Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1871-02-03
Young America and West Point.

Young America and West Point.
The Army and Macy Journal publishes
from the "West Point Scrap Book. now
in the publishers hands,. the following
amusing extract: r- a-g r
Among the widest men in my class
was Cadet c.. His propensities for
deviltry were unparalleled. as was also his
good luck iu never getting caught in any
scrape. At the same time he was very
studlous; always in the first section in
everything, and when we graduated he
received command in the corps Of enei-
neers. One night, as usual. about twelve
o'clock, We were 'owling' around 10 draw
ers. slippers and dressing gowns, serious
ly meditating night assault on the cadet
officer of the day. when c. suddenly
suggested that We should break into the
engine-house, back of the guard-room.
and hive one of the nozzles. and then
blow the church call in the sally port. -
c. thought that it might possibly In
spire some of the professors families with
the idea that the millennium had come,
and that the angel Gabriel was blowing
bis last trump. 1t wasn't long before we
had picked the look, and found one of the
nozsles belonging to the FIRE engine. So
1--WE fastened the door again; and pro-
ceeded in body toward the sally-port.-
There was quite little discussion as to
who knew the church call best; c.
being minister's son had the preference
The nozzle was too heavy for one man to
bold and blow at the same time 90 one of
US, / forget who, rested the nozzle on his
shoulder, and c. filed bis lungs and
begun.
Great heavens! what solemn sound
and such an echo! 1t was simply grand.
c. tried it again. It would have fill
ed old Bentz' with envy. could he have
heard those mournful strains.
"On the principle that enough was as
good as feast, and furthermore with an
eye to using our improvised bugle again
on the next propitious night. we refrained
from any further refrain and slowly retir-
ed, hiding the nossle under q pile Of Goals
in one of the cellars. &, sl;-s{e,.;
The next morning there was the tall
est kind of a row., The man who had
charge Of the engine house reported to the
commandant that the engine-room had
been broken into and one Of the noxzles
stolen. It was of no use to ask questions
|or to hunt for it. No one knew anything
about it. We kept low for two ror three
nights, until the row had blown over,
when we went out, and G-- blew the
oburch-call again in the sally y-port, calmly
aud deliberately. Once was enough for
that night; we did not dare try it again.
The commandant the next morning called
upon some of tn, widest Of the 'yearling
class and told them be suspected they
were at the bottom Of it. and that it he
found out who it was that was engaged in
it, the severest punishment would be the
result; but they all honestly and stoutly
denied it. ga,4Fs af ~eaf- = -
1T was very natural that the command
ant should have thought the .yearling
class had perpetrated the joke, for generd
ally they are the most reckless class; but
in this case it was the digni6ed G? second
Grass, ana ne never Ouce uTedmeu Iudt
they we're guilty Of such boyish freak. /.
Some few nights after this, G..
with his usual audacity. treated the resi-
depts of thepost to another dose Of church
call at midnight, and cleared out in time
to save himself. This was too much. .ui
"The commandant the next morning.
published an order that if he should find
out who it was that blew that nozzle in
the sally-port, he would turn him over to
the civil authorities in Cold Spring, and
have him tried for house-breaking. We
all concluded that the last (h)air had
broken the camel's back. and that repe-
tition would certainly result in capture
and disgrace; so one night in the I'VE
small hours two or three of Us suspended
the. offending nossle by q string to the
academic staircase, where next morning it
was found slowly vibrating in the wind,
With board covered with white cloth
nailed above it and the aggravating words
'Ki-yi-yi!!p printed on it in large black
letters.
''All attempts to find out the perpetra-
tors proved unavailing, and we have often
had good laugh over this scrspe." :