Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-07-27

other animals were bleaching in the
streets, and buzzards as plentiful as
our sparrows, hoped aside to let us
pass. On every side there were evil
dences of siege and starvation.
The palace was reached soon after
10 o'clock. There General Toral intro
duced General Shafter and the other
American generals to the alcalde, Senior
Ferer, and to the chief of police, Senior
Guiltillerrez, as well as to the other
municipal authorities. Luncheon was
then served at the palace. The meal
consisted mainly of rum. wine, coffee,
rice and toasted cake. This scant fare
occasioned many apologies upon the
part of the Spaniards. but it spoke elo-
quen.ly of their heroic resistance.
The fruit supply of the city was abso-
lutely exhausted, and the Spaniards
had nothing to live on except rice, on
which the soldiers in the trenches of
Santiago have subsisted for the last
twelve days. In addition the water
supply had been cut off for the last
few days.
Since the refugees left Santiago and
the surrender of the city was seen to
be inevitable, reign of terror has ex-
listed. The city business was stopped.
the stores were closed and the troops
were seemingly allowed license to sack
and plunuer at will.
At noon, after the American flag had
been raised, General Shafter turned
the city over to General McKibbin,
who, with the Ninth infantry, will en-
force order in conjunction with the
civil authorities.
The Spanish officers are encamped
between the lines on the reverse slope
of the hill on which are our entrench-
ments. Many of them believe, as they
have been told so, that the United
States has purchased the island of Gu
ba, and that our government will pay
them their arrears and return them to
Spain. They repudiate the idea that
they have surrendered.
DR.. Goodfellow, of Gen. Skaters
staff, and a civilian physician, DR.. Or
lando Dweller. have made thorough
examination of the sanitary condition
of Santiago. They find that although
there are at present but six eases of yell
low fever and two suspects. the town
is ripe for an epidemic. This town
lacks every sanitary feature at it's best,
and now, after two months of siege,
leaving it dirty and repellant, is a ver-
liable pest hole. Most awful stenches
arise from the streets.
The city is typical tropical place,
with narrow, crooked streets, and low
one-storied dwellings and stores. Ev-
cry thing is in state of dilapidation,
the majority of the houses are absolute
ruins and public squares are utterly
neglected. There is no sewage svs-
tenn. The city drainage is all from the
surface into the harbor. and the lower
part of the city, through which much
of the drainage runs, is the feeding
center of malarial. typhoid and other
low fevers. There are four hospitals
in the city, containing 1,747 patients.
which is a comparatively small number
considering the lack of food and long
siege. But it must be remembered
that the reconcentradoes were never
admitted TO the hospitals, and when
the notifications of the proposed bonn
bardment by our batteries were receiv-
ed every patient that could stagger out
was driven into the streets. Twenty
lepers were turned into the streets and
they have been roaming in the streets
ever since.
The larger number of patients are
III Jio lulliIdtN iloSf)iLdl, WnCIC GilcIC
are 81 wounded Spanish officers and 431
soldiers and sailors In addition there
are hundreds of cases of malaria and
dysentery and six cases of yellow fever.
The sailors were wounded in the bat
tie of July l and 3. They We're disem-
barked from the ships of Admiral
Cervera's fleet in order to assist in re-
sisting the attack of the American
troops by land. These sailors say that
when the Spanish fleet sailed out OF
the harbor half of the sailors, and
marines on board had been fighting
and working in the trenches for forty
eight hours previously. Admiral Ger
vera, they also assert, sacrificed his
fleet in obedience to the popular
clamor, both in Spain and Cuba, in
Guiding SANTIAGO, that he should give
battle to the American fleet