In charge of Red Cross nurses at Nautical Club Hospital, Santiago de Cuba.THE YOUNGEST RED CROSS NURSE, 4 YEARS OLD.
In charge of Red Cross nurses at Nautical Club Hospital, Santiago de Cuba.
THE YOUNGEST RED CROSS NURSE, 4 YEARS OLD.
While we were waiting at Port Tampa we were joined by Miss Janet Jennings, of Washington, and Mrs. Trumbull White, of Chicago, both of whom afterward did excellent work in the hospitals at Siboney.
Miss Barton rejoined our party on June 16, being accompanied by Mrs. J. Addison Porter, the wife of the secretary to President McKinley, who went with us on the “State of Texas.”
Miss Barton had been the recipient of such assurances on her recent trip to Washington from the heads of the various government departments, that she believed that the Red Cross would receive the most cordial recognition from the army and navy as an auxiliary aid, and would be able to co-operate with them in the utmost harmony. Although the mission of the steamer “State of Texas” was to render relief to the Cuban reconcentrados, it was tacitly understood and believed by all that every possible aid would be extended to the army and navy forces whenever it was necessary or called for.
All of the government transports carrying General Shafter’s army had sailed from Port Tampa, bound for Cuba, when, on June 17, the “State of Texas” weighed her anchor and started for Key West, where we arrived on the following afternoon.
It was learned at Key West that the cargo of a captured ship, consisting of South American “tasajo,” or jerked beef, was about to be sold by the United States Marshal; and as we knew this was a favorite food of the Cubans, and that we could get all that we needed at a very low figure, Miss Barton decided to take aboard twenty tons of it.
A telegram had been sent from Port Tampa to the Secretary of the Navy, under whose authority the “State of Texas” was then sailing, notifying him that we were going to Key West, where he could communicate with us, and thence on to Cuba, if orders to the contrary were not received.
On June 20, everything being in readiness, and no orders having been received from the Secretary of the Navy, it was decided to sail and find Sampson’s fleet near Santiago de Cuba, where it was generally believed that General Shafter would try to effect a landing; so at 10.15 a.m. we started, taking the westerly course around Cape Antonio. Just as we were about to leave, Mr. W.S. Warner joined our party and afterwards became one of our most useful and valued workers.
After a pleasant but uneventful voyage on the morning of June 25 we arrived off Morro Castle, at the entrance of the Bay of Santiago. The Spanish flag was flying over the land fortifications and Sampson’s fleet was stationed in the adjacent waters. Miss Barton sent a representative aboard the flagship “New York,” who presented her compliments to Admiral Sampson and asked for orders, or an expression of his wishes regarding the position to be taken by the Red Cross ship. The Admiral sent back word saying that General Shafter’s army had disembarked at Daiquiri, a point about twelve miles east of Morro Castle, and he advised Miss Barton to take her ship to Guantanamo Bay, where she would find good anchorage and calm water; and where she would be able to learn more of what was taking place on land, as there was constant communication from there with the invading army. Accordingly we drew away and arrived that evening at Playa del Este, which is about forty miles from Santiago, and situated just inside the mouth of Guantanamo Bay.
Captain McCalla, the naval commander of the port, with several other naval officers came aboard the “Texas” that evening, and warmly welcomed Miss Barton. Among these officers were the captain and medical staff of the United States naval hospital ship “Solace” which was lying at anchor near us, and they extended an invitation to all the members of our party to visit their ship on the following morning. The invitation was accepted, and the next day the launches of the “Solace” came for us, and we passed a couple of very enjoyable hours looking over one of the most complete and handsome ships we had ever seen.
After our return to the “State of Texas” two representatives of New York papers called on Miss Barton, informing her that they had just come in from Siboney, where there was great need of supplies and medical aid. They said that the men who were wounded in the fight between the Rough Riders and the Spaniards on the previous Friday had just been brought in and that they were suffering from the lack of everything in the way of comforts and conveniences. Our steamer was at once headed westward and started within a few minutes for the scene of suffering. A two months’ sojourn in tropical waters had enabled the busy little cirripeds to attach themselves in millions to the bottom of our ship, and, in nautical parlance, she was very “foul,”and consequently our speed was reduced from a normal of about ten knots an hour to between seven and eight knots, so we did not reach Siboney until after eight o’clock that night.
