nd secondly, the short time allowed to prepare
it; and then go over the whole subject and properly estimate its
extent and the amount of labor involved.

The intention of the camp was to afford a place where our troops,
returning from Cuba, prostrated with climatic fever, and probably
infected with yellow fever, might receive proper medical treatment and
care, until the diseases were subdued. The site was selected with this
in view, and the conditions were admirably suited to such a purpose.
Completely isolated, on dry soil, with dry pure air, cool climate,
away from mosquitoes, the camp seemed all that was desired for a great
field hospital.

Here the sick could come and receive the best that nature had to
bestow in the way of respite from the heat, and pure ocean breezes,
and, taken altogether, the experiences of August and a good part of
September, have justified the selection of Montauk. While prostrations
were occurring elsewhere, the camp was cool and delightful most of the
time.

As to the preparations, it must be remembered that the recall of the
whole Army of Invasion from Cuba was made in response to a popular
demand, and as a measure of humanity. Bring the army home! was the
call, and, Bring it at once!

[Illustration]

Such urgency naturally leaps ahead of minor preparations. The soldiers
wanted to come; the people wanted them to come; hence the crowding of
transports and the lack of comforts on the voyages; hence the lack of
hospital accommodations when the troops began to arrive. Haste almost
always brings about such things; but sometimes haste is imperative.
This was the case in getting the army out of Cuba and into Camp at
Montauk in August, '98. Haste was pushed to that point when omissions
had to occur, and inconvenience and suffering resulted.

We must also remember the condition of the men who came to Montauk.
About 4,000 were reported as sick before they left Cuba; but, roughly
speaking, there were 10,000 sick men landing in Montauk. Those who
were classed as well were, with rare exceptions, both mentally and
physically incapable of high effort. It was an invalid army, with
nearly one-half of its number seriously sick and suffering.

Ten thousand sick soldiers were never on our hands before, and the
mighty problem was not realized until the transports began to emit
their streams of weakness and walking death at Montauk. The
preparation was altogether inadequate for such a mass of misery, an