1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
569 
The War. 
BRIEF NOTES FOR BUSY PEOPLE. 
DIARY OF THE WAR. 
Peace negotiations still unsettled. Battleship 
Texas arrived in New York to be drydocked. Re* 
ported bombardment of Matanzas. Several 
Spanish merchant vessels captured. Porto Rican 
volunteers are surrendering to our forces; they 
are bringing in transportation and supplies, and 
are overjoyed at arrival of American troops. The 
Ponce custom house has already yielded $14,000. 
The Spaniards are intrenching San Juan, and 
preparing for strong resistance. Typhoid con¬ 
tinues serious in camps, and also on transports, 
Sunday,'July 31. 
The Mexican government has seized nine 
Spanish vessels engaged In blockade running. 
Our troops are advancing upon San Juan. The 
Porto Ricans cooperate with our forces in every 
way, and are capturing and bringing in all the 
Spaniards they can find. The attitude of the 
Philippine insurgents is exciting serious anxiety 
in Washington. Large reenforcements are to be 
sent to Manila. Spaniards appear ready to sur¬ 
render, if guaranteed safety. Typhoid at Camp 
Alger increases, Monday, August 1. 
Gen. Miles continues to advance toward San 
Juan. Troops ordered to leave Camp Alger for 
Manassas, owing to prevalence of typhoid fever. 
Health of the army at Santiago is not improved ; 
many serious cases of fever. Situation un¬ 
changed at Manila; it is said that the moral sup¬ 
port given by the presence of five German war. 
ships renders the Spanish reluctant to sur¬ 
render. Searching investigation ordered into the 
cases of the ill-furnished transports and deficient 
hospital service, Tuesday, August 2. 
The War Department fails to fix any blame for 
the condition of transports bringing sick and 
wounded to New York, and says that the want of 
food, medicine, and surgical attendance was due 
to “ unforeseen circumstances.” Total sick at 
Santiago, 4,239; total fever cases, 3,179; deaths, 
15. Boatswain’s-mate Nevis, of the gunboat Ban¬ 
croft, assisted by one sailor, captured two boats 
and six Spaniards in Sigunea Bay. Transport 
Santiago arrives at Egmont Key, Fla., with 180 
sick soldiers, after a voyage of four days, with¬ 
out proper food, medicine or attention, and finds 
no preparations for their reception. San Juan 
expected to surrender within two days, Wednes¬ 
day, August 3. 
Gen. Shatter’s troops are to be moved imme¬ 
diately to Montauk Point, L. I., to recuperate. It 
s admitted that the troops are in a very serious 
condition from malarial fevers, and entirely unfit 
for active service. Tugs and pontoons leave for 
Cuba, to raise the Cristobal Colon. Peace pro¬ 
posals still under discussion; settlement may 
come within a few days. Porto Ricans continue 
to welcome Americans; further advance on San 
Juan is delayed by difficulty in landing reenforce¬ 
ments and artillery. Gen. Merritt is holding a 
firm attitude in the Philippines, and Aguinaldo 
is becoming conciliatory. No change at Manila, 
Thursday, August 4. 
Shafter’s army is to be withdrawn from Cuba 
with all possible speed; one transport has al¬ 
ready left for Montauk Point, L. I., and others 
will follow. Our troops continue to advance in 
Porto Rico, but no fighting has occurred beyond 
a few unimportant skirmishes. The troops are 
in good health. The steamer Wanderer succeeded 
in landing provisions and supplies for the Cubans 
at Pinar del Rio. Five companies of the First 
New York and a battalion of engineers sailed 
from San Francisco for Honolulu. Total number 
of sick at Santiago, 3,778; deaths, 15, Friday, 
August 5. 
Among later contributions to the poetry 
of the present war is the following-: 
They say that Dewey is a dude 
Well, if the story’s true 
What glorious deeds, when duty calls 
A Yankee dude ’ll Ao'.—Chicaijo Tribune. 
Navai, officials are already consider¬ 
ing the formation of an imposing 
squadron to be stationed in European 
waters after the war is over. In late 
years the European squadron has dwin¬ 
dled down to three ships, all unarmored. 
At the outbreak of war, all our ships in 
foreign waters, except the Asiatic fleet, 
were ordered home. It is likely that the 
European fleet will consist of two battle¬ 
ships, an armored cruiser, and several 
other vessels. 
Among the fevers now afflicting our 
men near Santiago, is dengue, which 
will be a new ailment to most Americans. 
This is an epidemic fever, accompanied 
by cutaneous eruption, and acute rheu¬ 
matic pain, the latter feature giving the 
name, among English colonists, of break- 
bone fever. The disease is known in 
Africa and the American tropics, and 
though extremely painful, is not gener¬ 
ally considered fatal. Several fatal cases 
have been reported lately from Santiago. 
