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Show t , i c--s foe? " 4 ? n j--,. ..... . . s ' - - t 1 . ' ' : ' -a , ' " r - - By EL:0 SCOTT WATSON ' ; . V . ; . . -i J '. j'v I From Nevada s hoarv ruUrt's. fruni , t. - . " ' . , , , .y ' ' Ftonnv coasts of Manu . J. ' -.v. .,v '.i i . ' ' " ' 1 - .'; '. - From Lava Hods ami Yellow stone ! c ' ' : ' . 1 ' - ' '-" - -' I the Storv never w:i:iod; " T . . x -tr . ; - - - ' .'- . ' Whenever ti u e v called, tiu-v went. . . , ; .'; I tlie'r s(im5 wore ne or vlow; t 1 , : ' - " r' v .. ( ' ' ' ' W ith Mater" on tlseir .ys , : . ,1 : . ' .',) ' and "b'iinv Havens, vh. K 1 '-N. j " V -j -, '' ' ' ' i I1 . - v . v. ' V " ' When tins life's trouM.d sea Is !i - ? -.'. . " . (ir a 'id our la.t ba t tie's i " ' . '- - : , -' ' ' through. K v'- ... v . : '. J;' ; . J '- . " , .' , ! ;l If Lica pt-rrniis us mort:;:s there 1 -- --'"x', . ' - . ' ...'! h s Mom domain to v.ew. ' " ' ' ' - "--' k ' U . Then we i-i.all see in :lnrv : V' : : ' . .',,' , i-- crowned, in proud re lest ;al " . . .. - :N " " 1 s- "' 1 , ' ... ' " ' ' - The friends n've known nnd "N" " " - ' - - v "'-. .'"H' f ' " ! 1 i n.T otluor of t!ie fnite-i vrvrJ yyTtvz ttjterzd frzzosz OzjncUry T By EL;0 SCOTT WATSON From Nevada s ho.irv ri.U'.vs. frum Ftonnv coasts of Mauu From I.ava Hoils niul Vvllow stone the storv noor waf.eil-. W kf nf vf r (iiilv calK il. tlu-v wont. tlio'r s 1 11 ii? woie newr slow: With ".!"a Mat. i on their l.v and beimv Havonp. vli. When this life's trouM.il sel Is ( er and our last battles through. If lion permits us mortals there h s hlest ilomain to v.ew. . Then we M.all see in t:lorv i- cre.wned. in proud reiesla.l r o w The ir.ends n r ve known nad l.u l so well at Lietinv Havens', Hav-ens', ch:" I ' "1 1 otlu-or of t!ie I niie'l rC'C? " States urmy fi om the mi-r Q'f est "si"''" tail" up to a f poueral with four siars on " ' his sIiiHilil.'ts has not hi'ard jBMfjuur - l'I!lt vt'i-se nnd for a hrief Xf moment beon carricil hack 'v'-fW to "Al,lia MsH'-r." tin- fuit-Stales fuit-Stales Military Aoail r'''.'l7 emy at West I'oii!'.. X. Y.? For ui.e of I he qhisi I'ic-tiiresque I'ic-tiiresque and heloved tra J' ditions of that fatuous military mil-itary school whore tradition tradi-tion is so strong, centers around the came of Benny Havens. Who was r.enny Havens? One ol America's famous generals, a graduate tif whom West Point is proud? A he loved teacher at the academy? Well, hardly! Sometime prior to 1SM1' IJennv Havens came to West Point and oc- " . cpied a one-story cottage a short (lis " " tance west of wliere the old cadet hos pital, now the nurses' quarters, stands "What his ancestry was or where lie came from no one seems to know. P,ut ater all those things are relatively unimportant, for the beginnings of u tradition are frequently wrapped in a mist of obscurity, but a tradition is none the less dear on that account In the early days of Benny's resilience st the post he sold to the cadets ale. cakes and cider, and in the winter buckwheat cakes and cider flip. I.atei on the cider flip became ale flip and still later something a bit stronger was added to his bill of fare. It was tltis "something" which led to Benny's undoing, for he was expelled from t lie reservation. J'.y this time Benny had become so attached to the corps of cadets and t lie cadets had become so attached to Benny that neither could think id allowing this expulsion to mean his retirement to the obscurity from which he had come. So he set up his little pliop just off the post In what later became known as "The House h. the Kiver." a Mecca to which so many ot West Point's famous sons made fre quent. even If forbidden, pilgrimages For slipping out of bounds to the hos j tillable fireside of Benny Havens - where food and drink could oe illegal ly obtained, contrary to the rules and regulations which have always char acterized the dignity and order of this - severe academy, was one of the of fenses for which a cadet could be "skinned" (today they call it "squilled." I. e. reported for one ot the ninny breaches of regulations). Tor instance, take the case of Cadet Armstrong Custer of Ohio along about V... the year 18(11. ''lister himself has recorded re-corded "ni. offenses against law and order were not great in enormity hut whai l ! if lacked in magnitude the made up in number. The forbid. leti localily of Benny Havens possessed stronger attractions than the siudv and demonstration of a problem in Kucliil." If you go to West Point today to-day you can tin I in an old sheepskin hound volume the retold of Custer's "skin sheet," bearing ttie list of of fenses for which Cadet Custer was reported. In all there are 4.Y! separate "skins" with a total of S 1 12 demerits and many of them are for partaking of Benny's hnspiialily. Since a cadoi is allowed S-"! 