New-York tribune., 1898-11-23


} There isn't anything just as good
L~o~~~.~~~~-~~~~~~~
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or something Of that sort. taken right out in
the jungle and left in the grass Sometimes
know they stayed there tWerty-four or thirty
six hours with . leg or arm of. and with
nobody even to come to them to give them a
drink OF water But they had To he taken there
There vas nowhere else 10 take them and no.
body H. take care of hem.
sTKGEONs WORKED NOBLY.
The doctors were all doing their best and
working az braveiy as the soldiers in the
trenches but the treatment at ,he hospitals
was so hard upon the men that soon rs pos
sibie men sent to the hospital came back
To the front | could not get my wounded and
sick men to go TO the rear unless they had TO
he taken there General Wood told me not 10
send any sick or wounded men To the rear II
they could possibly he attended 10 AZ the 'front.'.
because there We're no facilities for taking care
OF them at the rear.
There were no co.'s for the wounded. After
being operated upon. If they had blankets. they
lay I'm the mud on their blankets. If they didn't
have blankets they lay in the mud without
blankets | saw one of my men who was shot
through the hips His name Gicbber. He
had been operated upon. He lying i'm the
deep mud without a blanket. | succeeded in
getting a man 10 give him his blanket on prom
ise that I would tear mine in two and share
it with him.
The wounded behaved in the most uncom-
planning waN. cannot sufhciently emphasize
how brave th"y were. The bulk II them. 90 ncr
coni Of them We're soldiers IN the Regular Army.
There was nomirallN II To - per cent of M
men on tho sick list but certainly 20 per cent of
the rest were haf-SicS. We could not have got
more than one-Qul~tcr In tho whole cavalry di-
vision at that tine no could hav" carried their
packs and marched ii 20 miles II VAS for those
halfsick mn that We should have had some
thing besides The por% and hardtack. II was
for them taat bought provisions In tho city Of
Santiago
EXPERIENCE oN THE TRANSPORT.
The Colonel said that the experience coming
up on the transport was much better than on
the transport going down. The officers were
quartered in airy structure bull, above the
decks. He said.
We had an nsuniciency Of dsinfectants w
had 4 suncicncy Of hospital supplies az it
turned out our assistant surgeon. Church was
the only doctor We had ON the ship. and h. was
sick. but a trooper acting as . doctor. helped
him out. He was also sick If yellow fever
had broken out or the way home il must have
become epidemic. Their" was no place where
We could have isolated a case had thought
that thing out and made mp my mind If the
emergency arose would simply have to turn
those officers out of their quarters put them
anywhere and put the sick i'm their places.
There was no Ice for the men. and tn" drink
ing water was very bad. Still. W. got along
home and We were verJ glad to Get back We
reached Camp Wikoff on August H.. and were
put ashore the next morning. We went into the
detention camp for three days. and then went
into the camp proper.
CONDITIONS At CAMP WIKOFF
For the first three days great deal Of con-
fusion prevailed. which think was mostly un-
avoidablc For the FIRST three days our sick
and wounded didn't have cots did not think
they were getting the attention they should he
getting near > big city After thosc first three
days I have nothing to say. except that our
regiment wa admirably treated and our sick
men We're well treated. Tho records wcrc badly
X, pt ~ m" camp. :" that | sometimes couldn't
find my own mcn. but so were the records of M
own regiment. 50 hay" y" fault to md that
score. Mon NOR. importan; than records
and II tho men were we'll cared for that wa al
that concerned ne. Again and again | would
meet my men in tn hospitals and would ask
them how the. Wcr" getting on and they would
say. oh. this is heaVcr,'
My brigadc got SO Tucn mix ana goodies
thai finally had t0 stOr receiving them
would take them over and civ" them to other
regiments. | had "tho~ regimental commando
ers report 10 me tha. they could not use any
moro dehcacics at the same time was reading
in the newspapers about our sick army starving
at Camp WikoG."
"Why was there such a scarcity OF medical
supplies I'm cuba D." asked Or. Conner
Il don't know replied Colonel Roosevelt. Il
was told that there was any amount OF them on
the ships. There may no. have been trarspor-
tatiOn enough. ! know that during the battle
of san Juan we saw no ambuances. so far as
my regiment Mas concerned. Aftcrward we
never had a sufiiciency Of ambulances. was
told that there We're Only twelve on the island
one of my men. sherman Bell had terrible
hernia. had to get mule cart and put
mule and bronco buster into it together and
send him 10 the hospital in that way"
LACK or TRANSPORTATION
o.-Do YOU know whether positive order
was given at Tampa that no ambuances should
be taken along? Al know nothing about IT,
but think it would have been better II We had
had fewer troops and better transportation.
Q.-Werc the privations in cuba greater than
You expected that they would be- Al was
expecting nothing one way or the other { went
in to tak" things as they occurred. think the
pliVations as regard medical supplies and food
Wer" greater than it necessary L. have
them | believ" if No hat had sufficient means
Of decentralization and sufficient animals for
transportation most of the privations could
have been avoided.
Q.-Why didn't YOU take all the troops Of your
regiment Of Rough Rides with yoIr A-W"
were not allowed 10. At frs We We're told that
We couj take only four troops. and that caused
me tWcnty-four hours of terrible agony as thar
woulu have meant that ! would haVe been left
behind
HOW TROUBLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN
AVOIDED
General Wilson asked Colonel Roosevelt If he
had any further information to volunteer. and
the Colonel said.
From what saw believe that if our Army
we're exercised in peac-. as believe iorcisn
armies are. very much of this trouble would
have been avoided ! DO not see how We can
expect TO avoid serious trouble If ~ ar not ac-
Gust Omcd 10 handle over three hundred mon at q
time. believe mat # ~ time OF peace you could
get together once Il year ten thousand or fifteen
thousand men. march them from san Antonio To
GalV say. and then embark them for
Tampa. all Of the defects in tn QuartelnAs ster's
Department. Medical Department and Commits
gary Department VIII br made evident and VIII
work their own cure II viii cost none, but It