A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



orders on account of peace being declared before they 

 could be filled. 



While at Tampa Weston asked me to send him 

 several iced boxes of fresh beef, which he could set 

 out in the sun and let spoil, in order to get a line 

 on how far beef in that form might prove available. 

 It was purely an experiment, the beef never having 

 been intended to be used, and it never was used. 

 The celebrated "embalmed beef" scandal came from 

 a similar experiment. 



In May, 1898, one Alex. B. Powell proposed to 

 process fresh meat for the Government by purifying 

 the germs of meats so that they would withstand 

 the destructive elements of any climate and keep in 

 perfect condition four to ten days. He quoted as 

 reference the managers of various southern hotels 

 who had used meat prepared under his process, and 

 proposed to treat meats for 3^' of a cent per pound 

 for the Government. In the investigation which fol- 

 lowed there was only one testimony among a mass 

 of testimony submitted that did not agree that the 

 quantity of food was not only abundant but of good 

 quality. The exception was that of Dr. W. H. Daly, 

 major and chief surgeon on the staff of Gen. Nelson 

 A. Miles, who supported Daly in his testimony. 

 Dr. Daly's report of Sept. 21, 1898, was as follows: 



"I have the honor to report, in the interest of the 

 service, that in several inspections made in the vari- 

 ous camps and troopships at Tampa, Jacksonville, 



[62] 



