The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1864-04-05

as a man of resources and shrewdnes.
he was one that people looked 10 fc
counsel in exigencies, and to whom the
were ready TO depu,e almost any enter
prise which needed ssill and energy
The surveyor of Sangamon county BE-
ing driven with work, came TO him t
take the survey Of a tract off from hi
hands. True, he had never studied sur
veying-but what ofthat He accepte,
the Job" procured chain. a treats
on surveying, and did the work. Do W.
not see in this parable Of wider wilder
ness which in later years he has under
taken to survey and fl for human hab
talion without chart Or surveyors chain
In 1886 our back woodsman, fla; boa
hand. captain, surveyor, obtained Ii
cehse to practice law, and. as might b,
expected. rose rapidly. Ore anecdot.
will show the esteem in which he wa:
held in his neighborhood. A client came
to him in case relating to c-rlain land
claim, and Lincoln, said 10 him, "Youl
first step must be to take thirty thousand
dollars to make legal tender-it o
course will be refused, but is necessary
step"
But" said the man, Il haven't the
thirty thousand dollars to make 1t with !"
20. that's it. Just step over to the
bank with me and I'll get it.
So into the bank they went, and Lin
coin says TO the cashier. "We just wan,
it to make legal tender with. III bring
it back in an hour or two"
The cashier handed across the money
TO "Honest Abe" and without scratch
OF the pen in ackno wledgemen, he strobe
his way with the specie, all in most sa
cred simplicity, made the tender, and
brought it back with as much nonchal-
ance as if he had been borrowing sill
yer spoon ofhis grandmother His hon
es'y. shrewdness. energy, and keen prac.
teal insight into men and things soon
made him the most influential man in
his State. He became the reputed leader
of the Whig party, and canvassed the
State as stump speaker in the time of
Henry Clay, and in l846 was represen-
tative to Congress. Here he met the
grinding of the question OF the question
of the question of the dsy-the upper
and neither milestone Of freedom reyolv
ing against each other Lincoln whole
nature inclined him TO be a harmonizar
OF conflicting parties rather than a COM
mitted combaiant on either side. He
was firmly and from principle an enemy
to slavery-but the ground he occupied
in Congress was in some respect mid
die one beween the advance guard OF
the anti slavery and the spears ofthe fire.
eaters. He voted with John Quincy
Adams for the receipt of anti slavery pc
tiions; he voted with Giddings for a
committee OF inquiry into the conslilu.
tionality Of slavery in the Distric, Of
Columbia. and the expediency Of abol-
ishing slavery in that District; he voted
for the various resolutions prohibiting
slavery in the territories to be acquired
from Mexico. and he voted for,y.,wo
times for the Wilmot Proyiso. In Jan
Is. l849, he offered plan for abolish.
ing slavery in the District of Columbia.
by compensation from the national treas.
ury, with the consent of a majority OF the
citizens. He opposed the annexation Of
Texas, but voted for the bill to paw the
expenses Of the war.
But at the time Of the repeal Of the
Missouri Compromise he took the field.
heart and soul against the plo, to betrsy
our territories to slavery. II was main.
ly owing to his exertions tina. at ,his
critical period Republican Senator was
elected from Illinois. when Republican
Senator in the trembling national scales
oil the conflict was worth a thousand
times his weight in gold.
Little did the Convention that nomin.
aled ABRAHAM LINCOLN for Presiden,
know what they were doing. Lit,le did
the honest, fatherly, patriotic man. who
stood in his simplicity on the platform
at Springfield, asking the prayers of hi,
townsman and receiving their pledges 10
remember him, foresee how awfully he
was 10 need those prayers. the PRAYERS of
all this nation and the prayers Of all The
working. suffering common people
throughout, the world. Gods hand was
upon him with a visable prole ction, saw.
ing FL st from assassination At Baltimore
and bringing him safely TO our national
capitol. Then the world have seen and
wondered a, the greatest sign and mar.
vel OF our day. to wit. a plain working