Evening star., 1898-08-26
STARVED ON THE MOHAWK
The Presidents Own" Regiment Intends to
Prefer Charges
Col. Hart and the Quartermaster Ac-
cused of Causing Needless Hard
ships and Suffering.

From the New York Journal. To-Day.
CAMP WIKOFF, Montauk Point, August
25.-The transport Mohawk has arrived
with nearly 200 men of the Sth Ohio
Regiment, THE Presidents own" aboard.
Colonel Hart is in command.
The snip is still in quarantine, but from
stories that have come ashore the Mo-
hawks voyage. barring suspected cases of
yellow fever, will be written in as many
chapters of horrors as that of the Mobile.
The Mohawk reported 10 sick when she
arrived last night. Dr. Mfagruder found
$40 men fit for the hospital when he board
ed the transport this afternoon. All the
ambulances in camp were sent to carry
them to the general hospital.
When Major Brown apprised of this
tremendous influx of patients he was visi-
bly, worried. ''All right" he said, after a
minute. Let them come. We pretty
full here, but with what vacant tents We
have in the detention hospital we can ac-
commodate Them.
A Soldiers Story.
All the afternoon a long train of ambu-
lances bearing the sick toiled up the hill to
the hospital. The well men will not be
landed till tomorrow. Starvation and over
crowdng, entire lack of suitable food,
scarcity of medical supplies, incipient mu-
tiry-that is the story that comes from
the Mohawk by a soldier who smuggled
himself ashore today. He is a regular-not
one of the Ohio troops. His name is with
held for obvious reasons.
The voyage was a terrible one for the
men of the Sth Ohio" said this soldier.
Though they got to Cuba too late for the
fighting, they had hard time there. They
only got fresh meat three times between
July Ii, when they arrived, and August Is,
when they sailed. Their medical corps was
taken from them as soon as they arrived,
ard they got all the guard duty going, be-
cause they were the freshest regiment at
the front.
"They had no blankets, and when they
boarded the Mohawk they were a sorry lot
We regulars found it hard TO live on trav-
cling rationS, but that was nothing to the
way these men Jared the way home.
On August 20 they only had soup and hard
tack l saw that soup made. Ten cans of
beef and thirty-four cans of tomatoes were
dumped into the caldrons to supply 200
men. Each got less than a quarter of
pint of the watery stuff.
The next day a large number of pris-
orers in the guard house were set 10 scrub
bing decks. They revolted and said they
were too weak to work until they were
fed. A special meal was gotten up for
them and they went back to work. On
August % the whole regiment cfawled up
to the main deck and assembled in front
of the quarters of Colonel Hart. The whole
affair was arranged.
Who is it that is starving the Sth?
shouted the spokesman.
" Colonel Hart and the quartermasterv
yelled the whole regiment as one man.
The colonel ran out of the cabin, white
with rage. and shook his fist at the men,
Called His Men Cowards.
You are lot of cowards.' he shouted.
to make such a kick about the rations
You'll get no more soup this trip
They did get the SOUP despite the
threat, but the rations were wholly made
quate and the sick fairly starved. Ruse
and Eddy. who died. were victims of star
walton as surely as l stand here The Off
GERS Jared well. They had three square
meals a day. and good grub it was. The
men are going TO wire charges to the Pres
ident as soon they land,