10209 - 10215. Circular No. 4, War Department, Surgeon General's Office, Washington, December 5, 1870. A Report. Barracks and Hospital.

(10209 unused, exhibits 10210 through 10215 below)

CIRC 11 LAR xo. 4. WAR DEPARTMENT, SURGEON GENERSL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 5, 1870. A BARRACKS REPORT ox AND HOSPITALS. WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF MILITARY POSTS. WASHINGTON. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1870. DEPARTMENT OF ARIZONA. Camp Whipple, Ari20na Territory. Camp McDowellr Arlzoua Territory. Camp Lowell, Tucson, Arizona Territory. Camp Grant, Arizona Territory. Camp Mojave, Arizons Territory. Camp Verde, Arizona Territory. Camp Colorado, Arizonj Territory. POSTS DESCRIBED. Camp Bowie, Arizona Territory. Camp Crittenden, Arizona Territory. Camp Date Creek, Arizona Territory. Camp Cody, California. Fort Yuma, California. Drum Barracks, California. EXTRACTS FROM SPECIAL REPORT OF ASSISTANT SURGEON CHARLES SMART, UNITED STATES ARMY. The posts in Arizona at present in existence have, with the exception of Fort Yuma, been established during or since the war of the rebellion. Most of those in the south were intended mainly for the protection of agricultural settlements, and to guard the main roads running through the Territory; those in the north as points from which to carry on operations against the hostile Indians. With few exceptions they are built of adobe, the buildings being arranged along the sides of a square parade ground. Soldiers' labor has mostly been employed in their construction. The site having been selected, the men commence work by digging a large hole or adobe pit in the ground Dear by. The earth thus obtained is broken down, and sifted to free it from coarse gravel ; the resulting mixture of fine gravel, sand, and clay has some chopped straw or grass added to it, and is then formed into a thick paste, with water, which is packed into molds, allowed to set for a few minutes, and then turned out to dry in the sun. Two or three weeks' exposure usually sumces.• The bricks are generally 16 by 12 by 4 inches. By the time that a sufficient number of adobes have been formed for the erection of the proposed buildings, those first made are dry enough for building purposes. The walls are then raised, adobe mud being used to cement the layers of bricks. The height varies from 10 to 12 feet, but one wall is raised a few inches higher than the other, that the flat roof which is to cover them may have inclination to carry off the rain-fall. Ridge roofs are generally avoided, as they are apt to leak at the ridge, and much slope impairs durability by permitting the rapid washing away of the mud covering. Cottonwood timbers are then laid across from the front to the rear wall, and upon them is packed a layer of willow branches, or square ribs; some coarse grass is then laid in adobe mud over these, and the whole plastered thickly over with successive coatings of the adobe mud, and a finish of sand or lime mixture. The roof is made to project a foot beyond the face of the wall to caw the raiu clear of the building and prevent its influx through the interval left between the top of the wall and the under sur- face of the roof. This interval of 6 to 8 inches, depending on the thickness of the cottonwood beams, extends along both sides of the building. It is glosed in by bricks, if the house is to receive a anish of adobe plaster and whitewash on the inside, but in most instances it iB left open, and answers the purpose of ventilation admirably. Pine timber has to be used for the door and window- frames, as the cottonwood, though much more easily obtained, is so lax in its tissue and saturated with moisture that its warping in drying unfits it for such use. Indeed, it is employed for roof beams only on account of the diffculty of obtaining other timber. Frequently the . beams in progress of time curve upward at the ends, converting what was originally a flat roof into a shallow reservoir, from which the rain finds its way by many apertures into the interior. of the building. The ground forming the floor of the house is then cleared out and firmly stamped. 456 DESCRIPTIONS OF MILITARY POSTS. Most of the buildings are long, and divided into rooms by transverse adobe partitions. They aro generally insufficiently lighted, and this remark more specially applies to the barrack buildings or men's quarters. The cause of this is probably the fear of weakening the wall by the insertion of many windows. In such as have the interval between the wall and roof closed up, and no other special means of ventilation provided, the ventilation is very incmcient. The bunks are built of cottonwood saplings, with slats of old packing boxes or stout willow branches. With few exceptions they are arranged in two tiers, like the berths of a ship. On account of the superficial incapacity of the barrack, none of the company buildings are large enough for the acco:nmodation of the com. mand, if of full strength, and many have by tar insufficent cubic space for the number of men actually quartered»in thern. But the great objection found tbe troops to quarters of this kind is the character of the roof. None are free from leaks. At one post during a continued rain such men as could procure shelter tents pitched them over their bunks in order to keep theinselves dry, at least during tbe