3 demerits before lie Is dismissed. Custer hud only more to go when lie was graduated. So he came very nearly being denied his chance for fame and America came very nearly losing one of her most brilliant cavalry ollicers. But if Benny Havens had a part in this, it was by no moans a unique case. .Many an other nflicer who later became famous could testify to a number of "skins" because they simply could not resist V ,r , r r E'enny's Pitcher. tliP ohanii ol Blmuj.v Ihivens' linspi-tKlity. linspi-tKlity. r.enny Hiiwiis' oharaoU-'r was 111:1 1 1 sided, kind to children, Irtvarinhlj courtpnus lowoincii," so rends n sketch In "Bu'le Notes," the hnndhook of the United States Corps of Cadets, or "the pieties' Hihle," as it is called at West Point. "He was possessed of a terrible and ungovernable temper. There was an indefiniblr? smih t hitiy about his personality, that hound his friends to hi in h.v inseparable lies Virtues and qualities were his which helped to shape the lives of and j;ive fs'iiidanee to, as they rose to life's pinnacles, many whose names are now engraved on the pages of history." For instance I here was a certain cadet named Kdar llan I'oe. luir-in? luir-in? the short stay ot that erratic In dividual at the academy, (lie was dis missed after beini; there about six niHinti-) Put frequently is ii-i P,.d t ny's place of hu--iiies while it was still 1 on the reservation and became de- j otcd to him. The fill ore port et'l ca I remarked that "Penny was the sole congenial soul in the entire (bid for sak'ti p!aee.'- Pentiy lived to the ripe old up1 of eiirhty eiht years. Taps were sound ed for him on May 'J'.. ls77, and now j he sleeps in the Highland Union eerne j lary on the hanks of the river he 1 loved so well. Put West Point is rich I in meinoiies of penny Havens. If j you 1:0 there today they will show you j the pitcher from which he served his j famous cider tlip. I Tut most of all his fame is preserved in the sons widen lias been carried literally around the world by West Pointers. That son; was composed early in Ids career, it j was written about 1N.''.S when Lucius I U'Prieu of Maryland, a lieutenant in the Ki'hth infantry was visit ing a friend. Kiiey A. A mold, then a first clas.-man. Together they spent man a congenial evening at Penny's place and, so the story j:oos, O'Prien and his friends compoj-ed a poem about Penny nnd set it lo the tune of "The ! Wearing of the (Jreeu." P immediately immediate-ly became popular at West Point and for the next quarter of a century one of the tirst things a plebe did was to learn to sin? "Penny Havens. Oh!' lUtring the summer days of IN1V1 when day after day the steamers bearing home the veterans of the Civil war passed Penny's little cottage on the hanks of the Hudson the bands would , strike up one tune and Penny would hear hundreds of voices joining in the singing of : Come fill your glasses, fellows, and Fifind up in n row To singing sent intent a 11 y we're goi nu for to ro: In the nrmy there'? sobriety promo- tion's very slow So we'll ping our remintflrenaes of j Rrnny Havens. Oh! 1 CHoKt'H: Oh'- Binny Havens. Oh! Oh! Benny Havens. Oh! We'll sing our rentinfscenses of Benny Havens. Oh! To our kind old Alma Mater, our rock- bound Highland Home. We'll cast many a fond regret aa o'ei life's sea we roam: Until on our Inst battle field, the light of heaven hn)l glow. We'll never fa il to drink to her. and He uny Havens. Oh! CHOm'S- "tVIav the Army be augmented may promotion pro-motion be less slow May our country in the hour of need be 1 eady for the foe; 1 May we find a soldier's resting placn I beneath a soldier's blow With room enough beside out graves lor Bene v Havens Oh ! |