THE UNDIVIDED CRAFT
MY FATHER HAD BEEN A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY AND WAS MADE A MASON IN A MILITARY LODGE. HE WAS TAKEN PRISONER AT THE BATTLE OF ARKANSAS POST. HE WAS CARRIED UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.
THERE MY FATHER BECAME DESPERATLY ILL, AND HE MADE HIMSELF KNOW AS A MASON TO AN OFFICER OF THE CAMP. THE BROTHER OFFICER TOOK HIM INTO HIS HOME AND NURSED HIM BACK TO LIFE.
WHEN THE WAR ENDED, HE LOANED FATHER
MONEY TO PAY HIS WAY BACK TO HIS TEXAS HOME, AND GAVE HIM A PEARL-HANDLED PISTOL TO PROTECT HIMSELF. THIS EXPERIENCE OF MY FATHER,HAD A VERY GREAT INFLUENCE UPON MY LIFE. THE FACT THAT SUCH A FRATERNITY OF MEN COULD EXIST,
MITIGATING THE HARSHNESS OF WAR, AND REMAIN
UNBROKEN WHEN STATES AND CHURCHES WERE TORN
IN TWO.
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