Soon after our ship was anchored a boat was lowered and a party of our doctors started for the shore. As the night was dark and there was no wharf nor other landing place, save one small bit of sandy beach which was bounded on each side by precipitous rocky ledges, and no lights other than those of the ships which were anchored safely away from the shore, and the uncertain and misleading flare of an occasional camp fire some distance away from the beach, the landing was a matter of some difficulty and anxiety. A heavy ground swell was running quite high and dashed itself against the rocks with a roar that deafened us; however the officer who was in charge of the boat was an old sailor, who was used to landing in strange places, and by constant “ahoying” to every sign of life on ship or shore, we managed to strike the one soft spot in that vicinity and soon had our boat drawn up on the sand.
By inquiring of several sentinels, we found our way to the army hospital, which was a rough wooden building that had evidently been used for a store or warehouse in more peaceful times. On a veranda in front of the hospital a group of officers was standing, and on our asking for the surgeon in charge, Major Havard stepped forward. Drs. Gardner and Lesser introduced themselves and the other members of the party to Major Havard and formally offered him, in the name of Clara Barton and the Red Cross, the personal services of all our doctors and nurses, and any of our supplies that might be needed. Major Havard very courteously thanked them for their offers and said that he fully appreciated the value of such services, but he thought that he and his assistants would be able to take care of all the sick and wounded that were there at that time; and as for supplies, he knew there was an abundance of themon the transports, and he hoped they would be landed the next day. During these speeches our members were looking through the miserable place that bore the name of hospital, and the sights that met us brought tears to our eyes. There were half a dozen cots in a building where there were, perhaps, fifty or sixty patients, the greater number of whom were lying on the floor, some with a blanket under them, but a great many were lying on the bare boards. Sheets, pillows and bedclothes were unknown, and those poor fellows who were not dressed in their uniforms were lying almost naked. There were some wounded men, and others who were sickwith fever; and in the dim light of a few lanterns we could see them turning from side to side in their discomfort and agony and hear their moans, and in some cases imprecations against a Government that would so illy provide for such a contingency. One of the nurses(?), a young fellow who sat out on the veranda in his shirt sleeves complacently smoking a cigarette, told us that he couldn’t do very much for the boys, as he didn’t have anything to do with; besides one nurse couldn’t do very much for forty men, all wanting him at the same time, and he thought there ought to be more help. I couldn’t help contrasting this good natured but rather indolent chap, who was performing his duty in such a careless and perfunctory manner, with the brave, clean, intelligent and energetic young women whom I knew, who, when on duty, never took a minute’s rest, but were constantly busy, and who anticipated every want of a patient; and who by their bright faces and cheerful voices drove away all feelings of despondency and homesickness among the sufferers, and in this way helped them quite as far on the road to recovery as the medicine that the doctors might prescribe.
With saddened hearts we turned away and entered the Cuban army hospital near by. This house was better furnished with beds and bedding and other hospital appliances than the place we had just left, as it had been a regular army hospital when the Spaniards were in possession of the place, and they in their quick retreat had left nearly everything intact. So that these patients were in a much better condition. But how dirty it was! And how badly it smelled! The Surgeon in charge of the Cuban hospital was a very intelligent Cuban who spoke good English, and he welcomed us warmly, and insisted on taking us to see General Calixto Garcia, whose headquarters were near by. That fine old warrior, with his gentlemanly and courtly manners, received us with the greatest cordiality, introducing us to the members of his staff who were present, and in every way made us feel that we were more than welcome. He had no hesitation in accepting any aid we had to offer; said that his men had suffered so terribly during the past three years that he welcomed our coming as a perfect godsend. So it was arranged that the Red Cross should take hold of the Cuban hospital the next day and do what it could to makeit healthier and pleasanter; although the surgeons in charge begged that the ladies,i.e., the nurses, should not come until the place had been cleaned. But Red Cross nurses are trained in a school that makes the annihilation of dirt its first principle; and early the following morning they appeared with pails, scrubbing brushes, soap, whitewash and disinfectants, and the way in which they went to work elicited the admiration and astonishment of all who saw them. After thoroughly washing and disinfecting the floors, walls and furniture, they took the beds and put them through the same process, and afterwards put new mattresses, pillows and bedding on them. Then the patients were taken in hand, and carefully bathed and put in clean clothing, and then into clean, sweet-smelling beds. The looks and words of gratitude that were given to those little women in blue will always remain a happy recollection to them.
