The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-12-02
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LlNCOLN'S ALMANAC.
The True Inwardness of Story Which
Has Been Told Time and Again.

Has Been Told Time and Again.
Duff Armstrong, the defendant in the
celebrated murder trial in which Mr..
Lincoln scored a great legal triumph
at Beardstown, is one of the notable
characters at Petersburg. The fatal
affray occurred at camp-meeting.
Press Metzger became involved in a
quarrel, and received beating, from
the effects of which he died. One of
the assailants was sent to the peniten-
tiary for eight years. Duff was under
indictment. and feeling was quite strong
against him. He was a son of JACK
Armstrong, who had been Lincoln S
great crony in early times. Jack was
dead. but ''old Hannah his wife, on
her atfiiction, wrote to Mr.. Lincoln,
who had then been living in Spring
field many years. In reply came prompt
instructions to take the case on a
change of venue to Beardstown, and to
rely on him for the defense. In 1858
the trial occurred. That was a year
and half or so after the trouble at the
camp-meeting. Mr.. Lincoln conducted
the case with great care, cross-examin-
ing the witnesses closely. There were
one or two men who claimed to have
seen the fight, and they described most
minutely all the circumstances. They
said that Armstrong gave the fatal
blow, and that he used slung-shot.
MIR. Lincoln pressed them to know how
they could testify so positively, and
they said that there was nearly full
moon, and that it was as high as the
sun is at ten o'clock in the morning;
this moon shining down upon the COM
batants made every movement plain.
When it came Mr.. Lincoln's turn to
present the defense, he put into the
hands of the jury an almanac, and
asked them to see for themselves what
kind of night it was. The jurors
looked and saw that there was no
moon at all. Court, lawyers, witnesses,
and all except Mr.. Lincoln were
thunderstruck. This evidence was
followed by speech, in which Mr..
Lincoln made the most of the almanac
The prosecution couldn rally from the
impeachment of its witnesses. Arm
strong was acquitted.
After the trial there was a good deal
of talk. The defendants friends were
not the least puzzled, for some of them
remembered positively that there was a
moon that night. There was CONSUL
tation of old almanacs, and it was
found that the general recollection
was correct: the affray had taken place
on moonlight night. Then the
almanac which Mr.. Lincoln had used
was in request; it could not be found.
There is no doubt in the minds of Peters
burg people that Mr.. Lincoln's almanac
was not genuine. Some hold that it was
gotten up for the occasion. Others
think that for the proper almanac
Mr.. Lincoln substituted one of
the previous year, and that the error
in date was overlooked in the confusion
caused by such startling evidence.
Now and then warm admirer of Mr..
Lincoln has urged that the lawyer him
self was not aware that he was palming
off on the court the wrong almanac.
Duff Armstrong said to the writer
quite warmly: ..It's all nonsense to
talk about Mr.. Lincoln having had that
almanac made for the occasion. re-
collect he called for an almanac. and
there was none In the courtroom.
Then he sent my cousin Jake out to
get one, and he went out and got the
book that was shown TO the jury. The
almanac was all right
Lincoln made speech to the jury
said Duff. in which he told them how
he had held NE when / was baby
while mother got his meals for him.
He told mother he wouldn't charge
cent for defending me, and he never
did. He was mighty smart man, and
good one, too.
While Duff Armstrong lives there
will be one man in Petersburg to de-
fend Mr.. Lincoln's memory upon the
almanac episode. Petersburg I'll. Cor.
81. Louis Globe Democrat.