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Show Oldect Preaches Has New Lincoln Story "H r L'SKdCKH. OKI,.. Clinrles w. lillis, mie liundri'il :i n (J live .veins old. who lives (in il f;inn with liis son. VA Kllis, a few miles north of Ada, Oklahoma, is I he oldest preacher in tlie world, so tar as is known. lOllis Is a preacher in (lie Nazarcne church and look part this winter in a series of revival meetings at Seminole. l!ut mostly lie whittles and plays with his great grandchildren. And what do yon think is tlie most precious memory of this one lniiidred-und lniiidred-und live year - old preacher? Why, nothing else than a chance tnee'in. with President Ahraliam Lincoln. Kllis was a Civil war soldier under I (Jen. A. .1. Smith, and here's tlie story ns Kllis tells it : "During a lull in the h'-diling some of us were assigned to cut down trees for firewood. 1 whs husy chopping when a tall, gaunt man wearing wh's-kers wh's-kers came up, fu'conipnnied liy several ollicers. including- Cenei al Smith. I rested my ax n moment and saluted, not knowing tl'e man in civilian ei.rtlies was Lincoln. 1 was amazed when this tall, sad-faced man came smilingly to nie and said : "'Would yon mind letting me have that ax for a minu'e? I haven't cut !! tree down in years.' "I handed over tlie ax, and the tall man got husy at once, sinking the hlade deep into a large tree. I could see lie was an expert, for he made the chips liy, nnd was soon half way tli rough. Then he handed the ax back to me, thanking me tfttietly and remarked re-marked that he hadn't forgotten his old trade after alK When the :party turned to go. General Smith revealed tlie chopper's identity. "1 decided tlie best thing I could do would lie to finish Lincoln's job. So I went to the other side of his tree and cut through until it fell. Abraham Line. dn and Charles Ellis cut down that tree. I never saw Lincoln nga'n. "Lincoln must have had muscles of iron. I was a muscular man and a good woodsman, but I admit he could chop a tree down faster than I could." |