Quincy. Feb 14^th/64

 

Dear Father

                        I now seat myself to answer your kind letter which I received yesterday containing a five Dollar green back and I am glad you sent it for I was getting out of writing material and postage stamps and I am very much obliged to you and I hope that I shall get some money from Uncle Sam before long and when I do get my pay I shall have quite a pile of it and then I will repay you for all you have sent me and shall send you some for safe keeping untill I have served my time out. for /

 

Navigation is again open on the Mississippi river and the nof noble steamers are again plowing the rolling waves of the “Father of waters” and I love to go up on the bluffs which rise up from the river side and see the steamboats go plowing up and down the river and the cars Iron horses as they rush whistling into “West Quincy” bring the news from the far west. There is quite an excitement here now for there were some of the Veteran soldiers of the 10^th & 16^th Ill. here on furlough and some of them got drunk and got into a fuss with some Citizens and one Citizen got shot twice once in the arm and once in the side and the doctors say that he is severely if not fatally wounded and the Citizens were / agoing to mob the soldiers and an order came here to the Hospital for every man that was able to carry a gun and was not on duty in the Hospital to report at Head Quarters and there they were armed and sent around the City to shut up every whiskey and beer saloon in the City and arrest every soldier that they found drunk and to keep the Citizens from mobing the Soldiers they keep a guards on till midnight every night to keep peace in the City.

 

I got a letter from one of the boys of my Company the Regiment this morning the Regiment is at Brownsville Texas. the boys were all well with the exceptions of two or three and were expecting to stay at Brownsville all next sumer / and if that is the case they will have a pretty easy time.

 

I got three letters yesterday one from you and one from Boot and one from Jim Harston and during the week I got seven letters and amoung them one was from Butt Hawkins and one from Bill DeLand so you see I have quite a number of correspondents. Tell Mother not to worry about me for I have a plenty to eat and wear and I get good victuals to eat every day except Fridays and then it is good enough all but for dinner for dinner we get codfish hash and it aint fit for a dog to eat but any other day I get pretty good living. I got the “Journal” Cook sent me this morning For want of space I will have to bring my letter to a close hoping to hear from you again soon. My regards to all. from

            Harrison Cook the Soldier Boy.

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