Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-10-08
STREETS FILLED WITH The DEAD
What Has Been Done by the Exer=
cising Of Superhuman Efforts
Since July.
YELLOW FEVER ALL AROUND THEM
water Supply Had Been cut ard
All That Could re Secured
Was Polluted with
Disease Germs.

FL-'
ger has received a long letttA from
General Leonard Wood, military gov
cnor Of Santiago. II is personal 10 Il
great extent, lut deals with many
questions Of Interest 10 tho public and
Secretary Alger has allowed some cN-
tracts 10 be published.
General Wood says in part!
81 have had u very difficult positions
from a sanitary point Of view and not
altogether an easy one from q mill
tary and civil standpoint. When we
came into the city the sanitary condi-
ton was something f~rightful. There
were a great many unburied dead in
the houses, between 1000 and 5000
Spanish wounded and sick and u great
horde of half famished and sick peo-
pie. nearly 10000 i'm number, who had
lust returned from FL Caney, where
they had gone during the seigc. The
water supply Of the city had been cut;
there was no water TO be obtained en-
cept from cistcrns and Il few wells,
and the streets were full Of dead ami
mails and all sorts Of filthy materials.
! had TO start in from the bottom and
ItDdlT llt Nulfl NOlN M go
the removal Of the dead. Some of
these were burned. because the mum
Der was so great and decomposition
had advanced to such an extent that
they could not be buried. Burning is
not uncommonly practiccd here dur
ing the epidemic season.
Yellow Fever All Around.
1--WE have yellow fever all around rs
and about 20 cases in the Spanish mil
itarv hospital. The civil hospital was
full of dying people and public build
ings were being used MS hospitals. On
the whole il was an extremely diticult
task. requiring II great deal Of hard
work. have been working sys-
tcmatically with every means at hand
TO improve the sanitary condition OF
the city. II is i'm this department that
n vast amount of work has been done.
| have a force Of about 10 men con
stantly employed and at many times
have had nearly double this force
working day and night to remove the
vast Accommodations of understandable
filth which has accumulated in the
outhouses ana yards, rs well as the
streets of thqcity, which is rcputed TO
be one Of thr most rnilealthy cities in
the world. The death rae has dropped
steadily since we came in, and is now
about one-fourth Of what il was in
July. The water system has been put
in order. and n great many repairs
made to il, and the supply, although
insufficient, is utilized TO the greatest
advantage"
"The garbage and material which
collect in the streets ] have dumped
outside OF town and burnt. | have
also had tie lower and most unhealthy
portion ofthe city ditched and drained
and the ditches running into the har-
hor cleaned out. also the water front
system of sewerage which was com.
plctclv ob;tructcd and in Il frightful
condition. 1t has long been the Gus
tom in this town to depend upon
heavy rain and the Goods through the
streets TO sweep away the accumulat'
ed filth o the dry season. MI tins
has been swept down to the water
front, where il has been collecting for
years. choking the drains and filling
the shallow waters near the shore, 50
that when the tide goes out masses
of Dumping material are exposed to
the intense rays Of the sun and FUR
nish frightful causes of disease. La
ter this ytar, when the epidemic sea-
son shall nave passed, il is my inten-
ton, il am granted funds and au-
thority, to have the shallow places
dredged OFT, so that at least a thin
LAYER of wlter will cover them at low
tide and prevent the present condition
of affairs.
Police Force Rc-Es;ah iisl'cd.
The police force has been rc-estab-
Iished and its uniform changed to one
similar TO that worn by the Cubans,
and the dty will soon be rid OF all
suggestion of Spanish rule.
"rhe lighthouse system in the har-
Dor | have re-eStablished and have ar
ranged pilots. harbor masters, etc.
AS the courts are not yet running
have the delightful experience OF
acting as police judge and clearing
the docket of all sorts of odd cases.
OF curse the most serious eases, such
as crime, are being held for trial
either by military commission or by
The courts when they are established
and in operation.
THE receipts of the city from Gus
toms since we occupied it, ! under
stand from Generals Shafter and Law
ton. who have charge of this matter
have been about 100000. The cN
penseS of the city per week, support
ing the hospitals, cleansing th'
streets, doing the necessary engineer
ing work, and the many little thing
required to keep up the different dc
partments Of the city of $4,000 peopl
are at present $1,000 TO $1,000. OF thi
about 81. 600 is for sanitar< work ant
engineering, the balance for hoSpi
tai, police, etc.
Epidemic Unavoidable.
The great expert on yellow fever.
DIR. GuiteraS, assured me in July that
an epidemic of yellow fever of grea
severity was absolutely unavoidabl
and that we were destined to lose {;
large proportion of our people here
Thus far il has been avoided and not