The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-09
TAUGHT ABE GRAMMAR.
Lincoln Was an Apt Scholar and
Made Good Roadway, Says His
First Teacher.
The Old Pedaxogue ID Now Over
80 Years Of Age and Tells
q Queer Tale.
The hoy Finished Kisham's Engiish Gram
mar In Two and Murray's In Esur
Wssks-Broks Him Of Betting.

mar In Two ana MuFrRyb IN 1Sur
Wssks-Broks Him Of Betting.
There ID : remarkable old mar visiting
here from his Illinois home. writes q Dallas
(Texas) correspondent Of tho Nav York
Eun. His name is William Graham Green
and hs ID 80 years old. Hs has had :
eurious life, and he il proud Of tho fact
chat he ID the first man who taught Abra-
ham Lincoln tho principles of English
grammar.
II taught Abe Lincoln all he ever knew
about grammar" he says, "and a mighty
smart pupil he was, too"
Mr.. Green's story of how he came to do
this, and how he did 1t, is - follows:
"My father moved over to Msnard
county, Illinois, in 1920, and / have been
living in thai state ever since. I went to
tho Illinois college in Jacksonville to get .
business education, and I made a specially
Of grammar. In 1880 I went to work al q
clerk in the store of Denton Offutt in New
Salem, Nenard county. There I first met
Abe Lincoln. He had helped Ofutt take
his fatboat on a trading expedition down
the Hangamon river. They ran aground on
tU0 GAIN ~ 0hloN auN SAAss ~ -
there with the goods from this boat. This
was in 1881. Lincoln wal % years old at
that time, but he WAS six feet four inches
tall, and one Of the strongest mon ! ever
saw. Lincoln had stsered tho boat for
Ofutt, and, I reckon, he had run her
aground. I got So a month in the store
and Lincoln got $40 a month. He and !
slept on . single mattress on the counter,
and it was 80 narrow VIC had to sleep spoon
fashion. When he turned over l did, too.
One night he said to me:
".Bill, haven't you an English grammar
You could lend to me?' @
II Told him that I had = Kirkham's gram
mar, and he, said:
"'Bring it to me when you 60 homo on
Sunday
"Ho used to read it at night after the
store shut up, and when he had read for a
while I would hear him recite his lessons.
He went through the grammar in two
weeks, and then, at his request, I got him
another Rrammar-Lindley Murray's, I
think il was-and he went through that
one in the same way. In six weeks ne knew
five times al much about grammar as l did.
..Linooln did som%ethingelse for me while
We we're in that store together-he broke
ma Of betting. There used to be a fellow
named Enoch Eastep, who would come in
there and spend q lot of time loafing
around. He was betting, trifing kind of
a man. and had q lot of tricks he was nj
vays betting on. He had q trick Of doub-
ling up his hand in some way so Is to hide
his middle finger. Then he would bet you
that you couldn't mark his middle finger
with ! pen, lost some nicksls betting
vith him, and one day Abe Lincoln said
"1Billy, You ought to know better than to
bat on ANYTHING, but especially than to bet
With a man on his own tricks. You ought
@sfBut, Abe, he's got ninety cent. the best
of me- 1 said. If | could get that back
would be willing to quit
"'Will you promise me that you'll never
bet any more If / manage it SO that you can
get way ahead Of min with ons bet?' said
Lincoln
".Billy,' said Lincoln, you are getting to
m age when you're beginning to think a
GOOD deal about tho girls. Wouldn't you
like to have a plug hat to wear when you 60
calling on them? .,
apiece. and that is more than ! can afford
"Well,' said Lincoln. when Enoch
comes in here again and wants to bet with
you on his tricks, you just say that you
don't care to bet on such trltling things VIII
nl00. DuE uAhU SVA II q ~
take a forty-gallon barrel of whisky OIL the
floor and take a dram from the bunghole.
You say that you'll bet him a plug hat on
it,
"tYou wait until after the store closet
tonight and Ill show YOU said Abe.
so that night he took u barrel of whisky
and chimod it up a little on his left KNEE
and then tilted it on his right knee ane
kind of bent baet, and | pulled the buns
-. 40. ~. -eJ h. %1rJr a 1ro IN on re-
enough, and spurted it right ont again or
the ioor. The next day | won tho plug hat
from Enoch, az Abe had said | would. J
have kept my word ever since, and pv'
never bet on anything. And, what's moro
Wouldn't for $1,000.
"Tinooln left the store after a while ant
went to work hauling logs to the sawmll
for William kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick hae
eight or ten other men working for him
and he paid them each $40 a month; Lin
help him, One day Lincoln told Kirkpat-
rick that he wanted tc get q cant-hook t.
help him load the LOGS on the wagon. a.
said that a cant-ho,k would only cost 10
but Kirkpatrick said: Now, Lincoln, IT
you'll manage to haul the logs without IN
Lincoln said that he would do it, but at tn
end of the month he got only $40. insteae
Of 1913. When he asked for the other $3
Kirkpatrick said: Abe, ! can't pay 70,
$n3 EXTRA But you PROMISED 70 ~ ~. nai'
Abe Yes, l know said Kirkpatrick. blu
the other men would raise If | paid yol
more than they we're getting. so can,
do it, Lincoln quit work for Kirkpatrick
then.
1.-THE next year.. in 1882. Black Hawl
came back into Illinois with the sacs an
Foxes, and militia companies were raised t.
90 and fight them. All the young men wen
into the Black Hawk war, and Lincoln an
/ we're among them. Major Moses X
Anderson came to form the companies an
get them into shape. Now, Kirkpatric
was very anxious to be elected captain o
our company, and 80 was Abe Lincoln
Major Anderson got us all together an
then he called out: =,
".You aspirants for the %captaincy wal
twenty PAGES to the front and face the lire
Kirkpatrick and Lincoln stepped out an
M faced about.
Now said the major, the rest Of 70
fall in alongside of the man you want fc
your captain! -,
II was the first to run to Lincoln's sid.
and / stood at his right. KIRKPATRICK
men formed on his left. After . viii
whom all had chosen, there were two lon