CHAPTER XIX.

U. S. MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF SANTIAGO.

BY

Maj.-Gen. LEONARD WOOD, U. S. V.

TH

HE American control of affairs in the Province of Santiago began with the surrender of the Spanish Army, July 17, 1898.

The problem which presented itself was a very complex one and included everything, from the feeding and care of the Spanish prisoners of war to the thorough and complete reëstablishment of the Civil Government.

In the city was that portion of the population which had not fled to Caney and the Spanish prisoners of war, these latter amounting to between 11,000 and 12,000 men. Round about it was encamped the American Army of approximately 20,000 men and the Cuban forces under General Garcia of about 4,000. Four miles away was the village of Caney with some 17,000 or 18,000 refugees. It was the beginning of the most unhealthy season of the year. Already the American Army were feeling seriously the frightfully depressing influence of the climate, and fevers of all types were prevalent, especially malarial fever in all its various forms and some few cases of yellow fever.

Scattered along the road between Santiago and Siboney were various hospitals and detention hospitals with cases of a suspicious character. Within the city, affairs were in a very disorderly and demoralized state and the sanitary condition was as bad as it could have been.

The American Commander, General Shafter, immediately devoted himself to getting the American Army into the best possible camps, as near good water as practicable and in reach of the supplies of which we had a great abundance, but of

which we had been unable to avail ourselves on account of the bad roads. The condition of the roads was due principally to the excessive amount of rain which had converted them into perfect quagmires, through which wagon-trains struggled painfully and slowly, carrying only a small portion of the average load. At the same time he was also selecting a suitable camp for the Spanish prisoners of war and making the necessary arrangements to feed them and take as good care of them as possible. The General's headquarters at this time were in Santiago in the old palace of the Civil Governor, where I had also established my headquarters on being assigned to the command of the city.

My duties were to maintain order in the city and do all that I could toward improving its sanitary condition and to look after the welfare and well-being of its inhabitants. It is very difficult for Americans who have clean towns to appreciate the condition in which we found the city of Santiago. It is an old, tumble-down place, interesting and picturesque in many ways, but at this time it was frightfully dirty and full of filth, dead people, dead animals and all kinds of refuse. The people were generally sick and terror-stricken from the siege and the frightful effects of starvation and disease. It was difficult to work with such material, and at first very arbitrary measures had to be employed to get men to do the necessary sanitary work. This was accomplished however by rounding up, under military guard each morning, a certain number of men and putting them to work for the day. At night they were lined up and paid a dollar apiece. The same methods were employed to obtain wagons to haul away the refuse. None of our Army wagons were available as they were all required to haul rations out to our camps and to the Spanish prisoners of war, so we had to depend on such wagons as we could find in the city. Their owners were either afraid or unwilling to work, and the only way we could get them was to order the chief of police to assemble all sorts of wagon transportation at a certain point each morning. The collection of wagons was then sent out in detachments under military guard to do the work of the day whatever it happened to be. The city was at once divided into districts and a

thorough house-to-house inspection made as rapidly as possible, the most unsanitary sections and houses being especially reported upon and made the subject of immediate action. At the same time, while this was being done, it was necessary to maintain a very rigid system of police to prevent looting and robbery, as the city was practically without any local government and full of people thoroughly demoralized. The sick had also to be looked after as well as we could. There were no less than 15,000 reported among the population, who had to be taken care of and fed. Food and medicine had to be furnished to all charitable institutions, also to the sick of the Spanish Army of whom we had over 2,000. The people were returning from Caney where they had been exposed to great hardships and undergone great suffering. They nearly all came back either actually sick or just beginning to break down. The hospitals were overcrowded with people and were found to be almost entirely without food and entirely without medicines and surgical supplies. The same conditions prevailed in the orphan asylum and the asylum for old people. There was absolutely no money in the city treasury and, outside of rice, some flour and coffee, there was no food in the city. In fact there was a condition of the utmost demoralization and destitution. This, combined with the well-known unhealthiness of the city and its reputation for being one of the hotbeds of yellow fever in the island, made the situation extremely grave. All about the city in every direction, extensive earthworks had been thrown up and land torn up for other purposes, all of which tended to increase tremendously the already prevalent malaria and to produce the worst types of this disease. From all the surrendered province the smaller towns were sending in appeals for food and assistance. The harbor was full of transports loaded with food and supplies which we were getting on shore and distributing as rapidly as possible. Nearly all the lighters had been destroyed and the docking facilities were very limited, hence this work was necessarily interfered with a good deal and rendered slower than would otherwise have been the case, but those having it in charge did the best they possibly could under the circumstances and deserve credit for the result

