The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-02-20
OLD COOL IN TIE Army.

face Ike boys, weighed 10 pounds l
he did an ounce, and answered to tn
name of Joseph Cooley. We all callet
his Joe, to begin with, and this yarn i
to tell how he got the other name.
We shipped aboard river steamer a
New York for Ship Island, fifteen hun
dred of US; maybe you boys don't know
what that meaus-aboard of a. rive
steamer ? 1t means that every bertl
had two men in it, layin' heads anC
lp'ihs. and glad to get one at that; th'
nnlucky 'oyies;yin' side by side on thu
fl 'or, like herring in a box, thick as they
could lie. b.. -
When we'd got about abreast Of Hat
teras III ere came up about B o'clock ont
of the high old regulation kind OF storms
q buster. l can't begin TO tell how thu
wind howled; it come solid, as il yoU
was struck with something steady tha
pressed you down: we couldn't stanC
up against it, They talk about wave'
rOllln' up mountain high, that's poetry
nut I'd be willin' to make my affidavit
IN court that they did run all of sixty
feet high each side OF US. - Ies. r
The steamer couldn't make mile oi
hesdway, nor wouldn't answer to hel
hellum, and there we lay, side on, in th'
trough If the sea, like fly in a ham
Every now and then big sea'd come
slap down, Ike close TO thunder. onto
The deck and sweep everything off her
There was 100 barrels of beef went q
feed the fishes that night.
lay in my berth a.lookin' out Of the
winder- Ave of us had that state room
four in the berths one on the flor. joe
Cooley had the floor; right outside there
was lifeboat lying gesred onto th'
deck, and all around It was thick row
of men hOldin' on to her gunnel with
Both hands, SOS to get the fret chance
"Well." says l, kind of disgusted.
"What's up p says Joe, lookin' up al
me. So l told HIM.
Hin" Gays he. II guess I'd jest al
lives be drowned in bed as out doors.
So il he didn't draw up his blanket and
20 to snorin' ag'in
You see, juat minute before the
cdp'en of the boat had come through the
deck cabin where we was, and one oi
the fellows sung out to him, "Call thil
considerable of a storrI, don't ye
cap'en ?"
H. ripped out some big words, l tel
We, the sense of 'em being that we wal
going TO the bottom inside of an hour
and Joe heered hun.
Sure enough, there was no chance fol
the men hangin' on to that boat, thell
faces white as death, and their fingers
grlpped into that gunnel till they bled
Tor If the ship had gone TO the bottom
that boat would have cracked like ar
/ l.. Ia al, a., 1ir IL n hlpxu
IL was scary time for all of US.
Some of the fellows took it one way
and some took it another; people AIM
jest alike. Some prayed and some grit
heir teeth and kept still. Joe was the
only one that went TO sleep and slep
through.
However, we didn't go down, fol
bout two o'clock In the morning there
came he biggest kind of a thunder
storm against the big blow and the vino
and rain out Of that killed those grea
waves fat. In twenty minutes after il
SET IN the sea was ordinarily .peaceable
the boat got sO't the hellum steered her
and we went right along and CONF
morning joe got up from his bed on thu
floor, shock himself, rubbed his eyes
ouked round and grinned at US.
well, fellers says he, I'VE ain
drowned be we p
mot as we're sensible of" says Chapir
\ dry sort of chap in the bunk below
me.
You took it rather COOL" says / t.
Joe.
Names Cooley says he, laughin'
| And after that we called him Cool, o
a Cool ~ ftof IL hannanp6
Lots of 'em were dreadful sick. to be
E,n with some for one day, some fo
two, some all the way. You can CUES
if twas pleasant.
We were all in for it, goin' to fight
We'd hollered and waved flags. and hat
speeches made TO us, ard ftlt considera
ole good about it; that was the toI
iressin'. Now we began to strike marc
| Dan and tell you we didn't think abou
| ~ conrtry avarv pninuta MOI much
| wi ~ ..,,'t - n,;nn,o
MeI,' ~ s,oen;n, Toe n1 romnS .n,nn,s, the fel
ne u so stepp,n ,ou LII nr;nn;U, ~ ono
'eIs as eo,uS 81 sr;n, ,his 49,,
Slvin wa.e, W Ino hD"nsaoi, "a na nroOn;r O
"e"u up ou'o 80, n,os, % ~ hs,,
na. one Up aS nn n1rsa oil his Ssvs
oevu noep", tLo 80 rro,'id roa,
wren oVuiy uT;o " IT.. W" nn,aaan, on,
,eu cay, ;,,,i 10 20 oo~5 =, an;
oco'u ave-. "a 49, ~ So " 'p'
AZ out, anu tney "ave ~ k" ART,
we gov 10 Iasu Sl.eI a"u,' 20 ut. noc.
ana water tIreu oS 40 e,el ~ S
qui'e certain .na' so'1 Sa IL ""ou s, y,
Il iun hui PIC, a. % Tha, w ao N
A1h nut Jus' salu a. A"eie was VI
nun alpnaoet 10 come. =.
ihere we was, paIIe; y. Vogn'f
iolng nothing DuS uIh', III peWI n1!
sloppy k'no ol ol a go Snu h s 1,o
pu' neas 80 o,;ona "a sech ,rnc
ye we pineo alte, 9h,ons anu SeSp uuo
worsen them old lsr eIItes I'D Tue NY"
book did
well remember one usE Cnarie
bl'rs was roarIn OUT 'na' VI" ny"n'
The way Is all new, as II opens 70 view
An behind Is me ioamlE ~ aeG sea- and
~ And % don't talk about garlic to me.
Chapln atepped up as solemn as
,iam and thIe,teued TO punch his head
nS,on that blarsteI time ~ saws h.
.I,n, NIGH ahout ready tn desert for
haad of cabbage. and can't bear [
nnions made ligbt of I"
Tnere was one colonel had reaimer
IN camn along of ma who was The grea
40, hand IN mac the men YOU aver ae,
! He was as psr4rckiry as an old maid an
"a nntional as an old bachelor. He kel
Se men nm TO drill as though twas an
vstion and inspected them within a
,uch of their lives and called that disci
nine: and p'rbaps il was,
But he done worse; he KEEP settil
raps for to ketch the men nsppip, He
travel outside the videttes and picket
,o's TO see if they as awake and sier
md if they wasn't then they had TO tai
il.
Well, as | was sayin' we were new
ne business, and to be spied on an
- =. "A l,atobad nannin, naada ,