Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-01
we hadn't but Just said A. There was

teers doing nuthing but drill, in a
new, l.zy sloppy kind of climate,
with nothing but meat victuals and
hard bread tell We we pined after
onions and such truck worse'n them
old lsr'elites in the hymn book did
| well remember how one day Char
ley Bliss was roarin out that old hymn;
The way is all new, as it opens to view
An behind is the foamin' Red sea,
So none now need to speak of the onions and leels
And don't talk about garlic to me.
Chaplin stepped up, as solemn as a
clam, and threatened to punch his
head.
Stop that blarsted tune" says he.
I'm nigh about ready to desert for
head of cabbage, and | can't bear to
hear onions made light of.
There was one colonel had a regi-
ment in camp along of us who was the
greatest hand to nag the men you ever
see. He was as pcrnickity as an old
maid and as notonal as an old bache-
lor. He KEEP the men up to drill as
though twas salvation, and inspected
them within an inch of their lives,
and called that discipline; and p'rhaps
it was.
traps for TO ketch the men nappin'.
He'd travel outside the vidcttes and
pickets SOS to see if they was awake
and alert, and if they wasn't, then
they had to take it.
Well, as | was sayin', we were new
to the business, and to be spied on and
roared at and ketched nappin' made us
all pretty snappish, and Cool himself,
who was ordinarily as clever as could
be, was stirred up.
'I'll fix him r says he, one night,
when we was talkin' it over by the
fire "Wat till my turn comes"
Sure enough, the next night he was
on vidette duty, and he heerd noise
in the bushes. Up went his musket.
"Who goes there's" he roared.
Officer of the day" says the
colonel.
Il know no officer Of the day out
side the lines; throw up your hands,
dismount and surrender" yelled Cool.
Il tell you I'm officer of the day"
says the colonel, madder'n a yeller
hornet.
Il know no officer of the day out
side the lines; dismount or fire, re-
peated Cool
Well, the colonel r'ared and sput-
tered, but Cool never lowered his gun,
and finally the colonel had to dis
mount and come along toward Cool.
Il tell you, you blockhead I'm Col.
Blank, officer of the day"
Cool cooked his gun and leveled ii
at the feller's head, sayin' again
Il know no officer of the day out
side the lines; give up your side arms
or shall shoot you through the
head"
Well, the colonel RELY b'lieved
Cool didn' reco' nize him, SO he handed
over his side arms, and Cool marched
him in clear through the camp to
headquarters, an handed him over tC
the general.
tell you Mister Blank got a charge
O cold shot in the line o tongue lash
in that time, for the general was full
O steel; but Cool got promoted fol
bravery.
When we got to Port Hudson, ONT
night before the battle we was lyin
round on the ground, and Cool he wa
stretched out on his back, sort of tilt
ed up against little stump, fas
asleep. | lay about twenty feet off
and we had fire goin', so't coulC
see him layin' there like a big log
mouth wide open and big feet turned
toes up jest though the want nothin
goin ON.
Pretty soon heard zip Zip" and 1
minnie bullet just took off the toe o
one of those great army shoes, ant
! l,n CT ,l.
to his ear; just shaved it. He riz VI
little
whats goin' on!' says he
"Why," said |, there's some bul
lets a-flyin' round here, and one nigl
, about shot off your ear. You'll fine
/, it in that stump.
, He looked around as quiet as Sun
day.
We'll, I'll get a leetle out O thei
way" says he, and with that role,
, over about a foot to the left, shut hi
ewes and was snorn' inside of tire
minutes.
After the battle was over we had t.
: stay on the field pretty much all night
; When we begun to fall back mex
r morning there wasn't any way to &C
2 to camp but through a ravine that tn
: enemy's guns raked-and they kel
5 rakin' of us into another world prett
: spry as we went through the gully
! We couldn't take along the wount
, ed, SO they crept into the bushes tn
l best they could, and there they had {
lie all day before we could go afto
l EN- and fetch 'em out. 1t was hare
but that's war.
t But we couldn't let 'em lie there a
through that hot day, with no waite
S and nothin to stanch their wound,
G SO about noOntime we got leave to ca
for volunteer to go over to 'em.
o Now betwiXt us and that ravin
there was about forty rods of oil
:. field, as bare as brick, right in tn
" enemy's range. 1t was pretty SINAI
risk to run to cross that field, wit
o water and cotton, and we all knew il
c but the word for a volunteer WASH
u out of capen's mouth before old Coo
jumped up.
!. IN 60 sir!' says he Il haven
d pot no incum branceS to home and /