If the muse were mine to tempt it And my feeble voice were strong, If my tongue were trained to measures, I would sing a stirring song. I would sing a song heroic Of those noble sons of Ham, Of the gallant colored soldiers Who fought for Uncle Sam! In the early days you scorned them, And with many a flip and flout Said "These battles are the white man's. And the whites will fight them out." Up the hills you fought and faltered, In the vales you strove and bled, While your ears still heard the thunder Of the foes' advancing tread. Then distress fell on the nation, And the flag was drooping low; Should the dust pollute your banner? No! the nation shouted, No! So when War, in savage triumph, Spread abroad his funeral pall-- Then you called the colored soldiers, And they answered to your call. And like hounds unleashed and eager For the life blood of the prey, Sprung they forth and bore them bravely In the thickest of the fray, And where'er the fight was hottest, Where the bullets fastest fell, There they pressed unblanched and fearless At the very mouth of hell. Below are written some of the comments on his poetry and prose: Dr. Adams, editor of "The Advance," says: "Dunbar was a genius bound in ebony." Former President Theodore Roosevelt said: "I was a great admirer of his poetry and his prose." [Illustration: P. KA ISAKA SEME A NATIVE BORN AFRICAN] P. Ka Isaka Seme, who delivered such a wonderful oration on the subject, "THE REGENERATION OF AFRICA," which oration is reproduced from the Colored American Magazine of New York (June, 1906). This oration substantiates me in my article wherein I claim that the black man was the FATHER OF CIVILIZATION. The Regeneration of Africa Curtis Medals Oration, First Prize, April 5, 1906, Columbia University