, 1888-08-11
THE NAVAL ACADEMY.
THE EARLY EXPERIENCE OF A
"PLEBEn AT ANNAPOLIS.

HazinG Said to BE Abolished - Ru;
Jumping and Running" Are Still
Trials and TribuIatIons.
This is an attempt to detail the early expe
riencc of an Annapolis ''plebe,n Naval Off,
GERS who write magazine articles all agree
that h,lzing has been abolished. 1t has, in
name only. One never hears OF hnzing now
but no one who has ever been n "plebe" can
truthfully deny that jumping" and run.
ming have not yet fallen into a decrcpit old
age.
Lot us first imagine the ''plebo" who ar.
ives in September at the Naval academy.
He is a green looking chap. Men from all
quarters OF the country come tumbling into
town, in all sorts OF clothing, and with all
sorts az airs The new man is Immediately
sent on board the Santee. His first struggle
Is with his hammock He doesn't sleep in
the hammock the first night Most of his
time is spent in learning how to get into it,
and after he gets in, how to stay in.
The next morning, at bugle call, tho cadet
tumbles out and gets down in some shape to
inspection. This is n fearful ordeal. There
he stands, with thumbs turned out and toes
turned in, trying to LOOK n veteran, when
the inspector hurries along, glares at him,
and pointing mt his cap, shouts, "Haul a
little on the starboard lift" The cadet opens
his mouth and says, "Eh-h," and then opens
his eyes and says, How and finally learns
that his cap has not been set squarely ON his
head, He has been spotted As he grows
older he learns that there are many things
for which "A man may be spotted. cap not
properly squared Trousers not brushed. ~
'Shoestrings hanging " Button Off blouse"
Not properly shaved 1t is marvellous
what little things catch the eagle eve Of the
inspector.
Somehow the cadet manages to get to
breakfast, and nops in the first seat Per
haps grace has been usually said at home to
slow aud measured tones. Anyway he waits
IA moment, and soon finds that everybody
has made a dive at tho food and that there is
none left for HIM. Then some more comes
ON, and he dives, too The scene that follows
is iBdescribablC
But it is not always 81, When the upper
class men return from their cruise no man
dares reach half an inch over his side of tho
table FOR food, or he Will he terribly jumped
And, by the way, the jumping soon begins
for our plebe As he wander down for "A
breakfast a crowd OF about fifteen men APP
proach him, their caps cooked at an angle OF
forty-hve degrees over their left eyes, and
N1NN NNh'A " hAA Jul iAAiAt4 III tAtlAt
tones. where do you come fromF' 'Al
hany, n. Y" "Eh, what slater New
York" Any more like you theref' "Yes.s"
Great guns" "Ycs-sn Say, sir Yes
ssir Stand on your head And the
poor plebo gets on aud oil his head till he -
dizzy.
Then all fifteen men demand at once.
who's the 'savez' man heref' who's the
handsomestf' "Who's the wooden mani
And whichever way he answers the plebe
oifeads fourteen of the fifteen and stands the
consequences Then one man orders him to
do something, and another orders him not Ia.
'If you don't III jump you,' says one. "If
you do I'll run You, shouts the other. The
plebe obeys the first and is jumped by the
second, aud then to his utter disgust the first
man says; Guess III jump you anyway just
Tor the fun OF it" And again he stands on
his head
Perhaps theplebe has now Hagrantly VIC
lated some of the rights OF the upper class
men, aud if so ho is made TO eat soap or
fight" If he fights and gets whipped he eats
soap II he fights and wins no eats a double
dose. So il does no particular good to fight.
By Oct. l the cadet leaves the Santeo and
goes to quarters. There his first experience
Is at bugle call. He flies out Of bed, jumps
into his clothes and goes down four steps at a
time to formation, and one can imagine
what II task he has in getting his proper place
among the three hundred cadets present. He
finally gets among his green companions, and
n sorry looking lot they make.
That night he gets another dose Of hazing.
The upper class men give it to him between
$3.50, when supper is over, and 1880, when in.
spection comes. He is made to read page
after page of French, though he never read
French in his life; he speaks the o~rations of
his school days. He stand on his head. A
small button is put in a basin of water and
he fishes II out with his nose. lie eats candle.
The funny man of the party fires fun at him,
and If he smiles he is sat upon. All through
the performance he must keep a straight
face, and, indeed, by the time he is out of it
his straight face seems to have grown there
for good.
Then taps come, his tormentors hurry
away, and the officer OF the day comes around
to inspect his room. Tn officer taps at the
door, and the cadet shouts n hearty "Come
in" Imagine the look he receives for his
pains; for the rule is for the officer to push
open the door, take n hasty glance and shout:
GOOD night The cadet answers: GOOD
night, sir and the inspection is over. I'm
mediately that it is, his tormentors are back
again; and they arrive in nocks. He is or
dered to eat four dry soda crackers at a time,
perhaps, and when he has done is told to
cock his feet on the table and sit there till
told 10 move. While there a high class man
comes in md shouts: "Get up" He has re
ceiyed instructions and will not move. sect
up" Not n move. And finally he is shouted
up and keeps getting up and sitting down in
obedience to orders until he can hardly
move.
Hazing is now quite harmless, and the vic.
Tins themselves find it n laughing matter
more laughable, 10 tell the truth, however,
after it is all over.-Annapolis Cor. New
York Tribune.