This grand transformation of the dirty Cuban hospital was watched with great interest by the American officers and men, and when it was finally finished it presented such a noticeable contrast of peace, cleanliness and comfort to the United States Army hospital, where everything was the very opposite, in all its hideousness of neglect, squalor and suffering, that there was a universal grumble in the camp, and men were heard to mutter: “What kind of people are these Red Cross folks that come down here and give the best of everything to the Cubans, and pass by our own boys, who are dying for the want of these very attentions?” When it was explained to them that the Red Cross had first gone to our own hospital and offered all it had to our own army surgeons, and that they had declined assistance, there was an immediate and widespread inquiry, “Why?” and as no answer that would satisfy could be given, and the grumble was becoming more general and forcible all the time, a little later the army surgeons thought best to allay further irritation by a general acceptance of whatever was needed from the Red Cross stores, and any personal assistance that might be offered.
As a result of this change of mind everything that was needful to make the American hospital the equal of the Cuban hospital was gladly given by the Red Cross, and from that time on to the end of the war the army surgeons and the Red Cross worked in perfect harmony and with mutual respect and admiration. A Red Cross hospital was opened at Siboney and immediately filled to its capacity with American soldiers and government employes; and the Red Cross surgeons were given operating tables in the army hospital and on the field, and with the aidof Red Cross nurses rendered splendid service in the bloody days that soon followed.
As General Shafter pressed forward with his troops, the fighting became more severe, and his chief surgeon, Colonel Pope, sent word to Miss Barton asking for aid to be sent out to the front. She responded immediately and personally led a party consisting of Mr. George Kennan, Mrs. J. Addison Porter, Dr. and Mrs. Gardner, Dr. E. Winfield Egan, Dr. J.B. Hubbell, and Mr. J.A. McDowell, going forward in army wagons and on foot over a road whose badness could not be exceeded anywhere; and they soon had their tents up and their kettles boiling, and for several days they devoted all their time to relieving the sufferings of the wounded men on the field. They made gruels and soups, and all the delicacies that could be prepared with the facilities at hand, and distributed fruits and cooling drinks. These poor wounded soldiers were lying on the field where they were left after their wounds had been dressed; and as there was no food for them to eat except the regular army ration of salt meat, hardtack and coffee, which many of them were unable to swallow, in some instances they had not taken any nourishment for three days, and were nearly starved.
The “rainy season” had just set in and these “martyrs to the cause of Cuban liberty,” who were helpless and in many cases without clothing of any kind, were left without protection, except such as could be had from small bushes and trees; and they were subjected daily to alternate “sunshine and shower;” and when it is said that those words are not to be taken in a poetical sense, but that they mean intense heat and deluging rains, the suffering that ensued can be understood. And it may be well to say that in that locality at that time of the year, when the sun sets the cold air from the mountains drops down into the valleys and the nights become uncomfortably chilly before morning.
That the statement of the sufferings of these men may not be thought overdrawn, I shall introduce here an extract from the testimony of Major William Duffield Bell, an army surgeon, as given on this point in his report for the War Department:
The First division of the Fifth Army Corps Hospital was the only one in the field. The surgical force in this hospital was insufficient to meet the demands upon it, and numbers of the wounded lay unattended for twelve and even twenty-fourhours on the bare ground before their turn came. There was an insufficient supply of proper food for invalids, due to lack of transportation, though there was no lack of surgical supplies at the hospital, thanks to the energy and business like efforts of Major Wood, chief surgeon of the Division Hospital.Another great want was the scarcity of clothing and blankets. In many cases soldiers were soaked with rain and stiffened with mud from the trenches, so that their clothes had to be removed before an operation or dressing, and could not be put on again. Men were often taken from the operating table and of necessity in many cases were laid upon the wet ground without shelter, and in the majority of cases without even a blanket, and with little or no nourishment for two awful days until the Red Cross Society, under Miss Barton, appeared on the scene.With no intention to place the blame for the condition of things existing, it is only just to state that had some officers of the commissary and quartermaster’s departments displayed the same zeal and enthusiasm as did Major Wood and his officers and men, such things need not have happened, and the poor sick and wounded sufferers would not have had to feel, as many did, that they were almost forgotten by God and man.
