1894
Feb. 23
St. Thomas.

[margin]
MAJ. GEN. O'REILLY DEAD. 1912
Washington, Nov. 3 1912 - Maj. Gen. Robert
Maitland O'Reilly , former surgeon-general
of the United States army, personal physi-
cian and intimate friend of President 
Cleveland, died here today of uremic
poisoning.
  In the Spanish-American war Gen. O'Reil-
ly was chief surgeon of the 4th army
corps. He was a member of the excavation 
commission at Havana and chief surgeon
of the division of Cuba during the first
American occupation,[/margin]

  Clear with strong, steady trade wind. Warm on shore
in the middle of the day but at no time really uncomfortable.
  With Dr. O'Riley I landed at about 9 A.M. We walked
about through the streets, visited the market, did some
shopping, drove to Bluebeard's Castle (whence we had a 
fine view of the harbor and the town) and finally
fined at the Hotel du Commerse.
  The town is very neat and picturesque, the architecture
of the Moorish type. There are many beautiful shade trees
along the streets and in the yards and gardens but I
had my first glympse of wild tropical vegetation on
the hillside which we ascended on the way to the castle.
It was more grotesque, more unreal, more artificial,
and less beautiful than I had anticipated. The land,
however, has been parched by the long winter drought and
many of the trees were practically leafless. The shrubs &
lesser plants were nearly all spiney or thorny.
   Over the mountain sides the trees grow sparsely and
but few of them exceed 20 to 30 feet in height. At
a distance the coloring of these mountain slopes is
chiefly pale brownish or straw-color dotted here and
there with yellowish green and a very little deep green.
We are told that after the first rains the coloring is
chiefly green. As it is now it recalled to [delete][?][/delete] R[?]
Arizona and, indeed, was scarcely less parched and
arid-looking.
  Along the water front the palms (coconut, royal &
a few date palms) made a belt of deep shining green.
We saw dry grasses forming beds along the road-side-
fine grasses very like those at home.