1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
393 
The War. 
BRIEF NOTES FOR BUSY PEOPLE. 
DIARY OF THE WAR. 
Spanish warships left Curacao at the request 
of the Dutch authorities. Cable messages con¬ 
cerning the movements of the American fleet are 
strictly censored, Sunday, May 15. 
Western volunteers moving to San Francisco. 
Gen. Merritt asks for 5,000 regnlars, in addition 
to volunteers. Destination of the Spanish fleet 
unknown after leaving Curacao. The Porto 
Rican government prohibits telegrams to or from 
the United States. Communication with Bar- 
badoes, Grenada, Trinidad and British Guiana 
cut off, Monday, May 16. 
Manila expected to surrender. Spanish gun¬ 
boats reported at Guayaquil, Ecuador. Two 
Spanish gunboats reported between Hayti and 
Cuba. Cuban blockade continues. No further 
call for volunteers to be issued at i>resent, Tues¬ 
day, May 17. 
The Oregon reported safe with Sampson’s fleet. 
Cuban invasion waiting until the volunteers are 
ready to reinforce the regulars. It is reported 
that the Spanish fleet is near Colon, Wednesday, 
May 18. 
Spanish fleet now reported safe in Santiago 
harbor. Spanish loss during recent engagement 
at Cienfuegos reported to be 300 killed and sev¬ 
eral hundred wounded. French embassy assures 
State Department of unchanged friendliness. 
Troops sent to guard powder mills in New.Tersey. 
The Senate continues consideration of the rev¬ 
enue bill. Tax on savings banks protested 
against, Thursday, May 19. 
The report that Spain is about to dispatch a 
fleet of three battleships and three cruisers to 
the Philippines is generally disbelieved, as this 
would leave the home coast unprotected. This 
fleet would be superior in strength and armament 
to the fleet under Dewey, his squadron consisting 
only of cruisers and gunboats. The cruiser, 
Charleston, which sailed for Manila May 18, with 
ammunition and supplies for Admiral Dewey, 
was compelled to return to Mare’s Island Navy 
Yard May 19, with her condensers out of order. 
The Charleston was in the Navy Yard at Mare’s 
Island during the recent California earthquake, 
and was suspected of having sustained some 
damage at the time, but it was impossible to 
verify this until the cruiser put out to sea. She 
will be ready to start again within two days. The 
New York and New Jersey volunteers have been 
sent south. Camp Black, at Hempstead Plains, 
L. I., is to be utilized as a mobilizing point for 
volunteers in the Department of the East. The 
proximity of Hempstead to New York makes it a 
valuable rendezvous, as troops may be readily 
sent from it to other points. Later reports of the 
bombardment of San Juan, Porto Rico, indicate 
that the damage to the fortifications was not so 
severe as at first supposed. It is now asserted 
that the demolition of well-placed fortifications 
is a difficult matter, even for the strongest ships, 
though the American gunnery was much more 
accurate than the Spanish. The enemy’s fire 
was heavy and continuous, but their aim was 
generally bad. The Detroit was within 500 yards 
of the batteries, yet escaped unhurt, Friday, 
May 20. 
Austria has declared neutrality. Spanish tor¬ 
pedo boats reported at the Canary Islands. Re¬ 
ported that two American vessels have bom¬ 
barded Guantanamo. Nearly 10,000 Spanish 
soldiers are being sent to the Philippines, May 21. 
Charleston leaves San Francisco. No founda¬ 
tion for report of naval battle off Mole St. Nicho¬ 
las. New Spanish ministry determined to prose¬ 
cute the war energetically. Work of enlisting 
10,000 immunes for the Cuban invasion delayed 
by tardy appointment of colonels. Volunteers 
leaving the North for Munson’s Hill, Va., and 
Chickamauga. It is now reported that a second 
call will be made for volunteers within two weeks. 
Volunteers ordered to guard all the New Jersey 
powder mills. War revenue bill expected to pass 
by the end of the week, Monday, May 22. 
There were ball players on the Ameri¬ 
can fleet when it bombarded San .Juan. 
“ High ball! ” was the comment of one 
sailor, as a shell whistled over. “Judg¬ 
ment, there, umpire ! ” was another. 
At least 10,000 men and women in San 
Francisco have been set to work on Gov¬ 
ernment contracts. Among the supplies 
ordered are 8,000 light-weight fatigue 
uniforms and 12,000 canvas uniforms, to 
be worn in the Philippines. 
