The age-herald., 1898-12-21
GENERAL SKATER
 TELLS HIS STORY Testified Yesterday Before the Mar InTeS-
 tiSatinS Commission. HIS SUPPLIES WERE AMPLE Admitted That He Should Have Carried
 More AmbulanCeS. TRANSPORT FLEET INSUFFICIENT To Accommodate 17,ooo Men, But All Were Eager to Get There and
 He Took the Risk of
 Overcrowding.
TRANSPORT FLEET INSUFFICIENT

Washington, December 20.-General Shaf- ter appeared rather unexpectedly before the war Investigating commission this after noon and told his story of the Santiago ex- petition. He was supported by his aide, Colonel Miey, who was with him in Cuba, and f1anked by a large portmanteau of pa- pers to which his aide occasionally applied for reference. General Shafters story of Interpretations around Santiago was tersely told but was at times quite vivid in its re- cital and interesting in detail. Briefly summed up his estimate of the Santiago ex- petition was that it had been a military success and cheap at the cost of 800 men lost in the fight. He considered the expe- dition to have been as well fitted out as the time allowed would permit and said that in looking back he had no criticism of his plans to make and would not change them if the events had to be gone through again. He said he had no complaints of any sort to make and would be loath to intrude them at this time if he had.
 They're After Miles
 The commission stated that General Miles communicated to that body his un- willingness to volunteer his testimony. A message was accordingly sent to the ad- jutant general directing him to request the appearance of General Miles before the board. No reply had been receixed to this communication when General Shafter sub sequently appeared.
 After a brief preface, General Shafter went into detailed account of his prepara- tions for the Santiago expedition. He said his plans were changed three times by the department and once he actually started, faf ish warships off the coast. He said the transport fleet was not sufficiently large to accommodate 17,000 men for any length Of time at sea but all were so anxious to go that he risked considerable crowding to take all the men possible. He admitted that he took chances in doing this, but said the weather was good and there was no mishap to regret. The men were regulars almost entirely, fully equipped and he saw that they were made as comfortable as cir cumstances permitted.
 As to medical supplies, General Shafter said:
 The Medical Supplies
 "You know medical supplies are the one thing that a commanding general or a line officer never knows anything about. The surgeon is supposed to know what he wants My medical officer said he thought he had, enough medical supplies for the temporary service to which we thought we were destined. It proved, however, that the surgeon was mistaken. The ammuni- tion supply was ample.''
 As to supplies, General Shafter said there was nothing essential left behind.
 How about the ambulances?" asked Gen. eral Beaver.
 "As to those,' said General Shafter, "I take the whole responsibility on myself. l ordered and supervised their loading. After events proved that il would have been bet ter to have taken ten or fifteen additional ambulances and left that many wagons behind. But wagons can be used for two purposes and ambulances cannot be used but for one. l took the wagons and the wounded had to be transported in them after the first days fighting. I must say that on rocky, muddy road, such as we had there, that there is little difference in the comfort between an ambulance and an escort wagon. The men were put on straw in the bottom of the wagons and we did the best we could for them. Ambulances would have been better, but then hind sight is always better than foresight" Concerning the landing facilities with the expedition, General Shafter said they had two large boats, one of which was lost en route, and a small tug, whose captain de- serted during the night. The boat capacity of the fleet was sufficient for the landing, as the events proved.
 Castillo Came Too Late Ii An incident of the landing was brought put by General Shafter, who said he had arranged with a Cuban general, Castillo, the day prior to the landing to have O0O men back of Baiquirf to catch the Span fards when they were shelled out by the navy. Castillo was three hours later, how ever. and all the Spaniards got away.
 How about getting the supplies to the front for the men?" asked General Beaver
 Tt was the one problem of the campaign and it taxed us to the utmost" said he "If 1t had not been for the pack train we could not have done it and the expedition would have been failure."
 General Shafter said he regarded the landing of the expedition as eminently suc- cessful. They lost only two men and thirty animals out of total of 10000 men. It was a remarkable record.
 There had been considerable criticism from the medical officers about getting their supplies ashore,'' said General Beaver.
 Were any such complaints brought to you?'
 "A mjority of the regimental surgeons left their medical chests on their vessels. When I found this out I put Dr. Goodfel- low aboard the Manteo and had him collect these chests. As soon as they were landed they were put on four wagons and distrib- uted at once to the men,"
 As an additional explanation of the diff f1culty in furnishing supplies ashore, Gen. eral Shafter said at one time with an army of 21 900 men he had to issue rations to 40,- 900 people, the excess being the refugees from Santiago. women and children for the most part whom he could not allow to starve.