Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-12-24
LINCOLN'S EARLY LIFE.
ANECDOTES TOLD BY TALKATIVE OLD
UNCLE JOHNNY POTTER.
THE LAST EGG AT BREAKFAsT--THE WRIST
LING MATCH WITH JACK ARMSTRONG
EXPLOITS AS A RAIL sPLITTER--THINGs
THAT IIApPENED IN 1881.

ger was speaking at the Menard
Ills fair grounds that Mr.. Lon
ming, one Of the prominent men of
Petersburg, brought an old gentle
man away from the crowd and said
to him, "Uncle Johnny, here's a
correspondent of The 81. Louis
Globe Democrat. lie wants to see
somebody who knew Mr.. Lincoln
when he lived here. You are Just
the one 10 talk TO him. And Un-
Gle Johnny Potter, kindly faced,
with a shrewd twinkle In his eye, a
slight deafness, careful of his words,
and with a recollection of detail
that was marvellous, began to talk
of things that happened IN 1881.
''The first time l ever saw Abe
Lincoln" he said, twas that sum-
mer. l was just starting in life
myself on my place, below here, and
had a log cabin. In front of the
house was a tolerably low rail fence
bad built, mebbe FIVE rails high.
We had done breakfast a few min
utes, when two young men came
walking along the road. One OF
them was Abe. A man named
Off'ut was going to start a grocery
at Salem. That was the town then,
Just up the river a couple of miles,
above where Petersburg is now
Ofut had engaged Abe to clerk for
him, and Abe was walking uD 10
20 to work IN the store. lie had
slept that night at Clary's Grove,
anu when he and the young man
with him got along to my place
they wanted to know if they could
get a bite to cat. The old woman
Gxed 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 fve.rall
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 strad.
died the fence again, got the egg,
and went Ofl-laughiDg like boy,
shufling the egg from one hand to
the other and then peeling and eat
ing it. That was the first time l
saw Abe, but / saw a good deal Of
him afterward, for Salem was where
We all went to do our trading"
THE WRESTLING MATCH.
"Uncle Johnny, tell him about
the wrestling match with father"
said sturdy, middle.aged man,
with a pleasant face. "YOu remem-
Der all about that"
The speaker was Jack Armstrong,
the son Of the famous Jack Arm.
strong, who was the champion in
All athletic sports in this valley of
the Sangamon fifty years ago.
IL remember it," said Uncle
johnny. "Your father was consid-
cred the best man in all this coun.
try for a scuffie. In a wrestle,
shoulder or back holds, there was
now and then a man he couldn't
get away with. When Lincoln
came into this country there was a
crowd called the Clary Grove boys,
who pretty much had their own
way, and Jack Armstrong was the
leader among them. Most every
new man who came into the neigh
bOrh0ol had to be tried. Lincoln |
was pretty stout, and the boys
made 1t up to see what there was
In INN. They got him to talking !
about wrestling one day, and he
SAID he could throw any man around
there. Bill Clary kept at Lincoln
until he got him into bet OF 50. |
Then he put Jack Armstrong !
against him. They were pretty |
well matched, but Abe was a good !
deal taller, and could bend over
Jack, They wrestled a good while,
aud / think Abe had thrown Jack |
two joints, and was likely to get |
him down. Clary, expect, thought |
be was in danger Of losing his mon
ay, Tor he called out Throw him /
any way, jack At that Jack |
oosed his back hold and grabbed /
Abe by the thigh, and threw him
% second. Abe got up pretty
mad. lie didn't say much, but he
old somebody that if it ever came
light he would give Bill Clary a
rood licking. You see, the hold
lack took was fair in a scufile, but
rot in "a wTestle, and they we're
After that Abe was
considered one Of the Clary Grove
,oys. | believe they called him
PRESIDENT of their club. Abe and
lack got to be great friends, and
used to stay at Jacks house,
Yes" said the Jack Armstrong
ylom the Petersburg of to-,Iay
nows, '1've heard mother tell
many times how she fOxed Mr.. Lin
oln's trousers when he got to be
urveyor. You see the cloth
-onldn't last no time out in the
rush and grass and briers where
lrveyors had to tramp. So they
sed to sew covering of buckskin
n the outside of the legs. That's
Ia. was called fOxing 'em.'