The record-union., 1899-11-27

fortables and four army blankets in
tent Sometimes there is more, ana
never less Wrapped in bedding till his
identity is lost with tent walls pat
tened down that no air may reach him.
under the dead weight of clothing ever
growing greater, the plebe stands ana
sweats In streams the water pourS
down his face Over his whole body he
perspires as freely. Rapidly, under
clothing, uniform, rain coat, first layer
of bedding is wet through. The dis
comfort of, the awful heat is forgotten
as new agonies present themselves. Ine
weight of clothing on the shoulders
makes breathing difficult. Painting en-
sues. The circulation almost ceases IN
the upper part of the body. Numbness
follows and soon the plebe reels. He IS
checked from falling by threats from
his future brother army officers. So ne
holds on. In such circumstances time
passes slowly, and twenty, twenty-five.
and thirty minutes torture thus thrust
on him seem ages. At last he is re-
leased. In any case the loss of weight
is from five to eight pounds. Freed at
last from the weight of clothing, the
plebe stands half dazed and semi-con-
scious for awhile. At last life returns
to his body, and, with it, control of the
muscles The degree of exhaustion
which results varies, of course, alth
the length of time the bath is pro-
longed. Anything over twenty minutes
will bring on all the symptoms of pain
mentioned. When a ''soiree" has u
sweat bath" on it's program the
bath usually comes first, and but little
exercise is given when it is over.
Sometimes, however, even this mark OF
humanity is overstepped, and the
box the "stretcher," AID eagle are
ordered as soon as the plebe again gets
control of himself.
Another form of annoyance is met III
the mess hall, and is known as quail
tying At each table are seated men
from all classes, and here the yearllng
carries on his amuse ment at the expense
of the digestive organs of the plebe. In
feeding so many, there must be or
course a sameness in the food served,
and there are a number of dishes when
the plabe must qualify on before he Is
permitted to enjoy them in peace. He IS
require to qualify" on oatmeal, sponge
cake, pruns, pie and most disagreeaple
of all a dish styled sammy" This is
bread soaked in molasses. After
mornings hard drill the plebe, hungry
and tired. sits down at table and is or :
dered to qualify on sammy" 1t means
that he is to make his meal on bread
and molasses alone, and must eat eight
huge slices of bread soaked thoroughly
in the sweet fluid If he is unabie to
do it the first time he has to try again
until success attends. Once having quail
flied on anything, he thereafter can eat
of it in whatever quantity he may WISH
The same method is followed with re-
spect to other dishes. The result of such
a meal is sickness. Usually it is two or
three days before the plebe gets over
the effects of such an unnatural diet
When, as is often the case, 'soiree'
follows on top of such a meal the re
suit is almost invariably the retiring OF
the plebe to the hospital for an extended
period of time.
These are in detail the more import
ant exercises which make up "soiree. ;"
What is the result of one of them?
In what condition does it leave the
plebe? In brief, it puts him in a state
of total collapse. Usually he has
strength left to reach with staggering
steps his own tent There, if the
.soiree" has been a light one, he can
seat himself. all in a tremble, and gath
er back his strength. The usual re-
suit, however, of $50 eagles and eight