The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-08
Old-Time Exploits at the United
States Military Academy.
HANCOCKS LONELY VIGIL
Sat All Night in Tree Top Waiting
for Mythical Marauders-When
General Grant Was
Cadet.

authorities have been called upon to
deal severely with all hazers there here
after recalls to mind some funny
phases of "hazing' at that military
post. What makes them all the fun
nier is that the victims were, years
after graduating, officers of national
reputation. Besides, they told of their
experiences themselves.
The summer of the year when Grant
was nominated for president for the
frst time was a great summer at the
academy for old West Pointers. The
board of visitors was largely composed
OF distinguished men, who were cadets
there when Grant was a cadet. AS
general of the army he came to the
academy during the examinations that
summer, and the old school boys used
to regale themselves in the evening in
the board of visitors room, in the base
ment of the hotel, with "reminiscences
OIL the time when they wore the gray,
bedecked with bell buttons. The heart
and soul of the meetings was General
William B. Franklin. Professors Peck
ana Cappie, the one then professor in
Columbia college and the other a pro-
lessor in a western university, were
not far behind him when hazing stories
came into play. Grant as usual, was
| always retcent. But at times he was
not loath to draw out some of his fell
lows about cadet capers that were
fresh in his mind and he enjoyed the
"reminiscences as heartily as the others.
There was no brutality about hazing in
their cadet days Grant himself said
that, but there was just enough trek
cry about it to make it very tantaliz-
ing thing for the unfortunate ''plebe'
who was made the victim.
Winfield S. Hancock was major
general of the army, with his famous
war record fresh in it's glory when the
story of his hazing was told. He was
as plebe taken in badly. You see,"
said the member of the board who
spoke of it one evening that summer,
Hancock like all of us, came to the
academy with an idea that he knew it
| all He was a whole-souled, manly
boy, and no one cared to do anything
that would be hurtful to him. How
ever, he had to be taken in and done
| for. The graduating class had donned
the blue and gone and the third class
| was on vacation. So the corps was
made up of the second and fourth
| classes and the plebes that would be in
| the following September the fourth
| class.
I'VE We're all in camp on the plains
| just southeast of the hotel. Hancock
was shaken up out of his peaceful
| guard-at least he thought the cadet
who woke him up was that lordly fell
| low. He was told that one of the tasks
| of a good soldier was to obey orders
and ask no questions. He got his or
| der. 1t was to get up tree near the
| old fort near the camp and rifle in
| hand, he was to keVS strict watch on
| the hotel, as 1t was suspected some men
| from New York who were harbored
| there intended to make stealthy visit
| to the camp and make things uncom-
Portable for the cadets valuables.
| 1T was a hot night. Hancock had
only his underwear on, and thus uni
| formed he got into the tree. 1t is need
| less to say that he discovered no ma
RAIDERS AS daylight began to break
over the mountains he became painful
| ly aware that the early risers at the
| hotel were up and doing. In short
| time all the windows were thrown open
| There was Hancock in his raiment OF
white and his rifle on his arm seated
up in the tree patiently waiting for the
men from New York. OF course he
came down when the real officer of the,
| guard discovered him. He was
mighty surprised 'plebe' when he found
he had been fooled He often laughed
| over that hazing when l used to dine
with him at Governors Island and talk
| over old times"
One of the funniest haze happenings,
| a member of the board said, was just
before the war, when Custer was ca
| Diet. He was induced to believe, when
| 'plebe," that one plebe every week
had to get up an hour earlier than the
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 grad
uated. His revenge was a queer one,
| for it resulted in an extra hours sleep
for the whole cadet corps. The bugler,
| "Old Benz" was quartered in the sol
diers' barracks, way on the northwest
end of the post near the river.
Benz was a slow walker, and it took
| him long time to go from MS quar-
| tiers to the cadet barracks, 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 time
| piece borrowed hastily for the occa-
| sion, the whole cadet corps had enjoy
ed the longest sleep on record at the
academy.
Then it was that the sentinels re-
membered that a shot had been heard
just at the break of day from some
quarter near the cadet barracks. But
the call for the corporal of the guard
and all else that followed resulted in
no discovery. 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 on that
clock.
Probably one of the most serious
| haze doings was carried out when
| Grant and Pitcher and Franklin, Peck
and Cappie wore gray coats. On bit
| ter cold night a "plebe" was awakened
and hastily made to put on his uniform
| fortunately, his OVerCoat, too. The
cadets who hustled him, he supposed
| We're a special detail from the superin-
| tendent's office. He was chosen, they
| told him, to run the guard and they
| told him how n do if Then he was