Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 May 1874 — “Hazing” Severely Punished. [ARTICLE]

“Hazing” Severely Punished.

A correspondent, writing to a New York paper of hazing at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, says: “ One day, about two months ago, when a certain member of the third class was ' Superintendent of one of the floors, a well, developed plebeian came along the entry whistling. At the sight of his superior officer he ceased, as he was in duty bound. The Superintendent, with an insolent desire of displaying his authority over a fellow larger than himself, ordered him ‘to do it again.’ The plebe, well knowing that he would be ‘ spotted’ for compliance, remained silent; whereupon the temporary official declared that if he would not obey he should be made to do so. Nothing, however, could be done at that moment, so, the youngster was allowed to go his way. That night nineteen third-class men entered his room and ‘ passed him round;’ that is, they formed a ring into which the offender was dragged and pushed violently from one to another, always falling against two or three strong hands that pushed him back again before he had time to take breath, and thus he was buffeted from side to side by nineteen pairs of muscular arms until this great stalwart lad, nearly six feet tall, fainted from exhaustion. The hazers then departed, climbing out of the windows and sliding down the ..post of the veranda. The first class man who was on duty that night caught a glimpse of these forms descending in a suspicious manner, and, having taken an observation of the window from whence they came, went to the unlucky plebe’s room and found him insensible. He was resuscitated and questioned; at first he was unwilling to tell any tales, but after a thorough investigation the truth was ascertained, and the matter was laid before the Government, who at once adopted most decisive measures. The whole thirjLqlass was quarantined from the beginning, of April to the end of the year; that is, for two months and a hal they have not a moment’s recreation. All their hours of pleasure are forfeited. While the other classes are playing football or taking the young ladies out to row the boys of ’76 are working away at extra drills; when the others have half an hour’s leisure to go to the library or run into a friend’s room they are prisoners in their own apartments. The nineteen who were engaged in the affair just mentioned, in addition to being quarantined, are ordered on the practice cruise this summer; losing thereby the only leave of absence that they have during the whole four years of their academic course—the one visit home to which so many toasts have been drank and so many songs sung, which is looked forward to and looked back upon from the time they enter the academy until the time they leave it." Mocking-birds can imitate human actions as well as human voices, it seems. A Macon (Ga.) paper says that two pets of this stripe got jealous of each other and undertook to fight it out in desperate fashion. One of them, getting enough of it, sang out, “ Quit, quit,” and followed this up by crying “ Police, police.” And, oddly enough, there was a policeman within hearing who came up and stopped the fight Troy has a chicken with four wings