3,000 regulars that formed the standing army of Canada, the men and most of the officers were amateurs. It was therefore a feat that the Canadian people could well afford to be proud of, that in the great crisis they were able, through their aggressive Minister of Militia, not only to gather up these forces so quickly but that they willingly and without delay converted their industries to the manufacture of all necessary army equipment. Factories all over the country immediately began turning out vast quantities of khaki cloth, uniforms, boots, ammunition, harness, wagons, and the thousand and one articles necessary for an army. Before the end of September, 1914, the Canadian Expeditionary Force had been roughly hewn into shape, battalions had been regrouped and remodeled, officers transferred and re-transferred, intensive training carried on, and all the necessary equipment assembled. On October 3, 1914, thirty-three Atlantic liners, carrying the contingent of 33,000 men, comprising infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, signalers, medical corps, army service supply and ammunition columns, together with horses, guns, ammunition, wagons, motor lorries and other essentials, sailed from Gaspe basin on the Quebec seaboard to the battle-field of Europe.