The First division of the Fifth Army Corps Hospital was the only one in the field. The surgical force in this hospital was insufficient to meet the demands upon it, and numbers of the wounded lay unattended for twelve and even twenty-fourhours on the bare ground before their turn came. There was an insufficient supply of proper food for invalids, due to lack of transportation, though there was no lack of surgical supplies at the hospital, thanks to the energy and business like efforts of Major Wood, chief surgeon of the Division Hospital.
Another great want was the scarcity of clothing and blankets. In many cases soldiers were soaked with rain and stiffened with mud from the trenches, so that their clothes had to be removed before an operation or dressing, and could not be put on again. Men were often taken from the operating table and of necessity in many cases were laid upon the wet ground without shelter, and in the majority of cases without even a blanket, and with little or no nourishment for two awful days until the Red Cross Society, under Miss Barton, appeared on the scene.
With no intention to place the blame for the condition of things existing, it is only just to state that had some officers of the commissary and quartermaster’s departments displayed the same zeal and enthusiasm as did Major Wood and his officers and men, such things need not have happened, and the poor sick and wounded sufferers would not have had to feel, as many did, that they were almost forgotten by God and man.
It is not to be wondered at that in such conditions our soldiers began to fall victims to calentura, a prevalent fever from which very few people there escape, even though surrounded by the best sanitary conditions. The yellow fever scare had taken hold of a part of our soldiers before they left the states; and as there were a great many contract surgeons in the army, who were inexperienced in diagnosing tropical fevers, it was not long before it was reported that the yellow fever had broken out, and considerable demoralization ensued. The Red Cross party which was at the front was requested to return to the steamer; and all the buildings at Siboney, including the hospital, were ordered to be burned “to stop the spread of the fever.” Dr. and Mrs. Lesser and Sister Minnie Rogal had already fallen victims to the fever, and were at that time lying in the Red Cross Hospital at Siboney. A temporary fever camp had been started in the hills at the back of Siboney, and they were taken there, accompanied by Sisters Isabelle and Annie both of whom afterward had the fever.
Right here let me say that a Dr. Gray connected with the Medical Department of the Army has been quoted in the papers as saying that the Red Cross was to blame for the outbreak of the yellow fever in Siboney, inasmuch as that organization had opened a hospital in a building that had been condemned, before any army hospital had been opened. It is only necessary to say that the Red Cross Hospital wasnot opened until over a week after the American and Cuban Army Hospitals had been opened in buildingsthat had been previously condemned by army officers.
Referring to this subject, Major Louis A. La Garde, Surgeon U.S.A., has given this testimony:
The Cubans deceived Dr. Pope, as they had deceived Dr. Guiteras, by telling him that there had been no yellow fever in Siboney. Dr. Guiteras believed this. On one occasion he told me that Siboney didn’t look like a yellow fever locality, as the place was hilly and well drained, except in a small section to the northeast of the town, where there was a stream. Dr. Guiteras advised that hospitals be established in houses in Siboney, and he thought there was no danger of infection because of such action.
The Cubans deceived Dr. Pope, as they had deceived Dr. Guiteras, by telling him that there had been no yellow fever in Siboney. Dr. Guiteras believed this. On one occasion he told me that Siboney didn’t look like a yellow fever locality, as the place was hilly and well drained, except in a small section to the northeast of the town, where there was a stream. Dr. Guiteras advised that hospitals be established in houses in Siboney, and he thought there was no danger of infection because of such action.
As I write this report the War Investigating Commission is holding its sessions, and the country is impatiently awaiting its decision as to where the blame rests for the many shortcomings that were developed during the Santiago campaign, I have just been reading the testimony of Dr. Frank Donaldson, Assistant Surgeon of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, in which he remarks:
“My experience is that the reason the Rough Riders fared so well was because we hustled for ourselves.”
