Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1899-02-08

broke up. Every narrative of the cam paign, whether from the lips of private soldier or those of captain. colonel or general. was prefaced and punctuated
 by indictments of the fever as the chief evil encountered in Cuba Witnesses needed spurring in order to bring out details of battle, but the unusual hard ships of the transports. of existence in Cuba and of the fever were staple top jos
 In general the breakdown of the troops began immediately after the sur- render. The heat, the loss of capacity to relish and digest coarse, fatty ra- tiona physical strain and malaria, were reasons for the collapse. The reg ulsrs also said that drinking water was rendered impure by the volunteers, who washed and bathed in the streams above camp. Regular soldiers knew better and carried water away from the streams for their eblutions. In every respect the sanitation of the volunteers was cited as bad. and Camp Wikoff official in- spection records gave evidence of it.
 Weakness due to heat and the lack of nutriment invited fever. Every effort was made to stem the evil From the first cargo of fooGstuffs landed at San tiago Shafter bought several thousands cans of condensed milk for the troops Cuban wines and all the farinaoeous foods available were also purchased by the government or from outside funds. Two officers of the Sixteenth regulars, Lieutenant Colonel Mclaughlin and Captain Mcfarland, expended S3. 900 Contributed by their wives) in getting supplies for their commands. The Ind Cross led in noble work, and the one sentiment in the army about this socie ty was, God bless the Red Crossr July 2a was the date when the first alarming list of fever patients WAS re ported. Out of 1900 sick I5O cases were set dowR as fever On the 23d there were 406 new cases and 500 on the 24th This report was misleading, for on the 25th th-re were over 2, l00fever eases in camp. 900 of them new, and only 2S7 sick of other complaints. By the 26th the sick roll had reached 8. TO. nearly 5000 being fever cases About this time there were 600 to 500 new fever cases daily, and on the 2sth, with a silk roll of 4,279. over 8, 400 were down with fever. This exhibit refers to the hospital only. Several hundred fever cases were returned from the hospital to the quarters each day, but the vic -N August, when the round robin took the matter up, General Ames of Rents di- vision declared "a full list of the sick would mean a copy of the roster of ev- cry company" in Cuba. Throughout there were more sick in the quarters than in the hospital.
 The first general relief began about July 24 That day Clara Barton sent word to camp that she had supplies at Santiago dock for the regimental sick. The dole for a regiment was a sack of rice and one of cornmeal. One officer told me that 1t cost $l. 50 to get the sup- ply for his regiment to camp, and it helped all hands. Before the troops left Cuba they received rations of vegetables and of fresh beef. The government sup piled beef to the officers messes at 10 cents pound. Panic prices prevailed in the markets An officer said that be paid $l and upward for the canned fruit and vegetables sold by grocers here at 10 to I5 cents each and was glad to get them at any price.
 On Aug. 5 the first troops sailed from Santiago. After that steamers left daily. At one stage 1000 men per diem pour ed into Camp Wikofi. On the 7th of the month there was not . bit of shelter ready, and the same with about every becessity, so that on the arrival of the first troops from Cuba the acoommoda- tions were inadequate and never up to the demand until the very last. By the time the l, 900 new arrivals of Q given day had been provided for fresh de- tschment, half of whom were sick, de- manded attention. Yet there was no ap- parent lack of wise and energetic action in the use of such facilities as the gov ernment provided. with the exception perhaps of the medical department Hospitals grew, but they couldn't beat the pace of the fever; nurses came for ward. but the fever gave ten new vic tins to the one they could save, and sup plies poured in, but not in time to stop the ravaging famine of nourishment al- ready prevailing.
 The cavalry tents were pitched upon rolling hills. but the encampDent was surrounded and cut through by swamps The infantry lay on the low seashore, where chill night winds and heavy mists made fall underwear a necessity for we'll men. Repeated demands failed