USA > Indiana > Annual reunion of the 36th Indiana volunteers: 4th-5th, 1887-1888, 7th-14th, 1890-1897 > Part 6
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Edna Dean Proctor wrote some very pretty words to the old tune in 1861, but they have never been widely sung. Three of the verses are as follows :
"John Brown died on the scaffold for the slave, Dark was the hour when we dug his hallowed grave, Now God avenges the life he gladly gave, Freedom reigns today.
John Brown sowed, and the harvesters are we; Honor to him who has made the bondmen free, Loved evermore shall our noble ruler be, Freedom reigns today.
Jolın Brown dwells where the battle strife is o'er, Hate cannot harm him nor sorrow stir him more, Earth will remember the martyrdom he bore, Freedom reigns today."
THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND.
The Army of the Cumberland was second in importance of the seven armies. The nucleus of this army had its beginning in a body of Kentucky volunteers who banded themselves together at Camp Joe Holt, near Louisville, early in 18C1. Their comman- der, Lovell H. Rossean, afterwards a major general. He left his seat in the Indiana senate to gather about him the loyalists of the two States. Nearly 2,000 men responded to his call. At Camp Dick Robinson there was a similar force under Gen. William Nel- son. On August 15, 1861, Kentucky and Tennessee were constituted a separate mili- tary district, known as the Department of the Cumberland, and Brig. Gen. Robert All- derson, the hero of Fort Sumter, was made its first commander on September 24, 1861. Gen. W. T. Sherman succeeded Anderson on October 8, 1861.
To him your Colonel of the 36th reported on arrival at Louisville, and was told to remain in camp a few days, and Gen Buell would give further orders, which followed as stated. Gen. Buell succeeded Gen. Sherman in command at Louisville.
Before the close of the year the troops from the States north of the Ohio were sent to reinforce, and 70,000 men, of whom 20,000 were Kentuckians, were soon mustered in that army.
On November 9, 1861, the name of the army was changed to the " Department of the Ohio," composed of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, and was known later on as "The District of the Ohio," and Gen. Buell was given command. He was relieved by Gen. Wm. S. Rosecrans October 20, 1862, and the title of the command was changed back to the " Army of the Cumberland," including all of Tennessee and Kentucky cast of the
Tennessee river and such parts of northern Alabama and Georgia as should be con- quered by United States troops.
Gen. George H. Thomas succeeded Gen. Rosecrans on the 20th day of October, 1863, and remained the commander to the end of the war.
The principal battles of the Army of the Cumberland were Mill Springs, Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River, Chieamanga, Mission Ridge, the series of engagements of the Atlanta campaign and Bentonville. The fourteenth and twentieth corps made the march to the sea with Sherman. Upon Sherman's march to the sea after Atlanta was taken, the 4th corps returned to Thomas, for Franklin and Nashville, at which it took part. The history of the 36th will give you further particulars of the part taken by you in these great battles.
THE VETERANS AT THE CAPITAL.
The Grand Army men recently visited the National Encampment at Washington because they have an interest in the National Capital. It is because of the interest that every one feels in the city of Washington, which is the seat of the Government that he periled his life to save from destruction, that the attendance at this National En- campment was so much greater than on any previous oceasion. Wherever the soldier was, whether in Virginia or in the armies of the West, he remembered that he had en- listed to maintain the dignity of the Government and to prevent the Union from being dissolved. Either in eamp or on the march, or in the midst of battle, his thoughts turned to Washington, where sat the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, whose election had been made the exeuse by those in rebellion for seeking to destroy the Government.
Many of the soldiers, especially those who were in the western service, never saw the city of Washington from the time of their enlistment until after the four years of bloody strife were ended and the rebels had surrendered. And perhaps some never un- til they visited this Eneampment, a good and proper thing for every soldier to do ac- companied with his companion.