One great reason for opening the pres¬ 
ent war was the fact that thousands of 
“ reconcentrados” were starving in Cuba. 
War has not benefited them yet. In 
peace, we could feed them. They will 
be about all dead by the time we get 
ready to invade Cuba. 
A report was started by a certain non¬ 
descript paper of this city to the effect 
that Japan had protested against the 
occupation by the United States of the 
Philippine Islands. The Japanese Min¬ 
ister at Washington discredits a tything- 
of the kind, and is of the opinion that 
the present position of affairs in the 
Philippines offers neither occasion nor 
reason for a protest by Japan. Proba¬ 
bilities are that Japan would be only 
too glad of such occupation permanently. 
The number of volunteers already mus¬ 
tered in is 92,580, contributed by 18 dif¬ 
ferent States. It is not expected that 
another call will be made at present. 
The invasion of Cuba is being postponed 
until a decisive naval battle has been 
fought in Cuban waters. 
There is a general belief that southern 
negroes will withstand the climate of 
Cuba better than whites. It was pro¬ 
posed to enlist a number of negro regi¬ 
ments and put white officers over them. 
Leading negroes object to this, and de¬ 
mand men of their own color for officers. 
The Senate Finance Committee esti¬ 
mate that “free Cuba” will cost $380,- 
000,000 if the war last one year. It has 
already cost $75,000,000, with $35,000,000 
contracted for. We shall save a good 
deal of it by having spent in America 
much that would otherwise have gone 
with tourists to Europe. No place like 
home in war time. 
The French newspapers are outspoken 
in favor of Spain. There is to be a great 
exposition at Paris in 1900, and mem¬ 
bers of Congress are already talking of 
opposing any appropriation for an Ameri¬ 
can exhibit. Women are talking of boy¬ 
cotting French fashions, lace makers, 
etc. Uncle Sam and Jean Crapaud used to 
be good friends, but Jean is Latin rather 
than Saxon ! 
AN AMBULANCE SHIP. 
The first ambulance ship ever com¬ 
missioned by any government is the 
Solace, now lying ready for work at Key 
West. She sails under the Red Cross, 
and will thus be respected by friends and 
foes alike. On a modern battleship, it is 
very difficult to care for the wounded, 
because, during action, she is divided 
into compartments by the closing of 
watertight doors and the screwing down 
of battle hatches. These compartments 
are practically closed cells, making com¬ 
munication between different parts of 
the ship difficult. For this reason, the 
transportation of the wounded to one 
central station is impossible, so that sur¬ 
gical treatment of the wounded during 
an action is very difficult. Taking these 
circumstances into consideration, Sur¬ 
geon - General Van Reypen obtained 
authority to fit out an ambulance ship 
as soon as hostilities became probable. 
The Solace is a new steel vessel of 3,800 
tons displacement, 375 feet long, with a 
speed of 14 to 17 knots per hour. The 
Medical Record describes the main fea¬ 
tures as follows : 
On the main deck forward, are quarters for the 
crew of the vessel, the anchor engine, and the 
blowers for artificial ventilation. Abaft these, 
is the main ward. Here are bunks, accessible on 
all sides, for 92 patients. This ward is well ven¬ 
tilated by numerous air ports and a large hatch, 
and is well lighted. In addition to the natural 
ventilation, are louvres and ducts connecting 
with blowers which have a capacity sufficient 
to insure at all times a plentiful renewal of air. 
This ward is connected directly with the operat¬ 
ing-room above by an elevator capable of carry¬ 
ing a cot or wheeled stretcher. 
Abaft the main ward, is a large saloon with 
staterooms on either side. This space is intended 
for convalescent officers. On this same deck 
amidships, are staterooms for nurses, apothe¬ 
caries, and the petty officers of the ship, and the 
crew’s messroom; also cold-storage rooms, ice 
machines, and ice houses. Abaft the engine- 
room is the steam laundry, and still farther aft 
is the emergency ward, containing 50 swinging 
cots. In the extreme stern, is the steam steering- 
engine. 
On the upper deck forward is the operating- 
room—large, light, commodious, and well venti¬ 
lated. It is fitted with two operating-tables of 
the regulation navy pattern, and all modern ap¬ 
pliances for aseptic surgery. The instruments 
are of the latest and most approved patterns, 
and of the best construction. The deck is covered 
with interlocking rubber tiles, which are capable 
of thorough cleansing, and afford a firm foothold 
in a seaway. The bulkheads are painted with 
enamel paint, so as to be capable of thorough 
cleansing and sterilization. 