hours of their sleep. Tent flies and wagon covers were made use of to protect the worst points in tbe roof, but notwithstanding all that could be, done the earthen floor of the room became a mud-puddle, and, for want of suffcient sunlight and ventilation, remained damp for many weeks afterward, while the sick-list was crowded with bronchial attacks and rheumatic affections, attributable to the condition of the quarters. Nor was the hospital at this time in better condition. Beds occupied by dysenteric patients almost in articulo morti8 had to be moved from one position to another to avoid the muddy water flowing through the leaks in the roof, until at last no dry spot could be found, when they had to be protected by rubber blankets and gutta-percha bed-covers. The roofs continue water-proof mucu longer at some posts than at others, which may in part be accounted for by differences in the percentage of clay in the adobe mud; but as the roofs at the same post vary much in their power of withstanding the weather, the fault in bad cases is chiefly due to want of care in construction. However, with shingled roofs, ample air space, and suffcieut lighting and ventilation, the adobe house can be made a rnost com- fortable resting place for the soldier after the exposures and fhtigue.s he is frequently called upon to endure on service in this Territory. The ration of the soldier in this Territory is deficient in nothing except vegetables. A large cattle herd is usually guarded at each post, and the beef killed as required. It is destitute of fat, and usually tough, as the cattle before reaching the post have to undergo a most fatiguing march, and on their arrival may find very indifferent grazing grounds, or none whatever. ()n account of the poor quality of the fresh meat its ration was at one time increased to one an(l three-quarter pounds. The full ration of flour baked into bread has often been issued by comrnanding officers, when hard service was or had been exacted of the men. The bread is usually of good quality. A common complaint against that made frolil Sonora flour is its grittiness. This arises froln the softness of the stone used in the Sonora flouring-mills. The want of vegetables is not so severely felt now that the subsistence department has on haud at each post a supply of canned fruits and vegetables for sale to omcers and men. This. with the produce of post gardens and purchases from farm settlements and traders by cmnpany funds, enables the troops to pass the winter and spring free, except in individual cases, from any N,vmptotns of scurvy. It may be said that with few exceptions post gardens in Arizona have proved a failure. This is partly owing to want of knowledge and attention on the part of the men detailed for duty in the garden, partly to want of interest in some cases on the part of commanding omcerg, but chiefly to the nature of the garden produce. Green corn, radishes, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beets can be raised with facility, but their season lasts only for a few weeks. In some places cabbage heads well, but no post has been successtUl in raising a supply of potatoes and onions. In cases of necessity for vegetable food, as in scurvy, occurrino on scouting expeditious, the mescal plant can be had recourse to, and a chenopo- dium and portulaca, which are frequently boiled and used with vinegar by the Mexicans as greens. Several species of lepidiæ grow along the rivers. Grapes are found in many places, currants and gooseberries at Date Creek, and the cuniga and mulberries at Skull Valley and a few other points. Although the soldier is often called upou to bear with deprivation of vegetable food and the con- tinuance of a salt ration, all such deprivation increases the company fund, and permits of larger purchases for the improvement of his diet on his return. Yet when, as in this country, the pound of potatoes sells for 25 cents, great results cannot be expected from company funds. 457 The ration usually carried on the Inountain scouts consists of pork, flour, cofföe and sugar. The flour is eaten as flapjacks fried in pork fat. Very seldom are the men enabled to improve their diet by the killing of deer, antelope, or turkeys, on account of the scarcity of large game and the want of time and opportunity for hunting while engaged on these expeditions. On one occasion Pinole, sugar, and dried beef were the only provisions carried on a six days' scout. The Pinole was prepared from a mixture of wheat and corn, by roasting, and then grinding it coarsely; the beef by being cut into thin strips and hung up in the sun to (Iry. The sni0ke or light of the soldiers' cooking fires have frequently discovered their presence to the Indians, and led to the failure of the expedition; as no fire was required in the preparation of the Pinole ration, it was considered pecu- liarly adapted to scouting service. It dispensed also with the necessity for a pack train. Each man carried behind him on his saddle his six days' rations and a quart tin cup. On arriving in camp a handful of the Pinole and sugar was placed in the cup, water added, and the thick paste eaten as supper. Breakfast was a repetition of this. The dried beef was generally chewed on the march to stave off hunger until camping time. Colics were common as a result of this diet. Great satisfac- tion was felt by all at a return to pork, flapjacks, and warm coffee at the end of the six days. The experiment was not repeated. CAMP DATE CREEK, ARIZONA TERRITORY. CAMP DATE CREEK, ARIZONA TERRITORY. 