M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-08-09
.IFrom the Decatur tIlI.l Magnel.l

OfHlm-HOW Abe Weut a COufting--
Who Split the Rails, and all about il.
EDITOR OF THE MAeEEr.-DEAR
Sir: In the last weeks issue of the
Chronicle | noticed a letter signed
"John Hanks" which is so exTaor-
dinary in many Of its features that |
feel called upon to give it brief no
tice.
John Hanks is my younger brother,
and Abe Lincoln is my cousin. |
have known both John ard Abe from
their earliest childhood. Since broth
er John has committed himself to the
Decatur politician, who is using him
as a tool to speculate IN certain old
rails Chat know cousin Abe never
made,) | have great fears that brother
John, like cousin Abe, has fallen in,
to bad hands, and that mar by na.
ture made for good man. but who
always needed protecting counselors,
may be by his bad associations en-
tirelY ruined. | have known the en-.
tire history of both brother John and
cousin Abe, and all that stuff in the
letter published in the Chron,cls is
stuff, miserable stuff, and although
poor brother Johns name is signed to
it, know that he even yet does not
know what is in it: much less did lie
ever write it. 1t is the work of men
unscrupulous in the means that they
may use in gulliug honest people,
In Johns letter find a long and
pathetic allusion to cousin Abe's
early and hard life. That may be
poetical, but there 10 but little Of it
true. In Abe's younger days he was
simply a wild ha,nm Scaru0 boy, and
jumping and wrestling were his only
accomplishments. Ills laziness was
the cause of many notifications to
me; for as | was an older boy than
either Abe or John, | often had to do
Abe's work at unce'S when the family
were all sick with tue ague from cat
ing watermelons, and Abe would be
rollicEing around the country neglect,
ing them, In those early days We all
saw hard times; yet young man who
was energetic and industrioua could
dress himself comfortably, aud have
plenty OF plain COOL food to eat.
have often felt ashamed Of cousin Abe
in seeing him full grown man, CAD.
ding around the country barefoot,
with his toes outeageo1slY spraddleG
out BY the mud; and instead OF reading
his books as brother John, Through the
Decatur politician so Poetically tells
US, he would be rowdying around with
a pack OF wild Young men. well
remember when he went courting
one OF Major Warnick's daughters in
this county, his boots were so misera,
bly, bad that his feet were frost bittcn
and he had to lay up at Major War.
wick's for two weeks, and have the
| old lady nurse and doctor his feet
am fully persuaded that brothet
John is taking the strange course b,
is now pursuing for the pUrpcso o
making money out of rail specula
tion, and if | could tor one momen
think that the Decatur sharpers, in
whose hands he has placed himself
would not cheat him out Of every cent
Of the money, | would not spoi! the
speculation by telling the facts.
The facts in regard to those raill
are these: The little farm that Johr
and Abe made the rails to fence con
tained ten acres. About five years
after this little farm was fenc3d, thc
entire fence was burned up. to my Ger
tain knowledge, for ! hauled the rail;
to fence It the second time. Levi,
II. Ward, who now resides in thi.
county, witnessed the fire that buneC
the rails, and no is viking 10 make
affidavit OF this fact.
| lived within two miles and q hal
of this Lincoln farm from the time j
was first settled up to 1851, and during
these early times our farmers werl
subject to being visited by devastatin.
fires, and | know that the fence arounC
the Lincoln farm was consumed q
ileast three times. And / know tia
after the Lincoln family had left thC
farm, that the fence was again burned
and that Shelf. Whitley and DAME
McDaniels made the rails and retenceC
it.
think, and | am almost certain
that the rails that arc now being wor
shipped al over the North as Lincolr
rails, were made by poor Bill Strick
land, who is now poor, blind, helpless
and in the Macon county poor house
And if these philanthropic Republi
cans would allow me to make then
one suggestion, it would be TO helE
poor Bill Strickland, who really die
make the rails, and who is as homes
as Aba or anybody else that evel
mauled a rail, instead of spending
their money over his rails.
As to cousin Abe being the "Hon
ArA .l.t:o:.,, Ill :. - ,,>... 4:t1