The herald., 1898-11-23

"Do you attribute all the confusion,"
asked Gen. Wilson, ''to lack of intelligence
on the part of the men in charge or TO the
natural overcrowding of work!"
Il was only lieutenant colonel and
could not know whose fault it was"
Replying to other questions, Col. Roose.
welt said the food was ample, and with the
exception of tho ca anned roast beef was good.
The beef was very bad. Col. Roosevelt told
of the voyage to Cuba and of the disem-
barkation of the regiment at Daiquiri. The
regiment was one OF the first to land Capt.
Shaw, who was associated with Col. Roose-
welt in the navy department, sent a Cuban
pilot on board the Yucatan, and he took the
transport mile and half nearer the shore
that the other ships. There was a great
scarcity of material for landing men and
horses. Col Roosevelt, still replying to
questions, told in detail of the march of his
regiment to its first camping place.
After supper" he continued, "Col. Wood
told us that we were to start next morning
to take the Spaniards. The next morning
the march was a hard one and especially for
the men,"
Col. Roosevelt gave brief details of the
! fighting.
Asked about rations, he said:
eve had the regulation rations of salt
pork, hard tack, coffee and sugar, but the
men wanted vegetables and l wanted to
get them for them took forty men with
the officers horses to Siboney and tried to
buy them. The department refused to sell
me beans and tomatoes unless l could GER
tify that they were for officers consump-
ton. / stretched my conscience as far as
| could and then boarded transport and
purchased about 500 pounds of beans. The
change did the men good"
Replying to questions, Col. Roosevelt said
other regiments at the front suffered from
lack of supplies. One man of the First Iii
nois regiment visited the Rough Riders
camp and offered 81 for seven hard tacks
Two hundred men of the regiment came to
the Rough Riders camp and ate the broken
hard tack. The Rough Riders had enough
to eat, but it was the result of individual
effort ard individual expenditure. There
was great scarcity of all medical supplies
at the front, except quinine and calomel
and great lack of surgeons and hospital
stewards.
In reference to Camp Wikoff, Col. Roose
| fCit Suiu tllClc was great CONFUSION LOT tnC
first few days after the arrival of the
troops.
During these days." he continued, 81
do not think our men. were treated as well
as they should have been SO near home bu,
after that there was nothing that l coult
find fault with"
"Was there scarcity of medical supple
in Cuba!" asked Dr. Conner.
81 do not know. heard there was plent,
on the ships. There was lamentabe neet
of ambulances. think we could have don,
better with fewer men and more tsanspor
tation."
"Have you anything you can suggest to u.
for the future?' asked Gen. Wilson.
''I believe all the difficulties we met will
would be obviated in the future if the Ma
tional guard was trained in the future as ar,
the armies of foreign countries Give then
long marches. Let them mass at San An
tonic and move to Galveston or some othe
place. March them to a port and embarl
them. No matter if it does cost money
let them be trained. Each year let the arm,
in peace be put through the exercises it mus
have in time of war"
Col Roosevelt referred the commission t.
his official report for any further particu
lars that it might desire of his personal ex
perience during the campaign.
The commission then adjourned