Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-12-29
Lincoln's Early Life.
Anecdotes told by Talkatiye Old Uncle
Johnny Potter.
THE LAST EGG AT BREAKFAsT-THE WREsT-
LING MATCH WITH JACK ARMSTRONG
EXPLOITS AS A RAIL IL-sPIITTER-THINGs
THAT HAPPENED IN 1881.

1t was while Congressman Springer was
speaking at the Menard Qlls.) fair grounds
that Mr.. Looming, one of the prominent
men of Petersburg, brought an old gentle
man away from the crowd and said to him,
"Uncle Johnny, here's correspondent of
the Saint Louis Democrat He
wants to see somebody who knew Mr.. Lin
coin when he lived here. You are Just the
one to talk to him." And Uncle Johnny
Potter, kindly faced, with shrewd trinke
in his eye. slight deafness, careful of his
words, and with recollection of detail
that was marvellous, began to talk of things
that happened in 1881.
"The first time | ever saw Abe Lincoln" !"
he said, "was that summer. l was just
starting in life myself on my place, below
bsre, and had a log cabin. In front Of the
house was tolerably low rail fence I had
built, mebbe five rails high. We had done
breakfast few minutes, when two young
men came walking along the road. One Of
them was Abe. A man named Offut was
going to start grocery at Salem. That
was the town then, Just up the river a
couple of miles, above where Petersburg is
now. Offut had engaged Abe to clerk for
him, and Abe was walking up to go to
work in the store. He had slept that night
at Clary's Grove and when he and the
young man with him got along to my place
they wanted to know if they could get a
bite to eat. The old woman fixed them up
something the things were on the table,
and they had their breakfast. When they
had got through they came out, and Abe
straddled over that five-rail fence as if it
wasn't in the way at all. / expect he would
have gone over it just as easy if it had been
higher, for he had powerful long legs
When he got out to the road he turned and
looked back at the table and said There's
only one egg left ]; believe I'd better
make a clean thing of it, So he straddled
the fence again, got the egg, and went off
laughing like boy, shuff1ing the egg
from one hand to the other and then peel
ing and eating it. That was the first time
afftsaarWasd fsp1sslsm was whsre we all
went to do our tradissv-Af~
THE WRESTLING MATCH:
"Uncle Johnny, tell him about the wrsst-
middleaged man, with pleasant face
,"You remember all about that"
The speaker was Jack Armstrong, the
son of the famous Jack Armstrong, who
was the champion in all athletic sports in
this valley of the Sangamon fifty years ago.
81 remember IT, said Uncle Johnny
"Y our father WAS considered the best man
in all this country Ter q scutfie. In a
wrestle, shoulder or back holds, there was
now and then man he couldn't get away
with. When Lincoln came into this coun-
try there was crowd called the Clary
Grove boys, who pretty much had their
own way, and Jack Armstrong was tha
leader among thein.>. Most every new ms
who came into the neigh borhood had tApy,
tried Lincoln way pretty >stout, and ,oay
boys made it up to zee what there was
him. They got him 10 talking Aseu tIlSis NJ
ling one day, and he aid he couI antN /
any man around there Bill Clark h St |
Lincoln until he got Id into bet of B. Il
Then he put Jack ArnN hong against ~ &.
lhey were pretty well kehed but kve
was good deal taller, AN puld benSHe s'yer
Jack. They Wrestled gu, while, q 4
think Abe had thrown Jack tw..o;nS =
was likely to get him down. Clary
pect, thought he was in danger of losing
his money, for he called out: "Throw him
anyway, Jack.' At that Jack loosed his
back-hold and grabbed Abe by the thigh,
and threw him in a second. Abe got up
pretty mad. He did't say much, but he
| told somebody that if it ever came right he
would give Bill Clary good licking. You
see, the hold Jack took was fair in scuffle,
but not in wrestle, and they were wrest-
| ling. After that Abe was considered one
Of the Clary Grove boys. l believe they
called him president of their club. Abe
and Jack got to be great friends, and Abe
used to stay at jacks house."
"Yes,' said the Jack Armstrong whom
the Petersburg of to-day knows, "I've
heard mother tell many times how she
fo2 ed Mr.. Lincoln's trousers when he got
to be surveyor. You see the cloth wouldn't
last NO time out in the brush and grass and
briers where surveyors had to tramp. So
they used to sew covering of buckskn on
the outside of the legs. That's what was
called foxing 'em."
AS A RAIL-sPLITTER.
"What about Lincoln's exploits as rail
splitter !" Uncle Johnny was asked.
"He may have helped split rails when he
was visiting some of the neighbors," the
old man replied, "but he didn't make his
living by it, as they said afterward wher
he was running to be President. l believe
Abe and George Close took job to cut ],
900 rails for somebody over the river one
time, but that is about the only time I re
member of Lincoln's splitting rails"
"Was he good surveyor?'
"Yes, he was considered pretty good al
it. l think the people had great deal Of
confidence in the lines he run. Polk Rug
giles, down at Ashland, below here, has got
, the plot of the town Of Bath which Lincoln
made"
''Abe," volunteered Riley Potter, one o.
the substantial farmers of Menard, "was
mighty handy at froics and parties. Mos
of the young people would sorter hang
back, but Abe had word for everybody
, and especially for the smart girls. There
couldn't any of them get the best Of him.
He was generally asked to help wait on tht
{ table and make folks feel sociable. On,
! night Abe was helping the visitors, an(
| there was girl there who thought hersel
r pretty smart. When Abe got to her h
asked her if he should help her. She sait
she'd take something. Abe, he filed VI
[ her plate pretty well, and when he passet
: it to her she says, quite pert and sharp
r We'll, Mr.. Lincoln, didn't want cart
, load Abe never let on that he heard her
, but went On helping the others. By ant
. by Liddy got through, and when Abe cam
round her way again she said she believed
8 she'd take little more. All right, Mis-
: Liddy,' says Abe, loud enough for tn
e whole room to hear shack up your car
: and I'll fill it again. OF course, there wa
n &hig laugh. Liddy felt awful bad abou
it. She went off by herself and cried tn
? whole eeSping."
Q Uncle JOHNNY smiled and shook his hea
! when asked if ''Honest Aben was the nam
i given Mr.. Lincoln in Salem days Il think,
: he said, "the most of us had more conf
ldence in Abe's smartnsss than in his hol