Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-09-14
OLD JOE COOL.
Though He Was Not Very Old He
Was Undoubtedly Cool.

He wasn't old at all, not q day over
twenty when he joined the regiments; a
great, tall, hulking fellow with a big,
honest face like a boys, weighed one
hundred and seventy-five pounds if he
did an ounce, and answered to the
name of Joseph Cooley. We all called
him Joe, to begin with, and this yarn
is to tell how he got his other name,
We shipped aboard a river steamer
at New York for Ship Island, fifteen
hundred of us; may be you boys don't
know what that means-aboard of a
river steamer? 1t mean that every
berth had two men in it. lynn heads
and pints, and glad to get ne at that;
the unlucky ones lynn side by side on
the floor, like herring in a box, thick
as they could lie.
Lots Of 'em were dreadful sick to be-
gin with, ONE for one day, some for
two, some all the way. You can guess
If twas pleasant.
We were al in for it, goin' to fight
for our country, We'd hollered and
waved flags and had speeches made to
us, and felt considerable good about it,;
that was the top dressin'. Now we be-
gan to strike hard-pan, and | tell you,
we didn't think about our country ev-
cry minute, not much.
Well, Joe he wasn't sick a minute;
he'd go steppin' around amongst the
fellers as softly as a girl, GRIMM at
at one, givin' water to another, fixin'
this ones head up onto Il knapsack,
and proppin' that one up ag'inst a
mast, as ef he'd been q hospital nurse
all his days.
When some of the men would groan
and swear, he'd say; "'Tis ruther
unpleasant, amt it? Scold away; it'll
do ye good to spit it all OUT" and
they'd have to grin.
When we'd got abreast of HIatteras,
there come up about five o'clock once of
the high old regulation kind Of storms,
a buster; it come solid, as if you was
struck with something steady that
pressed you down; we couldn't stan
up against it. They talk about waves
rollin' mountain-high, that's poetry
but I'd be willin' to make my affidavit
in court that they did run all of sixty
feet high each side of us.
The steamer couldn't make a mite O.
Roadway, nor wouldn't answer to hel
hellum, and there we lay, side on, il
the trough of the sea, like a fly in {
hammock, %swingin' to and fro side
ways. Every now and then a bis
sea'd come slap down, like c%lose-tC
thunder, onto the deck and SWEEP
every thing off her. There was {
hundred barrels OF beef went to fec
the fishes that night.
| lay in my berth, a-looking out o
the winder-fivc of us had that stat.
room, four in the berths, one on tn,
floor. Joe Cooley had the floor; RICH
outside there was a life-boat lyin
geared onto the deck, and all around
it was a thick row of men holdin' ontc
her gunnel with both hands, SOS to ge'
the first chance.
"Well!" says |, kind of disguised.
whats up?" says Joe, lookin' W
at me So | told him.
Him." says he. II guess I'd jes'
as lives be drowned in bed as out
doors" So if he didn't draw up his
blanket and 60 to snorin' ag'in!
You see, just a minute before, the
Cap'en of the boat had come through
the deck cabin where We was, and one
of the fellers sung out to him: Gal
this a considerable of q storm, dom
We, Cap'enP"
He ripped out some big words, l tel
ye, the sense of 'em being that we was
going to the bottom inside Of an hour
and Joe had heered him.
Sure enough, there was no chance
for the men hangin' on to that boat
their faces white as death, and theil
fingers gripped onto that gunnel til
they bled; for if the ship had gone I,
the bottom, that boat would have
cracked like an egg-shell the frs
wave that gin it a blow. 1t was
scary time for all of us.
Some OF the fellers took 1t n wa,
and some took it another; people ain
all Jest alike. Some cussed and somt
prayed, and some grit their teeth ant
kept still. Joe was the only n tina
went to sleep and slep' through.
However, we didn't go down, fol
about two o'clock in the morning there
come the biggest kind OF a thunder
storm against the big blow, and the
wind and rain out OF that killed those
great waves fat. In twenty minutes
after it set in, the sea was ordinarily
peaceable. the boat got so't the hellun
steered her, and we went right along
and come morning, Joe got up from
his bed on the floor, shook himself,
rubbed his eyes, looked round and
grinned at lis.
''Well, fellers!" says he, 1--WE aint
drownded, be WEI"
mot as. we're sensible Of" says
Chaplin, a dry sort Of chap in the bunk
below me.
"You took II rather cool" says | tc
Joe.
Names Cooley" says he, laughin'.
And after that we called him Cool
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