One of the most beautiful of all the songs written during the war, and one which has in it all the soul as well as the sentiment of a century of song eulture, was com- posed in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe. Mrs. Howe had attended a great public rally in which the war had been the theme of speceh and song and story and her whole soul was full of the subject. That night, unable to sleep, she got up and wrote the poem. It was printed first in "Harper's Weekly," but for some reason it was not much noticed. Somebody-the " Hutchinson family," probably-sang it to the tune of "John Brown," but even then it did not take, and it remained for "Libby prisoners" to make it fa- mous.
HOW IT WAS SUNG IN LIBBY.
In July, 1863, began the memorable siege of Vieksburg and marked also the battle of Gettysburg. In Libby prison, where 'it seemed as though the desperately dark gloom could take no deeper tinge, a group of some 500 huddled together on the morn- ing of July 6, discussing the situation. Two of their number had just been taken out to be shot in retaliation for the killing of some rebels somewhere. They knew that the confederate forces were marching north and that a terrible battle had been fought. They knew also that Grant was reaching for Vieksburg, the key to the Mississippi. They could hear nothing more, but feared the worst. About noon of the 6th a Rich- mond paper smuggled inside by a faithful negro friend confirmed their worst fears. In startling headlines they read - " Meade Defeated at Gettysburg," " The Northern Army Fleeing to the Mountains," " Grant Repulsed at Vieksburg," " " The Campaign Closed in' Disaster."
The depression caused by this was awful. The poor emaciated fellows broke down and cried like babies. They lost all hope and one of them has said since: "There was not left in us strength enough to curse God and die." While in this condition a later edition of the same paper was brought in by the same negro. Chaplain MeCabe got the paper and having a stronger voiee than the others was delegated to read them the later returns. He began at the headlines :
"Grant Has Captured Vieksburg and Taken 30,000 Prisoners."
" Meade Defeated Lee at Gettysburg, Taking 14,000 Prisoners."
The same shadow on the dial marked the time of the defeat of the rebels at Gettys- burg and the surrender of Vicksburg.
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The revulsion of feeling was almost too great to endure. The boys went crazy with joy. They saw the beginning of the end. Chaplain McCabe sprang up on a box and struck up --
" Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword ;
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening's dews and damps,
I have read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps ; His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel, As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal, Let the hero born of woman crush the serpent with his heel, Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat, He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat; O be swift, my soul, to answer lfim ; be jubilant, my feet !
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on."
The way in which the 500 men joined in on the chorus of "Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah !" gave evidence that there was lots of life left in them yet. That day and that song made Julia Ward Howe famous. If her name had never been known before and if she had never done anything worthy of note since that one great poem, the ex- pression of the fervor and zeal and partriotism of all the ages since the morning stars sang together, burned in letters of living fire upon the hearts of those prison-worn sing- ers, will stand as a monument to her memory until the records and recollections of the great rebellion have crumbled to dust.
HOW ANOTHER FAMOUS SONG WAS WRITTEN.
The history of " When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea " is both dramatic and interesting. It was composed by S. H. M. Byers, adjutant of the fifth Iowa infantry, who has since been consul general to Rome. During the march to the sea, and for many weary months before, Mr. Byers had been a prisoner at Columbia, S. C. The gaining of any news as to Sherman's army marching through the South was most diffi- cult. The prisoners were not permitted to read newspapers, which was an unnecessary rule. as at that period newspapers were as scarce down there as the credit of the South- ern Confederacy, and just about as reliable. The prisoners had discovered, however, that Sherman was cutting a swath to the sea and they were wild to know the success with which he was meeting. The guards were excited, uneasy and unusually vigilant, and this in itself was enough to show that "great things" were afoot. A friendly negro who was allowed entrance to the prison camp was finally persuaded to secrete the latest paper in a loaf of bread, which he was permitted to sell each day to Mr. Byers ' "mess," a privilege not granted to all. Hungry, as the boys were, the newspaper was more wel- come than the bread. It was carefully read and then destroyed. The news was electri- fying. Atlanta in ruins! The Confederates flying before Sherman's irresistible march ! The surrender of Savannah demanded ! The news seemed incredible.
