The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-06
SURGEONS AT SANTIAGO,
One of Their Number Defends the
 Medical Department.

I
 Medical Department.
 Returning from Cuba a few days ago on board the Seguranca, in charge of sick soldiers, one of the first things to meet my eyes was a reproduction in the daily papers of an editorial from your columns attacking the medical de- l wish to say only few words at pres partment of the army. On this point ent, and hope to give more in detail later. I was at Siboney from June 27 until July 25, and l think myself quite competent to speak concerning the treatment of the sick and wounded at that place. where the general hospital was located. Concerning the surgical skill of the operators at Siboney there can be no question. In the hands of such men as La Garde, Nancrede, Parker, Fauntleroy Ireland, and medi- cal officers from our fleet, the wounded soldier had the best scientific treat ment. As to general care of the wounded, I may say that while this is my first experience in taking care of those wounded in battle, I do not be- lieve that there ever was before an en- | as as that of Santiago in which the wounded were as we'll cared for. Every soldier carried in his knapsack @ first aid package and all had been trained more or less thoroughly in their appli- cation. Personally, I distributed about 1,2O0 of these, and quite a number of these same bandages came back to me on wounded soldiers l can from per sonal knowledge testify to the fact that many lives were saved by their use. So far as I know, the first aid package has not been used extensively in any other war. From many wounds these dress ings, applied by comrades on the fight ing line, were all that was needed un- til the wounded man reached the hos pital
 The transportation from the front to the hospital at Siboney was not what we wished. There were only few am- balances, and most of the wounded were brought to the hospital in army wagons. Many men suffered severely during this ride. The intense heat the cranped position of many in the crowded wagon, and the jolting of the heavy vehicle over the rough road all combined to give discomfort. Why were there not more ambulances? They were left at Tampa or were not un- loaded on the Cuban coast. The medi- cal department was not however re- sponsible for this. To provide trans
 portation is the duty of the quarter
 masters department, but l do not know that any one can be censured very greatly for the failure to provide sufficient number of ambulances. It is well known that the transports were crowded, and the landing of animals and vehicles both at Baiouiri and at Siboney was a difficult and dangerous task. I was on a transport which ap-
 preached the coast as nearly as the captain dared. When the anchor was dropped from the brow the line went down forty fathoms, and not fifty yards away were the sharp rocks of preclp- itous coast It can be readily imagined that with high seas dashing against the ship such a position might quickly be- come perilous Horses and mules had to be pushed into the water, and while most of them swan ashore, some were
 drowned. Even the landing of men was not easy. We had to drop as best
 we could into rowboats, which at the time were being tossed up and down by the waves, and when the boats neared
 the shore they often became unman-
 ageable and were filled with water. Like many others I waded ashore.
 There are many, especially among those who stayed at home, who are ready to tell us of the great mistakes
 bio
 that Shafter should have taken more
 time. He should have encamped on the shore and built good docks, so that everything on board the transports
 could have been landed. Hep should have built good roads all the way from
 the landing place to Santiago lie should have brought up heavy artll- lerv. Soldiers should not have been al-
 lowed to charge Notifications and the batteries without artillery support. These are some of the many things we are told should have been done. nave
 no claim to military knowledge ana ; General Shafter did not consult me, but as a medical man I wish to say that, in my opinion, had half these things been attempted the Spanish flag would be to- dav floating over Santiago and the American army would have been fortu-
 nate had one-half of it escaped both sickness and Spanish bullets. Enerva- ted by heat and disease, the army could not have made two weeks later the glo- rious charge it did make on San Juan. l Dock building on Cuba's coast and l road-making in it's mountain passes at , this time of the year would, in my
 opinion. have caused more deaths than were due to the great fight at El Ca-
 ney. This is not altogether matter of medical opinion. It is fact that the regiment left at Siboney and between that place and Aguadores furnished the
 first case of yellow fever and suffered most severely from that disease. It is !, well known to students of epidemiology that yellow fever is most frequent and most virulent immediately along the shore The fighting was practically over by the evening of July 3. On the :. 5th saw the first case of yellow fever. Before that day had passed we had three or four more cases. the next day : about thirty and the next more than fifty and all of these were among those working on the coast.
 On the arrial ofv the wagons loaded , with the wounded at the hospital at Stboney the men were placed as best we