The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-07-28
FIGHTING THE PLAGUE.
How the Yellow Fever Attacked
Skaters Army.

Skaters Army.
Correspondence Of the Associated Press.)
Division Hospital, Camp Juragua,
July 25.-"There are 200 yellow fever
cases here and at the front today.
There will be a thousand if we are here
two weeks longer"
This was the prediction made this
afternoon by DR.. Sem, the government
yellow fever expert, who, with DR.. Gull
teras, is looking after the health OF
tie army in that particular line. The
bolt of fever has fallen out of an ap-
parently clear sky. Three cases were
discovered four days ago. There were
20 the next night. Now there are 200.
Dr.. Senn's estimate of 200 seems prob
able, in the face of these figures.
DR.. Gu:teras said today: 4 cannot
say that the fever is of mild type,
but there has been only one death so
far, though there have been two cases
of suppression and two of black vomit,
symptoms supposed TO mark only the
last stages of a desperate case All
four Of these, however, seem to be do
ing well. The usual course in an cpl
demic is a mild beginning, with low
death rate, followed by more violent
cases. more of them and higher NOR
tally; then q gradual decline, both IN
lence.
4 should say that in this campaign
we viii have an apparently lower death
rate than usual, but it viii be because
we will get nearer TO true figures than
in an epidemic in a large city. Here
every suspicious case viii be carefully
noted, and it viii be practically impos-
sible for even a mild case to escape
detection. In city many of these
light cases are not reported, and are
set down to malarial fever, hence the
yellow fever death rate, being taken
from among only the more violent
cases, is made TO appear higher in
proportion to the number Of cases
than it really is. 1t cannot be denied
that there will he great suffering, but
the detention camp is being put in the
best possible order. and the men will
receive the best treatment possible"
HOW MARINES ESCAPED.
The marines landed at Guantanamo
bay more than a month ago. almost a
month before the army reached Cuba.
The first official act Of the landing
party was to burn every hut on the
beach. and knock in the head of every
cssk of Spanish wine. After the bap-
tism of fire the camp was pitched and
rigidly poiiced. The Cuban allies came
and camped with the marines, but they
:
camp. Its men have not penetrated so
far inland, but they have been exposed
To almost as much hardship as the
army and there has not been a case
OF yellow fever in camp.
Rigid quarantine is now maintained
against Juragua, anf the medical Off
GERS OF Camp McCaua say that with
the help OF God and sanitary Drecau-
tions, they Will have no fever.
DIFFERENT AT BAIQUIRL
The landings at Baiquiri and Juragua
were made almost a month later There
were many men to be handled. the IA
cilities were limited, and the landings
were made in great haste. No build
ing was burned, no well was filed, no
sink was dug.
Several of the enthusiastic young aids
seized on pretty vine-clad cottages as
headquarters for their respective gen. |
erals. Spanish commissary flour, which |
Iinares made a hasty attempt to de- |
stroy when he was evacuating Juragua, |
was gathered and was used by our !
men when they were thrown to the |
front on half rations. Spanish wine |
was bottled by the medical depart |
ment for use as stimulant, and part of /
it. at least, can be said to have fallen I
into the hands of the men. Cubans and |
Americans filed into the empty houses |
,
Major La Garde, in charge of the |
beach hospital, did recommend earn
estly on landing that every building |
ashore be burned. Major Wood and /
Colonel Pope, it is understood, endorsed
this, but the recommendation seems to
have gone by default. The camp was
in the heart of the Span
ish town, and the first yellow fever case
was that of Burr Mcintosh the actor
and newspaper man, who had been
sleeping at General Bates headquar-
ters in one of the pretty vine-covered
above mentioned.
DR. Lesser and his wife, Sister Be
tina" the New York workers of the
Red Cross, both were taken to the yell
low fever camp yesterday from one of
those lovely verdure-bedecked pest
houses. Another Red Cross nurse
shared the same fate.
After the fever was discovered the