The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1860-07-19
THE RAIL SPLITTING.


Mr.. George Close the partner of Lincoln in
the rail splitting business, says that Lincoln
was an that TIM n farm laborer working from
day 10 Gay for different people, chopping wood,
mhuuG rails, or doing wh4tever was 10 be done
The county was poor, and hard work was the
common lot; the heaviest share falling to young
unmarried men, with whom it was continual
Struggle to earn livelihood. Lincoln and Mr.
Close made about one Thousand rails together
for James Iaws and William Miller. receiving
their pay in homeSpun clothing. Lncolns bar.
gain with Millers wife was, that he should have
one yard OF brown jeans, ,(richIy dyed with wal
nut bark, for every four hundred rails M de un-
III he should have enough for pair of trowsers
As Lincoln was already of great altitude, the
number of rails that went to the requirement of
his pantaloons was ccssar,ly immense
On his return TO Illinois, Lincoln found that
his father ha in pursuance OF n previous inten-
ton, removed from Macon, and was now living
In Coles county. His relative rcioined his family
there but New Salem on the Stngamon liver
brcame the home of l. ncoln, whose location
there was accidental rather than otherwise. He
was defending the river with another fat-boat
for Ofut, aud near New Salem grounded on Il
daN. An old friend and ardent admirer, who
mace his acquaintance on this occasion, says
that Lincol was siafding in the water on the
dam, when he first caught sight OF him, drvo-
ting all his ehrrgies 20 the release OF he boat
His dress at this time consisted Of pair OF blue
james rrowsers, iulrfujtely rolled up a cotton
snrr;' ipped white nnd blue (of he sor. known
in song and tradition as hichory,) snCS@~aksck
eye-chip hnt, for which de naud Of tW1r<As
and hall cents would have baeu rxorhiiant. =
The future President failed TO disodse his
boat, though he did adopt the ingenious expa-
dent of tightening ii by boring hole in the
end that hung over the dam, ard letting out
the waIsr-an incident which Mr. Douglas Iu-
morously turned to account in one ofhis speech.
es The boat stuck tLGre stubborn, imnova.
bic
Olfu't az has hsen en-, vas a man Of re-
source and decision. He cane ashore from his
hltboat, and resolutely rented the very mill Of
which the dam had caused his disaster together
with an old store room, which he illed with
STOCK ofgoods, and gave in the clcrkly charge
OF Abraham Lincoln, with the munlfcent sola.
ry Of SIS month.
Lincoln had already made his 1rst spcrch -
Gen. w. l.. ID. Ewing, and politician named
POsey, no afterward achieved notorety in the
Black Hawk war had addressed the freemeu OF
Macon the year previous, on the issue of the
day. Mr. Posey had, however, in violation Of
venerable precedent and sacred etiquette, failed
tn invite the soYereigns to drink something
They were justly indlgant, and p prsuaded Lin
coin 10 reply, in the expectation that he would
possibly make himself offensive to Posey. Lin
eoln, however, took the stump with character
islic modesty, and begging his friends not tol
laugh if he broke down, treated very courte-
ously the two speakers who had preceded him.
discussed questions of pO ilics, and in his psora
tion eloqurntly pictured the future OF Illinois
There was sense and reason in his Arguments,
his imaginative flight tcked the Stale pride Of
the Ilinoisns. 1t was declared that Lincoln
had made the best speech OF the dav; and he 70 !
bis great astonishment found himself prophet