X,
*s*^'V 1:'••• V;.' ■' Nrlil'i
SHIELDS
ii | a had chal-
J I lenged "Abe"
Lla| 8 Lincoln and
they were go-
I ing across
the river to
■, jjgl "sht od Missouri soil with
"broadswords" tho regula-
I |5Sj l on cavalry sabres of the
jj J United States array. Those
* Mn ' *■■■" were the years of "dra
goons" in this country.
As soon as the ferry reached the is
land Mr. Lincoln was taken in one di
rection and Mr. Shields in the other.
They were given seats on logs and left to themselves
while seconds and peacemakers discussed the situation,
in a short time a serious defect in the proceedings on
the part of Shields came to light. The challenge had
been sent prematurely. The mistake is explained quite
clearly in ihe Alton traditions. Lincoln had amused
iin>h. It and had entertained the Whigs by writing funny
letters to a Springfield paper about the Democrats, and
signing his epistle "Aunt Rebecca," Mary Todd, who aft
er waids became Mrs. Lincoln, and Julia Jayne conspired
to add to the gayety of the community by getting up an
Aunt Rebecca" letter of their own composition and send
ing it to the paper along with some verses which they
signed Cathleen." The letter which the girls wrote
went outside of politics and contained a burlesque pro
posal of marriage to Auditor Shields. Now, the auditor,
afterward a United States senator from three states,
and a brave general of two wars, was a fiery young man.
\\hile Springfield laughed, Shields began an investiga
tion. He demanded of the editor the real name of "Aunt
Rebecca." The girls became frightened. Bunn, the
banker, went over to Mr. Lincoln's office and said:
"We've got into an awful fix."
"What's the matter?" asked Lincoln.
"The girls have written some poetry on Shields," said
Bunn. "Didn't you see it in the paper? Well, Shields
Bays lie won't stand it. What shall we do about it?"
"You go back and when you meet Shields tell him
1 wrote it," said Lincoln.
Shields accepted this without verification and sent the
challenge. Shields saw the error of proceeding further
when he learned that Lincoln was not the writer. For
an hour or more the writing and exchanging of notes
went on. Meantime the population of Alton stood in a
dense mass on the river bank looking across the chan
nel and having a good view of all of the movements.
"I-Jill" Souther, good reporter that he was, kept his eyes
on the principals. He told that foi wme time after the
landing Lincoln and Shields sat quietly on their logs.
Lincoln said nothing, and Souther thought he looked
serious. After a while something happened, and South
er said that when he saw it he "nearly blew up." TKe
bundle of sabres had been laid down near the log wcere
Lincoln was sitting. Lincoln reached out and took up one
of the weapons. He drew the blade slowly from the
scabbard, and Souther said "it looked as long as a fence
rail."
Holding the blade by the back, Lincoln looked closely
at the edge, and then after the manner of one who has
been grinding a scythe or a corn knife, he began to feel
gingerly the edge with thfekbail of his thumb. By this
time "Bill" Souther was tremendously interested. Hold
ing the sabre by the handl«, Lincoln stood up and looked
about him. He evidently saw what he was looking for
in a willow tree several feet away. Raising the mighty
weapon with his long arm, Lincoln reached and clipped
one of Ihe topmost twigs of the willow. When he had
thoroughly satisfied himself as to the efficiency of the
broadsword he sat down. A few minutes later the cor
respondence was closed on terms honorable to both par
ties."
As the boat put back to Alton the spectators on the
bank were horrified to see lying prone upon the deck a
figure covered with blood, while a well-known Altonian
leaned over the figure plying a fan vigorously. Not un
til the boat was close in shore was it seen that the figure
was a log of wood and that the "bloody" covering was
a red flannel shirt. Wentworth dropped the fan, stood up
and grinned.