which they obtained. In criticizing their work it must be remembered that they struggled with great difficulties, not the least among these being the fact that it was impossible to get suitable workmen. The population was demoralized and sickly, and the men employed were able to do only a portion of the work which robust men could have done. However, at the end of a week we had the sanitary renovation of the worst portions of the city well under way and had removed all the dead people from the houses and the dead animals from the streets, burying the one and burning the other. The death rate, as a direct result of the hardships of El Caney and the upturning of the earth, was rapidly increasing, and it now reached the rather alarming proportion of nearly 200 per day. Many of the cases were suspicious and it was extremely difficult to get undertakers and others to dispose properly of the dead. So great was this difficulty that it was finally resolved to burn them, as a means of getting them out of the way and as a preventive of further infection. This was accomplished in a rather crude but effective manner with a grating of railroad iron, piling the bodies upon it, mixed with grass, sticks, etc., and saturating the whole with kerosene. This measure seemed to meet with the entire approval of the people and undoubtedly resulted beneficially.

The municipal police were reorganized and given all possible support, and the condition of the public order in the city soon became excellent. The Spanish prisoners of war gave us absolutely no trouble and were as law-abiding a set of men as I have ever seen. Physicians had been appointed to the different hospitals and rations regularly issued to the sick. One Court of the First Instance was in operation and also the municipal courts of the city. The Spanish prison which was found full of political prisoners, was thoroughly inspected and all those held for political reasons were promptly released. Large working parties were set to work on the water-system, repairing the injuries done during the siege and making every effort to get it into efficient working condition. Large temporary crematories were established outside the city where all infectious materials were taken and destroyed.

A yellow fever hospital was established on an island in the

harbor and relief stations for the distribution of rations and medicines put into operation throughout the city. At each of these relief stations food was issued from 7 A. M. till dark. No effort was made to issue rations in exact amounts, but every one strove to give the people, who applied, that which they most needed. This work was very successful, thanks to the liberal issue of supplies sent to the Army and also to the large amount of Cuban rations on hand and the very liberal assistance of the Red Cross. The results of this systematic work were soon apparent, both in the appearance of the city and in the health and condition of the people. The place had become comparatively clean and the death rate sensibly decreased. A spirit of confidence soon began to appear among the people. Public order became excellent and robberies and disorders of rare occurrence. The Cuban people deserve great credit for the orderly manner in which they conducted themselves and the self-restraint which they displayed in these very trying days of reorganization.

In August the Spanish prisoners of war were removed and the American Army of invasion also, the latter being replaced by Volunteer troops. These were established as rapidly as possible in suitable camps about the city and at the various towns throughout the conquered territory, and every effort was made to put them in as good sanitary condition as possible.

General Lawton had succeeded General Shafter as Commanding General of the Department. General Garcia had visited the city and had been received with every consideration and honor which we could show him, and he seemed to appreciate fully the attentions which he had received.

The Cuban Army in the province was rapidly disintegrating and the people going back to their homes. There were some disorders in the interior, robberies, etc., but considering the situation and conditions these were remarkably few.

The school system of Santiago was reestablished, a local Board of Education having been appointed and some twenty schools started in the city under native teachers. People showed a keen appreciation of the advantages offered them and the number of schools had to be rapidly increased. At