475 INFORMATION FURNISHED BY ASSISTANT SURGEONS R. M. O'REILLY AND CHARLES SMART, UNITED STATES ARMY. C:unp Dato Creek, until recently known as Carnp McPherson, is on the left or 8011th bank of the creek, about 700 yards distant Crom it and 100 feet above its level. Communication with San Francisco, California, is effected by way of Camp Whipple and Prescott, which is GO miles distant by the road, although but little more thau half that distance in a direct line northeast, and with Washington by way of Maricopa Wells and Tucson. The road from La Paz, on the Colorado River, east to tbe mining towu of Wickenburg, passes the post, intersecting the northern road to Prescott. The upland valley in which the camp is placed is surrounded by high lands. Three miles distant on the east is the divide between the waters o? the Hasssampa, tributary to the Gila, and the Williams Fork of the Colorado, of which Date Creek is one of the headwaters. The soil of the valley is gravelly and well covered with gramma and gayeta grasses, except where the underlying metamorphic rocks crop out into broad belts of cactus and yucca-covered mal pa". Half a mile down stream, to the west of the post, the creek flows through a canon 150 feet wide aud from 50 to 200 feet deep, below which there are some strips of fertile bottom land, on which farms Lave been located by a few settlers. Mesquite, cottonwco l, and wi110M* grow along the creek. The climate of this part of the country is hot an(l dry, with a rainy season occurring in autumn. The mean temperature for the year ending June 30, 1869, was 63.040 F., witb the wet-bulb indicating 54.750. The extremes of temperature were 210 and 1080 F. Prevailing wind, southerly. The Date Creek Camp was originally established in 1864, by California volunteers. In 1866 the troops were moved 25 miles north on the road to Prescott for the protection of settlers in Skull Valley. In 1867 the comrnand returned to Date Creek, and went into quarters close to the bank. This position was found to be very unhealthy, the greater portion of the men being prostrated during the fever season commencing with the July rains. Hence in 1868 they were moved to the higher ground further from the creek—the present location. In this the drainage is good, both from the gravelly character of the soil and the incline toward the bed of the stream. The buildings are arranged so as to inclosø a quadrangular parade ground—the men's quarters, kitchens, and post bake-house on the north, those of the omcers on the south, the guard-house on the east, aud hos- pital on the west. The soldiers' quarters are two adobe buildings, each 76 by 20 by 13 feet, with shingled roof and earthen floor. Ventilation is effected in each by eight windows, two doors, a series of apertures, 9 by inches, just above the ground level, and an air space between the roof and walls. These are aided by an open fireplace at each end and a wood-stove in the center. Air space per man of average occupation, 350 cubic feet. The bunks are framed, and, with the arm-racks, form the only fixtures of these dormitories. The hospital is a shingled adobe building, warmed and ventilated in the same manner as the quarters of the men. The arrangement of the building is shown in Figure 58. A, ward, 30 by 18 feet; Q, surgery, 14 by 12 feet; D, dispensary, 14 by 14 feet; E, store-room, 14 by 8 feet; K, kitchen, 14 by 14 feet; If, mess-room, 14 by 12 feet. Height of rooms, 14 feet. The ward is furnished with twelve beds, to each of which it affords 630 cubic feet of air space. Its average occupation is six patients. Its supplies ai•e obtained from San Francisco, California, and are required for yearly. No ambulance at the post. c Figure 58.—ScaIo 20 feetto 1 inch. 476 DESCRIPTIONS OF MILITARY POSTS. The first sergeant's room and company storeroom, each 16 by 14 feet, and the kitchens (two in number) and bake-house, each 23 by 14 feet, are of the same kind of Inaterials as the barracks. No mess-rootns have yet been built. The officers' quarters are four mud-roofi'd adobe buildings, each containing a single roorn, '26 by 13 feet. The guard-house, at present, is represented by wall tents for the ten mern bers of the guard and average of three prisoners. The quartermaster and subsist- ence store-house is outside the line of buildings around the parade. It is 100 by 22 feet, built of stone and roofed with shingles. The sinks, properly in rear, are open trenches with willow .shades. The water supply is carted from the creek in barrels and run through charcoal filters. It is largely impregnated with organic matter. In the unhealthy autumn season permanganate of potash was likewise made use of. A well is being sunk. The diseases prevalent are all of malarial origin. It is expected that the removal of the camp from the immediate neighborhood of the creek, and success attending the attempt to sink the well, will materially decrease the sick rate of this post. The Indian tribes in the vicinity are hostile ; Yavapais and Apache Mojaves. Statement 8howing mean strength, number of sick, and principal diseaus at Camp Date Creek, Arizona Territory, for the year 1869. Year. 1869.... .... * Include laryngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy.