The times., 1889-11-22
OLD COOL IN THE ARMY.

He wasn't old at all not a day over
90 when he joined the regiment; a
great, tall, hulking fellow, with big
honest face like boys, weighed 175
pounds if he weighed an ounce, and
answered to the name Of Joseph Cool
ey. We all called him Joe, to begin
with, and this yarn is to tell how he
got his other name.
We shipped aboard river steamer
at New York for Ship Island, 1900 of
us; maybe you boys don't know what
that means-aboard of river steamer2
1t means that every berth had two
men in it, layin' heads and p'ints, and
glad to get one at that; the unlucky
ones lying side by side on the floor,
like herring in box, thick as they
could be.
When we'd got about abreast of
Hatteras there came up about o'clock
one of the high old regulation kind of
storms, a buster. can't begin TO tell
how the wind blowed; 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' up mountain
high, that's poetry; but I'd be willin
to make my affidavit in court that
they did run all of sixty feet each side
of us.
The steamer couldn't make q might
of headway, nor wouldn't answer to
her hellum, and there we lay, side on,
in the trough of the sea, like q fly in
hammock, swingin' to and fro, side
ways. Every now and then a big sead
come slap down, like close to thunder,
on to the deck and sweep everything
off her. There was hundred barrels
of beef went to feed the fishes that
night.
l lay in my berth a-lookin' out of
the winder--five of us had that state
room, four in the berths, one on the
floor. Joe Cooley had the floor; right
outside there was a lifeboat lying
geared on to the deck, and all around
it was q thick row of men holdin' on
to her gunnel with both hands, so as
to get the first chance.
"Welll" says /, kind of disguised.
"What's up2" said Joe, lookin' up
at me. So | told him.
Him." says he. II guess I'd jest
as lives be drowned in bed as out
doors" So if he didn't draw up his
blanket and go to snorin' ag'in!
You see, just q 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, Call
this considerable Of a storm, don't we,
cap'en?"
He ripped out some big words, l tell
ye, the sense of 'em being that we was
going TO the bottom inside of an hour,
and Joe heered him.
Sure enough there was no chance
for the men hangin' on to that boat,
their faces white as death, and their
fingers gripped into that gunnel till
they bled; for if the ship had gone to
the bottom, that boat would have
cracked like an eggshell the first wave
that gin it a blow. 1t was q scary time
for all of us.
Some of the fellers took it one way
and some took it another; people amt
jest alike. Some prayed and some
grit their teeth and kept still. Joe was
the only one that went to sleep and
slep through.
However, we didn't go down, for
about 2 o'clock in the morning there
came the biggest kind of thunder
storm against the big blow, and the
wind and rain out Of that killed those
great waves flat. In twenty minutes
after it set in the sea was ordinarily
peaceable, the boat got so't the hellum
steered her, and we went right along,
and came morning Joe got up from
his bed on the floor shook himself,
rubbed his eyes, looked around and
grinned at us.
well, fellersl'' says he, 1--WE amt
drowned, be we2"
mot as we're sensible Of" says
Chaplin, a dry sort of q chap in the
bunk below me.
"You took it rather cool, "says I to
Joe.
Names Cooley, says he, laughin'.
And after that we called him Cool"
or "Old Cool, just as it happened.
Lots of 'em were dreadful sick, to
begin with, some for one day, some
for two, some for all the way. You
can guess If twas pleasant.
We were all in for it, goin' to fight.
We'd hollered and waved flags, and
had speeches made to us, and felt con-
siderable good about it; that was the
top dressin'. Now we began to strike
hard pan, and I tell you we didn't
think about our country every minute,
not much.
Well, Joe he wasn't sick O minute;
he'd go steppin' round amongst the
fellers as softly as q girl, GRIMM at
one, givin' water to another, fxin'
this ones head up on to a knapsack,
and proppin' that one up ag'inst a
mast, as If he'd been hospital nurse
all his days.
When some of the men would groan
he'd say, 'Tis ruther unpleasant,
amt it9 Scold away; it'll do We good
to spit it all out" and they'd have to
grin.
We got landed after awhile, as dirty |
and water tired lot as ever you see;
quite certain that solderin' wasn't |
neither fun nor play; but bless you'll |