Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-02-16
YOUNG AMERICA AT WEST POINT.


The Army and Navy journal publish
as from the "West Point Scrap-book,"
now in the publishers bands, the fol-
lowing amusing extract:
Among the widest men i'll my class
was Cadet c.. His propensities for
deviltry were unparelled, as was also
his good luck in never getting caught
in any scrape AT the same time he
was very studious always IN the first
section in everything; and when we
graduated he received commission in
the Corps of Engineers.
"While we were second classmen,
and nearly crazed with 'azimuths and
lunar EXAMINATIONS, no wonder that
we should have our 'looney periods,
and many n night after taps did we
rout out the officer in charge with our
disturbing forces.
After puzzling our brains during
study hours in the evening, over our
"phil" lesson, some dozen of us would
casually meet on the porch af the bar
racks after taps, and endeavor calmly
to discuss some knotty question in the
lesson but all in vain, for G., backed
by "Dad," and three or four others,
would suddenly send ten-pin ball
(taken from the bowling alley, bound
ing along the porch among us, at the
same time setting up tremendous yell.
We could not do less than return the
ball. and the result would be regular
"phil. riot, which was only ended by
the sudden appearance of the officer
in charge. Occasionally fora change he
would fill cold Patrick's iron buckets
with coal, and then gently roll them
down THERON stair case, making enough
noise to wake the "seven sleepers.
One night G. suggested that we should
all buckle on our sabres, letting them
bang down, ard then dividing up into
parties of three or four, go quietly up
to the "cock- loft, of the various divi
sions, and come tearing down the iron
staircases, our sabres clanking, and all
yelling Mt the top of our voices.
This succeeded beyond our widest
anticipations, for the party, of which l
was one had just rounded the sta .rcase
on the second flight in the fourth di-
vision, when we ran into and almost
knocked down Colonel K, who was
making night inspection.
ave four received our merited share
of de-merit and extras but G.,
the prime mover in the affair, was not
caught.
owe never failed to awaken the Off
Ger in charge, and generally We were
successful in not getting hived.
remember one night in October, 1865,
there was lunar eclipse about eleven
o'clock, and as we were all heavy on
lunar eclipses, we were in duty bound
to see the thing come off.
"Full half of my class were ont
quietly looking ut the moon, when sud
denly from the top and sides Of the old
dial stone in the centre of the area
there appeared one of the finest dis
plays of fireworks ever witnessed.
am of the opinion that l should have
enjoyed it more had it not been for the
frequent explosions, and the dropping
of bell-buttons among MS. AS usual
on all occasions of ceremony, the OIL !
Ger in charge put in an appearance,
and | did not stay to see the result, but /
I learned afterwards that the display
was the combined efforts of G.,
Dad, and Tip who had made use OF
some powder cartridges that Dad had
hived at artillery drill, and had manu-
featured some diabolical composition,
using lot of bcl-buttons filled with
powder for shells. 1t was
complete success, and no one
was caught But all this has
nothing to do with the engine nozzle.
Yes, it has too for these little pleas
antries were merely drant cOuraers OF
the affair with the engine nozzle. For
about q month we had been engaged
almost every night in some kind OF dew
iltry, and it seemed as though we had
made use of every expedient that 1t was
possible to devise for the annoyance OF
the officer in charge 1t was critical
moment. One night, as usual, about
twelve o'clock, we were 'owling around
in drawers, slippers and dressing gowns,
seriously meditating a night assault on
the cade. officer of the day, when O.
suddenly suggested that we should
break into the engine house back of the
guard room, and hive one of the noz-
zles. and then blow the church call In
the sally-port. G. thought that 1t
might possibly inspire some of the pro-
fessors' families with the idea that the
millennium had come, and that the
angel Gabriel was blowing his last
trump. It wasn't long before we had
picked the lock, and found one of the
nozzles belonging to the fire engine.
We fastened the door again, and pro
ceeded in body toward the sally port.
There was quite discussion as to who
knew the church call best; G. being
minister's son had the preference.
The nozzle was too heavy for one to
hold and blow at the same time; SO one
of us, | forget who, rested the nozzle