Sistersville oil review., October 12, 1898, Page 7, Image 7

About Sistersville oil review. (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901

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SOLDIER'S STORY
Of the Conduct of the War in
Santiago Province.
?GEN. WHEELER TELLS
The Conditions Prevailing in
the Campaign.
Washington, Oct. 4. ? The war
investigation commission began the
f taking of testimony today, and
? Major General Joseph Wheeler was
on the stand the greater part of the
day. There was a full attendance
of the commission, and the doors
of the room in which the inquiry
is conducted were for the first time
open to the representatives of the
^press.
General Wheeler's testimony
covered the case of the soldiers at
the two important points of Santi
ago and Camp Wikoff. He said with
reference to the conduct of affairs
at Santiago that there had neces
sarily been some suffering in the
trenches, but that General Shafter
had exercised the utmost effort to
protect his men. There had been,
he said, a shortage of land transpor
tation facilities for a time, and there
had been no tents for a week. The
roads were very fair.
The general contended Camp
Wikoff was a model camp, the cli
? mate a salubrious one ana the ac
commodations quite exceptional in
character. He considered the hos
pital capacity equal to the demands
upon it and that no luilitary camp
in history was ever so well supplied
in all respects as was this. Red tape
methods were entirely abolished,
and the demands of the men were
met as soon as they were properly
voiced.
detailed testimony.
The war investigation commis
sion began its examination of wit
nesses today by placing General
Joseph Wheeler on the stand.
Chairman Dodge stated to him the
scope of the commission's duty and
asked General Wheeler whether he
had anv objections to being sworn.
He replied that he had none, and
Major Mills, recorder for the com
mission. administered the oath.
Ex-Governor Beaver conducted
the examination, developing the es
sential facts as to Gen. Wheeler s
rank and his command. General
Wheeler stated that he left Tampa
for Cuba on the tenth of June, but
that he had no knowledge of the
plan of campaign before going
aboard the transport. He then told
of the voyage. On June 21 Gener
al Shafter ordered him to disem
bark the next day, which he did
with a portion of his command. He
xode into the country four miles
that day and the next moved his
troops to Jaguracita. He then be
gan his reconnoitering, arranging
with General Castillo, of the Cuban
army, to send Cuban troops with
his men lor the reconnoitre, but
unfortunately the Cubans did not
keep the engagement. He told of
the first battle at La Quasima, stop
ping to compliment especially the
regular troops, and also to speak of
their excellent firing. They soon
learned to distrust the reports and
estimates of the Cubans. General
Wheeler had not been able on his
own account to secure any accurate
estimate of the Spanish loss during
the American approach upon San
tiago.
Speaking of the proceedings after
the first battle, he explained that
he had been reported sick, and there
were some movements just prior to
the battle at El Caney with which
he was not familiar.
"I was not sick," he said, "but I
had been on the 29th and 30th.
Still I had not gone on the sick list.
I had a fever, but I appreciated the
situation, took medicines and came
out all right." He was in the b^
tle ol El Caney, and expressed the
opinion that more had been killed
in the formation of the line than af
terwards. He told of the necessity
for wading the San Juan river, say
ing that the water was about waist
<ieep.
a magnificent sight.
"I ought to say," said the gen
eral, in the course of his testimony,
"'that it was magnificent to see of
ficers of high rank go ashore with
their packs on their backs accepting
all the fortunes of war with thtir
men. They slept on the ground
with the soldiers. None of us were
mounted, and we were without tents
for seven days."
Speaking of the character ot the
roads from the coabt to the points
occupied by the Americans, he said
that with such attention as they
were able to give them they were
very good. The rains had not been
verv severe up to that time. The
roads were narrow, but equal to
the demands. The supplies he
considered sufficient except in a
few instances, and in those in
stances the deficiency was only
temporary. "General Shatter," he
said, deserves great credit lor the
zeal he displayed in this respect.
He devoted himself to this task and
I think there is no doubt he suc
ceeded. We used pack trains and
there was comparatively little suf
fering because of the shortness of
quartermasters' supplies."
General Wheeler said in response
to a question that Cervera's fleet
was the object ot the campaign.
There was no reason why the Span
ish troops should not have made a
sortie from Santiago and he had
asked Gen. Toral after the sur
render why he had not attacked.
I The latter replied that the failure
to do so was because his men were
footsore. Yet Gen. Wheeler could
not accept this explanation for|the
Spanish soldiers were not footsore.
Gen. Wheeler's opinion was that
the Spanish commander was not
able to face the Americans in the
open.
THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
Discussing the plan of campaign
he said he doubted whether any
more effective plan could have been
adopted. Speaking of the medical
department he said at times there
were complaints but that they
were not serious. On occasions
there was a shortage of surgeons;
some of the surgeons being sick or
wounded. According to General
Wheeler's belief the wounded in
battle were promptly cared for by
the surgeons. After the fight of
July i, all the wounded were car
ried from the field that night. The
witness had heard that there was
more complaint of the shortage of
medicine among the infantry than
in the cavalry arm ot the service.
Going back to Tampa he said
that at the season he was there, the
first half of June, the site was
without objection, but he had felt
that it would be wet later in the
season. It was his impression that
Tampa had been selected as a camp
site alter the beginning of the war
and was incidental to the intended
moveon Havana. There was, he said,
at times, some shortage of supplies at
the camp "but nothing," he added,
"that a soldier could complain of."
They had comfortable tents and the
commissary supplies were suffi
cient. The water supply also was
good. He said the men in his com
mand were well taken care of.
However, very few men were at
that time sick. He had himself
gone into the hospitals and had
found the men doing well.
General Wheeler said he had no
control over the supplies which
were taken to Santiago on the
transports when he left Tampa.
This was attended to by the differ
ent staff officers. He only knew
from conversation with these that
there was an abundance of supplies
of all character.
Returning to the Santiago cam
paign he said that only two regi
ments had reported a shortage of
rations and he had immediately
telephoned to the rear and the
shortage which was due to accident
had been adjusted. There was
suffering when the men were com
pelled to lie on the breastworks.
The meat was poor and they had
no bread but hard tack. They
were forced to live in the sun and
water alternatively and necessarily
there was much sickness. While
they had the lull quota of doctors
and nurses if more had been fur
nished the men would have been
better cared for. As for rations,
three day's supply was generally
issued, Whenever the troops
went into action ihey would throw
their tood away, as well as their
packs, and they often did not re
cover them.
General Wheeler took up the
common report that the Cubans
stole goods thus discarded. It was
not fair he said, to thus accuse the
natives, for there was so much of
this flotsam and jetsam that, hun
gry and poorly clothed as the Cu
bans were, they were not to be
blamed for helping themselves. He
said he had seen among the 22,000
people who came out of Santiago
many ladies or refinement who
weie emaciated and evidently
hungry.
In reply to questions he stated
that he never* had heard of any
shortage of commisary or ordinance
supplies at Santiago, but he had
been told that the medical supplies
were short, yet he had no personal
knowledge on this point. He
had seen some wounded men crawl
ing to the rear in the engagements,
but as a rule as soon as a man fell
in battle he was carried to the hos
pitals by the medical corps.
He said that as a rule the quality
of the hardtack was good. Where
there was any deterioration it was
A MATTER OF QUANTITY. _
Nurse: "Tommy, there's some Jam on your cheek."
Tommy (with interest): "There isn't any worth eating, is there?"
due to local rains and not to the
fact of original inferiority.
The spirit ot the army was such,
he said, that there was no disposi
tion to complain. "They were all
proud to be there and willing to
undergo hardships."
Replying to a question from
Colonel Denby General Wheeler
said the regulars had shown a
greater ability to take care of them
selves than the volunteers. The
volunteers were more careless, but
the volunteer cavalrymen were not
so negligent as the other volunteers,
btcause they were generally west
ern men who had been used to
camping. He thought this factj
had a strong influence in causing!
the health of the regulars to be bet- 1
ter than that of the volunteers.
Captain Howell asked to what he
attributed the development ot dis
ease after the capitulation of Santi
ago, and General Wheeler replied
that it was due to the climate ai d
to the exposure made necessary,
All the men seemed to be more or
less affected by the conditions. He
had, he said known of no instance
of a sick or wounded man dying
from want of care of the physicians
So far as he knew there was gen
eral commendation of the medical
corps, except that on one or two
occasions there had been some
grumbling in regard to general con
ditions. He thought there was a
deficiency in the number of ambu
lances, but this deficiency was due
to the exigencies of the campaign.
General Wheeler also said in re
ply to Captain Howell that he knew
of no confusion in shipping sup
plies from Tampa. He was not ac
quainted with a case in which the
body of a vehicle was shipped on
one vessel and the wheels on an
other. His memory was not dis
tinct as to complaints from physi
cians in his command as to the
scarcity of medical supplies, but he
thought there were some such com
plaints, and in such cases he had
had them supplied as promptly as
possible.
There had been difficulty in get
ting the transports to ;ie as near in
shore as was desirable, rendering it
difficult to get at supplies promptly.
Three Doctor* iu Consultation.
When you are sick, what you like
best is to be chosen for a medicine
in the first place; what ? xperience
tells you is best, to be chosen in the
second place; what reason (i e.,
Theory) says is best is to be chosen
in the last place. But if you can
get Dr. Inclination, Dr. Experi
ence and Dr. Reason to hold a con
sultation together, they will give
you the best advice that can be
taken. ? Benjamin Franklin.
When you have a bad cold Dr.
Inclination would recommend
Chamberlain's Cough Remedy be
cause it is safe and pleasant to take.
Dr. Experience would recommend
it because it never fails to effect a
speedy and permanent cure. Dr.
Reason would recommend it be
cause it is prepared on scientific
principles, and acts on nature's plan
in relieving the lungs, opening the
secretions and restoring the system
to a natural and healthy condition.
For sale by C. W. Grier.
Making Improvement*.
The congregatioh of the church
of the Holy Rosary are making im
provements about the church and
parsonage. handsome new iron
fence is being placed in front of the
church and parsonage and new
steps will be built to the church.
The yard in front of the church
and parsonage will be graded and
when completed the improvements
will greatly improve the appear
ance of the place.
OIL NOTfcS.
From Wednesday's Daily.
The activity in the northeast ex
tension of the Elk Fork pool con
tinues despite the dry holes in the
Henthorn. A dry hole does not
seem to deter ihe operations in this
territory a great deal any more.
They have learned by experience
that a dry hole in West Virginia
does not, as a rule, condemn a great
deal of territory, and consequently
unless there are quite a number of
them they do not pay a great deal
of attention to them.
Shay & McMullen yesterday lo
cated their No. i on the Pyle and
Fox farm out near Centerville, and
will commence the rig. They ex
pect to commence drilling the last
of the week.
The Wilson Run Oil company's
well on the J. W. Edwards lease at
Wilson Run has been tubed and
started pumping and will be good
for about 25 barrrels a day.
The Little Muskingun Oil com
pany's No. 2 on the Martha Thomas
farm 3 ^ miles north of the Berea
Grit developments at Elk Run is
drilling at about 600 feet.
Shay & McMullen have the rig
up and will commence spudding to
morrow at their No. 1 on the S.
Bohlm lease in the Berea Grit ter
ritory at Elk Run.
From Thursday's Daily
There was another advance in the
price of high grade oils today, of
one cent, and the quotations are
gradually crawling up along the
line; while very slowly, yet at an
apparently steady gait. The fact
that oil should advance, has been
spoken of so often in this column
that it would be ambiguous to men
tion it again, but it cannot be
helped, and the writer should be
pardoned for the breach, but it is
ail on account of the jubilant feel
ing existing, because the operators
and producers are getting a fair
price for their product, and because
the indications are such that one is
lead to believe they will get even a
better price in a verv short time.
The Standard Oil company at the
present time has less oil in stock
tnan ever before in its history since
it started to rule the business and
there is not the least doubt but
those who have charge of the busi
ness of that company have about
come to the conclusion it is time to
run the price of oil in order that
the operator could be induced to
start up work. They know lull
well there is a large amount of new
territory under lease outside of
that its branch operating concerns
hold and they want those holding
territory to develop it, hoping that
somewhere an immense pool will
be opened up, which would serve
the double purpose of sending the
market down again and of replen
ishing the fast diminishing stocks
above ground.
The Review feels confident that
the price of oil has only just started
up the hill, and that before it stops
there will be a price paid for the
stuff which will make the hearts of
the operators glad and their pock
ets weighty with the "long green",
and price ^will not stop when it
starts to advance at less than $1.25,
and perhaps will go to $ 1.50 . It
would not be at all surprising if oil
should go to that figure. The rea
sons which have been set forth why
oil should go up at all are the same
reasons which can be advanced why
it should go to the figures men
tioned.
Nichols & Barnsdall have put the
8}( casing in their No. 8 on the
Hawkins tarm in the northeast ex
tension of the Elk Fork pool.
Treat & Crawford are drilling at
about 1500 feet at their No. r on
the Weitzel. This well will not be
in the sand before the middle or
latter part of next week.
Gaffney & Co.'s No. 1 on the
Lowry farm is drilling at 1 ,700 feet
and should reach the sand the early
part of the coming week. This
well does not look very good now
that the Childers well on the Hen
thorn came in dry and the owners
do not expect that it will amount to
a great deal.
From Friday's Daily.
