Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-10
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
His Experiences as Postmaster and
Surveyor.
From the December Century.

From the December Century.
In the spring of this year, 1888, he was
appointed Postmaster of New Salem, and
held the office for three years. Its emolu-
mepts were slender and its duties light,
but there was in all probability no citizen
OF the village who could have made so
much of it as he. The mails were so
scanty that he was said to carry them in
his bis hat, and he is also re.
po ted TO have read every news
paper that arrived; is altogether
litely that this formed the leading
inducement to his taking theof1ice. His
incumbenoy lasted until New Salem
ceased to be populous enough for post
station and the mail went by to Peters
burg. DR.. Holland relates a sequel TO
this official experience which illustrates
the quaint honesty Of the man. Several
years later, when he was a practicing
lawyer, an agent of the Post Office De-
partment called upon him and asked for a
balance due from the New Salem office,
some SIT. Lincoln rose, and opening a
little trunk which Law in a corner OF the
room, took from it cotton rag in which
was tied up the exact sum REQUIRED. IL
never use any mans money but my own"
he quietly remarked. When we consider
the pnching poverty in which these years
| had been passed we may appreciate the
self-denial which had kept him from max
ing even temporary use of this little
! sum OF government money.
John Calhoun, the Surveyor OF Sanga-
mon county, was at this time overbur-
dened with work. The principal industry
| then was speculation in land. Every set
tier, OF course. wanted his farm surveyed
and marked out for him, and every COM
| munity had its syndicate of leading citi-
! Zens who cherished a scheme OF laying
| out city somewhere. In many cases
the city was plotted, the sites OF the prin-
cipal buildings, including court house
| and university, were determined, and a
| sOnOrOus name were selected out of Pu-
| tarch before its location was even con-
| sidered. For this latter office the interyen-
| tion Of an official surveyor was necessary,
and therefore Mr.. Calhoun had more
| business than be could attend to without
assistance. Looking about for a young
man of good character, intellige enough
! to learn surveying at short notice, his at
tention was soon attracted to Lincoln.
| He offered young Abraham book o0n-
| tanning the elements of the art, and told
| him when he had mastered it he should
| have employment. The otfer was fat
tering one, and Lincoln, with that steady
self-reliance OF his, accepted it, and armed
with his book went out to the schoOlmas
ter's (Menton Graham, and in six
weeks close application made himself a
| surveyor.
1t will be remembered that Washington
IN his youth adopted the same profession,
| but there were few points OF similarity in
| the lives OF the two greatest OF our Presi-
dents, in youth or later manhood. The
| Virginian had every social advantage in
his favor. and was by nature a man OF
| more thrift and greater sagacity in money
matters. He used the knowledge gained
| in the practice of his profession so wisely
| that he became rather early in life large
landholder. and continually increased mis-
! possessions until his death. Lincoln,
! with almost unbOunded opportunities for
the selection and purchase OF valuable
| tracts, made nc use whatever of them.
He employed his skill and knowledge
| merely as a bread-winner, aud made 80
little provision for the future that when
Mr.. Van Bergen, who had purchased the
railroad note, sued and got judgment
on 1t, bis horse and his surveying lnstru-
ments were taken to pay the deb and only
| by the generous Intervention OF friend
| was ne able to redeem these Invaluable
means of living. He was, nevertheless,
| an excellent surveyor. His portion of
the public work, executed under the d.
recti0ns of Mr.. Calhoun and his successor,
+. NJ. Neae, was well performed, and he
soon found his time pretty well employed
with private business which came TO blm
| from Sangemon and the adjoining cOun-
ties. Early in the wear 1894 we find him
appointed one of the three viewers to
locate road from Salt creek
10 the county lIue in the direc-
ton of Jacksonville. The board seems
to have consis ted mainly OF its chairman,
as Lincoln made the deposit OF money re-
quifed by law, surveyed the route, plotted
| the road and wrote the report.
Though it is evident that the post Office
and the surveyors level were not making
rich man of him, they were sufficient 10
enable him to live decently. and during
the year he greatly increased bis acquain-
lance and his influence in the county
! The one followed the other mutually;
every acquaintance he made bacame his
friend. and even before the end OF his un-
! successful canvass in 1892 it bad become
evident to the obs rvant politicians OF
| the district that he was man whom 1t
would not do to leave out of their calcula-
tons. There seemed to be no limit to his
popularity nor to his aptitudes, in the
! opinion of his admirers, He was
| continually called on to serve IN the
most incongruous capacities. Old resi-
dents say be was the best judge at a horse
race the county afforded; he was occa-
onally second in a duel Of tistIcutfs,
though he usually contrived to reconcile
the adversarles on the turf before any
damage was done; he was the arbiter on
ali controverted points of literature, sci
ence, or woodcraft among the dlsputa-
tious denizens OF Clary's Grove, and bis
! decisions were never appealed from. HIS
native tact and humor were invaluable in
| his works as a peacemaker, and his enor-
nous physical strength, which be always
| used with a magnanimity rare among
giants. placed his otf-hand DEGREES beyond
the reach OF contemptuous question. He
composed differences among friends and
equals with good-natured raillery, but
he was as rough as need be when his
wrath was reused by meanness and cru
city. We hardly know whether to
credit some OF the stories, apparently well
attested by living witnesses, of his pro-
dgious muscular powers. He is said to
have lifted at Rutledge's mill, a box OF
stones weighing over half ton. IL is also
related that be could raise barrel OF
whisky from the ground and drink from
| ~ ts.,S .. aear do M