That night as Mr. Byers tramped up and down his prison pen to keep himself warm the stirring incidents read in the morning kept running in his head, and at last he put them into rhyme. A fellow prisoner set them to music and the glee club was soon singing it. much to the delight of all but the prison guards. They, however, per- mitted it to be sung along with rebel songs. Shortly afterward an Iowa officer, Lieut. Tower of Ottumwa, who wore a clumsy wooden leg, in place of the one shot off, was ex- changed. The boys hollowed a place in the wooden leg and it was the depository of many missives from prisoners to friends in the North. Among others were the words of Mr. Byers' song. It was speedily set to music in the North, and when he was at last liberated it was one of the first songs to greet him on his return, but the "boys " say the tune is not as pretty as the one they sang in prison.
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HOW IT WAS SUNG.
Petersburg had fallen! Richmond had been taken! Lee had surrendered! The last shot had been fired and every prison door in the South had been thrown wide open. One balmy day in May there was a gathering of men in Wilmington, N. C. They were ragged, unkempt, diseased, half starved and altogether a disreputable-looking lot. But they were happy. They were free! and above their heads floated the old star spangled pennon. They were what was left of the inmates of the prison pens of the South. While the boys were shaking each other's hands and making a mighty endeavor to " fill up" on the "grub " sent down by the sanitary commission, a fine- looking fellow with a voice like a flute, strong and full and clear, sprang upon a box, and as he looked down on the joy-crazy comrades about him he sang Adjutant Byers' song:
" Our camp fires shone bright on the mountain, That frowned on the river below, While we stood by our guns in the morning And eagerly watched for the foe, When a rider came out from the darkness That hung over mountain and tree, And shouted, ' Boys, up and be ready, For Sherman will march to the sea.' Then cheer upon cheer for bold Sherman Went up from each valley and glen, And the bugles re-echoed the music
That came from the lips of the men. For we knew that the stars in our banner More bright in their splendor would be,
And that blessings from northland would greet ns When Sherman marched down to the sea. Then forward, boys, forward to battle, We marched on our wearisome way,
And we stormed the wild hills of R. aca- God bless those who fell on that day ; Then Kenesaw, dark in its glory, Frowned down on the flag of the free,
But the east and the west bore standards And Sherman marched down to the sea. Still onward we pressed till our banners Swept out from Atlanta's grim walls,
And the blood of the patriot dampened The soil where the traitor flag falls. Yet we paused not to weep for the fallen, Who slept by each river and tree,
Bnt we twined them a wreath of the laurel As Sherman marched down to the sea. Oh, proud was our army that morning That stood where the pine darkly towers,
When Sherman said, 'Boys, you are weary ; This day fair Savannah is ours.' Then sang we a song for our chieftain That echoed o'er river and lea, And the stars in our banner shone brighter When Sherman marched down to the sea."
Captain Wiles read a poem composed by Comrade B. S. Parker for this occasion, 'entitled "The Old Battle Flag."
When dinner was announced we marched to the agricultural house, where a feast was spread. Could I name what they had ? No; easier to name what they had not. Could a French cook have prepared it better? No. Never was the palate more pleas- antly tickled-the appetites better satisfied than on this occasion, and the service of the feast was perfection and found an expression from every Comrade by the following res- olution :
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HEADQUARTERS 36TH IND. REGIMENTAL ASS'N. FARMLAND, IND., Oct. 5, 1892.
Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are tendered to the local Committee of Comrades, to the W. R. C., the S. of V. and the citizens of the beautiful little city of Farmland for the excellent arrangements, the cordial welcome and unstinted and un- bounded hospitality accorded the Association in their Ninth Annual reunion. May peace and prosperity attend them and " may their shadows never grow less."
J. II. MCCLUNG. WILLIAM GIBBS.
The boys waited for trains which soon took them home, all feeling better by having attended our 9th Reunion.
The Secretary has received the following letter of acknowledgment from Mrs. Eliz- abeth K. Anderson :
PARIS, Oct. 31.
