Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-07-13
Life of the Tender cadet.

| Allc Ol tu0 1cnlcC NuuCCs
"Through political influence 1 OBJ
tanned an appointment to West Point
cadetship, and after received the neces-
sary papers from Washington I packed
my little gripsack and started for the
Academy. got there at about dark
and reported to the commandant. He
told me to report again in the morning
At daybreak arose and went to the
office. The Commandant gave me let
ter to the Board of Surgeons, who were
toexamine me as to my physical para
phernalia.
'Take off your clothesE commanded
man full of brass from his boots to his
bangs.
"All of them?" l asked, shaking with
fear, until I felt like bag of marbles.
Eyes, and be quick about it."
| l disrobed, and was then ushered into
a room where sat the three men in uni
form; and locking as stern as the rud-
''They made me hop around the room
on one foot, then on the other; then
they opened my mouth and looked all
around as if they were hunting for
something had stolen. Then they
held up pieces of glass and asked me
conumdrums about the colors, and then
they made me read fine and large type
at different distances. Finally one got
in front of me and pounded on my chest,
while the others listened at my back to
hear If there were any stolen goods in
side, suppose.
''Put on your clothes"
cam all right" l asked. I hoped
and prayed that l wasn't l would have
given $40 if had been found guilty of
and all the other diseases in the diction-
ary;.
"Yes," answered the chief examiner;
put ON your clothes"
81 put my clothes.on, and then was
given in charge of regular, who led
me across the yard to the cadets quar-
ters.
II was dressed to kill, and had on a
light overcoat and plug hat. That hat
proved my ruin. Heads were poked
out of every window and l was greeted
with such comforting yels as shoot 'itp
| Come from under that hat and
look at itp etc. etc. I was perspiring
SO that | left trail behind me.
81 was led to the second floor of the
main building and the regular knocked
at the door. 1t was opened and tho
regular left me alone and seeded. l
was grabbed by one of the six cadets in
the room, my hat was knocked off, my
was told to place my nose against tack
driven in the wall. Then I was piled
with such questions as these;
Where is your trunk?"
cat home"
"What's in it?"
81 don't know"
els there regiment OF artillery in it?''
laughed
Fatal laugh In doing it took nv
hands from my sides and forgot all
about the tack in the wall. 1 was grab
bed, placed in position and told that if 1
dared to move even an eyelash again I
would be locked mp for the rest of the
term and be fed on bread, or bread and
water, minus the bread.
"Then !! was Piled with all sorts of lu-
dicrous questions-very laughable, but
| didn't dare to even shudder. I was
Instructed as to my duties, was told that
my hands must always appear in public
soldered to the seams of my pants; that
my chin must always be nailed to nv
chest; that my head must always be
erect, with eyes straight to the front,
and then must always salute my super
lors. Then / was sent upstairs to nv
quarters.
"There were nine other Plebs in the
room with me, and the daily routine
was about as follows:
AT six we were compelled to be up
and dressed; roll-call al $50; then back
to the quarters, where our beds had to
edges Of the mattresses, pillows, sheet s
and quilts varied hairs breadth from
the perpendicular they we're kicked
down by the officer of the day and had
to be rebuilt. Breakfast at the mess
hall at o'clock; study until noon; din
ner; more study supper at 5; more study
until o'clock, when the guns was fred.
Then all lights had to be extinguished
and all hands in bed.
"Cadets bent on hazing would bring
us up all standing a hundred times q
day, and then would stand in groups
and laugh at us. Then they would
make us hop around the room, and we
had one fellow who was always COM
mnantelpiece and then to the the n trunk. I
Once in while they were extra fun nv,
and then we were compelled to pers on.
ate animals. One would be monkey
another an alligator, another an eagle
another canary, and 80 on; and tn en-
we were compelled to chatter, grunt,
below, squawk and sing, while the cadets
made remarks about us and poked to-
bacco or crackers through the imaginary
bars of our alleged cages"
"How did you come to leave?"
81 stood it as long as could, and
then when the examination took place
I was so sick of West Point that I made
up my mind to be found I purposely
tripped up on geography, and that night
when they came into my room and be.
gan to haze me smacked one of them in
the nose. Then I accepted an invita-
ton to go to Fort Put in the morning.
I had the nightmare that night, and
when awoke I ascertained that had
crossed the river to Garrison's and was
on my way to New York."-New York
World.
BeaUtifying Woman.
A dark-haired man reclined gracefully
in an easy chair in a brown stone house
in New York and said to q report
er: