Thus in studying the life of the soldier at home before he went into the army camp, even the slightest traces of twentieth century recreation are found to have been lacking, but that does not mean that those people never forgot their work. It would be hard to find a more hospitable group. They were never too busy to entertain. There was the occasional jollification with rum or beer, the card party, the ball, the concert, the theater, and of a more rural type the picnic and the "corn husking".[116] The conditions in camp were different than those at home. The problems of bad housing, congestion and recreation were then factors to be considered. There was the small unsanitary and poorly ventilated hut with twelve to sixteen men and sometimes even more crowded into it. When the troops first went into winter quarters there was plenty to do in the way of exercise for there were logs to cut and huts to build, but those were soon completed and the men were crowded together with nothing to do. Something had to happen, the monotony of the dreary days had to be broken. This was brought about in several ways. Often the punishments ordered by the court martial were administered publicly in camp just to enliven the common routine. When a man was sentenced to death, but had been pardoned by those in charge, the force of going through the punishment was carried out. The condemned man was brought to the side of his newly dug grave, he was bound and blind-folded, the firing party got in position, the fire lock even snapped, and as might have been expected, the culprit sometimes died of the shock.[117] The hanging of a man was a gala day in camp and the place of hanging was almost as popular as an amusement park of today; "Five soldiers were conducted to the gallows according to their sentences. For the crimes of desertion and robbing the inhabitants, a detachment of troops and a concourse of people formed a circle around the gallows and the criminal were brought in on a cart sitting on their coffins and halters about their necks"[118] It was frequently stated in the sentence given by court martial that the punishment whatever it was, riding the wooden horse, riding the rail, receiving the biblical "Thirty-nine" lashes, or running the gauntlet,[119] was to take place at some time when all the soldiers were together as at the beating[120] of the retreat or at the head of the regiment.[121] Punishments ordered by court martial in that way served two purposes. They furnished amusement for the soldiers at the same time the purpose for which they were intended, that of making an example of the misbehavior of one of the soldiers.