Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1860-07-23

Houses
Tux New York Tribune says that, 10y
ad,ices from well informed sources, It
is assured that but two tickets will he
run in that State tor State officers, which
will be termed respectively the Demo-
cratic, and the Peoples party.
SENATOR DOUGLAS, on his recent Wis.,
it to Hartford, was received at the cars
by two military companies, and guns
were fired in the Park in his honor. lie
was handsomely met by large con-
course of people without distinction OF
party.
Letter from Abs's Cousin. Charles Hanks.
Lincoln, it is said, split rails with one
John Hanks, his cousin. John has
written letter OH the subject, and now
Charles Hanks, Johns brother and
Abe's counsin, knocks daylight through
Lincoln's ancient biography. Here is
his letter:
From the Decatur (Ill.) Magnet.
EDITOR OF THE MAGNEr-De1r Sir :.
In the last weeks issue Of the Chron.
icle l noticed a letter signed "John
II inks," which is SO extraordinary in
many Of its features that l feel called
upon to give it a brief notice.
John Hanks is my younger brother,
and Abe Lincoln is my counsin. Ihavc
known both John and Abe from their
earliest childhood. Since brother John
has committed himself to the Decatur
politician, who is using him as tool
to speculate in certain old rails THAT |
know cousin Abe never made,) | have
great fears that brother John, like
cousin Abe, has fallen into bad hands,
and that a man by nature made fer
good man, but who always needed pro-
tecting counselors, may be by his bad
associations entirely ruined. / have
known the entire history OF both broth
err John and cousin Abe, and all that
stuff in the letter published in the
Chronicle is stuff, miserable stuff, and
although poor brother Johns name is
signed to it, know that he does not
even know what is in it.; much less did
he ever write it. 1t is the work of men
INSCRIPTIONS in the means that they use
in quilting honest people.
In Johns letter | find a long and pa
thetic allusion to cousin Abe's early and
hard life. That may be poe,ical, but
there is but little of it true. In Ate's
young days he was simply a wild koruns
scaruna boy, and jumping and wrestling
were his only accomplishments. His
laziness was the cause Of many NORTH
cations to me; tor rs l was an older boy
than either Abe or John, often had to
do Abe's work at uncle's, when the fam.
lily were all sick with the ague from eat.
ing watermelons, and Abe would be roll
licking around the country neglecting
them. In those early days we all saw
hard times; yet young man who was
energetic AID industrious could dress
himself comfortably, and have plenty Of
plain, good food to eat. have often
felt ashamed OF cousin Abe in seeing
him full grown man, gadding about
the country bare foot, with his toes cut
rageously spraddled out by the mud !;
and instead Of his reading his books, as
as brother John, through the Decatur
politician, SO POLITICALLY tells US, he wouId
be rowdying around with pack OF wild
Young men. ] well remember when he
went counting one of Major Warnick's
daughters, in this county, his boots were
SO misera5ly bad that his feet were frost
cd, and he had to lay up at Major War
hicks two weeks, and have the old lady
nurse and doctor his feet.
| am fully persuaded that broth r
John is taking the strange course he is
now pursuing for the purpose Of making
q little money out of rail speculation,
and it could for one moment think
that the Decatur sharpers, in whose
hands he has placed himself, would not
cheat him out OF every cent Of the mon
cy, | would not spoil the speculation by
telling the facts.
The facts in regard to those rails are
these The little farm that John and
Abe made those rails to fence contained
ten acres. About five yeaIs after this
little farm was fenced, the entire fence
was burned up, to my certain knowl.
edge, tor ! hauled the rails to fence it
the second time; Lewis II. Ward, who
now resides 10 this county, witnessed
the fire that burned the raie, and he is
willing to make affidavit OF this fact.
lived within two miles and q half
OF tins Lincoln farm from the time it
was first settled up to 1857, and during
these early times our farmers were sub
ject to being visited by devastating fires.
and know that the fence around the
Lincoln farm was consumed At least
three times. And l know that after the
Lincoln family bad left the farm. that
the fence was again burned, and that
Shelf Whitley and Daniel McDaniels
made the rails and rcfenced it.
Think, and l am almost &c, tain. that
the rails that are now being worshipped
al over the North as Lincoln rails, were
made by Bill Strickland, who is now
poor, blind, helpless and in the Macon
county poor house. Aud il these philan-
thropic Republicans would allow me to
make one saggsstioo, i wouid u q help