Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-10-04
|ssRaa Rseistss
lNa sEPS AT THE POINT.
Made 9 Burden to These Poor
Plebs.
heb Sentinel Who Knows His Duty
IND Did lt---Poe's Life at West
Poiut--.NOt FOund---A POlit-
cal Pull Is Of No Adyan-
tage.


his world any person so respondent as
linz CINE that there lives no more unhap-
81 Individual than himself, let him pack
yalise and take trip to the United
lates Military Academy 81 West Point
I'D there look upon the trials and yicisSi'
ftdes of the newly reported September
|'embers of the fourth class. Cadets call
3em "Seps,' and the name IS q synonyme
( Ior sll that is gross and awkward IRON 3
pnrely military point OF view. The Seps are
eW in number, being chiefly those young
hen who, having failed st their preliminary
Examination in June, have been resppolnt'
"a by their Congressman. The hsrdshIp5
ttteudaut upon their first few months OF
blebdom arise from many causes, the chief
6ne bang the fact that they must combine
ith military drill mental instruction. Inc
i1nR plebS 90 at once into camp and have
15siudies, save those belonging to the out
1bor sIhool of the soldier, until
sptember when, having acquired
a thorough knowledge Of marching and
be manual Of arms, they are fully uniform
81 and turned into the battalion with the
elGer cadets. The Seps lose all the vast ad-
ssnlages Of pleb camp, and, while being
compelled TO keep up in studies with their
+ Dune brethren, they have their "sethng-up
drill and hazipg Jumped The worst feature
81 If the hszing OF the Sep lies in the fact that
lis duties deVolyes upon the June members
Of his own class. The vsarlings or third
q class men. who do all the "deyihng' during
Camp. in.uress upon the plzb minds tina: the
y arrival at the Point o. TIE fist Sep will De
n the signsl for the discon;iuuance OF all in
dignities, and that the raining Of the new
arrivals must be undertaken oy the June
= men in the sane spirit and the same sever
iiy that characterized their Own treatment.
II has been said, and, it is to be hoped,
with truth. that during the past two or three
Years hszirg az West Point has lost soms of
lis old.tine severity. Mental and physical
torture are the only words that will express
what was undergone by new cadets during
the hszing season OF the years that wound
up the last decade Standing 3 msu on his
head and allowing q torrent of water TO
pour down both trousers legs was mild
form of deyilHDg Throwing q Pleb, on
gusrd for the first time into wheelbsrroT
st the dead OF night and then stating the
whole concern down a steep incline,
the affair ending in broken Dor
row ard E much bruised pleb, was
thought the acme Of ful. When anything
unusual occurs Oh post the sentinel is ex-
pscted TO call for the corporal OF the guard,
out the only satisfaction that the p.e5 gets
on an occasion Ike the oae mentioned arises
from being 'cussed out tor not coming to
an arms port when calling for the cor
poral The picture Of pleb tumbhng down
a hill and occupied principally in trying to
void falling on his bayonet, coming to an
arms port can be better imagined than de-
scribed The cussing out by the corporal
on so ridiculous q ground is merely part Of
the programme In the summer of 1874 or
1875, The warnings, while trying to give q
pleb free ride, caught Tartar. Theyoun%
fellow, who is now sn officer OF high stand
ing in the army, was on guard tor the hrst
time He saw his prosecutors approach,
and, knowing his orders, was not afraid to
carry them out. OOe OF the yearlings re-
cCiyed bayonet thrust that let daylight
into two sides Of his arm. The others car
risd him of. and the SICK list claimed him
the next morning. The surgeon report
brought the matter to the attention of the
authorities. and he wounded yesrh1g was
dismissed for attemp;ing 20 interfere with
sentinel on duty. de was at:erwsrd rein
stated through The efforts OF the father ofthe
very sentinel who had injured him, the faith
er at that time being Georgia Congress
man
The story of the life of Edgar Allen Poe
is shrouded IN so much my stery aud about
II so many contradictory stories are told
that il is next to impossible to separate the
true from the false. That Poe was once
cadet at West Point is, OF course, an accept
ed fact, the records OF the Academy show
ing it. The tales that are told Of Pos's
cadet careers are as numerous and rs va
rious as those related about him when he
dropped the sword for the pen. The cadets
have traditions of the poet, in which not
much credence can be placed, from the
fact that they have descended as heirloomI
from class to class during generation and
halt of Academy life.
Pee was a constant and cornwall visitor at
Penny Ravens famous resort. He listened
With rapt attention to Bennys highly col
cred and weird stories. Traces OF these
stories and the effects growing from them
can be found in divers places in Poe's prose
works After Poe left the Academy aud
became famous, Ravens used TO relate to
the cadets many stories concerning the
strangely silent youth. These stories form
the basis of the cadet traditions Of to-day.
PCe's first poetical effort was born at the
Point There was tactical officer in COM
n,ard OF Poe's company whose name was
Joseph Locke He was noted and hated for
being the strictest of disciphnsrisns, and as
one who never lost an opportunity to report
the cadets for otfenses, no matter how triy.
isl. Poe having suffered severely from
this officers reports, turned of the folio wing
and circulated It:
John Locke was q great rame,
Joe Locke was greater, IN short
The former we'll known 70 fame,
The latter we'll kUOEn 70 report.
This verse is embodied with a number of
others written By cadets from time to time
in 3 little volume called "Tictscs"
A number of years ago | strOlled in COM
pany with q clsSsmste into Filtration Walk,
where we seated ourselves on grassy bank
overlooking the river. It was in June, and
the reservation was crowded with visitors
who had come thi;her to witness the grsdu.
ating drills and exercises. We had been
loungiDg upon the grass short time, when
q step on the g-a7el walk attracted our at
tenGon. We looked up and saw coming
toward US 8 man fully eighty years Of age,
but with an erect bearing and an elastic |
step. My conrade and myself knew in |
stinctively thst the stranger was a retired |
CtiCer and Yves, Pointer. Rising to oar I
feet, we stood attention and Sslu'ed. The |
gentleman seemed pleased with our courtesy, |
for be had no mark save his carriage ID |
show his profession. He stopped, told Us to
stand at ease, aid began q conversation. |
He told US Of old times at the Point, and of
cadet escapades and experiences, in 9 man
ner that won our hearts. The talk drifted
from one subject to another until my com
rsde asked if Poe was found the word
being the synonyme for the English terms,
"plucked' and "Plougbed.' That cadet
slang never changes was shown by the Of
feers answer.