When
he was sent to Jolo, practically in banishment, the town was a plague
spot to which were assigned Spaniards whose early demise would have
been looked upon with favour by those in power. He converted it into
a healthy place the death rate of which compared favourably with that
of European cities, thereby demonstrating conclusively what could
be done even under very unfavourable conditions. No troops in the
islands were kept in anything like such physical condition as were
the regiments assigned to him, and he bore a lasting grudge against
any one inconsiderate enough to die in Jolo.
Everywhere I saw people dying of curable ailments. Malaria was
prevalent in many regions in which it was impossible to secure good
quinine. The stuff on sale usually consisted largely of cornstarch,
or plaster of Paris. Fortunately we had brought with us from the
United States a great quantity of quinine and we made friends with
the Filipinos in many a town by giving this drug gratis to their sick.
Smallpox was generally regarded as a necessary ailment of childhood. It
was a common thing to see children covered with the eruption of
this disease watching, or joining in, the play of groups of healthy
little ones.
The clothing of people who had died of smallpox was handed on to other
members of the family, sometimes without even being washed.
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