One of the serious problems now under 
consideration is our position in the Phil¬ 
ippines. It would appear that we made 
a serious mistake in bringing- Aguinaldo 
and the other insurgent leaders to Cavite, 
and giving them arms and ammunition. 
These men are arrogant, and refuse to 
acknowledge American authority ; their 
men are mere rabble. The Spanish appear 
ready to surrender, if guaranteed that 
they will not be injured or plundered, 
but the insurgents are looking forward 
to plunder and revenge. The London 
Times says that, if the Americans with¬ 
draw, the fate of the natives would be 
worse than ever and that the best solu¬ 
tion politically, would be for the United 
States to administer the islands, insist¬ 
ing upon the immediate disarmament of 
the natives. 
The Americans do not have to hunt 
the Spaniards in Porto Rico ; the citizens 
are doing that for them. Four-fifths of 
the inhabitants of Ponce occupied them¬ 
selves in capturing the Spanish one-fifth. 
The victims were dragged to the Ameri¬ 
can lines, under the impression that im¬ 
mediate death would be their portion ; 
then, after signing parole, they were re¬ 
leased to join the crowd in cheering the 
Americans. The reception given to our 
troops is a most remarkable one ; they 
are welcomed everywhere, and the Porto 
Ricans are already proclaiming them¬ 
selves loyal Americans. 
The Navy Department intends to re¬ 
quest authority for six additional ves¬ 
sels for the navy, three battleships and 
three powerful armored cruisers. The 
completion of these battleships would 
give us second rank among naval powers. 
We should have then 15 vessels of ‘‘Class 
A ”—meaning battleships 10 years old or 
less, with a speed of 16 knots or more, 
carrying primary batteries of 12-inch or 
larger guns, and a heavy quick-fire arma¬ 
ment on a displacement of 9,000 tons or 
more. Great Britain has 34 vessels of 
this class in commission or under con¬ 
struction, while France has 13. 
Another hospital-ship scandal is the 
arrival of the Santiago, with 180 sick 
men, at Egmont Key, Fla. These men 
are quarantined for 10 days. The San¬ 
tiago was last used for transporting the 
horses of Gen. Randolph’s artillery brig¬ 
ade, and was converted into a huge 
stable. After discharging her cargo, 
Gen. Shafter was in great haste to send 
the Santiago back to Tampa, and it is 
asserted that the vessel was not cleaned 
at all before the sick were shipped 
aboard. There was the same lack of 
medicine, suitable food, and medical care 
as in the cases of the Seneca, Leona, and 
Concho. 
Some one has been hunting in history 
and has dug up the reported facts about 
the surrender of the Guerriere to the old 
Constitution about 85 years ago. The 
old song tells the story : 
” Proud Dacres came ou board 
To deliver up his sword, 
For loath was he to part with it, 
’Twas so handy, O.. 
No, keep your sword, sayi Hull, 
For it only makes you dull, 
So, come, let’s take a little brandy, O.” 
At Santiago, the American commander 
would not take Cervera’s sword, and he 
did not ask him to take a drink—at least 
no boast is made of the latter perform¬ 
ance. 
One of the Government officials who 
has been making medical examinations 
of would-be recruits for the army, com¬ 
ments on the bad condition of the teeth 
in many cases. He says that, even where 
the teeth were naturally sound, they 
were so often uncared-for that he felt 
like placarding the town with notices to 
mothers that one of their first duties 
should be the care of their children’s 
teeth. Another surprising feature was 
t he number rejected for insufficient chest 
expansion. Strangely enough, nearly 
all who had narrow chests were young 
farmers. They had very strong arms 
and backs, but were muscle-bound and 
bent over. The chest had been con¬ 
tracted, and few of them could expand 
it the requisite two inches. Some of 
them could soon remedy this by exer¬ 
cises for expanding the chest. It seems 
very necessary for all farmers to bear 
this in mind, for a contracted chest may 
easily pave the way for lung troubles. 
Searching inquiry is to be made into 
the condition of transports bringing sick 
and wounded men to New York, for the 
purpose of placing the responsibility for 
the shocking lack of necessities on these 
ships. The Seneca was the first of these 
inadequate ships, and the manner in 
which the men were herded together, 
without suitable food or medicine, caused 
deep indignation. But the horrors of the 
Seneca were surpassed by the Concho. 
