St Johns College - Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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some mischievous fellow with a bountiful supply of burnt cork made a tour of the camp decorating the face of every unfortunate that he found asleep So great were the changes he Wrought, that many a cadet, Waking from his peaceful slumbers, failed to recognize himself until much soap and water had been used. On Monday morning, We broke camp,-and that night We were back again within the Walls of old Pinkney. The whole encampment was very pleasant and instructive. There was not a single case of sickness to mar the pleasure, and the cadets obtained much use- ful knowledge of camp life. The faculty has accepted the invitation of the Tolchester Company to return this year. , 5 , 161

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were soon waltzing around the room, struggling heroically to master the Boston Dip. A O, that dance hall! In it was spent almost all the time at our disposal, and few were the girls who were able to resist the blandishments of the St. J ohn's Cadets. Then there was the merry-go-round, where we spent hours in a fruitless effort to cap- ture the brass ring which entitled the happy possessor 'to a free ride. Nor should we for- get Pike's Peak, where it is the custom for the girls to scream as they go through the tunnel, emerging from it flushed, with a painfully unconcerned youth beside them. Many amusing incidents occurred while we were in camp. One night the corporal of the guard was called forth by a sentry. Arriving on thescene, he found this valiant soldier peering around a tent, and inquired what the trouble was. I thought I heard a flap flop, replied the sentry, whereupon he received a gentle reminder not to call out the corporal again unless there was sufficient reason for it, and that ruffled oflicer retired to the guard tent. The unfortunate sentry hadlittle peace from that time on, for the fellows were con- tinually asking him if he had heard any more flap flops. A While the battalion was in camp, a great rivalry sprang up between Companies A and B. Every day the members of the two companies would stand in their respective streets and kid each other about their various faults and short-comings. This rivalry had a good effect, for each company strived to outdo the other in keeping their street clean and their tents iniorder, and, whenever one of A's men was reprimanded for not keeping his tent neat, Company B would go into spasms of joy. - , One morning we were all aroused-by the cry, Look at Sherwood, and hastening from our tents, we beheld that illustrious youth clad in a most amazing sweater and re- sembling nothing so much as a big brown bear. Perceiving nothing extraordinary about this, we inquired what the -row' was and the originator of the excitement gasped, amid shrieks of laughter, Doesn't he look like a booby owl? The name clung to him and since then Sherwood has rejoiced in the pseudonym of Booby. One night a sentry challenged three men who were approaching- the lines, and de- manded to know who went there. To his amazement and vexation the replies came back one by one, Pike's Peak man, a Three balls for five cent man, i 'f Hula Zula man. Thinking he was the victim of a practical joke, he called the corporal of the guard, who found that themen were the proprietors of the amusement places which they had named. What with swimming, drilling, and sleeping the days passed by until the last Satur- day, when we were to have a sham battle. I want to be a military man. O for the pleasure of carrying a ten-pound gun around a field on a hot June day, running, charging, and blazing away at the elusive enemy. Nay, nay, I would prefer to sit in the shade and watch it. On Sunday we had a joyous loaf, with no drills to interrupt. All the Pucks, Judges, Black Cats, and Tip Top Weekliesn were brought out and the fellows settled themselves to spend a pleasant afternoon. After a while they began to grow drowsy, and, one by one, fell into the arms of Morpheus. During this period of somnolence, 163

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Skirmish Drill T-:EC--JZ.-Mfr: ,-.i-A