The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-15
Suggestions as to Diet and Cloth.
ing That May Save Lives.
TWO FORMS OF DANGER
Experimenting With Thin Uniforms for
Tropical Weer-The Great Pest of
Insects-Chances OF Death
From the Enemy.

death from the enemy. IL Is a tangtbi.
peril which he understands and i.
ready for. The foe will attack or resist
attack after a method pretty we'll COM
pretended and with weapon whose eff
feet is accurately shown. The other
danger Is greater because less tangible.
IL arises from the physical peculiarities
OF the country in which the mpaig
Is to be carried on. and the alteration
in modes OF existence required TO meet
the e~xigencies OF the camp and route
life of an army. The phrase. fortune
Of war" is not usually meant to include
this aspect. Computed in human lives.
however. ii is of hea vier import than
h other. Everything points to the
probability that If Cuba is invaded by
a force OF United States soldiers the
death rate from disease and exposure
will be far greater than from bullet,
shell and sword.
For this reason the quartermaster's
department Of the army is working
night and day to discover and provide
the best and most suitable equipment
for an army in a tropical cline. All day
long the offices are filled with men who
have designs for new and light uni
FORMS. and with contractors seeking tn
supply duel and canvas clothing, pith
helmets and water-tight tents. At pres
ent the army is ill-equipped with cloth
ing for a campaign in Cuba. The regu-
lation uniform OF rather heavy blue
cloth would be hardly bearable in a cli-
mate where an average temperature
above so degrees is aggravated by ex-
treme humidity. Special supplies Of
summer clothing are issued. according
to he army regulations. for regulars
in the southern ATTITUDES. but only
when necessity for such issues Is GER
titled by the department commander"
These include suits of bleached cotton
duck for non-commissioned officers and
unbleached cotton duck for ~privates.
In cases OF extreme heat the COM
handing officer may authorize his men
to buy straw hats for drill. The Off
GERS wear white uniforms when the
men are in white. and straw hats when
they are worn by the men.
All enlisted men have fatigue uni
forms Of heavy brown cotton duck. de-
to save wear on the regular uni
forms when manual labor Is the order
OF the day. which would be more suit
able for tropical war than the cloth
uniforms: but IL Is probable thai regu-
lar outfits OF summer clothes Will be
supplied before any army starts for
Cuba.
Another disease against which par
ticular precautions will be taken IL
dysentery n its kindred bowel COM
plants. Thosands OF soldiers died OF
this trouble during the Cuban war.
but the experience gathered then by
army surgeons In expected 10 be OF
great benefit in dealing with any out
break that may come. As a general
guide to soldiers. there is profit in a
consideration OF the medical advice for
tropical climate which forms part Of
the orders issued by Colonel Greene OF
the list regiment. ". @. N. Y:
1. DO not drink water unless II has
been boiled. IL in the least doubtful.
2. Do not battle in water unless IL has
been boiled.
.. Cook your food thoroughly.
4. Avoid the use of slcohol-internal-
5. Avoid being out in night airs or
dews: IL this cannot be avoided. wrap
up carefully, covering face well. +.
s. Avoid dampness at all times
Change YOU clothes the moment they
are wet or damp when practicable.
:. Be moderate In eating. Do not eat
heartily when tired or o~verheated.
s. At the end of a march. battle the
feet in boiled water. dry well and
powder them with compound talcum
powder or some foo powder.
3. Never put on stockings hat are
damp or stockings at any time when
the feet are not thoroughly dry.
10. Do not eat fruit of any kind un-
less perfectly ripe, and do not eat IL
at all In the summer.
IL. Before going out in the morning
take tnTtt VI I'VE Stdiur VI QuiutIie anu
a cup of hot coffee. This Is impera-
tive.
Il. Always wear a flannel band
around the abdomen.
IL. Change all your clothes every
day where practicable, especially
stockings and drawers.
II. avoid excuses of all kinds.
Is. Avoid exposure to sun when pos
sible. and IL exposed much keep a wet
handkerchief In YOU hat all the while
so exposed.
Is. BE v~accinated.
II. II possible carry a lemon and sip
when thirsty.
To these a physician who has lived
in Cuba makes some additions. sug-
gested by experience.
The soldier should be wary of
handling wild plants" he says. In
the luxuriant tangles OF forest in Cuba
there are a number of forms of vege-
tation poisonous To the touch. includ-
ing a particularly undesirable species
of nettle whose leave ook so soft and
glossy as TO invite the grasp which
they resent so burningIy. Spiders
abound. but the worst of them. the
tarantula. is far from being deadly.
Nothing worse than a painful swelling.
accompanied by slight fever which
may keep the patient from active duty
for a day or two need be anticipated
as a result of this spiders bite. The
sting of the Cuban scorpion Is much
less poisonous. Still. as a p~recaution.
IL Is well to ami ones shoes before
putting them on. as both of these in
sects show a for lurking in
tn. toe of the uma boot n resent
ing the intrusion OF the foot Which IL
is designed TO over
The civil war proved that disease Il
more deadly To an army than the bull
let's of the enemy. Twice as many men
died from sickness as were killed in
battle. With the Spaniards as the enc
my and Cuba for the scene OF the
campaign. nobody csn doubt that the
climate will claim more victims than
the actual warfare. In the 10 years
war in Cuba. from 1868 to ISIS. 81 per
cent. of the spanish army succumbed
to disease. In the present compaign
the percentage has fallen 20 about AZ.
and the doctors say that this Is due
largely TO the order prohibiting the men