The times., 1899-08-20
HAZING At WEST POINT
Brutal Sport Praeticed by Higher
Classmen on Plebes.
A Cadets story Of the TOrtures In
aicted Upon Victims OF the soiree-
EagIinG. Stretching, Wooden
MHIyinE. Ginning, and the Sweat
Bath Described - Some Results.

Bach Described some Results
New York, Aug. 19.-The Sun" viii
print tomorrow a communication from a
cadet at West Point describing in detail
hazing OF the most brutal kind inflicted by
upper classmen upon the plebes No names
are given, but the paper states that il has
in its possession the names Of twenty-five
young men. cadets, from as many different
States, who have been the victims az
''soirees" which included "eagling, box
holding" stretching" wooden willy
ing" and -chinning," and in some of their
cases "sweat baths" were added. The
names are not printed, because the mere
publication Of them would only tend TO
alarm and cause pain. and would subject
the cadets to the suspicion of having told
tales" and would add TO their sufferings as
plebes.
According TO the sun s" informant, one
OF the favoTIte means of inaicting torture
upon plebes is ''eagling." This exercise is
executed by bending the knees as far as
possible toward the ground and at the
same time extending the arms out from
the sides 10 the height Of the shoulders,
moving the hands up and down. The
original position is then resumed and one
eagle has been done. The plebe soon be-
comes weary. Fifty eagles produce fatigue
one hundred aching muscles But the
number required is ''N"-that is the in
definite number which can be done before
consciousness reels or cramps ensue.
Three hundred. 35e. and 400 are forced
upon the plebe. The fun begins when
the plebe becomes exhausted Frequently
he faints, which causes the yearling 10 de-
sist from further punishment. but in the
event OF continued resistance to collapse he
is told to take rest on the estretcher."
Rest on the stretcher.
The tents in camp are very samIl, and to
accommodate two and often three people
space must be economized.
The stretchers are shelves extended from
the ridge poles Of tents. On one of these
the plebe is told TO rest" He rests bv
grasping the stretcher and suspendlng him
SELF by his arms. The weight of the body
soon becomes too much for the arms. which
are bearing the whole body unaided but
lest the plebe should attempt 10 dead
beat" be is warned that if he loosens his
hold be must drop TO the floor on his knees
The danger OF a two-foot drop on a board
nOOr nerves the piebe 10 further efforts,
but al last, usually In three or four minutes,
down be drops with a thud on the plank
floor. He is ordered back and il he cannot
rise himself the tent occupants are ordered
TO put him there" minute passes and
again he falls. And so it goes on, usually
through six or eight minutes OF agony and
embracing sometimes four FIVE, and seven
plunges 10 the floor, each time on the
kneess@ In each tent there are two lock-
ers. The exhausted piebe is not told 10
sit down on one of these and rest" He
is told TO sit Oh the extreme edge OF the
locker, hold his less out parallel with the
floor and al the same time touch his toes
with his finger tips. There are few posi-
tiOus more difficult or painful, yet the time
allowed for this exercise" is usually from
FIVE 70 eight minutes.
Ginning and Wooden WiIIyine
eexercise Of "chinning" and Of wood
en- willyingT are other favorite forms OF
infiicting pain. ~Chinning'' is performed
in this way: The plebe lies face downward
on the floor and by means of his arms
raises himself as far as possible, his hands
and feet only touching the floor. He then
lowers himself until he can touch the floor
with his chin. The movement is repeated
While the plebe's strength lasts. A wood
en willy brings into use the Krag-Jorgen-
sen rife. The heavy gun is grasped in the
two hands. thrust out as far from the
shoulder as possible, and then drawn back
10 the position OF firing. When thirty or
forty Of these operations have been exc
cuted the arms ache painfully. Yet from
that stage on the plebe is driven till 300
are completed, and sometimes even
greater number
The sweat bath" is an extreme form of
hazing, and is well described by its name
On days when the temperature is highest
and the atmosphere closest, it is a form
OF baZiDg by which exquisite torture is
administered The plebe, in fatigue uni
form. is usually ordered 10 put On his
rain coat first. This is a heavy and hot
macintosh. Then another plebe Is told
TO pin about him comfortable, then en-
other, and so on till all the bedding Of the
tent is used Wrapped in bedding till his
identity is lost. with tent walls battened
down that no air may reach him, under
that deadWeight OF clothing ever growing
greater, the piebe stands and sweats. In
streams the water pours down his face.
Over his whole body he perspires as freely.
Rapidly, underclothing, uniform, rain coat
first layer OF bedding is wet through The
weight OF clothing on the shoulders makes
breathing difficult.
Threats Nerve 10 Heroic Effort.
Painting ensues. The circulation almost
ceases in the upper part of the body.
Aumbness follows, and soon the plebe
reels He is checked from falling by
threats from his future brother army OIL
sers. So he holds on. In such circum-
stances time passes slowly, and twenty,
twenty-five and thirty minutes torture
shus thrust on him seem ages. At last b.
Is released. IN any case the loss Of weight
Is from FIVE TO eight pounds. When q
''soiree" has a sweat bath" on its pro-
gramme, the bath usually comes first. and
but little exercise" is given when il i;
over. Some time, however, even thi:
mark of humanity is oyerstepped and The
box, the ~streteheT" and eagle" ars
ordered as soon as the plebe again get
control OF himself.
Another form OF annoyance is met al the
mess hall, and is known as qualifying,
which consists Of compelling the plebe tc
eat huge quantities Of some particular
food. such as oatmeal, sponge cake. prunes
pie and. most sisagreeable OF ALL a disH
styled sammy" This is bread soaked IL