The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-09-01
DEATH LIST OF THEsCAMP
ONLY ONE HUNDRED AND NINE
TY-EIGHT MEN
OUT OF sEvENTY-FlVE THOUSAND TROOPS
Number in Camp Between Middle of April and
Last of August. FIoored Tents, DistiII-
ed Water, Cooks, and Other
Details of Report.

Details of Report.
Washington, Aug. 81 Secretary Alger
today received the report of General
III. V. Boynton upon the state of affairs
in the hospitals at Camp Thomas.
Inc General says that his instructions
were to report the number of sick, char
acter of illness. number of tents, floor
space per patient, adequacy and suita-
bility of attendants, and whether medical
officers have discharged their duties
faithfully and with intelligence, and to
make any recommendation in the inter-
est of all concerned. He says that he
visited all the hospitals in the camp,
without giving notice of his purpose.
Says General Boynton:
Believing the death list of this camp
to afford an excellent standard by which
to measure its conditions as to health
and hospital service, a full report was
obtained of all deaths in the camp, and III
its hospitals since its esta blishment the
middle of April last. The result shows Il
total death list of 1913 up to the first Of
this month, when the breaking of this
camp began. Between these dates, i'll
Guiding regulars and volunteers, fully
$4,000 troops have been in camp in the
4Chickamauga Park
The report takes up in detail first the
two permanent hospitals, Letter and
Sternherg, and states s-ith~sth,s s.reatcsss
mnuteness the exact accommodation af-
forded by each. The first is ut Crawfish
springs under charge of Major Carter
and was converted from a large summer
resort hotel into hospital receiving the
worst typhoid cases from the camp. Each
patient has abundant roOm woven wire
and hair mattresses and abundant bed
clothing. The ventilation is perfect,
plumbing entirely new and bathing ia
cilities ample. The number of attend
ants, when all are well, is entirely sat
isfactory and attendants are on the way
to take the places of those who are
broken down.
Maj. Carter has secured Il herd Of cows
and has arrangements for pasturing them
without expense to the government. He
has sufficient money from the hospital
fund to buy whatever. is wanted in the
way Of milk, ice and other delicacies.
There has been at this hospital full sup
plies of ice, milk, commssary stores and
delicacies. such as the sick ought tc
have. The entire hospital is furnished
with distilled water. and the ice used is
made from distilled water.
The sewerage of the hospital is eX
cellent, and, contrary to persistent as
sertions, none of the sewage has ever
drained into the Chickamauga River Oh
approached it at any point.
Major Carter has n corps of doctors
which he regards as amply sufficient tc
care for all the patients in the hospital
and reports them as faithful and eff
cient in the performance Of their duties
Taking up the Sternberg hospital iu
charge of Major Giffeny General Boyn
ton shows that it is one of the most com
plete field hospitals ever seen according
TO veterans of the last war All the
tents are closely foOred and they arc
separate; at present only four men arc
in any tent. and in addition to the tents
there are nine large board pavilions. Ev-
cry tent and pavilion has woven wire
mattresses. iron bedsteads and hair mat
tresses. There are especial diet cooks
five cold storage rooms for de}icacieS
separate refrigerators for each row OF
tents and every proper measure of san
itation is observed with Nrespect to thu
sinks. Further the report SAYS:
''The whole place is most carefully pol
iced daily. and the whole establishment
WIiIllH anu WITHOUT HS permanent bu1ld
ings and its tents is in the most per
feet order.
"Since the establishment of this hos
pital everything asked for in the wa!
of supplies of every kind has beer
promptly furnished. Sixteen to twent.
four barrels of distilled water are pur
chased daily, and 40 gallons furnished
by the Red Cross Society.
"All money necessary for the purchaT'
of delicacies of every kind suitable t.
the sick has been furnished by order O
General Sternberg. A careful inquiri
developed the fact that all varieties o
medical supplies required or asked fol
were furnished both from Washington
ana from medical headquarters at thu
camp with the greatest promptness."
1t is stated in addition that all the
hospital refuse is burnt in q cremat0ry
ana according to Major Giffen all bu
I.ooo patients, now sick i'm the entire
camp could be safely moved now Th'
diSeases are more of a typhoid-maari;
character than typhoid fever strictly, tn,
death rate being very low, onl,
abont per cent. of the worst cases
The First division field hospital il
charge of Major Drake. is fioored will
planed lumber, and it is as clean N
possible. being scrubbed with carboli
acid and treated with bichloride of mer
curry every day. All the patients are OF
cots, and never have been on the groun,