The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-02-13
THE WOODEN BOWL.
How tho Lowest Honor Man
Among the University Fresh
men is Handled.
PHILADELPHIA Times

F1iladeiphia Times
s'How are you fixed. Jack 2"
SCOT EN- all on; I'm il till the
DEATH"
The above conversation, in boarse
whispers, was heard by Times re.
porter during the impressive chapel
service at the University of Pennsyl-
vania Yesterday morning. The writer
had taken his seat among the fresh
men, il the rear Of the large hall,
and naturally turned an inquiring
glance at the speaker. Findisg him
a mild faced youth, wholly unlike an
imaginary Jesse James. the reporter
ventured to ask:
Nv hat is it you have"
"a straight jacket and g pair of
shorts, was the confidential reply, as
the freshman unbuttoned his coat low
enoug to expose tightly-iaced linen
cricket coat.
These preparations, offensive and
defensive, were for the annual tussle
over the wooden bowl. a time-honored
custom. the memory Of which is warm
in the heart OF every graduate ard
undergraduate in the University. To
seize the lowest honor man of the
freshman class, and to carry him of
the campus 10 a large wooden bowl
procured by the sophomores for tina,
pirahcal purpose. is the pretext for
the yearly encounter, in which bad
blood ever mingles, There was no
rush" upon the stairs yes terday. b.
cause the faculty had expressly inter-
dicted it, recalling the terrible encoun:-
er that took place at that point aud
which threatened serious damage to
the building The chapel service
was we'll attended yesterday, because
the name of 1.-THE bowl man was to
be announced from the rostrum. The
lowest "honor" man in the freshman
class knows what is in store for him,
and the sophOmores have hitherto tried
to get possession of him before he lett
the building.
The men of '85 were drawn up in
serried columns outside. and at eleven
o'clock detachment of them-Biddle,
Thompson. Noble. Scott, Stever :,
Wi!ding. Morrell and Welsh-brought
the bowl from building on the Oar
by read, facing the campus. with
tile expec a'ion of treating w. G..
Posey, low "honor man" of sc, to a
ride in it.
But the modest Posey stunned their
sight. Environed BY a solid pbalanx
Of bis friends, led by Gray of 's4. and
Wilcox of his own class, he awaited
only the clocks announcement of
eleven to burst out Of the college,
fight his way through the enemy's col
umn. and after carrying away a por-
ton of the wire fence, he landed safe
and sound at Cites. a friendly haven,
in exactly three minutes from the
time he started. Ouce outside the
campus fence he was safe from cap
ture. according to the code of college
warfare, and remained there during
the remainder of the fray, the center
Of ar admiring group. He had pre-
pared for the worst, his throat was
swathed in bandages and his canvas
jacket babe defiance to foemenis
clutches. -
After that the struggle continued on
the campus for the possession Of the
trophy. The opposing forces were
about equal. The wooden bowl WIS
the centre of q cyclone of freshmen and
sophemores. As is usual some of the
Juniors helped the freshmen, but only
one senior lent his aid to the sophie
mores. This was Fullerton. He would
take run, spring up in the air, come
down with all the weight of his huge
body on the heads Of the gallant fresh
men and bear the wriggling maa to
earth. The freshmen, led by Reuter-.
Hartnnh, Wilcox and Holsman, we're
laboring ike giants. Despairing of
capture they resolved % break the
bowl. An attempt to"run it on the
rOcKe met with 40 succees. "A de-
tachment of '85 then rushed to the
eastern corner Of the campus to bring
. stone large enough to break the
wooden bowl, but detachment of
sophomores headed them off in every
instance. El!icott, of "a, received in
falling, severe thump on the head
and Law helpless for a minnie mr. two