When Dr. Donaldson arrived in Siboney he immediately came aboard the Red Cross steamer and announced that he was about to join the Rough Riders, and would like some supplies to take out with him. He was given everything that he wanted that we had in our stores; and the next day he came with two more members of his regiment, and after having breakfast with us, made another requisition for an increased amount of good things. These were cheerfully given and, in addition, shoes and underclothing from the private wardrobes of the members of the Red Cross were added, to meet the required needs that could not be filled otherwise, owing to the fact that these things were not in the steamer’s cargo.
I esteem it a privilege to be able to testify to the exactness of the doctor’s testimony as to his ability and success as a “hustler,” and still more to be able to showwherehe “hustled,” which appears to have escaped his memory.
A few days previous to the fever scare our supply of ice, coffee, fruit and other needful articles running short, the steamer “State of Texas” was ordered to go to Jamaica to replenish her stores. Whilein Kingston we met many refugees from Santiago, among them Mr. Louis Brooks and Mr. Robt. Douglas, Sr. Both these gentlemen placed their residences in Santiago at the disposal of Miss Barton; she accepted that of Mr. Douglas, and we afterwards spent several very happy and comfortable weeks within its hospitable walls. Mr. Douglas also offered the Red Cross the use of his warehouses in Santiago which was accepted, and we are indebted to these gentlemen for many other favors and their kindness is remembered with gratitude and pleasure.
Commander McCalla of Guantanamo Bay had already made calls upon the Red Cross for relief supplies for the Cubans in that vicinity, and the “State of Texas” had made two trips there, leaving five thousand rations at one time and ten thousand at another. The commander then called for fifty thousand rations, and we started at once to deliver them. On our arrival at Playa del Este the commander met us in his steam launch as we were coming into the harbor, and before we had cast anchor he demanded to know if we had come from Siboney, and if any of our members had been ashore there recently. Being answered in the affirmative, he said that he could not expose the men of his fleet to the risk of taking yellow fever from us, and ordered our ship to turn about and leave at once.
While we were lying at Siboney Messrs. Elwell and Warner were kept busy with a crew of from fifty to seventy-five Cuban soldiers, in landing supplies from the steamer; and the work they did and the success they achieved calls for the highest praise, for it was accomplished under the most adverse conditions and with most inadequate facilities.
At the near-by village of Firmeza were thousands of Cuban refugees and residents, who were in abject need and many were sick and dying. Through the energetic efforts of the above named gentlemen and Dr. J.B. Hubbell all these people were fed and clothed, in addition to many more who came into Siboney.
During the siege of Santiago General Shafter sent word to General Toral, the Spanish Commander, that unless the city wassurrendered within twenty-four hours, he should bombard it. Notice was given to the citizens of that place, and the surrender was refused. An exodus of non-combatants, men, women and children, hurriedly took place; it was said there were thirty thousand of them, and they fled to the country to the north and east, some twenty thousand crowding into the little village of El Caney which normally has not over five hundred inhabitants.
The city of Santiago at that time was in a destitute condition, several people having already starved to death, and there was consequently little or no provisions for the people to take away. So this vast horde of hungry wretches overwhelmed the little country places that they come to, and the suffering that ensued was something frightful.
The officers at General Shafter’s headquarters notified Miss Barton of the conditions at El Caney, and she immediately sent Mr. Elwell there to form a citizens’ committee to assist in distributing the food that was to follow as quickly as we could get transportation to carry it. Every horse, mule, vehicle of any kind that could be borrowed, begged or hired, was impressed into the service, and tons of supplies were taken there at the earliest possible moment. For about two weeks the Red Cross force worked night and day in relieving this place. Mr. C. C. Bangs, an elderly gentleman from Brooklyn, N.Y., who had been sent to the Red Cross by the New York Cuban Relief Committee, was given charge of the relief supplies at El Caney, and he remained there until the surrender of Santiago, when the city people returned to their homes, faithfully working as cook and dispenser from sixteen to eighteen hours a day. The hard work, lack of sleep, and poor sanitary conditions, were too hard a strain on him and he came to us at Santiago sick and very much broken. He was attacked by the calentura and removed to a hospital where in a few days he died. He was buried by the Red Cross in the Santiago cemetery, his funeral being attended by the members of that body.
The surrender of Santiago having been arranged to take place at ten o’clock on the morning of July 17, and Miss Barton being anxious to get to that city at the earliest moment, knowing full well the terrible conditions that existed there, the steamer “State of Texas” steameddown from Siboney that day to the entrance of Santiago Bay. Miss Barton sent word to Admiral Sampson that she was ready to go in to the city whenever he was ready to have her; and he answered that he would send her a pilot to take her ship in as soon as the channel was made safe by the removal of torpedos that had been planted by the Spaniards.
Accordingly about 4.30 in the afternoon a Cuban pilot came aboard the “Texas” from the flagship “New York” and we were soon on our way to Santiago, where we arrived just before sundown. We came to anchor just off the main wharf and Messrs. Elwell and Warner went ashore to make arrangements for warehouse room and to engage men to unload the ship on the morrow.
Early the next morning the “Texas” was drawn up beside the principal wharf and one hundred Cuban stevedores began the work of discharging her. These poor fellows were a sorry looking crowd of undersized and half starved men, the effects of their long fast being plainly visible in their hollow cheeks and thin arms and legs. Many women and children were on the wharf ready to sweep up any stray bits of meal or beans that might escape from leaky sacks or boxes.
As the stores came from the ship they were loaded on hand cars and rolled to the land end of the wharf, where they were placed under a large shed and a guard of soldiers was placed over them to keep back the hungry people and dogs who hung around like a pack of famished wolves.
The same plan of distribution that we had so successfully pursued in Havana was adopted in Santiago, and with the aid of such splendid men as Mr. William Ramsden, son of the English Consul; Mr. Robert Mason, Chinese Consul and vice British Consul; and Mr. Michelson, German Vice Consul, we were soon possessed of full knowledge of the place and in perfect touch with its best people.
General McKibben, the Military Governor of the city, and many other army officers and citizens called on Miss Barton, giving her a warm welcome and offering their assistance in any way they could be of service to her.
A central committee of citizens was appointed, to whom was deputed the duty of dividing the city into districts, and of appointing sub-committees of responsible persons to distribute the supplies to the needy. All applications for relief from the sub-committees had to be approved by the general committee, and then brought to the Red Cross warehouse, where they were filled in bulk and sent back to the districtcommittees for distribution. In this way all confusion was avoided, and our headquarters kept comparatively free from crowding.
By steady work and long hours the cargo of the “State of Texas” was discharged, and she left on her return trip to New York on the fifth day after her arrival; and we were thus left without any means of transportation that we could depend upon in any direction, the railroads being broken, and there being none but government ships in the harbor.
The government not having many delicacies for its sick men, and such as it had being so hard to get that those in quest of them could hardly get their orders filled until their patients had died or recovered, it was only natural that they should come to the Red Cross when they needed anything of that kind, where it was only necessary to state the need and write a requisition to be supplied with anything that we had in stock. That this privilege was appreciated can be attested by hundreds of chaplains, surgeons and officers; and if it was abused in rare instances, there is little to complain of when it is remembered how many lives were thus saved, and how many poor fellows were made comfortable and happy.
While we were at Santiago we were joined by Mrs. Fanny B. Ward of Washington, D.C.; Miss Annie M. Fowler of Springfield, Ill., and Miss Annie Wheeler, of Alabama, a daughter of General Joe Wheeler, the celebrated and much-liked cavalry leader. All of these ladies did splendid work in their several fields, and hundreds of soldiers will gratefully remember their kindly ministrations.
General Shafter, General Wheeler, General McKibben, General Wood, General Bates and Colonel Roosevelt; Admiral Sampson, Admiral Schley, Captain Chadwick, and in fact, almost every military and naval officer with whom we had any business relations, did everything they could for the Red Cross, and it is our proud satisfaction to feel that we met their wishes to the extent of our ability, and that the most perfect reciprocity of good feeling and mutual regard existed.
