Evening star., 1898-10-20
CAMP WAS ALL RIGHT
Committee Appointed to Investigate
Camp at Fernandina Reports.
LAND is OWNED BY TEE STATE
No Appearance of Tropical
Jungle to Be Seen.
FEMALE NURSES TESTIFY

JACKSONVILLE, Fla, October 20.-Gen
]. Wilson and Captain Howell. constituting
the subcommittee appointed to visit and
report upon the conditions at the camp at
Fernandina, made their report to the full
commission today.
The following is the important part of
the document: we carefully examined
the site of the camp of the Sd Pennsylvania
Volunteers, which, it has been reported,
was a tropical jungle of worthless land
until cleared. md upon clearing which the
troops are said to have worked like slaves
until it was fit for a camping site.
''While the committee cannot state the
condition of this land when the troops ar
rived, it found no appearance of tropical
jungle here or in the vicinity. There were
no evidences of there having been serious
work in preparing the camps, although, as
is usual, there were small bushes, vines
and low palms scattered here and there
over the camp sites and the adjacent land"
Committee FavorabIy Impressed.
Altogether the committee was most Ia
vorably impressed with the character of the
site selected We visited and obtained from
the county clerk of Nassau county. Florida,
Mr.. Geo. E. Wolff. map showing the lands
occupied by the troops, and his official GER
This certificate shows, that the greater part
of the lands occupied reverted to the state
of Florida in June 1897 by reason of un-
paid taxes. and that no one by the name
of Alger ever controlled any lands in the
county Of Nassau, as shown by the records,
and that the land occupied by the Sd Penn
sylvania Volunteers at Fernandina as a
camp was at the time the property of the
state of Florida.
THE water was piped without expendi-
ture to the camp from Fernandina, being
from an artesian we'll about $40 feet deep.
The supply was unlimited The water had
slightly sulphur taste, which it is said
some of the troops dtsliked, and occasion
ally used surface water.
THE locations of the hospitals as pointed
out to us, we're ON high ground, well
drained and apparently well selected.
THE mayor of Fernandina informed US
that Major Hendley. the surgeon in charge
of the camp. had stated to him just before
the troops left that the number of sick
was $40.
Camp Was Well Selected.
Your committee therefore has the honor
to report that, IN his opinion. the camp
was we'll selected; that probably the site
was equal in all respects to any other that
could have been found on the Florida coast.
THAT from the Information they obtained
and what they saw it was far from being
tropical jungle, aud that the certificate of
the county clerk Indicates that no govern
ment official was Interested in the land
that the amount 1of work done in clearing
the underbrush was 10 greater than might
have been expected at almost any locality
in the south selected for camping purposes
that the site was Wen drained, the water
for drinking and cOe4king purposes good and
the bathing facllitlesra the sea beach excel
lent"
The war investigating commission heard
several of the professional female nurses at
the forenoon session hteday.- including Miss
Copeland, chief Rlifse, at the Sd division
hospital; Miss Robins head nurse at the
1st division hospital; Miss Hibbard, head
nurse at the ID division hospital, and Misses
Walker and Waters. ward nurses.