Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1898-09-24

panic. Beadle passed the last houn
before daylight "crouched down In q
corner of the after cabin-they had
moved the sickest men to the front,
and the rear space was almost toler-
-vle-aro they managed 10 SIT some
sleep" In the morning. when the boat
reached Evansville. the condition on
board was indescribable-so bad, in
deed, writes Beadle. that those who
entered the cabin could hardly be-
lieve healthy men could have lived in
1T through one night"
But the 'pile of corpses on the for
ward deck, apparently of no more con-
sequence than so much cordwood
stacked there, covered with snow and
seeming to be partly frozen" seemed
the most horrifying feature to the Wis
itors.
GENERAL HOSPITALS NORTH.
The Government was informed then,
In print and otherwise, of the needless
suffering of the sick and wounded, and
efforts were made, though long in vain,
for the establishment of general hos;
pitfalls in the North. These efforts
were finally successful through the
personal exertion of the widow Of
Governor Harvey of Wisconsin. He
was drowned at pittsburg Landing,
April IL, 1862, while looking after a
regiment or two of Wisconsin yolun-
teers, then stationed there.
Mrs. Harvey went South to help In
| hospital work the following autumn.
She acted as agent of the State, and
most of her work was done along the
Mississippi River. She found the heat
| oppressive; noxious and contagious
diseases prevailed. and many of the
army surgeons were appalled, at the
task before them. Many of the nurses.
too, were so demoralized that they
| shrank from tie care of the sick and
wounded. Men were dying by the
/ thousand for want of care and good
food, and in every respect the situa.
ton, as Mrs. Harvey has described it,
| must nave been worse than the worst
at sibony and before Santiago. In
the spring of 1868 she became Ill and
had to leave the field temporarily.
AT Washington she pleaded with
President Lincoln that the wounded
men be brought North for treatment
on the ground that this would save
| the lives of thousands. He listened.
but was not convinced He frankly
said that he was afraid men brought
North and nursed to health would
never 60 back to fight again, whereas
those who recovered in the South
would be obliged TO remain and fight.
Your plan would decimate the
army" he declared, land lose the war
for the Union. As it is, we can't mus.
ter our nominal strength in bat
tie. OF 10000 men whose wages
were paid in the Army of the Potomac,
only $1,000 were lined up to fight al
Antietam.'
But Mrs. Harvey held her ground.
finally convincing Mr.. Lincoln with a
vivid presentation of the case which
threw strange side lights on the medi.
cal organization of the army at that
time.
Il come to you from no casual tour
of inspection. having passed rapidly
through the general hospitals with a
cigar in my mouth and a rattan In nv
hand" she said, finally reaching the
open air with long-drawn breath. as
If | had been half sufTocated. TALKING
to the surgeon in charge about the
price of cotton, abusing our generals
IN the field for not performing thei,
lduty better and remarking: A fine hos.
pital you have here; the boys seem to
be doing pretty well. though a little
better ventilation is perhaps desirable.
1T is not thus that / have inspected
hospitals. For eight long months daily.
often from early dawn till late a,
night, l have visited regular and gen.
eral hospitals on the Mississippi. from,
Quincy to Nicksburg. | come to vor
from the cots of men who have died
but might have lived if you had per.
! mitted"
7 Then she added a few words ahoui
: the injustice of suspecting that men
who had been brave enough TO fiph,
D once would desert: and then she lief,
? the President. Within two DAYS h,
j had prepared and signed papers estab.
t fishing the first Northern general hos.
: pital. TO be located, as she requested
] at Madison, Wis. 1t was opened in
q October, 1868. and was rapidly filled
2 with sick and wounded, nearly all of
e whom recovered, and all of whom.
g save seven, returned South TO fight.
e The hellishness or war, especially
+ with regard to the sufferings of the
: wounded, has certainly been no mors
] thoroughly demonstrated in the fight
:. with Spain than it was In the fight
/ for the Union.
: The little backwoods, harn-like hor-
. net-infested church had incurred debt