A report on the hygiene of the United States Army : with descriptions of military posts / [compiled by John S. Billings].

Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A report on the hygiene of the United States Army : with descriptions of military posts / [compiled by John S. Billings]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Various species of piues and firs grow on the tops of the mountains, particularly the white and yellow piues and the white and yellow firs. The pines have furnished nearly all the lumber used in building the post. The quantity of these trees is unlimited. They grow to a considerable height, and their trunks are in some instances five feet in diameter. The juniper-tree grows like- wise on the mountains. The berries of this tree are often used as food by the Indians. The cot- tonwood, two species of oak, one species of sycamore, and a narrow-leaved species of willow grow along the margins of the streams, though not very abundantly. The principal grasses found in the neighborhood are the sacaton and three varieties of the grama. The grama is an excellent pasture for horses and cattle, and furnishes the hay used at the post. It is cut up by the roots with a hoe, and stacked at convenient points. The country abounds in game; deer, antelope, wolf, wild turkey, duck, and quail are in easy reach from the camp. Many species of birds are found in the region, mostly migratory, and insects are numerous and of many kinds. The musquito is unknown at the post. The climate of Southeastern Arizona is an eminently disagreeable one. The warm season is very protracted and the days very hot. The nights, however, are comparatively cool; otherwise the heat would be absolutely insupportable. The winters are mild, almost as much so as those of Florida; but violent winds, frequent at all seasons, are particularly prevalent during the cool portion of the year, and very heavy rains are also then frequent, especially during the months of January and February. There are, however, occasional periods of pleasant and even charming weather, especially during the autumnal months. The mildness of the winters is fortunate for the military, preventing much discomfort to imperfectly sheltered officers and men. The climate lacks equability at all seasons. The thermometer may indicate, in winter, a point below freezing at day-break, and the cold may be very uncomfortable, while at 2 o’clock p. m. of the same day a thin coat may prove unpleasantly warm to the wearer. Notwithstanding the mildness of the win- ters, the frequent and great variations of temperature will always render the climate an unsuitable one for phthisical invalids. Catarrhal affections, of every grade of severity, are exceedingly common. The nearest town is Tucson, one hundred and sixteen miles distant, southwest. Camp Bowie, the nearest military post, is forty-nine miles distant, southeast. The distance from Prescott, on an air line, is about two hundred miles, but as it is reached only by way of Tucson, the distance is practically more than three hundred and fifty miles. Passable roads connect Camp Grant with the places mentioned, as well as with the San Carlos Indian Agency, eighty miles distant, north. Should a person desire to reach Camp Grant from the Atlantic States, his first step would be to proceed by rail to San Francisco. His next objective point will be the town of Yuma, on the Colorado River, opposite Fort Yuma. In order to reach this point the traveler may elect between the route by steamer via the Gulf of California and the Colorado River, occupying about twelve days from San Francisco, or he may go by steamer to San Diego, aud thence take the stage to Yuma, traveling a distance of about two hundred miles over the barren mountains and deserts of Southern California. The trip over the latter route is made in six days. From Yuma to Tucson, a distance of two hundred and seventy-five miles, the journey is made by stage in three days and nights; and from Tucson to Camp Grant, by Government or private conveyance. Baggage is usually left at Yuma, in care of the depot-quartermaster, who sends it by train to Camp Grant. Trains leave Yuma with Government supplies several times in the course of each month, and occupy a month, and often more time, in making the trip. The journey is tedious, rough, and fatiguing, and the traveler will find himself, long before he reaches his destination, thoroughly shaken up, contused, and excoriated. No post-office has yet been established at Camp Grant. The mail is conveyed by a mail-party of soldiers, three times a week, to Camp Bowie, which is situated on the regular mail-route from Tucson to Santa Fe and Pueblo, N. Mex., at the latter point reaching railroad communication. Letters reach Washington in about twenty-one days, and Prescott, the headquarters of the Depart- ment, in ten days. The military reservation upon which the post is located is six miles square. The parade-ground is 800 feet square. A roadway, 75 feet wide from the line of buildings, is fenced off on each side, leaving a central inclosure G50 feet square. The surface of the parade has a very decided slope toward the south.