The Return Home 199 



misled by the reports they received from one or two 

 of their military and medical advisers at the front, 

 became panic-struck, and under the influence of their 

 fears hesitated to bring the army home, lest it might 

 import yellow fever into the United States. Their 

 panic was absolutely groundless, as shown by the 

 fact that when brought home not a single case of 

 yellow fever developed upon American soil. Our 

 real foe was not the yellow fever at all, but malarial 

 fever, which was not infectious, but which was 

 certain, if the troops were left throughout the sum- 

 mer in Cuba, to destroy them, either killing them 

 outright, or weakening them so that they would 

 have fallen victims to any disease that attacked 

 them. 



However, for a time our prospects were gloomy, 

 as the Washington authorities seemed determined 

 that we should stay in Cuba. They unfortunately 

 knew nothing of the country nor of the circum- 

 stances of the army, and the plans that were from 

 time to time formulated in the Department (and 

 even by an occasional general or surgeon at the 

 front) for the management of the army would have 

 been comic if they had not possessed such tragic 

 possibilities. Thus, at one period it was proposed 

 that we should shift camp every two or three days. 

 Now, our transportation, as I have pointed out be- 

 fore, was utterly inadequate. In theory, under the 