On this vessel, there were but 58 berths 
for the use of 170 men. Many of the men 
were half clothed, only two-thirds of 
them had blankets, and the sick and 
dying had to lie upon hard boards, with 
old blankets supplied by the crew. The 
food was dry, canned corned beef, beans, 
hardtack and rice. The only water on 
board was stale and putrid. The sani¬ 
tary conditions were unspeakable, the 
men being in stifling bunks, worse than 
cattle pens. There were no medical sup¬ 
plies, beyond a little quinine, sulphur, 
and camphor, and no disinfectant except 
six ounces of creolin. The only doctor 
was a Red Cross physician convalescent 
from yellow fever, who was aided by 
Red Cross nurses recovering from the 
same disease. Five men died on the 
voyage, and two after reaching New 
York. The ship was in such a state of 
filth when it reached New York that the 
health officers seriously consider ripping 
out the whole interior before it can be 
purified. Surgeon-General Sternberg 
says that line officers are to blame for 
the state of affairs, and that the Red 
Cross seriously embarrasses the regular 
medical forces. Judging from newspaper 
reports, the contrast between the ad¬ 
ministration of the two forces must be 
rather embarrassing to the army medical 
corps. 
It is announced that Krupp, the 
famous gun maker, is building paper 
guns of two-inch caliber. They are to 
be so light that a single soldier can carry 
one. while they are to be stronger than 
steel of the same caliber. These paper 
guns will shoot metal bullets. The 
Spaniards have been firing words out of 
paper guns with startling effect. Here, 
for instance, is a volley of words recently 
tired off in Porto Rico on the arrival of 
the United States troops: 
Citizens: 
To-day the citizens of Poi to Rico assist in one 
of her most beautiful festivals. The sun of 
America shines upon our mountains and valleys 
this day of July, 1898. It is a day of glorious re¬ 
membrance for each son of this beloved isle, be¬ 
cause for the first time there waves over it the 
flag of the Stars, planted in the name of the 
Government of the United States of America by 
the Major-General of the American army, Gen. 
Miles. 
Porto Ricans, we are by the miraculous in¬ 
tervention of the God of the just given back to 
the bosom of our mother America, in whose 
waters Nature placed us as people of America. 
To her we are given back in the name of her 
Government by Gen. Miles, and we must send 
her our most expressive salutation of generous 
affection through our conduct toward the valiant 
troops represented by distinguished officers and 
commanded by the illustrious Gen. Miles. 
Citizens: Long live the Government of the 
United States of America! Hail to their valiant 
troops! Hail Porto Rico, always American ! 
Yax:co, Porto Rico, United States of America. 
El Alcalde, Fiiancisco Meoia. 
When this proclamation was issued, 
the people of Yauco were gathering in 
Spanish volunteers by the scruff of the 
neck, and presenting them joyously to 
the American troops. They all announce 
that they are Americans now, and the 
Spaniards released upon parole appear 
to be acting as missionaries among their 
friends. 
There is no doubt that the sickness 
among our men in Cuba is both serious 
and extensive, and the order to remove 
Gen. Shafter’s command to this country 
is most necessary. The command num¬ 
bers about 18,000 men, and of these, 4,000 
are now sick. All the officers command¬ 
ing under Gen. Shafter have petitioned 
him for immediate removal of the troops. 
Among them, Col. Roosevelt writes as 
follows : 
To keep us here, in the opinion of every officer 
commanding a division or a brigade, will simply 
involve the destruction of thousands. There is 
no possible reason for not shipping practically 
the entire command north at once. Yellow fever 
cases are very few in the cavalry division, and 
not one case of true yellow fever has occurred in 
this division, except among the men sent to the 
hospital at Siboney. But in this division there 
have been 1.500 cases of malarial fever. Not a 
man has died from it. but the whole command is 
so weakened and so shattered as to be ripe for 
dying like sheep when a real yellow fever epi¬ 
demic, instead of a fake epidemic like the pres¬ 
ent. strikes ns, as it is bound to if we stay here at 
the height of the sickness season, August and 
the beginning of September. Quarantine against 
malarial fever is much like, quarantining against 
the toothache. If we are kept here, it will 
in all human probability mean an appalling 
disaster, for the surgeons here estimate that 
over half the army, if kept here during the 
sickly season, will die. * * * The sick list, 
large though it is exceeding 4,000, affords but a 
faint index of the debilitation of the army. Not 
10 per cent are fit for active work. 
The War Department has ordered imme¬ 
diate preparations for the move. It is, 
however, considered unfortunate that 
information on thissubject has been pub¬ 
lished just now, as it may embarrass the 
peace proposals. The news that our 
men are practically unfit to continue the 
Cuban campaign may embolden the 
Spaniards to further resistance. It is 
said that news concerning the actual 
condition of the troops is being severely 
censored. 
