first effect upon men just emerging from a bracing Northern winter was
akin to prostration. Then began to follow a decided tendency to
languor; after this one was liable to sudden attacks of bowel
troubles. The deadly malaria began to insidiously prepare the way for
a hospital cot; the patient lost flesh, relish of food became a
reminiscence, and an hour's exertion in the sun was enough to put a
man on his back for the rest of the day. Exposure to the direct action
of the sun's rays was frequently followed by nausea, a slight chill,
and then a high fever. The doctors subsequently called this "thermal
fever," which is suspected to be a high-sounding name calculated to
cover up a very dense ignorance of the nature of the disease, because
no one ever obtained any relief from it from them. Recurrence of the
exposure brought recurrence of the fever, and, if persisted in,
finally produced a severe illness.

One reason for this was that the troops continued to wear the winter
clothing they had worn on their arrival. The promised "khaki" did not
materialize. Some regiments drew the brown canvas fatigue uniform, but
the only use made of it was to put the white blanket-roll through the
legs of the trousers, thereby adding to the weight of the roll,
without perceptible benefit to the soldier.

Such a climate, under such surroundings, was not conducive to original
thought, prolonged exertion, or sustained study. Everybody felt "mean"
and was eager for a change. Nobody wanted to listen to any new
schemes. The highest ambition seemed to be to get out of it to
somewhere with just as little delay and exertion as possible. It was
at this juncture that the plan of organizing a Gatling gun battery was
conceived, and the attempt to obtain authority began.