The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-22
AN OLD MANS LETTER.
It Was Promptly Answered BY President
Lincoln.
Another Instance Of the Kind Eeartedness
Of Honest Old Abe--He Telegraphs an Or
der for the Discharge Of Sick Soldier Boy.

Many stories have been told of the
great-heartedness of Lincoln, and the
prompt attention he always gave to
the pleading of those in trouble. No
cares of state so engrossed his thoughts
that he had no time to listen to an
appeal from even the most humble.
The pardon of the soldier boy found
sleeping at his picket post and con-
demned 70 death is by no means the
most touching Of the published &C
counts of his deeds of mercy. Nor
have tenth of the stories ever been
printed which are passed about in
quiet country neighborhoo1s OF his
kind acts TO some afflicted family rep
resented there.
A Minnesota father who sent five
sons to the front-all the boys he had
had good cause to speak in tender
est tones of the goodness of Uncle Abe.
After the last of the boys had joined
the army, the government, in its great
anxiety for the condition of the treasury,
ordered the sale of all public lands
which had been entered in certain dis
tricts. The farm of Farmer Stevens
came under the order. The old man
was left alone to care for the crops and
the live stock, with the wives and the
babies of two of his sons under his
roof and mainly dependent upon him
for support.
To raise the money called for in the
payment for his land in addition to his
other burdens was a seeming impossi-
bility. Ono of his soldier boys had
been brought from the front and was
lying in hospital hopelessly ill with
a lingering disease contracted in the
field. The mother believed she could
cure him if she but had him at home.
Her skill in the use of herbs and the
many cures of the old New England
grandmothers was proverbial. And as
a nurse many neighbors could testify
that she had no equal for miles around
How she longed to sit beside the bed
of her suffering, curly-haired boy. And
how many and many times she said:
''Pa. can't you think of some way to
get Eddie home? l know I could soon
make him we'll, and he would be such
a help to you in raising the money to
take to the land Office
An accident had crippled the anxious
farmers left hand so as to make it
almost an impossibility for him to even
do the chores" of the farm.
"Dorothy," said he one day, eve
made up my mind to write Uncle Abe
a letter and tell him just how it is. I
wouldn't be a bit surprised if he'd do
something."
NOW pa" replied she, don't 20 off
into any such nonsense. How do you
suppose the president can find time for
such small matters?'
But he wrote the letter, in a trem-
bling hand, but with such care in every
stroke of the pen that it could almost
read upside down.
Il do believe Uncle Henry has gone
clean daft" said one of the gossips of
the neighborhood as she spread the
story of the old mans presumptuous
communication to the chief executive
of the nation.
''He must think the president can
look after every individual soldier of
the whole million" said another.
This w@ late in 1864, when everv-
thing looked so dark for the Union
canusoe. Drafts had been ordered. re-
verse had followed reverse until, a
strong peace party had grown up among
the most loyal supporters of the Union.
1t is now known that the president was
at that time beseiged by some of his
most confidential advisers to bring the
appalling flow Of blood to an end by a
peace on almost any terms.
The tremendous strain brought upon
him by the terrible responsibilities Of
the hour were telling upon the rugged
features of the president, and no one
could look into his eyes without feel
ing that change must come soon.
Within ten days from the mailing of
Farmer Stevens letter came an en-
velope bearing on it's upper left hand
corner, in modest type. the words
Executive Mansion" Tearing open
the wrapper with shaking hand the
Old man read the contents at a glance.
Mother! mother! Dorothy!" he
cried, He'll do it! He'll do it! Didn't
say he was the biggest hearted man
in the wOrld?'
Handing the letter to the poor old
mother whose eyes were swollen with
her frequent weeping for her sick boy,
she read:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, D. c.. Sept. II, 1884.