Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-06-26
Abraham Lircoln's Boyhosd.


From the Charleston News and Courier
well, he was at this time not
grown, only six feet two inches high,
said Dennis f. Hanks, cousin of Alb
raham Lincoln, He was six feet
four and Que half inches when grown
tall, lathy and gsngling-not much
appearance, not handsome, not ugly,
but peculiar. This kind of fellow
If man rode up horseback, Abe
would be the first one out, up on the
fence and asking questions, till his
father would give him knock side
of the head; then he'd go and throw
at snowbirds or suthin', but penderlu'
all the while
WAS he active and strongf'
He was that. | was ten years
older, but couldn't rassle him down.
His legs was too long for me to throw
him. He would fling one foot upon
my shoulder and make me swing
corners swift, and his arms s. long
and strong. Nv, how he would chop!
His ak would flash and bite into
sugar ire or sycamore, and down it
would come. It you heard him faLin'
trees in clearin' you would say there
were three men at work by the way
the trees fell. But he never was sassy
or quarrelsome. I've seen him walk
into a crowd of sawin' rowdies, and
tell some droll yarn and bust them
all up 1t was the same when he was
a lawyer; all eyes whenever he rz
were on him; there was suthin' pecul-
iarseme about him."
what did you teach hira to write
with2"
Sometimes he would write with a
piece OF charcoal, or the pint of
burnt stick, on the fence or floor. We
got little paper at the country town
and I made ink out of the blackberry
briar>root and put little copperas IN
it. 1t wss black, but the copperas
would eat the paper after a white. l
made his first pen OFT of turkey
buzzard's feather. Them's good for
pens We haa no geese them days
After he learned to write, he was
scrawlin' his name everywhere; some
times he would write it on the white
sand down by the creek bank, and
leave it till the freshet would blot it
out
All, Dennis, that name is written
now, not in sand, high GA the heroic
roll in Lj5erty's proud temple, above
the names of all save one. Next to
the name of the immortal Washing
ton blazes the signature of the blame
less ruler and matchless man, Abra~
ham Lincoln. That plain name is
now kinglier title than is worn on
earth. Yes, that's so, and rightly,
too. Not for his greatness; he was
not the greatest man that ever lived,
but he was the honestest. l reckon
he never did mean act. l could see
he didn't know how, and he never
learned.
Did you ever have any idea of his
future greatuessT
mo; it was new country and he
was raw boy; rather bright and
likely lad, but the big world seemed
far ahead of him. We were all slow
goin' folks, but he had it in him,
though we never suspected it. 2"
Ibid he take to books eagerly"
mo; we had to hire him first, but
when he got taste it was the old
story-we had TO pull the soa's ears
to get her to the trough and pull her
tail to get her away. He reed great
deal and had wonderful memory
wonderful. Never forgot anything"
"What church did Abe attend2"
"The Baptist. I'll tell you cir
cumstance about him. He would
come home from church and put
box in the middle of the cabin floor
and repeat the sermint from text to
doxology. I've heard him do it Of
ten"