A Lincoln story which will never die is the reply the
nresident made to the criticism of Grant's habits. Lin
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY FEBRUARY n, 1909.
coin said: "He —_, ™——
wished he knew HEBREW THE BLADE
what brand of <3LOWiy FROM THE
whisky Grant c 5 C/ 3 F?E>.
drank, in order
that he might send some to the other generals." The
battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, had been fought
and almost lost. Three months before the country
had dubbed the victor of Fort Donelson "Unconditional
Surrender" Grant, and had made a hero of him. Now,
with the disputed responsibility for the Pittsburg Land
ing surprise, there arose a mighty clamor on the part
of certain newspapers and politicians, that Grant be
superseded. Representative Blow talked freely with the
president. He told him what he had known of Grant
before the war and mentioned tiie fear entertained by
some poisons that Grant drank too much to be intrusted
with high command. Mr. Blow was a smooth spoken
man, with sharp black eyes, quick to appreciate humor
He had been a very successful business man for years
before he became interested in politics. He was rather
below the average height. President Lincoln listened
thoughtfully until Mr. Plow had expressed himself, and
then asked with apparent seriousness what brand of
whisky Grant drank. Explaining why he sought the in
formation, he used the language about sending some to
the other generals, which has bocoine historic.
Some men "who knew Lincoln" do not believe the po
litical history which has been written credits him with
his full part in the genesis of the Republican party Tt*>y
remember where Lincoln stood toward the last Whig
conventions. They recall the movement to make him
vice-president on the ticket with Fremont in 1856, which
foitunately was abandoned on grounds of expediency.
And they mention political acts of Lincoln which possess
no small significance when taken with subsequent
events. John R. Spears of Tallula knew Lincoln from
1833, when he was a surveyor. He was prominent in the
politics of the day. He heard Lincoln speak in the Har
rison convention of Illinois in 1840 and in support of the
nomination of Clay before the Whig convention of Illi
nois in 1844, and on other occasions before the Republi
can party organized. Mr. Spears has this recollection of
the beginning of the Republican movement:
"Lincoln called a meeting of a few friends at a coun
try store where Tallula now is. He had been a surveyor
when the county (now Menard) was a part of Sanga
mon. He knew almost everybody. There were 40 or aO
in the gathering at the store. Mr. Lincoln made a talk
reviewing political conditions and offering suggestions
as to the future. He called for some paper to write down
what position he thought should be taken upon the ques
tions of the day, especially upon slavery. There was no
paper to be had. Lincoln drew a newspaper from his
pocket, lay down on the cellar door and wrote on the
margin the essence of the principles which formed the
Republican party. This, I believe, was the first meeting
of the kind in the United States. It was a year or more
before the convention at Ploomington, where the Repub
lican party of Illinois was started and where Lincoln
made one of the best speeches of his life, which was
lost."
Mr. Spears does not recall the exact time of this meet
ing at which Lincoln wrote on the margin of a newspaper
the first Republican platform. He knows that the meet
ing was called by Lincoln two years or more before tho
national convention which nominated Fremont in 1856
He knows that this enunciation of Republican principles
was before the Illoomington convention.
Martin L. Bundy wrote from Newcastle, InJ., to the
Lincoln Centennial association, contributing to the in
formation about Lincoln's earliest relations with the for
mation of the Republican party.
"The Whig National convention of 1848," Mr. Bundy
writes, "was completely under the control of Toombs
and Stephens of Georgia. They had decided that Gen.
Taylor should be nominated on no platform but his record
as a soldier and slaveholder. Greeley was there from
New York offering to guarantee that that state would
cast its electoral vote for Clay if the convention would
nominate him, but the Taylor managers would listen to
no such proposition, no doubt for the reason that Clay's
record as a slaveholder was not satisfactory. Lincoln
and Greeley both agreed after the informal ballot that it
was useless to press the name of Clay any longer, as the
nomination of Taylor was a foregone conclusion, and it
so turned out. In the convention of 1856, when Fremont
was nominated, the name of Lincoth was suggested for
vice-president, but the leaders deemed it wise to give the
place to WilHam M. Dayton of New Jersey, and it was,
perhaps, fortunate for LlnccJnthat the convention did so."
The Bth of August the Republicans had a rally at
Springfield. Christian county sent up a delegation. Wil
liam T. Baker, who, while a boy, had ground Lincoln's
bags of corn for him during two years at the mill on
the Sangamon In the rail-splitting days, was marshal of
the delegation.
