The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-08-16
PEOPLE HAVE NO FEAR
ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP
THEM OUT OF DANGER.
MISSING NEARLY ALL ACC0UN TE0 FOR
The Camps Now Occupied Are Measurably
Good. Great Sickness Among Packers
and Teamsters. Supplies Abundant.
Frightful Spanish Mortality.

Washington, Aug. 15.-Secretary Alger
today received letter from General
Shaftor, which is i'll part as follows:
Headquarters Fifth Army Corps,
Santiago dc Cuba. August 18th.
Hon. Il. y. Algcr. Secretary of War,
Washington, ID. {.
"AIy Dear General Alger: Your kind
letter of July 18th, was handed me yes
terday by Major Sniffen. | thank you
and the President for the confidence YOU
express in my ability to handle the mat
terS entrusted to me here.
THE number taken i'll in my COM
mand is very great, as you will see,
though not very much greater than
those returned to duty, and the death
rate is not at present alarming, although
it is steadily on the increase and the
doctors tell me that the fever, malarial
and otherwise, is constantly presenting
more virulent features. Every effort
possible is made to guard ships bring
ing supplies to the camp, but it is most
impossible to enforce it, when ships must
he unloaded and men necessarily must
come together i'll discharging and rtsts+ s
ing cargo. The great trouble is that the
people themselves seem to have no fear
Of infection. and, unless you have Il
guard over every individual man, it is al
most impossible to keep them from ming
ling
THE silver question has settled itself,
and American silver is received the same
as American paper. The missing, | be-
lieve, have nearly all been accounted for.
Not a single man was captured and the
only men now missing are those who
were killed in the thick brush and whose
bodies have never been found. The
country has been secured faithfully for
bodies This was done short time after
the battle.
''rhe camps now occupied are measure
ably good. They certainly are on the
best ground i'll the vicinity and slight
changes of location can be made The
difficulty i'll separating camps of an ar
my of this size is on account of the great
difficulty of supplying them with ncccs
sary food, especially during the wet sea-
son. when half IL dozen wagons over Il
road cut it into ruts two feet deep in
places. Pack trains are very good and
we have to use them and do use them all
the time: in fact without them we could
not get along; but the sickness among
the teamsters and packers has been very
nearly every one of them | sup
pose % per cent. have been sick, and
like the soldiers. they do not recover
their strength.
Supplies are abundant here of all ar
ticles of food and clothing. | cannot ful-
" express my gratitude to you for all
the opportunities that you have given me
and for the confidence that you rcpOse in
me. as shown more strongly than III any
other way by leaving me unhampered in
my operations against Santiago. | am
very sorry to see that some newspapers
are attempting to throw blame on your
trying to run the campaign from Wash
ington, and / suppose some people be-
lieve it. 1t is one Of the things, however,
that | don't suppose we can help, al
though whenever | have had an opp0r-
tunity | have tried to make it plain that
| have been left to my own devices.
Il am very sincerely yours,
"WM r. SHAETER"