The evening times., 1899-05-17
QUEER NAMES IN THE ARMY.

QUEER NAMES IN THE ARMY.
Many Of Them Invented by Would.
He Soldiers.
From the New York SUM-
"Uncle Sam has to be mighty particular
when he picks out his first sergeants, -
said battle-scarred old fellow who
wore the yellow cheyrons of a first ser
geant OF cavalry.
'Tisn't every man in a company can
twist his tongue about the names tat
come up in roll-call, and all things equal
the chap with the handy tongue gets the
diamond above his three stripes
If anyone doubts the necessity for ease
and fiexibility of speech Just let him get
muster roll of one of the regular regi-
ments in the service and try to read the
names of the enlisted men hurried.y. A
knowledge of English, Irish Polish, Rus
sian German, Swedish, Italian, Norwe-
gian. French. and a half dozen Other Ian
guages would be Of great value, for all
these and many more nationalities are
represented and SO mixed up in the ar
| rangement of the rolls that a man needs a
ready adaptability of speech to make the
| quick changes from German gutturals to
fluent French or from Norwegian aspi-
rates to Welsh consonants.
Uncle Sam cares not rap for the name
his soldier bears; the man behind the cog
| nomen is what the Government looks at
| The doctors who examine him find out all
| about an applicant so far as physical con-
| ditions govern his life and habits, but
| even the shrewdest officer on recruiting
duty Is not able to tell whether a man
gives his real name or has made one up
| on the spur of the moment. Here are a
| few taken from the rolls of an infantry
| regiment quartered at some of the posts
in this State which show fairly wide
range OF speech: Genireaux, Fork, Nora
gong Munskofsky, Nuno, V,vcores,
Weirschwrack, Bry!ski. Jrs, Pichkowsky,
Huic. Sikora, Wilkaitis, Upaike, Smink,
Penafeather, Schlehr, Adamiah, Bohonan,
Szekely.
In the cavalry branch of the army there
are notable four who rejoice in these
names: Shoemaker, Shoecraft Shine, and
Shoesmith.
Looking over the hospital roster one Is
| struck by some queer freaks in nomencla-
| ture. This part of the army is compare
lively small, yet in the corps are found
such apt names as Health, Payne, Pummel.
! Livengood Hillsinger, Leech, Joy, Strong,
Haliwell, and Uppencamp
1t would be mighty sick man that
couldn't make a pun with those names,
! and, when well enough to hobble around
the cooks tents. have some fun with Bak-
| er, Phair, Omelette, Tee, Beer Rice Wood
Ash, or Chip Niccum, all OF whom are
! mustered as company cooks, and are show
ing the natives In the West Indies or the
Philippines how Yankee soldiers are fed.
In the artillery branch, which, by reason
of being stationed on the coasts is largely
recruited from the foreign element odd
sounding names are frequent. The follow
ing are samples: 0mensetter. Gackiewicz,
Sherfesee, Bolerjack. Swantak Henwetter,
Prochaska, Zwoboda, Yourt, Hightower,
Twellyan, and Zuanzig.
There is of course no way of knowing
what mans name may be except the one
he chooses to be known by and gives at
the time he enlists. By that name he is
called unless, as sometimes happens, a SOL
dier becomes tired of using an assumed
name and applies to the authorities at
Washington and has his own name substi-
tuted on the records. But it is easy to
guess that many names are hastily assum-
ed In the presence of the recruiting officer.
For instance, 1t is not hard to understand
the emotions that actuated the men who
gave these names on entering the army:
Job Love, Hope, Snap. Pluck, Beginner.
Done, Trump, and Lost.
A few years ago the army was full of
Sullivans, then came a crowd of men who
gave their names as Corbett when making
application. Every prize fight of any i'm
portance results in a large percentage of
the men who present themselves for ex-
animation giving the name of one or the
other Of the principals. Fortunately, these
candidates are Of class that lead lives
which thoroughly unfit them for soldering
and they are rejected. Just now the IA
vorite names of this class are Sharkey and
Sloan.
Such names are common In the infantry
as Foot. Walker, Leggitt: in the cavalry as
Rider, Saddler, Sword In the artillery and
ordnance as Ball, Gum, and Cannon. Per-
haps these are genuine. and If SO the coin
cidences are more marked. Perhaps the
names were taken by recruits in a spirit
Of Jest or with desire to conceal their
identity, for It Is fact that many Of the
best men In the ranks Of the army have
gone into the service to avoid some trouble,
real or fancied, under assumed names, and
once in full touch with the life of a SOL
dier have re-enlisted, using the false name
in order to reap all the benefits that accrue
from continuous service.
Recruiting officers all over the country
now report that a better class Of men than
ever before are presenting themselves for
enlistment, and probably on this account
the old aliases will gradually be obliterated
from the rolls with the muster out of the
present holders.