The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-15

rest of the corps and study He was
the elect one week. He did his duty
until an early inspection of the bar
racks was made one morning by the
superintendent. The young "plebe'
was disciplined for doing what he had
been ordered to do. as he thought, by
high authority. Custer never forgot
the hours of sleep he had lost and
quietly resolved to be revenged before
he graduated. His revenge was a queer
one, for it resulted in an extra hours
sleep for the whole cadet CORDS The
bugler, "Old Benz" was quartered in
the soldiers barracks, way on the
northwest end Of the post, near the
river.
Benz was a slow walker and it toox
him long time to go from his quar-
ters to the cadet barrac ks, due south
Of the parade ground There he took
time from the big tower clock and
sounded the bugle call for the cadets
to get out of bed. One morning Benz,
after his tedious march. reached the
cadet barracks. A look at the tower
nearly paralyzed him. There were no
hands on the clock. BY the time he
had gone back to the soldiers barracks
and returned with an official timepiece
borrowed hastily for the occasion the
whole cadet corps had enjoyed the
longest sleep on record at the academy.
Then it was that the sentinels remem-
bered that.a shot had been heard just
at the break of day from some quarter
near the cadet barracks. But the call
else that followed resulted in no dis
covery. No one at the time ever
thought Of the clock tower. Custer al
ways got the credit of knowing what
had happened to the hands of that
clock.
Cold Tramp of "Plebe."
Probably one of the most serious haze
doings was carried out when Grant and
Pitcher and Franklin, Peck and Cappie
wore gray coats. On bitter cold night
''plebe" was awakened and hastily
made to put on his uniform--fortunate-
ly his overcoat too. The cadets who
hustled him. he supposed, were a spe-
cial detail from the superintendent Of
flee. He was chosen, they told him. to
run the guard" and they told him how
to do it. Then he was to go to old Fort
Put. way up on the western mountain
ridge, and do sentry duty till sunrise.
At that time he was to march down to
the barracks and bring with him a big
branch of a cedar tree as evidence he
had been up on the bridge The reader
can imagine what sensation the poor
'plebe'' made when, covered with snow
and nearly frozen to death. he stag
gered down the "old bark road" into
the barrack yard, with huge cedar
branch in his stffened arms. The cadet
who was thus hazed became, 20 years
afterward, one of the famous corps
commanders during the civil war.
Even General Franklin. who enjoyed
the Renaissance Immensely, refused to
say who he was. ITS all in a lifetime,
said he, land all we know about 1t was
hearsay." Grant laughed in his quiet
way and took an extra puff on his cigar.
Amid roar of laughter he asked quiet
ly: 1T wasn't you. was it, franklin
There is one thing about West Point
that cannot be denied. 1t is thoroughly
democratic. The poor boy and the mil
lionaire's son are alike in the eyes of
his fellows. Any "plebe" whose father
is one of the -four hundred" and who
because of that attempts to parade his
social standing soon gets fattening
out, In the last few years the haze
lessons that have resulted in bodily in
iuries to "plebes" have mostly, 1t is
said, been the result of putting OH
airs" by "piebes" who did not know
that dollars do not make bell buttons
on rich boys coat look brighter to the
cadet corps than a poor boys bell but
tons,-Philadelphia Times.