The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-20
LTNCOLN'S FLATB0AT.
Story OF THE FAMOUS CRAFT BY
ONE OF ITS BUILDERS.

Eou John E. Roll of Springfield, ILL.,,
EeIped Lincoln Sixty Years Ago.
The Future Presidents Appearance
and Manners-How He Saved Three
Lives.
F,op, the st. Louis Giobe-Denocrat.
Springfield, H., sixty"one years ago, it
,rss April 10, 1881. the flRtboat which Abra-
ham Lincoln piloted to New Orleans had
cot as far down the Sangamon river as the
Gil town of New Salem, ana there it had
stranded upon the Rutledge mill dam. One
and of the loaf projected over the dam, and
It was there that Lincoln introduced new,
original aud Iabor-ssVing method of getting
undesirable water out Of boat. He bored
q hole in the bottom, the water ran out aud
the boat passed over the dam and proceeded
on its journey.
The story of Lincoln's flatboat aud his
trim down the Mississippi TO New Orleans Is
a. familiar to the world as almost any other
incident of his career. And yet few per-
sons outside of Springfeld-aud there are
many here who do not know it-know that
there lives in this city. at ripe old age, a
man who helped Lincoln build that craft.
His name is John h. Roll, aud he is the sole
survivor Of those who were associated with
Lincoln in the construction or the naviga-
don OF his fiatboat. He was five years the
iunior Of Lincoln, being now in his 18th
wear. For nearly half a century he was
prominently identified with the growth
and the interests of Spring
field, and bis own career has been
was worth not less than 1850, 900, largely In
vested in real estate, which at this day would
have been worth probably 81, 200, 600 or
more, but most of his fortune has slipped
away, although he is still In comfortable
circumstances, and he is spending his last
days in peaceful retirement. His mind is
still as clear as ever, and nothing delights
him so much as to sit down and spin out
stories Of pioneer days.
REMEMBERS LAFAYETTE.
Mr.Roll WASH orn in Green Village, Morris
county, New York, June 8, 1914. He re-
members distinctly the visit of Lafayette to
Morristown in 1924. On Lafayette's way
from Madison to Morristown his wagon
broke down, and he rode into the latter
place on three wheels, with a pole under
one side of the wagon.
And in 1929, l think it was,r said Mr..
Roll a few days ago, ~ rode on the first
railroad ever constructed In this country
William I. James then owned an extensive
IlhCulu6 sup III ANSW Vi n ClbJs huu Ill al
upper story of his shop was little railroad.
His son, John James, was one Of my boy
hood friends, and together we rode around
the shop on this railroad. This was only a
model, of course, and no real railroad for
the general public had then been built in
this country.
"April 20, 1890, l started for Illinois. we
crossed the mountains IN wagons aud teams
and started down the Ohio river on the
EI1rblouIar RolOyy ba fa1Ic Of I
we took the Huntsman and went to st.
Louis on the evening of June 4. We crossed
over that evening to Illinois Town. We
staid all night at an old tavern, and the
next morning ] started for Springfield,
walking oil the way, arriving here on June
at o'clock. From here l walked to San
gamo Town, a seven miles northwest of
Springfield, on the Sangamon river. l had
relatives near there and renamed with
them.
LINCOLN IN 1881.
Toward the spring of 1881 tall, gaunt,
ungalnly young man made his appearance
in Saugamo. He soon made it known that
his name was Abe Lincoln, and that he had
come from Macon county ID build a fat
boat for Messrs. Offut q Green. The boat
ives started from New Salem, but Sangamo
was selected as the place for its construction
because there was saw-mill at that place,
run by Charles Broadwell and timber was
there in abundance. Saugamo was then a
tiourishing village, as large or larger than
Springfield, and it is a singular fact that at
this day not a trace of the town remains.
Lincoln was accompanied by his STEP
brother, John Johnston. who, however, was
too lazy to be of any service to Lin
coin, aid they soon parted COM
pany. Lincoln was then little past 90
years OF age, and he was the rawest, most
LOO
ever saw. He was tall, bony and as homely
as he has ever been pictured. He had on a
suit Of blue Jeans-if it could be called q
suit. 1t seemed that everything was too
short for him. His pantaloons lacked four
or five inches Of reaching the ground, and
when the legs were not stuffed into his big
raWhlde boots they were held down by
leather straps, which extended under his
boots. He wore an old roundabout that
might have served him in his younger days,
out was now far too short for him, aud
when be stopped over be showed four or five
inches Of his suspenders-that is, when
ne went so far as to have on a pair gals
!uSses. He wore a drab-colored wool
nat, pretty well worn, small crowned and
broad brimmed. l remember one occasion
on which this old hat was brought into serv-
ice LOT the entertainment of the natives.
Lincoln boarded at Jacob Carman's old
tavern, and one day a sleight-of-hand per-
FORMER made his appearance in the village.
At tue tavern a crowd, of course, gathered
around him, and he entertained us for ZONE
time. he asked for somebody's hat to fry
some eggs IN, and Lincoln pulled off his old
slouch hat and passed it up. The magician
pu1 IN some fresh eggs, made pretense of
holding the hat over the fire, and then
handed back hatful of fried eggs This
amused Lincoln greatly, and he seemed to
pFIue himself greatly upon having such
convenient cooking utensil.
BUILDING THE FLATBoAT.
Lincoln went to work for Offut & Green
Ior $40 month. He had TO have help on
Tue 1atooat, OF course, and as l was then in
my 18th year, and could do practi-
osIy the work OF a man, had no trouble
III getting job with him. He set me to
WORK making pins, and l made all the pins
mat went into that flatboat," aud the old
mans eyes twinkled with pride at this fond
recollection. 1T took about a month. as
remember it, to build the boat, and dur
ing that time a number were employed,
SJthe them just for day or two, in helping
Lincoln. Among those who worked on the
S Soat were :. hn Johnston, Lincoln's step
SOlolher; Walter Carman, a son of Jacob
oaIsinan, the tavernkeeper; J I'm Seaman
auu young man named Cabanis. All are
~. .s dead, with the exception of myself, al
Suough believe there are two or three
H.neIs now living who saw Lincoln's fiat
:; o'av while 1t was being builtor on the day
" was launched
q when the boat was completed it was
c Croseu into the river. 1t was an event that