DEAR SIR: I desire to express on the part of my children and myself, the grati- tude we feel for the sympathy extended to us by the 36th Indiana Regiment in their resolutions so thoughtfully sent to us in a foreign land. We prize the kind words they say, and appreciation expressed of our husband and father who was so young when he fought by their side as Commander of the 6th Ohio Infantry, but as time has gone on, never forgot his old Comrades of the war, and knew your place among them. Accept our thanks and express the same to the Association.
I remain, Yours gratefully, ELIZABETH K. ANDERSON.
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ROSTER.
General William Grose, New Castle, Ind. Surgeon R. W. Bosworth, Winchester, Ind. COMPANY A.
Capt. Wm. D. Wiles, Indianapolis, Ind.
Jos. Werking, Elwood, Ind.
John Stiggleman, Spiccland, Ind. Clark Gordon, Spiceland, Ind. Jolin Antrim, Knightstown, Ind.
George Beach, Lewisville, Ind.
Josiah Moore, Spiceland, Ind. Wm. B. Callahan, Knightstown, Ind.
George Conrad, Lewisville, Ind.
Robert Gordon, Indianapolis, Ind.
T. J. Lewis, Cadiz, Ind.
C. S. Watson, Pendleton, Ind.
COMPANY B.
Capt. H. A. Stephens, Portland, Ind. Wm. P. Sherrf, Muncie, Ind.
George W. Worl, Farmland, Ind.
Wm. McClain, Muncie, Ind.
John Veal, Williamsburg, Ind. John W. Taylor, Muncie, Ind. Louis D. Everett, Muncie, Ind. G. L. Janney, New Corner, Ind. W. H. H. Ritchie, Muncie, Ind. C. W. Runkle, South Bend, Ind.
Lieut. Ed Gilbert, New Burlington, Ind. Wm. Clevinger, Farmland, Ind. James T. Broyles, New Corner, Ind. J. F. Sullivan, Anderson, Ind. Joshua Jester, Yorktown, Ind. John T. Fullhart, Reeds, Ind. Wm. K. Thomas, Muncie, Ind. Benj. Bartlett, New Corner, Ind. Isaac Thornburg, Windsor, Ind. Lindley Thornburg, Farmland, Ind,
COMPANY C.
Capt. J. C. Livezey, New Castle, Ind. Andrew McDowell, Muncie, Ind. John Sanders, Shelbyville, Ind. Tabor W. Ginn, Rochester, Ind. James Ginn, Cadiz, Ind. George Atkinson, Sulphur Springs, Ind. Miles Haguewood, New Castle, Ind. Noah McCormack, Cadiz, Ind.
Capt. Hugh L. Mullen, Fowler, Kas. Jacob Sweigart. Muncie, Ind. Benjamin Crawford, Losantville, Ind. A. M. Davis, Point Isabel, Ind. Jolin Armstrong, Kennard, Ind. L. D. Shepherd, New Castle, Ind. Oliver Luellen, Farmland, Ind.
COMPANY D.
Lieut. A. W. Saint, New Castle, Ind. Jolin W. Newby, Knightstown, Ind. Exum Copeland, Greensboro, Ind. Joshua Lutholtz, Kennard, Ind. Allen W. Coon, Cadiz, Ind. Wm. Sater, Greentown, Ind. Wm. H. Stephenson, Rossville, Warren county, Ill.
John Lockridge, Kennard, Ind. Jabez H. Bowman, Greensboro, Ind. Ferdinand Rose, Snyder, Ind. Harvey Chew, Kennard, Ind. John Pickett, Hemlock, Ind.
Wmn. Bicknell, Richmond, Ind.
COMPANY E.
Capt. Zene C. Bohrer, St. Paul, Minn. Albert Fritz, Hagerstown, Ind. James W. Evans, Red Key, Ind. Joseph A. Fowler, Parker, Ind. Joseph Benbow, Hagerstown, Ind. G. F. Andrews, Pennville, Ind. John Erwin, Muncie, Ind. George Gephart, Hagerstown, Ind. J. W. Olvey, Economy. Ind. John Lovell, Farmland, Ind.
James A. Phillips, Red Key, Ind. R. F. Bloom, Powers Station, Ind. W. H. Hubbard, Dunkirk, Ind. Jackson Walker, Bethany, Mo." C. Smothers, Modoc, Ind. B. C. Hornaday, Muncie, Ind. David Munnick, Daleville, Ind. David Cheeseman, Hagerstown, Ind. Wm. Ripley, Farmland, Ind. Thos. Benbow, Hagerstown, Ind.
Edwin Bonser, St. Marys, Ohio.
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TENTH ANNUAL REUNION
OF THE
36TH INDIANA VOL.
Indianapolis, Indiana. =
SEPTEMBER 6 AND 7. 180%
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TENTH ANNUAL REUNION
OF THE
36TH INDIANA VOLUNTEERS,
HELD AT
Indianapolis, Indiana,
ON
SEPTEMBER 6 AND 7, 1893.
NEW CASTLE, IND .: COURIER COMPANY PRINT 1893.
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PROCEEDINGS.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., September 6, 1893.
Arrangements were made with James Scohffer for the use of his shop premises for the reunion of the Regiment. The committee decorated the premises, procured the loan of 100 cots for the comrades' use, and made arrangements for the comfort of the " Boys," and right well they did. Members occupied Monday and Tuesday regis- tering and taking part in the parade of the G. A. R. Wednesday afternoon they assembled in business meeting, being called to order by General Grose, president of the association.
On motion Charles Abbett, Wm. Gibbs and Hugh Mullen were appointed a com- mittee to draft resolutions of respect to the memory of those members who have died since last reunion.
Letters of regret were read from General T. J. Wood, Capt. Zene C. Bohrer, John W. Sapp and Joseph Stephenson.
ANNUAL MEETING.
A vote was taken for place of our next annual meeting. Jos. Smith moved that the next meeting be at Liberty, Ind .; time to be fixed by the Executive Committee. Carried.
On motion the Association proceeded to elect officers and the following were chosen:
President, Wm. Grose; Vice-President, Wm. D. Wiles; Recording Secretary, John C. Livezey; Corresponding Secretary, Jos. L. Smith; Treasurer, T. H. Gordon.
Treasurer Gordon submitted his annual report, which was accepted, as follows :
Balance on hand at Farmland. $13 18
Received at Farmland. 35 25
from Jos. Smith 5 00
Total.
$53 45
Telegraph to Major Bennett $ 1 60
Paid Jos. L. Smith, expense. 6 50
Traffic Association .. 11 00
Reports of meetings 14 20
Postage.
5 75
Invitations
8 25 $17 30
Balance on hand. $ 6 15
T. H. GORDON, Treasurer.
On motion the Camp Fire was changed from 8 p. m. to 10 a. m. tomorrow.
On motion a committee of three was appointed to select a design for a permanent adge for our Association. The Chair appointed Jos. L. Smith, Thaddeus Gordon and obert Gordon.
The Association adjourned to meet in court room at 10 a. m. Thursday,
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., September 7, 1893.
The Association was called to order at 10 a. m. Prayer by Capt. Armstrong.
On motion the Finance Committee was ordered to receive, audit and pay all pense incurred in this reunion.
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Mrs. B. S. Parker read the following poem, by Benj. S. Parker : BAPTIZED AT SHILOH.
Now let us live the days that are no more; No more, thank God ! nor ever more to be, When Freedom, stricken nigh to her heart's core, Cried out for succor in her agony, And you responded in your glorious youth : Live the days o'er and touch the heights sublime Whereon your hero spirits learned the truth. Yon flag speaks for all the coming time.
The Tennessee ran red with Union blood And panic reigned along its slippery bank, Where, mad with fear, a motley, cowering brood Surged to the water, or in terror sank Down to the earth and wailed " the day is lost, All lost !" when rose the rallying cry Of Buell's nien : the vanguard of the host,- Some farmer's sous, with banners waving high,
Pushed through the stream and struggled up the hill And through the crowd of terror-stricken men ; Danntless as veterans in their hero will, Though all unused to carnage. Ne'er again Shall men do braver deeds than on that day, In their first battle, our young farmers wrought, Leading bluff Nelson's heroes in the fray And bearing back the rebel tide that caught
Ant clung to victory's frazzled hem As heroes cling when turns the battle's rout And bears them back and hovers over them Till all their hopes are crushed and beaten out. Then darkness fell and through the fearful night The helpless wounded wailed, and awful fires Went through the woods, and by the baleful light Men were seen writhing as on funeral pyres.
So were von baptized there in blood and tears, And when you formed again at early dawn, Each man was older by unnumbered years Than on the day before, yet firmly on To death or victory you strode away. ' Where's Grose, old Grose?" cried Nelson, riding by, " Yonder he leads into the thickest fray : " A hundred voices echoed in reply.
" He leads. He'll do !" the rough commander cried : And sa the colonel led, the men strove on, As raged the battle till resistance died Into retreat and victory was won. Thus in its first baptismal storm of fire The gallant Thirty-Sixth achieved renown, Though many a son of many a peaceful sire In its first crimson flood of fame went down.
Audi thus on many a well fought battle field I' ranks were thiuned, its hero record grew ; Far shines its star,-a light that will not yield, Fair as the stars in Freedom's field of blue.
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Though demagogues may rob these bowed old men Of their poor pensions, and enjoy their ill,
Justice shall wake and hist'ry's iron pen
Shall write your well-won glory glorious still.
And your brave leader, young at eighty years, And earnest still for freedom as of old, And, as in war, unstained by paltry fears His name is linked with yours by chains of gold ; And rank and file, as one, for aye shall stand Soldiers of freedom, friends of law and peace ; Heroes in strife, but swift to turn each land
When war was done to liasten love's increase.
The Committee on Obituaries made the following report, which was approved :
IN MEMORIAM.
The Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Association in annual session September 7 1893, is brought face to face with the sad fact that its roll of membership is gradually growing less. The past year has taken from the roll of the living, Gen. T. W. Bennett, Capt. Hugh Stephens, John W. Oberly, Robert Burns, Alfred Lacey and M. S. McComas. Therefore, be it
Resolved, That this Association, remembering the true soldierly valor of these com- rades and their devotion to their country's flag, expresses its appreciation of their services, and with sorrow bows to the inevitable, mingling our sorrow as comrades with the sorrow of the families more nearly bereft. With the deep and tender sorrow of the bereft home, we would mingle that peculiar sadness of bereft comrades. To the loved ones of our deceased comrades we tender the sympathy of comrades, assuring them that we will hold in grateful rememberance their dead, whose heroism on the field and friendship in camp has impressed us with feelings that cannot be changed ; we will cherish their memory till taps sound lights out in our camp on earth, holding it still fresh when revielle sounds in the morning of another day.
CHAS. H. ABBETT, W. L. GIBBS, H. L. MULLEN.
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Captain M. P. Armstrong addressed the meeting as follows : Comrades :
You remember that for a season I had the honor of commanding the immortal Company K, of the 36th Indiana, and I am proud to have sustained that relationship. After being disabled and laid aside for a season, at the call of the regiment, by the vote of the rank and file, I became your second captain. I endeavored to do my duty as best I could, and I succeeded I think, at least in one particular. The boys had been taught by Father Lenhem to pray, but to pray after the style of home life, or along that line ; that is, for the Lord to do this or that for them, and to give them their re- quests, to gire-if they wanted anything, to pray the Lord to give it to them. Well, . while I was captain of your company, it occurred to me that that kind of praying was not the most successful kind, and I led you out on a new line in your prayers, and the result was great success all along the line. For instance, if you wanted a chicken or a turkey, or a pig or anything else that was loose in that country, you had been tanght to pray the Lord to give it to you. I put you upon the line of praying when you wanted
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