Miss Barton visited all the Spanish hospitals in Santiago and made a thorough inspection and inquiry into their needs; and subsequently furnished them with everything required that we had in our stores. The Spanish Red Cross had no active workers with the Spanisharmy in Cuba that we could find, and whatever was done for their soldiers by that organization must have been done through the officials of the army. It was said that Spain was well furnished with army hospitals at home, all of which were carried on by the Red Cross; and that it was the custom, previous to the breaking out of the Spanish-American War, to send all invalid soldiers back to Spain to recover.
The municipal hospitals of Santiago were also visited and their inmates made happy by a plentiful supply of good food and clean clothing.
The Red Cross opened a free dispensary where Drs. Gills, Carbonel, Solloso and Zuniga attended many hundred of the sick poor and dispensed medicine and delicacies to all needing them. These faithful doctors also visited the sick in their homes wherever they could find them, and did a great deal of good work.
An expedition was sent inland some seventy miles to Holguin, and the needs of all the intervening communities were carefully investigated. Miss Barton and several members of her staff also went to San Luis, and made arrangements with some of the most prominent citizens of that place to take charge of a large quantity of stores; and word was sent to all the adjacent country for forty miles on each side, notifying the people that all who were in need of help could receive supplies by coming to San Luis.
Dr. Hubbell went to Baracoa and Sagua de Tanamo before the Spanish soldiers and the inhabitants of those places had learned of General Toral’s surrender; and he was obliged to go in under a flag of truce and was not generally believed when he told the people that the Province was then under the domination of the Americans. But they were in such straits of sickness and hunger that they gladly accepted the medicine and food that he proffered them.
There was at both Siboney and Santiago a great congestion of government steamers, causing much confusion and consequent delay in getting commissary and quartermaster stores ashore. The government, of course, had charge of everything, including wharves and lighters; and as we were unable to command these facilities several shipments of goods sent to the Red Cross at Santiago were never allowed to land there and were returned to the United States. Theywere not needed, however, as we had an ample supply for all the demands that were then made upon us. At the suggestion of Mr. D. L. Cobb of the Red Cross, a large schooner was chartered and loaded with Kennebec ice and sent to Santiago in tow, by the “Ice Auxiliary” of New York. Certainly no other of the many methods of relief that had been suggested, was more welcome or acceptable to the suffering heroes of Santiago. No single article that was sent to the soldiers gave one quarter the satisfaction to them that was given by this cooling and comforting necessity. Owing to the lack of facilities for landing, as stated above, we were unable to get the ice ashore to deliver to the hospitals; but as transports, loaded with sick and wounded soldiers were leaving almost daily for the States, we notified the captains of all those steamers that they could have all the ice they might need, and as they could easily run alongside the schooner and take it aboard they all availed themselves of the privilege until the cargo was exhausted.
When the schooner that had brought the ice to Cuba was discharged, she was towed alongside the transport “Port Victor,” that had on board some seven hundred tons of Red Cross supplies, which it was impossible to land, and they were taken aboard the schooner and subsequently sent to Gibara on the northern coast.
Distribution of the Ice.
The following is summary of orders (for ice) upon which the cargo of the “Mary E. Morse” was delivered:
After a five weeks stay in Santiago it became apparent that the distribution of further general relief was unnecessary and inadvisable, as the more pressing wants had been supplied, and the presence of the army, and the returning commercial and industrial prosperity had given employment to all the available laborers, who were now amplyable to provide for themselves and their families. In these circumstances, it was decided to restrict the distribution henceforth to such people as might be vouched for by the various members of the committee as having no means of support.
The Red Cross had at that time in its warehouse at Santiago about eight hundred tons of stores, and the New York committee was sending more all the time. The government warehouses and wharves were overcrowded with quartermaster and commissary stores, although the troops, both sick and well, were being sent North as fast as steamers could be secured to carry them. General Wood, the military governor, was devoting all of his time to the betterment of the general condition of the people; and in addition to cleaning the streets and yards and disinfecting all foul spots, he was exercising a general oversight for the moral and physical welfare of the community.
With all this great abundance of provisions and clothing, and the small number of needy people that were within reach, and the perfect arrangements that had been made that no one needing relief should be overlooked, a longer stay of the full Red Cross staff seemed unwise and useless; so it was decided that we should go to some other field where our services could be utilized to better advantage. As a further precaution, that there might be no possibility of any needy person being overlooked, Miss Barton appointed a committee of ladies, who should by house to house inspection discover and report to the general committee any cases of suffering that might escape notice otherwise.
