The Press., 1907-01-02
A WEST POINT STORY
ODD INCIDENT THAT MADE GENERAL
 BUELL. BREAK A RECORD.

 Was GrOtesque Enough to Make the General Who Never Laughed Roar In Spite of His Grimness. General Buell., whose timely arrival at Shiloh, some military critics hold, saved General Grant from defeat, was known in the old army as "the man who can't laugh" General Buell. was not grave merely; he was grim. Yet two yearling cadets at West Point made General Buell. break record.
 It was hot on the plateau above the waters of the Hudson, hotter than the cheek of a f1eldpiece that has been in action, so hot that the leaves on the elm tree shriyeled and the feet of the pacing sentries burned from contact with the only paved path on the gov ernment reservation.
 The plebes had reported and were quartered In two divisions of barracks, the upper class men having been turn ed out to share quarters with their comrades in the other divisions.
 The June examinations were on. The board of visitors, of which Gen eral Buell. was a member, had paid Its perfunctory visits to mess hall, to aca- demic building and to barracks. It was 10 o'clock in the morning. Two cadets had been thrown by fate and by the arrival of the plebes into the same room of the fifth division of bar racks The thermometer in the shade of the guardhouse registered 99 de gress In the room In which the two cadets were quartered doubtless 1t stood 10 degrees higher.
 There had been one morning inspec- ton of quarters by an army officer, and the two yearlings, gasping for breath in room into which the sun beat with no regard for cadet feelings, had every reason to believe that there would be no further inspections that morning. They had stood the ordeal of the exam inging board at 9 o'clock, and, with no studies in hand, they thought they were safe until the first call for dinner.
 By the law of the academy every cadet In quarters was to be in full dress uniform until Il o'clock. He was not allowed to smoke His bedding was to be neatly piled at the head of his bunk. In other words, the cadet room and the cadets person were to be properly or dered and properly arrayed for inspec-> ton.
 "It's hot" said the cadet who was to become an artillery officer.
 "It's hotter than that" said his com
 ade.
 "Let's strip" said the one.
 "Done," said the other,
 And forthwith they stripped, Then the mattresses were pulled from the hunks and thrown under the window, through which occasionally came whiff of breeze, grateful though heat laden.
 "pd like to smoke" said the future artilleryman as he threw himself on one of the mattresses.
 "Tm going to smoke" said his com rade.
 And instanter pipes were lighted, and the room began filling with fragrant blue fog.
 There was a clink of a sword heard in the hallway. It's sound brought con- sternation. An inspection was on. Be fore the two yearlings had time to think there was a rap, and the door was thrown open, and in came, not the ordinary second lieutenant inspecting officer, but Lieutenant Colonel Henry M. Lazelle, commandant of cadets, and Major General Don Carlos Buell., Unit ed States army.
 Discipline strikes in. The two cul- prit cadets sprang to attention in stantly, heels together, arms hanging naturally and the little fingers where the seams of the trousers would have been If they'd had any trousers on.
 The future artilleryman was clothed In one sock. and In this attire he was one sock the better of his comrade. | They stood there rigid. The position of a soldier was never better main | tained. Commandant Lazelle turned | purple with rage at this graceless breach of discipline actually paraded | before a major general of the United | States army and member of the | board of visitors.
 The cadet who one day was to com | mand battery had dropped his pipe. | The hot bowl touched his great toe, | and the burning was too much for | even a soldiers stolidity, and he emit | ted very boylike "Ouch"
 General Don Carlos Buell. took in the | spectacle and all the glorious humor of the situation. His grimness was not proof against such a sight as this. | He leaned back against table and | roared, and not even the wrath in the face could check his roaring.
 Come, general" said the comman- dant; "let us go. I shall report these young men for three fragrant viola tions of the rules of the academy"
 General Buell. looked at the guilty ones and roared again. The comman- dant led the way out of the room, but the culprits heard the laugh of Buell. all the way through the hall. across the area of barracks, until finally 1t came as sort of chuckling echo from the office of the guardhouse.
 The culprits were confronted with the probability of about three months to quarters and about fifty tours of extra guard duty as a re- suit of their disregard for discipline They were in the depths for twenty four hours, and then the list of the days delinquents was read, and, To, their names did not appear!
 General Don Carlos Buell. had had the laugh of his lifetime, and because of the joy of 1t he had asked the con- to spare the oHenders.-Chi- cago Post