Eureka!
Guess the Oil Review don't know
what it is talking about?
It predicted less than a week ago
that oil would go to $1.10 before
the 10th and it went there three
days in advance.
It has been expected that oil
would continue to advance and the
Oil Review bas been predicting
that it would, for several weeks, but
the knowing ones said we did not
know what we were talking about
and pooh-poohed the prediction
made at that time.
This morning the price of all
grades ot credit balances advanced
two cents, as will readily be seen
by a glance at the top of this col
umn.
The advances during the week
were 5 cents, one cent on Tuesday,
two cents on Thursday and two
cents today.
It is not necessary to recount the
reasons why it should go up along
the line; suffice it to say that there
is no reason why it should not ad
vance and that it is advancing.
The advance during the past few
weeks has been the cause of a great
deal of new work being started in
all parts of the field, and as long as
the market continues to advance,
this will be the case.
There are hundreds of thousands
of acres In the State of West Vir
ginia under lease, which will be
tested as soon as the holders of the
leases can get at the work, provid
ing, of course, the price ot oil stays
up at the prices it is at, at present.
The work in the field is moving
along as briskly as could be expect
ed, (specially out iu the northwest
extension of the Elk Fork pool.
At the present time there are
quite a lot of wells being drilled
there and a great many more are
in contemplation. The drilling
wells are all in good shape and dur
ing the next ten days there will be
some interesting developments out
there.
The Henry & McDonald Oil Co.
have completed their No. 3 on the
Margaret A. Gorrell and will have
a producer good for not less than
30 or 35 barrels a day. This well
is located just above the dry hole
recently drilled in on the Cunning
ham farm by the South Penn Oil
company and it is the general
opinion that it is a gilt edge well
and will be an outlook to the pool.
Bruner & Co. will case tomorrow
at their No. 1 Mercer, with the 6^
and the well will be in the sand the
early part of the coming week.
The Sun Oil company is drilling
at 1,200 feet at their No. 1 on the
Addis farm.
Gaffney & Co. will put the 6^
casing in their No. 1 on the Lowry
this afternoon. This well should
be in during the coming week.
Bruner & Co. will start their No.
3 on the Duval farm the early part
of next week.
The Henry & Macdonald Oil com
pany have commenced drilling at
\
their No. 4 on the Margaret A. Gor*
rell lease and have the rigs build
ing for Nos. 5 and 6.
Yoke & Co. are ready to put in
the 6 % casing at their No. 1 on
the Morrow farm and the work
was started this morning.
Nolan & Phillips are fishing at
their No. 1 on the Bowser farm at
600 feet.
Down in Pleasants county terri
tory Boyd Bros. & Co. have started
drilling at their No. 2 on the Mar
pole.
The rig for their No. 4 on the
Riggs farm has been completed and
hey will commence drilling tomor
row.
In the Klk Run territory to the
north Keeler, Kc 'A & Co. started
spudding last night at their No. 1
on the Henry farm. This well is
located a little to the southeast of
the Little Muskingun Oil com
pany's No. 1 on the Thomas farm.
The Carter Oil company is drill
ing at about 300 feet at their No. r
on the Cox lease in the same terri
tory.
The Little Muskingum Oil com
pany is drilling at 700 feet at their
No. 2 on the Martha Thomas farm.
The Carter Oil company has
made three locations on their Mus
ser farm and will start drilling there
at once; It is now generally con
ceded that their No. 1 on the Mus
ser was in the Keener sand instead
of the Maxton as was at first re
ported. This well is now making
about 30 barrels fsom the Keener
sand.
Our little boy was afflicted with
rheumatism in his knee, and at
times was unable to put bis foot to
the floor. We tried in vain, every
thing we could hear of that we
thought would help him. Weal
most gave up in despair when some
one advised us to try Chamberlain's
Pain Balm. We did sq, and the
first bottle gave so much relief that
we got a second one, and to our
surprise it cured him sound and
I well. ? J. T. Bays, Pastor Christian
I church, Neodesha, Kan. For sale
I by C. W. Grier.
A new lot of Bag Tags and new
and novel pencil holdei s just in, at
the Review office.
E. STEWART
& CO.
Wish to announce '.heir
First
Grand
Fall and ><
Winter
I Millinery
i
Opening
I OF FINE PATTERN
II HATS 14
AND FRENCH NOV
ELTIES.
P
I
I Tuesday Wednesday
October
; 4th ond 5th
) | Call and see the Latest I
I UP-TO-DATE MIL
LINERY.
Yours,
E. Stewart $ Co.
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