PREFACE
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Phineas Wolcott Cook was faithful in keeping a diary for many of the action-filled years of his life. You will find the contents very revealing as to the lives of the people of his time and particularly his own life. This book is written just as he penned it in longhand, with the original spelling and punctuation he used. Everything possible has been done to preserve the original charm of this diary.

As you read this diary, think of the progress being made by mankind in human relationships and concepts as well as materially; you will also note many aspects of our natures which have not changed.

May we all appreciate this diary for its great value— the insight into the lives of our ancestors and how they lived. In this way we learn to know them and love them.