Those who misbehaved in our military unit did not last long. There was no kidding around with our commander. The usual punishment was to catapult them alive while everyone in the unit was looking. Some would lose consciousness from the initial shock, but quite a few among them would screech and jiggle their limbs in midair. I remember one such execution to this day. When the catapult released him with a bang, he started crowing at the top of his voice. As he flew over the entire encampment, he flapped his arms as though he was flying. It did not take us long to realize that this was supposed to be humorous, and many of us started laughing out loud before he hit the ground and raised a cloud of dust. Later that day we learned that he was known to his mates by the nickname of Crow. And he was also known for his outlandish humor, which mocked death more often than it revered it with due respect. Crow’s humor, as it was known among his mates. There was much laughter in the encampment for quite a while, and the commander abandoned this form of punishment for a year or maybe even two.

From T.T. Howard’s Eye-Witness Accounts of Major Campaigns and Conquests, New York: Random House, 1949, pp. 406-407.