New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-06

obstacles In securing such supplies as he had made
| rcquisitlon for In addition to using the money
allowed to buy provisions he had used II TOT o'her
purposes to add to the comfort OF the men nuyhe ing
| laundry etc He thought there were tents enough
make nifty thousand men ,housena ~ mem
Genera al Wheeler said reply to question, Ion frc rem
instance in which surgeon had become int hra
was no urtmarial. as 1t was impossible to pro-
cure testimony bearing on me case ,,,noss for zen.
expression OF his opinion as to the eomdac' IN
WSsee OF rns the
supply ssps hss He had
| found the Medical Department from General
sernherg down to be III len ana the
same was oso true OF the Ordnance Commissary
and other departments General Wneser spom 'n ~,
that il quite equal to that among the American
troops. ,,. .,,
GENERAL BOYNTON's TESTIMONY.
| The proceedings were resumed at O'Clock. with
General H. v. Boynton the stand General
| Boynton said that since July he had been on duty
| at Camp Thomas Recently his especial duty had
| been looking after the water supply OF the
camp. and at present he was In command. The
camp entirely within the limits ct Chicka-
| manga Park. The first troops had arrived on April
| IA. They were Regulars, volunteers arriving
est number of troops that had ever been quartered
| in the camp at any one time. Generals Brooke,
| Wade and Breckenridge rad been in command sue
| cessivoy.
| Ex-Governor Beaver called General Boyntons at
| tenton 10 the criticisms OF the camp site. and
asked his opinion Of the location. General Boynton
| in his capacity as q member Of the Park Commits
sion had been familiar with the park for nine
! years II had always been considered one OF the
most healthy spots In the country. There had
| never been a death in the park force and never
case OF typhoid fever There had been nj one time
| three hundred men employed on the roads. and no
| typhoid fever had been reported. out OF twenty
| three hundred employed on contract there
were only deaths. and none OF these were que
| to typhoid. He had examined the statistics for
1870 and found that IN the two counties in which
| the park Is situated there had been only twelve
cases of typhoid fever The park is elevated being
| from 60 10 200 feet above the level and tho
| land Is rolling and we'll drained. being free from
| swamps 1t IS underlaid by magnetism limestone.
and Il Is from under this that most OF the water Is
! secured.
| CAMP THOMAS WATER SUPPLY.
| There were three for the supply. Tho
first was number OF springs. the second the river,
and the third artesian wells. There are now thirty
| six Of these wells and there were nine when the
camp site was selected The five springs so far as
| he knew were inexhausuble. and only one Of them
| had beef; exhausted during the occupancy OF TIE
| camp by the troops. The wells were also dpPui-
entity inexhaustible In addition to these 100000
| gallons pumped every twenty-four hours from
| the river, and this water distributed through
| the camp by means Of pipes. The river water Sup
| ply was designed originally for drinking pur-
| poses but for cooking. washing and other such
uses. with the view Of relieving the demand on the
| wells and springs. However the water had been
| found 10 be quite pure The stream fed wholly
| by mountain springs. the nearest Of which was
| Crawfsh Spring with output OF 100000 gallons
| day 1t would have been impossible supply
water from Crawfsh without putting In pump
capab BILE lifting the hill $50 feet high.
! The river water had been analysed four times.
three times chemically and once within the last
two weeks bacteriologlcaly. The water had in
each case been declared pure, and entirely suitable
| for drinking and domestic purposes. ut was i'm
possible for the river water to be contaminated"
| he said. Il know all about that. and do not con-
slider there is any foundation for that charge
| There were no towns villages above the camp
| TO the source of the Chickamauga River and there
were houses II between tho camp and Craw
fish Spring. There sewage emptying into
| the stream. In some instances the water was
| filtered but some of the filters found TO be
unsatisfactory and of little The water was in
the main hard limestone. General Boynton said
| that while there was plenty OF water and OF good
quality for the camp, considerable water had been
brought In recently In barrels from springs four or
five miles outside. This done because OF the
| suspicion CT some Of the surgeons concerning the
water In the camp When the men began to be
sick the surgeons insisted on going away from the
| camp for the water and this was done notwith-
standing the analysis showed the water to be pure.
There were no sinks nearer the wells than 200
feet The surface Of the ground was an impervious
| clay, and the wells all drilled through solid
| rock 1t was therefore impossible for the water TO
| be contaminated from the sinks. The wells were
cemented. and there possibility Of pollution
| from the surface There were no caverns In the
| limestone as In the Kentucky limestone
TYPHOID CAME FROM OUTSIDE.
| In response to query from Captain Howell.
General Boynton said that the only typhoid fever in
| the camp was brought in from the outside.
The volunteers were, he said, located In the
! wooded portion OF the park but the wood only
sufficient for shade. 1t dense forest, but
| could be easily penetrated by the sunshine. The
| surface we'll covered with wild grass.
| small number OF the troops were located in what
were called nat woods He did not consider this
| dry. He had never heard of mdew forming In the
camp on account o,r Of Samp1ess tho no,
crowded; that the streets were about 20 feet wide,
various regiments. General Brooke had himself
selected the ground for each regiment and brigade
mediately on its arrival 10 its designated point
| General Boynton said that the sinks were from
fSs' S p4a :1' feet
hf III snk o6 MpcR Of bs S h9 e a1mes
| into the kitchen sinks and then at times IT was
hauled of ana dumped in the WOODS contrary TO
| orders Still obdurate about such mat
ters. and II difficult matter properly to police
| so extensive a camp. He had talked almost every
day with the chief surgeon Of the camp In regard
10 the inspection Of the sinks and he was assured
| that there was a daily inspection.
Speaking OF typhoid fever in the camp he said II
did pot excite serious attention until about the
middle of July when the cases averaged about
a thousand 1t afterward increased until there
were about four hundred among the fifty
thousand men He said he mad given especial at
tention 70 the hospital Of the Second Division OF
the Third Corps. IT had received the especial
tenton Of "ihe able and influential sensational
press"
this hospital there had been only 276 OF ty-