The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-09-01
The Hospitals at Camp Thomas
in Excellent Condition.
ROASTS THE EIGHTH N. Y,
He Says They Made Their Own Camp a
Hog Pen-Sick Soldiers Have Every
thing They Need-Reports OF
Starvation Are False.

| III. V. Boynton upon the state of af-
fairs in the hospitals at Camp Thomas.
| The report is dated Aug. %. The gem
eral reports that he visited all the hos
| pitfalls in the camp without giving no.
| tice of his purpose and adds:
believing the death list of this camp
/ to afford an excellent standard by
which to measure its condition as to
\ health and hospital service, a full re-
| port was obtained OF all deaths in the
camp and its hospitals since it's estab-
| lishment in the middle of April last.
| The result shows "a total death list of
| 19S up TO the 22d Of this month. when
the breaking up of this camp began.
Between these dates. including regu-
lars and volunteers, fully $4,000 troops
have been in camp in the Chickamauga
| park"
The report takes up in detail first two
| permanent hospitals. Letter and Stern
berg, and then states with the greatest
minuteness the exact accommodations
afforded by each. The first is at Craw-
! fish Springs. under charge OF Major
Carter. and was converted from large
summer resort hotel into a hospital, re-
ceiving the worst typhoid cases from
the camp. Each patient has abundant
room. woven wire and hair mattresses
and abundant bed clothing. The ven
! tilation is perfect. plumbing entirely
new and bathing facilities ample. The
number Of attendants, when all are
well, Is entirely satisfactory, and at
tendants are on the way to take the
places of those who are broken down.
Major Carter has secured a herd of
COWS and has arrangements for pas
turing them without expense to the
government. lie has sufficient money
from the hospital fund to buy whatever
is wanted I'm the way Of milk. ice and
other delicacies There have been at
this hospital full supplies of ice, milk.
commssary stores and delicacies, such
as the sick ought to have,
and the funds have enabled
him tn buy all that has been
needed in the way of canned and potted
goods, soup, clam Juice, sage. matted
milk, eggs, koumis, jellies, preserves.
relishes, ginger, oil. ApOllinaris. cham
pagne and claret The entire hospital
is furnished with distilled water, and
the ice used rs made from distilled
water. The sewerage of the hospital
Is excellent and, contrary to persistent
assertions, none of the sewage has ever
drained into the Chickamauga river or
approached IL at any point
Major Carter has a corps Of doctors
which he regards as amply sufficient
to take care of all the patients in the
hospital and reports them as faithful
and efficient i'm the performance of their
duties.
Taking up the Sternberg hospital. in
charge of Major Griffen, General Boyn-
ton shows II is one Of the most com
plete field hospitals ever seen. accord
ing To the testimony Of the veterans of
the last war. All the tents are closely
floored and they are separate, at pres
ent only four men are i'm any one tent,
and I'm addition TO the tent there are
nj haarH naNyi1fpnG
and pavilion has woven wire mat
tresses, iron bed steads and hair mat
tresses. There are especial diet cooks.
five cold storage rooms for delicacies,
separate retrigerators for each row of
tents and every proper measure of
sanitation is observed with respect 10
the sinks.
Further the report says: THE whole
place is most carefully poliCed daily.
and the whole establishment within and
without its permanent buildings and its
tents is in the most perfect order. Since
the establishment of this hospital
everything asked for in the way of
supplies Of every kind has been
promptly furnished"
II is stated i'm addition that all the
hospital refuse is burned in a crema-
tory. and according to Major Griffen,
all Of the 200 patients now sick in the
entire camp could be safely moved now. |
larial character than OF typhoid fever
strictly, the death rate being very low, |
about per cent of the worst cases.
The first division hospital, in charge |
of Major Drake, is fiored with planed |
lumber and it is as clean as possible. |
scrubbed with carbolic acid and treated |
with bichloride Of mercury every other |
day. All the patients are on cots and |
never have been on the ground for any /
length Of time. None OF the so cents /
allowed per man for delicacies has been
used as il was not needed. The report |
states that I'm times when this hospital
was crowded there was lack of nurses,
the deficiency being supplied by details
from the regiments which were not as
as trained nurses.
AS a result Of this inadequate force,
saws the report, the force provided
were hard worked. but in all cases they
have stuck TO their posts and perform
ed their work with great energy until
sickness overlook a considerable num-
Der. The places Of the sick have been
filed by nurses from the surgeon gener-
lTs department. The exhaus;ing char
acter Of the work performed by these
nurses is shown by the fact that about
lne-fourth Of them have thoroughly cN-
their strength and are now
-ssting in quarters
General Boynt0n shows that there is a
ull refrigerator capacity for this hos
1ital porcelain lined baths. sterilized
md iced water and every convenience.
In the malignant typhoid ward there
lave been but two deaths out OF 30 cas-
: in three weeks. He says that both
he medical officers and the hospital
attendants at this hospital have un-
ioubtedly performed their duty with
mercy and efficiency. The next hospit-
Il inspection was the third division hos
,ital first corps, in charge OF Major
Thomas Clark. Here the attendants
we're found sufficient. though in the ear
ier DAYS there were not enough sur
;eons or attendants. The grounds were
n excellent condition. the tents clean,
most Of the tents fioored. For a time
he hospital was a week behind in or
lering its medical supplies. but this was
iefOre the government had collected I
Is medical stores in great quantities.