AMERICAN P0M0LOGICAL SOCIETY. 
The pamphlet containing the proceedings of 
the last session of the American Pomological 
Society, contains about 200 pages, besides the 
catalogue of fruits recommended by the society, 
for cultivation in the various sections of the 
United States. This is the same list which we 
have before noticed, and was arranged by Mr. T. 
T. Lyon, chairman of the committee, and sent 
out by the United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. The pamphlet contains engravings of P. 
J. Berckmans, president of the society for 10 years 
preceding 1897, and Chas. L. Watrous, the present 
president. 
The transactions, of course, include all the 
business transacted by the society at its last 
meeting at Columbus, O., addresses of welcome, 
responses, reports of committees, etc. There was 
an interesting discussion on new fruits, includ¬ 
ing grapes, peaches, raspberries and strawber¬ 
ries. The late Geo. W. Campbell, in the course 
of this discussion, made a statement in relation 
to the origin and history of the Campbell Early 
grape. It is a seedling, resulting from a cross 
between Muscat Hamburg and Belvidere, which 
originated about 12 years ago. Dr. Hexamer 
testified the superior carrying quality of this 
variety. 
Win. A. Taylor, of the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, spoke on the subject, What Shall We Seek 
Abroad ? He enumerated quite a list of nut and 
fruit-bearing plants that might be worth con¬ 
sideration. Prof. W. J. Green, of the Ohio Ex¬ 
periment Station, discussed the present status of 
the apple-spraying question. Some seasons the 
work does not appear to benefit the fruit to any 
extent, but taking the seasons altogether, it does 
make a profit. He said that last season’s profit 
ou the experiment station’s orchard, would pay 
for 10 years’spraying. Now is the opportunity 
for professional orchardists. It is almost certain 
that they are the only ones that will spray regu¬ 
larly, and they cannot afford to omit it for a 
single season. In some respects, there is need 
of improvement in methods. 
There is an interesting list of new fruits tested 
by different members, and descriptions of new 
varieties. Legislation in relation to the suppres¬ 
sion of the San Jose scale, also insect legislation 
was discussed, as well as many other subjects of 
vital importance to pomologists. A large num¬ 
ber of miscellaneous papers which had been pre¬ 
pared for the Columbus meeting and not read, 
are included. The present secretary of the Homo¬ 
logical Society is Wm. A. Taylor, 55 Q Street N. 
E., Washington, D. C. 
This is the picture of 
a man who is 
healthy, clear¬ 
headed, success¬ 
ful and impartial 
—Lord Herschell. 
the Ex-Lord 
Chancellor of 
England. You 
may be very sure 
* -' his blood is pure. 
^ n,an who 
.'suffers from im- 
[pure blood isn’t 
_ ■ Hikely to achieve 
t r . eminence in any 
li PtiiQmZf ■•‘- ■'*,2 walk of life. You 
cannot pump im¬ 
pure blood into 
the brain, and ex¬ 
pect the brain to 
be active and keen. If you feed the brain 
cells on impure blood, you are sure to have 
weak, sluggish brain cells. If you pump 
bad blood into the lungs, you will have 
weak lungs. Pump bad blood into the 
liver, and the result is torpidity of the 
liver. Feed the heart on impure blood, 
and the consequence is a weak heart. 
Nourish the skin with impure blood, and 
the result is all manner of unsightly skin 
diseases. 
The best of all known blood purifiers is 
Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery. It 
makes the appetite hearty, the digestion 
perfect, the liver active and fills the arteries 
with the rich, red blood of health. It is 
the great blood-maker and flesh-builder. 
It cures all forms of eruptive skin diseases. 
It cures 98 per cent, of all cases of con¬ 
sumption. It cures bronchitis, weak lungs, 
spitting of blood, obstinate coughs and 
kindred ailments. It gives vigor and 
health to the muscles and activity to the 
brain. Thousands have testified to the 
benefits derived from the use of this 
wonderful medicine. All medicine 
stores sell it. 
Mrs. Ella Howell, of Derby, Perry Co., Ind., 
writes : 11 In the year of 1894 , I was taken with 
stomach trouble — nervous dyspepsia. There 
was a coldness in my stomach and a weight 
which seemed like a rock. Everything that I 
ate gave me great pain; I had a bearing down 
sensation; was swelled across my stomach; had a 
ridge around my right side, and in a short time 
I was bloated. I was treated by three of our best 
physicians but got no relief. I was so weak I 
could not walk across the room without assis¬ 
tance. I took Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Dis¬ 
covery and one bottle of the * Pleasant Pellets.’ 
I began to improve very fast after the use of a 
few bottles. It cured me and thank God my 
cure is permanent.” 
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