Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1887 — HE WOULDN’T BE HAZED. [ARTICLE]

HE WOULDN’T BE HAZED.

A Cadet Who Went Safely Through West Point on His Muscle. iFrom the Detroit Tribune.] At the close of the war in 1865 a young captain of the eng neer corps asked for and obtained an appointment as cadet at the military academy at West l oint. It may be said there was nothing strange in this, as many young volunteer officers, desirous of having a West Point training, were doing the same thing. But the young captain in question was destined to make a record at the academy which was unheard of in the long eventful history of the institution, and which to this day stands out singly and alone. He was a handsome, sturdy-built, active, manly fellow wi h a br ght complexion and looked the very picture of good health, good spirits, and dauntless courage. His parents were wealthy New-Yorkers, and he had enjoyed the benefits of a thorough gymnastic training. Ho had also made a courageous officer in the engineer corps, and de non str a ted that he was able to take care of himself in any emergency. But this, of course, was unknown to the cadets. On first reporting the “plebes ’’ are quartered for a few dav s in “the angle ’ of the barracks, and during release from quarters in the evening the old cadets visit the a gle and amuse themselves “deviling ” or “hazing ” the plebes. As a matter of co rse, the room occupied by the young captain, with six or seven others, was visited by three or four of the old cadets. When they entered the door the occupants of the room, except the captain, sprang to their feet and assumed the position of “attention,” knowing they were expected to do so. The captain was seated on a trunk reading a book, and merely glanced to see who the callers were and kept on reading. “You plebe there on the trunk,what’s your name?” thundered one of the old cadets.

“ Wells W. Leggett, sir,” quietly answered the captain. “Why in don’t you stand ‘ attention,’ Mr. Leggett? ” “J don’t wish to, sir.” “You don’t, eh! You plebe! Well, then, I’ll make you wish to.” The cadet macle a rush for Leggett, but there was a sudden change in the combination. It was loaded, and something happened, but the old cadet could never tell just how. He knew that Leggett’s book dropped on the floor; Leggett arose from the trunk, and he struck against the wall, ten or twelve feet distant, falling to the floor. His friends raised him up, and in a very few minutes both his eyes were black and swelling fast. It is probable that the party might have all assaulted Leggett and used him up, but cadets do not do such things. They are gentlemen and believe in fair play. So they led their damaged friend away, remarking to Leggett, “You will hear from us again, young man.” The next day an old cadet appeared and told Leggett he was a friend of Mr. Blank, and would be pleased to be referred to Mr. Leggett’s friend, so they might arrange the preliminaries for a meeting. This proceeding was in accord with the unwritten law of the institution. No rough-and-tumble fights on the spur of the moment are permitted by the cadets, but when one of them is struck or insulted he sends his friend or second, who confers with the other’s second, and the time is fixed for a visit to old Fort Clinton, •where behind the ramparts a twenty-four-foot ring is pitched or marked in the ground and the dispute settled in those days according to the rules of the London prize-ring—the Marquis of Queensberry not having yet been heard of. The affair of Leggett was so settled, and his opponent went to the hospital for repairs, while he came off without a scratch. He was successively challenged by nearly a score of the best men in the corps, all of whom had occasion to visit the hospital, but from all the engagements he only received a couple of slight scratches in the face, and was not incapacitated for duty at all. It then became evident that he was the best man in the corps, and as he maintained this position during his four years’ course, he graduated with the record of the only man who went through West Point “on his muscle.”