Having heard that the port of Havana was open, it was natural that our party should be eager to return there and take up the work that we had been compelled to relinquish during the previous spring. The only means of transportation that was at our disposal to use in reaching Havana was the schooner “Mary E. Morse,” and as she had been already destined for another port, and was withal so slow that she would not have served our requirements, we had no other recourse thanto appeal to the government. Miss Barton accordingly telegraphed President McKinley, asking for the use of a transport, and he promptly placed at her disposal the Morgan Line steamer “Clinton,” which was then in the government service. Within the following four days we loaded the “Clinton” with thirty-four mules that had been sent to us by one of the Red Cross auxiliary committees of New York, and about three hundred tons of general stores, which we hoped would serve as a starter in the distribution at Havana, other supplies having been promised to meet us at that place.
We sailed away from Santiago on the afternoon of August 21, and after a pleasant voyage we arrived at Havana on the morning of the twenty-fifth.
We learned on entering the harbor that we were as much in Spanish waters as we had been during our previous sojourn in Havana, and that there was no marked change in anything. The same customs’ officers whom we had known before the war boarded our boat, and we were treated with the old-time courtesy, but there was no let up in the rigid enforcement of all the requirements of the law; the necessary clearance papers, manifests, etc., being demanded. As we were on a government transport, and carrying a cargo intended for charitable distribution, we expected to be admitted without hindrance or ceremony, but we were disappointed. We were informed that we should have to pay full duties on our cargo, which amounted to as much as the original cost of the goods; and that as we had failed to make a specific manifest of every article we had on board we must pay a fine of five hundred dollars before we should be allowed to land our cargo or to leave the harbor.
Miss Barton called upon the Governor of Havana, who received her with great urbanity, but when she told him the nature of her visit he insisted that there was no need of aid in that city, that there was no suffering, that the people were all well fed and had been all through the blockade. This call was very courteously returned by the general and staff.
No possible endeavor was omitted that gave any hope of enabling us to land our cargo, and we brought every influence to bear that we could command. After a couple of days had elapsed one of the government officials came aboard our ship and told Miss Barton that the Colonial Council had held a meeting, and that its members had voted to take the amount of money needed from some special fund that was available and pay the duties on the cargo of her ship,provided shewould turn it over to their agents to distribute. Finding that there was no likelihood of any better terms being offered Miss Barton decided that it was useless to remain longer. Then again, the American Evacuation Commissioners were expected to arrive in a few days, and it was thought that the presence of this boatload of Cuban relief might be an embarrassment to them in dealing with the Spanish commission, and that we had better pay our fine and quietly withdraw until such time as we might return without hindrance.
During our stay in Havana hundreds of the best people of that city, including Spaniards and Cubans, came aboard the “Clinton” and assured Miss Barton of their warmest friendship and heartiest welcome, and it is believed that they did their utmost to persuade the officials to allow Miss Barton to resume her work in Havana. They told the most harrowing stories of the suffering in and about the city, and they said that with the exception of some “soup houses,” which the government was ostentatiously supporting, and which gave out to the poor, miserable sufferers who called for it a small quantity of an alleged soup, in which there was not enough nourishment to keep a chicken alive, there was no other distribution of food, and that people were daily dying in the streets. We knew that this was true, as we all had seen scores of these people every time we had gone ashore.
On September first we paid our fine of five hundred dollars and arranged all other matters, so that we were ready to sail at seven o’clock that evening, and with many regrets, we started for Egmont Key, Florida, where we knew we would have to go into quarantine, before entering the United States.
As our ship’s charter would expire on September 7 and she ought to be in New Orleans, where she belonged, on that date, it was decided to unload her cargo of goods at Egmont Key, and have it transferred from there to Tampa. The mules were to be left aboard, and taken to New Orleans, where they had been purchased.
Captain Wertsch and the entire crew of the steamer “Clinton,” having exerted themselves to make all of our party comfortable and happy, and having succeeded in an eminent degree, Miss Barton was pleased to make acknowledgment of their courtesy in a letter, a copy of which follows.