The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-21
AL MOST SURPASS BELIEF
Tales of Suffering and Misery
That Seem Incredible.
HORROR UPON HORROR
The Face of One Man III with Fever Cow
cred With Fies-Another Mans Dy-
ing gonies Intensified by Yer
min-MoaninR for Ice.

Missoula, Aug. 2O.-Ldeut. Charles II.
Hall OF Troop F, Sd volunteer cavalry.
has written this week a long letter
to T. ]. u. jenkins. I'm which he pict-
ures graphically the fearful condition
of Camp Thomas. He says that the
press dispatches have not told one-half
Of the suffering and misery hat pre-
walls in the camp and adds that the
daily sick report OF the Sd cavalry runs
from $50 to 250. Lieutenant Hall has
sent the following newspaper clippings
with the request that they be publish
ed I'm the Standard. They tell a tale
that seems incredible. but the state
ments are made by officers whose com
mands are In the camp:
Capt. ]. Il. Binder, troop r, Sd vol
unteer cavalry (Grigsby's rough riders).
Is quoted by the Chicago Inter Ocean
as aging that Twenty per cent. OF
my regiment are down with n
or malarial fever, and IL is just as bad
I'm other regiments
This Is the statement made by Rnotn-
er officer, one of the stan Of the SIN
regiment:
Here are some of the things ] know
Of the hospital OF the division. | heard
one day that a man from the 9th, one
Of my own company, was lying there.
With Colonel Green | went there. The
man was i'll of typhoid fever, and his
temperature was far above 100. When
l reached this cot / nearly staggered
with horror. The mans face was lit
orally black with flies. His mouth,
which was open-the poor fellow was
too weak to close twas filled with
flies. Colonel Green denounced such a
style of affairs, rs did J.. The person
in charge n~onchalantly remarked that
there were not cnough nurses 10 go
around. Then J told him as emphat-
ically as the solemnity of the place
would permit, that his duty was TO let
the men OF the company know, and
they would gladly have acted as vol
unteer nurses. | sen a man from my
quarters over.
The man | sent was a trained nurse
before he Joined the army as a soldier.
He knew In an instant what was need
ed. He found that fhe man VINO was
so III with the fever had had no bath,
although burning VI with fever. lie
asked for some cold water. The doc
tor in charge wanted to know what for,
When the man replied that ne wished
to give the patient a bath the doctor
told him to get the water out of a bar
rel which had been standing in the sun.
The water was actually tepid. The
nurse Indignantly told the doctor he
would not attempt to lower the tenn
p%erature with water that would only in
crease 1t. What do you know about it?'
snapped the doctor. Because | know
about those things, and have been a
nurse was the answer. This convinc-
ed the person in charge that my rep
r"esentative knew too much to be smoth-
cred. and after several hours he man
aged to get some ice. Imagine how
much il was. \ pound. exactly. With
this he was expected to lower the tenn
perature Of n man dying with fever.
Several days later the man was dead
In another case "A man who died In
the division hospital was found 10 be
literally alive with maggots under his
armpits. and his dying agonies were
intensified by the movements OF these
yermin. There are other shocking
cases of neglect which are too horrible
To be recounted. 1t Is incredible that
such things should have happened in
his. the richest country on the globe.
When there were 2S0 men in the nos
pital at one time | found that there
were but two thermometer to take the
temperature. and. remember, nearly all
these patients were fever-stricken. To
have used the Instruments for the pur-
pose intended would have consumed
exactly IL hours and 40 minutes. The
want OF ice was criminal. The moan
ing Of the men for ice when they were
burning up with fever Is something |
shah never forget. why, officers of
the regiment had to subscribe money
out Of their own pockets TO get ice in
the interest OF humanity. And then
the amount procured was totally mad
equate to the need. The men knew
all about the horrors Of the hospital.
The sergeant, who was taken to the
hospital the day before | left. VAS 40 il
three weeks ago that he ought 10 have
- - -
pain day after day. He wouldn't lis
ten 10 advice to go TO the hospital. lie
said that would he the end Of him. and
he would keep out of IL as long as he
could. no matter how much he suffer
ed. At last he collapsed.
After the troops We're ordered Into
camp at C~hickamauga and pitched
their tents, many OF the regimental
commanders paid little or no attention
to the sanitation Of their camps. A
few idle prisoners, placed I'm "A guard
house for some breach Of discipline,
We're generally ordered to dig sinks,
They dug them. caring little whether
they answered the purpose or not. Lit
tie attention was paid TO the sinks and
the hnsl disposition OF the various
kinds of refuse that collects at a mill
tary camp of Go, 600 men. This waste
was thrown into the sinks and later
covered with four or five inches of dirt,
20 be- washed out by the rains m scat
tered over the ground.
Again. this refuse was thrown into
the open fields between camps. thus
getting the waste out Of the way FOR
the time being, no thought heiug had
for the future. This garbage slop from
the mess. and all kinds Of NTH. was
permitted 10 become noisome n to rot
in the open air. such a condition
breeds all sorts Of sickness II not check
ed.
As Captain Binder says, the other
regiments are as bad as his. there are
$500 cases Of malarial and typhoid fe.
yer at Camp Thomas"