The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-21
ARMY PUN!SHMEN1S ARE HARD
FORMER SOL DIETS COMMENT on
., THE LINCOLN Plot STORY.
Hut the Results Are Satisfactory. Tie
Thinks-Discln!incin Ci,ii war Times
indians Who Couldn't BE toerrrti'-
Power Of the brig on Naval ships.

narrative by Samuel Arnold Of The Lincoln
Plot pretty carefully and cant figure out
how Mr. Arnold got 60 very much the wors,
Of it on the Dry Tortugas o: anywhere
else" said New Y,r;cr who his served
IA m euu,teJ man both ~ the Regular
Army and in Tie navy. "Hc WAS pm
through hot mil. OF course, but he admits
that the soldiers guarding him and his
fellow convic,s received worse oiscipinafy
dCsrs than we're incted out 20 the prisoners
Some % the punishments visited upon the
soidiers. d. described by Sir Arnold, look
pretty bad Ia type. but L. must be taken
into Consideration that a uniformed bu,ker.
either on land or sea. needs heap Of
lna hh1ndlinE to fetch him around TO his
'sens.s
1T must bc remembered. too. that there
wasn't much molly-coddling Of enlisted
men in the American Army or Navy at the
time Of which Mr.. Arnold writes --is65-o7
And yet our army and navy were pretty
good outfits al that period. Different
times, different customs.
The cat was still. potential disciplinary
factor in the United States Navy in 1897.
and I've had plenty Of ancient jack tars
who were 10 the service at that time tell
mo that the cat was bully good thing,
and express the belief that its use ought
10 DO restored. They told me- that the cat
had cut 10, Of devilmeut out of them al
time OF life when they We're so full Of il that
1t dribbled out OF their eyes.
AND up to a considerably later period
than 1897 bucking soldiers stationed at
posts in the Southwest were occasionally
buried In the sand up to their chins. and
kept that way FOR hours at the mercy Of
the broiling sun and the desert ants.
'Mlsde meanants and fault -fnders-bar-
rack lawyers with q contjnuous-perform
ance Crouch against everybody and every.
thing-were bucked and gagged in the
Regular A my Of the United States up TO
about fifteen years ago. and Of the fellows
] met in the army who got that treatment
most Of them were ready to admit that
they deserved il and that il was coming
to them and did them good.
As for that punishment which Mr.
Arnold so severely condemns. the COM
pulsory packing Of cannon balls and logs
OF wood by soldiers who rnsbehaved,
there was nothing so terrible about that.
Up to about twenty years ago soldiers OF
our army were pounding the walks in front
OF glardhouses with exceedingly heavy
logs Of wood on their shoulders. and
none OF them ever made much OF q fuse
about il.
As a matter Of fact. have been told
by old soldiers that this log-toting was a
powerful good way Of treating soldier who
had been on a drunk. The exercise worked
the rum out of him and put him in shape
inside Of twelve hours or so. IL whereas.
he had simply been confined In the clink
he wouldn't have got over the effects Of his
jamboree for week or so.
i find it difficult to believe Mr.. Arnold's
statement about the soldier on the Dry
Tortugas who carried heavy cannon bali,
day and night. two hours on and two Of
for thirty days. Mr.. Arnold must have got
that entry mixed in his diary No man
ever lived who could do that. particularly
in such a climate as the Dry Tortugas.
Any man who has ever done plain guard
duty. packing rifle. for forty-eight hours
at a stretch, two hours on and four OF
will tell you how utterly impossible It would
be for any human being to do q stretch of
thirty days. two on and only two OF, even
without the cannon ball
dose l ever got myself in either service
chastened me a whole lot. 1t happened
only six years ago. A half dozen Of III.
were slammed into the brig for overstaying
our leave. Then the ship got up her mud
hook and started for Honolulu.
The brig was ten-foot-square COM
partment on tho berth deck, I'D in the eyes
Of the ship. For five days we we're tossed
around that brig IKE so many ping pong
balls-from one side TO the other. piled up
in an indiscriminate heap with every lmch
or roll. ana balted up against the plates
in wav that was Just sCandalous.
We had buos 90 Jimmy Legs or mas, err
alarms on thai ship, and, unlike some
good-natured masters-at-arms that I've
been shipmates with. he wouldn't unlock
our irons even at night 80 that We could
snatch q bit Of sleep. let alone during meas
hours to enable us to eat decently. Thus
hobbled, We made that little twelye-dav
cruise down to Honolulu. I am telling
you that was real ready TO be good and
trectable and prompt and compliant dur
ing the remainder of that cruise, my last
and 90 were he other fellows
II bluejacket or marine confined In
the regular brig begins to ex hibit buckino
tendencies. he's pretty liable TO 90 into
coli AIRY confinement, and there's no fun
In that. The soil airy brig isnt often much
port for the solitary prisoner to look out
Of. nor can he get any view whatever Of
his shipmates.
'The soil airy prisoner on board a man-o'.
war usually gets nothing but bread and
water for a diet It's too dark in the coli
tary for him 10 read. All he can do ia h,s
squat In a corner and brood. II he's 20,
the sense he vas lorn with. he'll mako ~
his mind 20 @ good while he's pent +, D in
the sOh a'y n ouble irons and, Is q ma,t q,
Of fact most of the solitaries do.
Some mighty measlv punishn,ents are
s'ill ,neted out to regula' ion breakers IL,
our army For example. a mont h-a nd N =.
mont h'-ihat is. the loss Of a months rav
and a months confinement in tho guard
house at hard lahor'-sounds rncy enough
but it's a mean dose, all the sane. and the
soldier who docs ono trick Of TINT soI,
docso't 70 lcokine for anot her ore unless
he's dclihcra' DIV Waving for a tob-tajl-
a dish"no'al &c discharge from the service
that ia 10 "a"
'The soldier doing n month and-a-morth
In REQUIRED 20 perform some powerful
mean churcs. Tho Job that our guard.
mousse prisoners dcsrise the mos, IL thu, of
following tho pos' sviii-cart. Whitewash.
ing sheds and ohicken-coops doesn't ofrcr
much opnortuuitv for sport with a rookie
sentry right behind vou and a grim pro-
vost sergeant lowering near bu, that's
another kind of work that the guardhc usc
prisoner in our service goes nm agai, 81
The provost sergeant Of an American mill
tary post Is ncvar picked out for tho job
on account Of his known possessio of n
tonlrr AID sytn,,athe In oature nnl ,ha