The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-05-08

WTlJluB VI lnlS COMMUNICATION caused
my eyes to overflow Gas they do at this
mOment) on several occasions?
Oar regiment was a regiment of
gentlemen-wc loved one another. We
had hard times together We went in
to one battle Fishing Creek and lost
>39 in killed and wounded and at Shiloh
we lost 23l in killed and wounded. Was
Il Tenncsseean and had Just come to
Mississippi, Cook was just from South
Carolina. We naturally took up
together and | must say that of all
men in the world-educated or unedu-
cated-Abe CCoG is, AMI WAS, my best
friend
Hoping to meet you at the Memphis
reunion, | am yours respectfully,
G. b. Foster
Increase, Miss, April IS. one
Abram Cook, who was member of
the McLung Rifles. that is to say,
Company T., Fifteenth Mississippi In
fantry. Said Abe, in the early sixties
was dark complicated, black-haired
man, about twenty-one years of age, at
the beginning OF the war between the
| States and he loved good victualS les
| pecially baked beans) and would at
| that time, If persuaded a little, take Il
draw or SO OF corn whisliey even if it
smcllcd shucky-and before the war
| ended, he, upon a pinch, would som0-
what reluctantly (?) drink an article
that had been distilled from "pumk-
| ms"
want To find him. At last accounts
| he was living in tho vicinity OF Hunt
ervillc, S. &. want to meet him at
the Memphis Confederate Re,union-
and once moro shake his h rncst old
| n iS nf hn hoc
ever saw. We were friends and moss
mates during the war and day and
| night we were associated. was
| with him in camp and on the march
and in battle and had every means to
test him-and now at the age of sixty
two, rs sit here white headed old
fellow after years waiting for the $50.
bor second thought | take great
pleasure in telling his friends in South
Carolina (who did not know him as Il
soldier that South Carolina or Missis-
sippi never sent Il better, noble or
braver man to the war than Abram
Cook. He was kind, gentle and peacea-
bic, but when tho words Fall in.
were heard Abe Cook went forward
and when the commands, "Re uly".
"Aim." Fire" were given your fell
low citizen, Abram Cook, stood Us un.
ilinchiDSly as post, and did his duty
as manfully as any soldier ever saw,
and while so dong on one occasion :,
Yankee shot him, for war, you know,
is a two sided business.
In our company almost every man
had nick name. Now, am going to
tell on Alb we called him "Licutcn-
ant not because he WAS Il LicutCnan'
for he was no officer. TO the contrary
he held the highest position in The
Confederate Army, for as any general
will tell you, for he was Il private and
when wounds, mutilation and death
were being sent ou: the Confederate
private was in fropt-nOthing-nOb 2
was between him and the enemy in
battle.
will tell you how he camc to hC
casl'd Lieutenant. At Jackso on, MiSSia.
sppi, in 1863 Abe and laying III re
Confederate money than we wanted To
kecp-got us some good clothes, .
fixed up as well rs officers, looked like
officers, for none, hardly, but officer.
wore good clothes, and we called at
the home of red-headel woman for
dinner and while the woman was fix
ing mlddling bacon she would turn
it, pat her frying pan on the floor be.
tween the open door as the weather
was excessively hot.
Abram had taken Il few doses Of the
extract Of corn, with the shuck on, or
the iluid extract Of 'pumpkin," for.
got which, and, as SUIT L0vingOOi
would say, ''sortcr felt his oats
and wanted to cavort"-aud lust for
pasiime, while the woman was squat
ted with her back to him Abram stood
on his left foot ard circlcd his ri,ht
foot over her head. She caught MIN at
it, and jumping up with fork in one
hand and the Trying pan in the Other
| inf o1 al;
ture, you jist wave your drottcd foot
oyer my head agin and III knock tho
very devil out'n you with this frying.
pan, you Onory cusS you--lct YOU be
Captain, Lieutenant or what not
Right then and there named him
Lieutenant, Whatnot We nnally
dropped the Whatnot, but to this day
his old comrades call him Lieutenant
! have seen Abe Cook face cannon
balls, bomb shells ard minnie ballots
without ilinching, but the whitc-ayed
rcd-haired woman with that frying
pan full of kot-fried meat grease
drawn back at MIN, came near un-
ncrving him.
Abram then kept both feet almos,
glued to the nocr TIL we got our din.
ncr when he was ready to leave.
After we got out of hearing he said
Judge" (such was my nick-namc)
meant no harm; the woman saw the
shadow OF my leg or she should have
been none the wiser, but ding my but
toms If didn't believe she would as
soon let drive at me with that frying.
pan OF hot meat and grease as not"
AS soon as we got to camp | told the
boys OF the incident, and from that
hour till to-day Abe has, with us, been
a Lieutenant.
But he got even with me alter that.
We were camped at Enteprisc, Miss,
and he and went out into the county,
to see If we couldn't get something
good to cat. Five or six miles from
Enterprise there was an old dry wei
near the road-it WAS forty or fifty feet
deep. Having nothing else to do wc
peeped into the well The first thing
| knew, Ate, who was q larger and
stronger man than | was, had me by
the napc Of the neck and below the
waist band of my brooches holding me
over the mouth Of the old well. / WIS
afraid to wrigg'c or squrm As he
held me over the well he said, Call me
Mas. Abe" did so. "Now, call nc
Mr.. Cook. did so. of course. Thcr
he said, Care you always going IT,
mind me and step about lively and do
just as ] say eyes, Yes". SAID
Then he said, "Now say, "Mas. Abe,
please back of and turn me loose" and
so on and so on. A rough Joke YOU
will say, but we were young then and
such was not rOuUhpr than fnr mo to