United States Military Academy West Point - Howitzer Yearbook (West Point, NY)

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f ' - ' 4 ,-it ii-tffyij- - r fi- - ' ' ' ' f lr !r l) l lr tf lf lf tf t,xl, i lr tr ! ' tr tn! i ' w ' ' mm - In Retrospect ■ iJiji K- HE sketches contained in the pages that follow are the handi- work of Louis Ruyl, America ' s foremost pen artist. They require no description as his depiction is most complete. It has been deemed adv isable, however, to add these few para- graphs in order that dimming eyes may be assisted in bringing into the sharp relief of memory, the form and substance of the objects pictured and the sentiments associated therewith. Conceive if you will a year far removed from the present. After one of oft ' - repeated changes of station we dig from the bottom of a badly battered Q. M. book box this thumb marked Howitzer. Impelled by a host of reminiscences we haphazardly scan the pages. Pausing here at the view section for a moment ' s contemplation the days of our youth flood back upon us. Again in fancy we alight from an oppressive West Shore smoker and mount the hill of sad and happy recollection, the road up which we climbed with bitter regret for having to return from the bliss of Christmas leave happily spent, or up which we once tugged a victorious football team with mad abandon. We stop for a breath at the Riding Hall. Rising in a seemingly unbroken mass from the rocky river ledge of which it appears to form a part, it greets the eye as one ascends the steep drive leading to the level of the Plain. A gigantic structure it is, providing a magnificent buttress to the eastern flank of our Highland home. Scene of the skilled horse- manship of polo experts, its gallery-encircled interior has also witnessed the initial efiforts of young America to achieve suppleness and poise aboard mounts once accustomed to artillery draft. Turning to the left we view another elaborate pile. Frowning down upon the queenly Hudson from the precipitous slope above rears the Administration Building, a massive block of granite quarried from the nearby hills. Its very presence, cold and austere, suggests the nature of its purpose as the seat of the Mighty and attending spirits. Entrance therein, through the mediaeval arch- way was fit cause for the staunchest heart to quail. The threatening eagle, perched on its southern wall, heightens the forbidding aspect of its exterior. A short walk up Tenth Avenue and a glance to the west, from the neighbor- hood of the cross roads, discloses the weathered turrets of Old South Barracks.