s the offending class eventually made
up to him by laying a tax upon its members, doubtless to the great
disgust of the innocent ones, "who thought bad form had been displayed
somewhere." This experience, however, by no means ended the practice,
which continued down to the present day of flag and cement. The
_Chronicle_ once even took occasion to point out certain places where--

If the freshmen _insist_ upon celebrating their transition state by
the customary hints to citizens in regard to side-walks, etc., we
think we cannot do better than call their attention to a wretched
collection of rotten planks which lie along the fence on Division
Street, not far from William.

The local police force has always been fair game for the students, a
position "he" (to use the long-standing quip) did not always appreciate.
Gatherings of students in the streets were at one time looked upon with
great disfavor, while the daily "rushes" at the old post-office, before
the days of carrier delivery, were particularly prolific sources of
trouble. The office before 1882 was especially inconvenient, and when
the officers, warned by previous trouble, proposed to allow students to
enter only one at a time, which meant that many would go without their
mail, a disturbance threatened at once, and several were arrested. The
next night matters proved even more serious; the fire-bell called out
the state militia, who charged with fixed bayonets and wounded several
persons. A dozen students were jailed indiscriminately but no one could
be found to prefer charges the following morning. Suits for false
imprisonment were brought against the city and mayor but were eventually
discontinued on the advice of Judge Cooley.

In November, 1890, even more serious trouble arose following another
series of arrests for post-office "rushing." During the evening sounds
of rifle shots were heard, and the students, already excited, scented
more trouble. They gathered in a great crowd in front of the house where
the firing had occurred but found that it was only a wedding
celebration. Then, with characteristic good nature, they called for a
speech, but their intentions were misinterpreted, and when the militia,
who had attended the wedding in a body, marched out the students
followed them with jokes and jeers. Finally the militiamen lost patience
and charged with clubbed guns, and one quiet student who had been
apparently only a spectator, wa