The age-herald., 1898-10-05

the intended movement on Havana. There was, he said, at times some shortage Of supplies at the camp, but nothing he added, "that a soldier could complain of. They had comfortable tents and the com missary supplies were sufficient. The water supply was also good. He said the men in his command were well taken care of. However very few men were at that time sick. He had himself gone into the hospitals and had found the men doing well.
 Gen. Wheeler said he had no control over any of the supplies which were taken to Santiago on the transports when he left Tampa. This was attended to by the diff ferent staff officers. He only knew from conversation with these that there was an abundance of the supplies of all charac- ter.
 Returning to the Santiago campaign, he said that only two regiments had reported a shortage of rations and he had lmmed- lately telephoned to the rear and the short age, which was due to accident, had been adjusted. There was suffering when the men were compelled to lie on the breast- works. The meat was poor, and they had no bread but hard tack. They were forced to live in the sun and water alternately and necessarily there was much sickness. While they had the full quota of doctors and nurses he thought that if more had been furnished the men would have been better cared for. As for rations three days supply was generally issued. Whenever 4 troops went into action they would thro@ their food away, as well as their packs, and they often did not recover them. t5
 Defended the Cubans
 General Wheeler took up the common re. port that the Cubans stole goods thus dis carded It was not fair, he said, to thus accuse the natives for there was so much of the flotsam and jetsam that, hungry and poorly clothed as the Cubans were, they were not to be blamed for helping them selves. He said he had been among the P 900 people who had come out of Santiago, many of them ladies of refinement, who were enaciated and evidently hungry.
 In reply to questions, he stated he never had heard of any shortage of commissary ordnance supplies at Santiago, but he hs., been told that the medical supplies were short yet he had no personal know1- edge on this point. He had seen some wounded men crawling to the rear in the engagements, but as a rule as soon as a man fell in battle he was carried to the hospitals by the medical corps.
 He said that as a rule the quality of hard tack was good. Where there was any de- terioration it was due to local rains and not to- the fact of original nferiority.
 The spirit of the army was such, he said, that there was no disposition to complain. "They were all proud to be there and will ing to undergo hardships." Volunteers Were Careless
 Replying to a question from Colonel Den by, General Wheeler said the regulars had shown a greater ability to take care of themselves than the volunteers. The vol unteers were more careless, but the volun- teer cavalrymen were not so negligent as tne other volunteers, because they were generally western men who had been used to camping. He thought this fact had had a Str n in tha hoo of the regulars to be better than that of the volunteers.
 Captain Howell asked to what he attrib- uted the development of disease after the equalization of Santiago, and General wheeler replied that it was due to the