Besides a large distilling plant, the Solace has 
tanks for fresh water of a capacity of over 27,000 
gallons. On the forward upper deck, the Solace 
carries two steam launches, which cau be fitted 
with platform decks on which the injured in cots 
or in hammocks may be lowered. 
The ship carries four surgeons of the navy, 
three apothecaries, eight nurses, four mess at¬ 
tendants for the sick, and one cook for the sick. 
She carries, in addition, a captain, executive 
officer, three watch officers, and a paymaster— 
all of the navy—and a crew of 60 men. The 
nurses are male nurses, and are all graduates of 
the Bellevue Hospital Training-School. 
The Solace is expected to remain near the fleet 
while in action, and as soon as any ship with¬ 
draws, or at the close of the engagement, she 
will take all the wounded on board, and steam 
away for a naval hospital, thus fulfilling dis¬ 
tinctly the duties of an ambulance ship and not 
those of a hospital ship. The injured will be 
lowered from the battleships either into the 
Solace’s steam launches or into barges towed by 
the launches, or will be landed directly on the 
Solace’s deck by a trolley sort of litter, which 
will run on a cable stretched from the battleship 
to the ambulance ship. The wounded having 
been received on board of the ambulance ship, 
those requiring immediate operation will be 
placed on the tables at once and sent down to 
the wards later, thus involving the least possible 
handling; those that do not require operative 
treatment will be sent at once to the wards. 
This is the first ambulance ship ever 
attempted, and great honor is due to the 
knowledge, skill, and humanity which 
carried out the project. 
romance, all that is ideal 
in the wide, wide world, 
is bound up in that one 
word; “Mother¬ 
hood.” A wo¬ 
man’s greatest 
happiness, her 
greatest duty and 
her greatest priv¬ 
ilege is to become 
the mother of a 
ilthy, 
child. 
thousands of wo¬ 
men fall short of 
this because of 
weakness and dis¬ 
ease of their wo- 
Either they live childless 
healthv. happy 
Untold 
fjfS, 
loo_ 
manly - selves. ______ 
lives, os for a brief spell are the mothers 
of puny, sickly children that bring them 
only pain, and leave them only sorrow. 
The woman who suffers from weakness 
and disease of the distinctly feminine or¬ 
gans is certain to become an invalid. No 
woman can suffer in this way and be a 
healthy, happy, amiable wife and a compe¬ 
tent mother. Troubles of this nature sap 
the strength, rack the nerves, paint lines of 
suffering upon the face, destroy the temper, 
make the once bright eyes dull and the once 
active brain sluggish, and transform a viva¬ 
cious woman into a weak, sickly, invalid. 
This is all wrong. It is all unnecessary. 
Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription is a mar¬ 
velous medicine for ailing women. It acts 
directly on the delicate and important 
organs that bear the burdens of matern¬ 
ity and makes them strong and healthy. 
It allays inflammation, heals ulceration, 
soothes pain and tones and builds up the 
nerves. It banishes the discomforts of the 
expectant months and makes baby’s com¬ 
ing easy and almost painless. It guarantees 
the little new-comer’s health and an ample 
supply of nourishment. Thousands of 
women have testified to its marvelous mer¬ 
its. An honest dealer will not endeavor to 
substitute some inferior preparation for the 
sake of an extra little selfish profit. 
“I took Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription 
previous to confinement,” writes Mrs. Corda 
Culpepper, of Tanks, Cottle Co., Texas, “and 
never did so well in my life. It is only two 
weeks and 1 am able to do my work.” 
In most healthy families you will find 
Dr. Pierce’s Common Sense Medical Ad¬ 
viser. For a paper-covered copy send 21 
one-cent stamps, to cover mailing only ; 
Cloth bound 31 stamps. Address Dr. R. V. 
Pierce, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Enameiiije 
THE MODERN 
LABOR SAVING, 
m fTT dustless, 
3 1 U V tl ° dorless - 
t=-PQLISH 
Produces a jet enamel qloss 
Applied in less time than 
it takes to tell about it. 
J.L.Prescott& CoNewYork 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? 