"We mustered 105 wagons, most of them having four
or six horses, and loaded with Christian county Republi
cans," said Mr. Baker. "On the way up we camped over
night on the Sangamon, near Rochester. When we came
to Springfield we formed in line and passed down in front
of Lincoln's home, where we halted. Lincoln was stand
ing on the steps shaking hands with hundreds of people
who had come into attend the rally. As I rode up at the
head of my delegation Lincoln left the steps, came out
to us, took me by the hand, and said: "How are you.
Baker? Then he looked down the long line of wagons
and men and said: 'Baker, it must talfcc a good many men
to run a threshing machine in Christian county.'"
While there were only seven joint debates of formal
character under the challenge, there were other occa
sions when Douglas and Lincoln filled appointments so
close together as to afford the excitement of personal
passages. Lincoln was anxious to get before the Demo
cratic supporters of Douglas, lie did not shun, but rather
sought opportunities to follow Douglas
as closely as he could. At Havana Doug
las and Lincoln spoke the same day
in 1858. This was not one of the Joint
debates, but Lincoln In the afternoon an
swered what Douglas had said In th«
forenoon. Lyman Lacey, Sr., describes
the two meetings. Lincoln avoided be
ing present at the meetings of Douglas.
He arrived In Havana just before his
afternoon appointment, but there wer«
friends who outlined to him the speech
of Douglas in the forenoon.
"Douglas," said Mr. Lacey, "tried to
kill Lincoln with faint praise. Referring
to his opponent at the morning meeting,
Douglas said: 'Mr. Lincoln is a very nico
man, very sociable and entertaining. He
makes a very pleasant companion. I
used to know him when he lived at Old
Salem in Menard county, when he kept
store and sold whisky to his customers.'
Douglas never referred to Lincoln as a
great lawyer or as a man of ability. At
the afternoon meeting Lincoln spoke of
Mr. Douglas personally and said he had
been informed of the tribute of prais*
Mr. Douglas had bestowed upon him.
'Mr. Douglas,' he said, 'has seen fit to
give me praise in his speech, for which
I am thankful. I am like the Hoosler
with the gingerbread, who said he liked
it better than any other man did, but got
less of it. As to what Mr. Douglas said
about liis acquaintance with me in Old
Salem, that I kept store, attended bar
and sold whisky, ail I have to say is that
while I practiced at the bar on the in
side, Judge Douglas practiced on the
outside of the bar.' This created great
applause from Mr. Lincoln's audience. I
have always remembered this debate. A
few days ago I had a conversation with Kay Watkins of
Menard county, who knew Lincoln in those days, and was
at the speeches I have referred to; he remembered it as
I have stated."
Lincoln's speeches have suffered in the reporting. Aa
they have been collected from various sources, they show
marked differences. The speeches which Mr. Lincoln
wrote in advance were not many. The speeches which
were taken down by a competent stenographer, like those
delivered in the joint debates, are, of course, authentic.
But many short speeches were written out from memory
or from longhand notes, and varying versions of them ap
pear In the later histories and collections. One of the
most notable of Lincoln's impromptu, short addresses was
that which is called his farewell at Springfield when he
started for Washington. There are several versions of
this speech. J. H. Cheney of Bloomington was one of the
crowd "of not more than 150," he says, who went to th®
Great Western depot and heard the farewell address.
"This speech," Cheney thinks, "has seldom, if ever, been
correctly quoted in the histories of Lincoln. Nicolay and
Hay, who are all men you would look to for a correct ver
sion, fail to give It as It was spoken."
Mr. Cheney took the copy, which is here reproduced,
from the Chicago Tribune, the morning after Lincoln's
departure. He thinks any one who will take the trouble to
compare this with tho version in the later histories will
agree with him that it is the better speech.
"My Friends—No one not in my situation can appre
ciate my feelings of sadness at this parting. To this
place and the kindness of this people I owe everything.
Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed
from a young to an old man. Here my children were
born and one lies buried.
"I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may
return, with a task before me greater than that which
rested on the shoulders of Washington.
"Without the aid of that Divine Being who ever aided
him, who controls mine and all destinies, I can not suc
ceed. With that assistance I cannot fail.
"Trusting in him who can go with m e and remain with
you and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope
that all will be well.
To his care commending you, as I hope in your prayera
you will commend me, I bid you, friends anil neighbors,
an affectionate farewell."
3