The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-16
QUEER NAMES IN THE ARMY.
Some Arc Genuine. hut More the Product
Of the Wonld.Re SoIdier,s InyentiveneAa.

Some Are Genuine. hut More the Product
of the wou,d-Be Soldiers Inventiveneas.
Uncle Sam has to be mighty particular
when he picks out his First Sergeants," said Q
bnttle-scarred old follow who wore the yellow
chovrons of First Sergeant OF cavalry.
"'Tisn't every man in a company can twist
his tongue about the names that com up Id
rollcall. and all things equal the chap with the
handy tongue gets the diamond above HIS three
stripes"
II any one doubts the necessity for ease and
fexibllity OF speech just let him get a muster
roll OF one Of the regular regiments in the SER
vice and try to read the names Of tho enlisted
men hurriedly. A knowledge Of English. Irish
Polish. Russian. German. Swedish. Italian.
Norwegian. French. and a half dozen other
languages would be Of great value. for all
these and many more nationalities are repre-
sented and 40 mixed up in the arrangement OF
the rolls that a man needs a ready adaptable
ity OF speech to make the quick changes from
S Scr%s1i Hu asnirates t. to f @sIsh F ponacna Ss from
solids. t ear liz man d " feS : the so os%s y
cant 50 iar ss physical conditions govern. his
one on r eer pan,ssdi u Hu' Is sv not t able to te y wSs a%Se E
man gives his real name or has made one up
t Hn the f snnT t e. the ne,i %" OF an i]u HsTs are es I ,sT
aaartersd at some Of the posts. In this State
which show a fairly wide range OF speech:
a asTt SS I1lss sS nIns'
N%oraeonr, Jrs; pensfeathsr.
vi~peore.. a atIf"S HoSonsn.'
w~ilkaitis. szekely.
In the cavalry branch Of the army there are .
notable four who rejoice In these names:
shoemaker. shoecratt, shoesmith.
Shine.
Ioolt,p AVIAN tha bo,,;tol ~o,,o. - IL ,t.,a,-
by some queer freaks In nomenclature. This
part OF the army Ia comparatively small. yet In
the corps are found such apt names as:
Health, IivenGood. Strong.
Pummel, Leech, Uppencamp,
II would he q mighty sick man that couldn't
make a pun with those names. and. when wei
enough to hobblc, AROUND the cooks tents.
Tee. Beer. Rice. Wood. fsh' or Chip Nicc"m..
ell Of whom are mustered as company cooks.
| or the Philippines how Yankee soldiers are fed.
In the artillery brapch. which; by reason Of
cruited from the foreign element, odd sound
ing names are frequent. The following are
samples:
s $ s:SSs:;;s:: $ s::;;:s: H #ssIi;s;.
| Bo~lerjack. Zwoboda, Znanzie.
There Ia OF course no way of knowing what .
mans name NAV he except the one he chooses
70 be known byand gives at the time he enlists.
~ thdt IuHbV w IN CollVI Itlf-t uN
happens, a soldier becomes tired OF usine an
assumed name and applies tn the authorities
at Washington and has his own name suhsti-
tuted on the records. But II Is easv to guess
that many names are hastily assumed IN the
presence Of the recruiting officer. For In
stance. It is not hari to understand the emo
tions that %nctuated. the men who gave these
names on entering the army:
Job. SnAp, Done.
Love. Pluck. Trump.
Hope, Beginner. Lost.
A few years ago the army was full OF su'1-
vans. then came a crowd OF men who rive
their rames ms Co-hett when making applica-
ton. Every prize1Rht ofanvimportance results
In a large percentage ~ the men who present
themselves for examination giving the name
Of one or the other OF the PRINCIPALS. Fortunate
~. these candidates are ~ a class that lead lives
which thoroughly unfit them for soldering and
Of this class are Sharkey and Sloan.
Such nhmea are common in the infantry rs
Foot. Walker. Leggitt: in the cavalry IA Rider.
Saddier. Sword: IN the artillery and ordnance
az Ball. Gum and Cannon. Perhaps these are
genuine. and u so the condolences are moro
recruits in a shirt Of lest or with a desire to
conceal their identity. for II Ia a fact that MANY
Of the hest men In the ranks ~ the army have
gone into tho service to avoid some trouble,
real or fanciad. under assumed names. and
once In full touch with the life ~ A soldier have
reanlis'ed. using the false name In order TO
reap all the benefits that accrue from continue
GUS service.
Recruiting officers all over the country now
report that a better class Of men than ever he
fore are offering Themselves for enlistment.
and probably on this account the old aliases
will gradually he ohliteratad from the rolls
with the muster out OF the present holders.