If It’s Ruaxlen, llarncM, Sn<l<lle«, Bicycle*, Sewing 
Machine*, Feed Conker*. Cider Prewos. Sorav 
Pumps, Poultry 1,1 ■ tJ -■*- 
thing else, we 
rect from the fac- 
whatltls, or whore UUUIUI| 
supply it «nd nave you money too. Try ua 
Write for our Illustrated catalogue, circulars, etc. 
Frank B. Barkley Mfg. Co. S,™ fite 
Supplies or any- 
can supply It (11- 
tory. No matter 
It Is made, wo can 
How's Your 
__ _ Spring. 
M W M Avoid mistakes and secure the 
mm m mm M m g very best thing of the kind made. 
- Use Sykes “Old Style" 
It Is made In a var- IRON ROOFINOs 
lety of Btyloa, !m eunlly put on and is lonnllved and 
hundnome. Falling sparks can’t Are it, hall can’t break 
it and the wind can’t blow It off. Roofs that have been 
on 26 years are good yet. Send for catalogue and prices. 
Sykes Iron and Steel Roofing Co. Niles, 0. and Chicago, 111. 
AT SHELBURNE FARMS, VT. 
Dr. W. Seward Webb has used thousands of gallons of 
Cabot’s Creosote Shingle Stains 
on buildings and fences, Instead of paint. Not merely 
because they are cheaper, but because they are also 
better. Send for samples and circulars. 
8 A !VI U EL CABOT, 81 Ki I by St.., Host on, AT ass. 
THE IMPROVED 
VICTOR 
NCUBATOR 
Hatches Chickens by Steam 
Absolutely srl f-reg 11 In I i ng, 
I he simplest, most reliable, 
and cheapest first-class Hatcher 
— in the market. Circulars free. 
(*EO. ERTEL fin.. Ouincv, III* 
WE SAVE YOU $12.00TO$25.00 
SQOO, Jk We sell High Grade Bicycles for Lens 
W” A t*\t han Any Other Concern in the World. 
1898 Ladles’ or Gent’tt Models, $18 up. 
I Left over of 1897 Diodels at less than 
Icost; others at $8, $10, $12 and $15. 
r Write for Free Illustrated Catalogs! 
of Bicycles and Sundries. Address 
beat. 139 VICTOR JIFO. CO., 80 to98 JUrket St.,Chicago. 
Cata¬ 
logue 
4 cents 
EARN A BICYCLE! 
.^YselUng Baker’s Teas among your neighbors, a total 
nL 1(X ii IJloyclej 6° lbs., Waltham Hold Watch; 26 
lbs., Silver W atch; 10lbs..Crescent Camera or (Jold King. 
Express prepaid. Write for Catalogue . Order Sheet, Crc. * 
W. G. BAKER, Dept. 52. Springfield, Mass. 
"STEEL NAME STAMPS 
SPRINGFIEL 0 .MA 5 S. 
nuts? 
1 " * rvcov 
MARK !* 11 buStlC* 
OEAOSrAIJrttaCATAUIGULl, 
FROM 1 FACTORY. 
Top buggies, road wagons, spring 
wagons, surreys and business wag¬ 
ons, bicycles and harness. No mid¬ 
dle men. No agents. A small per 
cent, of profit above actual cost of 
building. 25 to 40 per cent, below 
_ , __. retail prices. All freight prepaid. 
, ,,„ , Special *—"Gold Coin” Top Buggy 
and "Parlor City” Bicycle. Catalogue free. 
BINGHAMTON CARRIAGE M OT4IT.lt CO- 
BaxO, Blnghamtea, N. T. 
THE FREIGHT. BEST SCALES, LEAST 
MON EY. JONES OF BINGHAM TO N.N.Y 
"Olil Wagons 
We make Steel Wheels to fit any 
size and width tire. Staggard and 
Straight Spoke. Will not rot or dry 
out. We also manufacture Steel 
Handy Wagons. Catalogue free. 
Havana Metal Wheat Co., Havana, III. 
FRAZER c 4 ^ e se 
BEST IN THE WORLD. 
Its wearing qualities are unsurpassed, actually 
outlasting three boxes of any other brand. Not 
affected by heat. JGET THE GENUINE. 
FOK SALK BY DKALKBS GENKKALLY. 
Steel Wheels 
Staggered Oval Spokes. 
BUY A SET TO FIT YOUR NEW OR OLD WACOH 
CHEAPEST AND BEST 
way to get a low wagon. Any size 
r wheel, any width tire. Catal. fkks. 
Electric Wheel Co., Box 88, Quincy, Ills 
