Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-13

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attended long en-, ,ugh in Indiana to make
his entire schoolin amount to year,
aud his stepmother was fairly well ed
ucated woman. So IL is not likely that
Dennis could have taug. ut him much.
Disease ravaged the A'ettlement. Inc
aague they had always with them' ana tne
dreaded milk sickness can 'e again ana
again-about once in five year. s. as tne way
OIL this disease is. No one hM explained
TINS mysterious blight. In my poynoou
all that was known was that certain
springs We're infected with it, and tn at tne
streams flowing therefrom had u De
fenced till it had flowed some 200 yal us,
when the poison evaporated. Cattle sn t
fered most, and, though ever SO little al
fected, their milk and meat were poison to-
all who ate them 1t returned at success
slve longer intervals as the country was
cleared, and rs late as 1878 wrought ter
rlDle destruction in one neighborhood.
In 1928 and the next year it completed
the financial ruin OF the Hanks and Lin
coin families, and in 1880 they made their
oft described migration to illinois, A few
anecdotes are all we have of Dennis for the
next thirty years, but at this point "Old
John Hanks" as the boys called him, be-
came prominent figure. He had more
"money sense" as western people say, than
any of the lot, and had gone before and se-
lected good locations for the others. That
spring he and Abraham Lincoln split
enough rails to fence in fifteen acres and
uncommonly good rails they must have
been, for thirty years later "Old John"
electrified the state convention by enter
ing with one of them on his shoulder, and
before the close of June, 1860 tens of thou
sands of toothpicks and other souvenirs
made of these rails were in evidence in the
west. 1t is only fair to add that the rails
were made of black walnut and white oak,
and that those woods do last a long time.
In 1855 Charleston, capital of Coles
county, Ills., in which Dennis Hanks To-
Gated in 1881, was the scene of terrible
tragedy. A man named Monroe, who had
killed his fatherin-law, Mr.. Ellington, in
an affray, was lynclied, with circumstances
of shocking barbarity. Visiting the vicin-
ity Immediately after, first heard the
name of Abraham Lincoln mentioned as
that of an influential man and popular
speaker, but among all my acquaintance
between there and Terre Haute l never
once heard mention of a Hanks.
Seven years later there was another
tragedy at Charleston. and Dennis sud-
denly became a prominent man. He then
"
Cousin Abe-president now, you know"
In the meantime, however, the rails split,
as alleged, by Abraham Lincoln and John
Hanks had gone on their sensational
course and been whitfield into souvenirs
and early in 1861 Lincoln made his last
visit to his relatives in Coles county
Dennis then lived in the vicinity of Farm
ington, where he had located in 1881,
and of all the relationship he was the
only one who ever saw Lincoln again.
The occasion was one of those riots which
were SO frequent in the third Year of the
war, as to which the actual facts will never
be known, as all the accounts were dis
torted by partisan fury and personal preju-
dice. Suffice it to say that some soldiers
then at home on furlough came into col
lision with some citizens of opposite politi
cal views There was u deal of wild shoot
ing, and a few men were killed. 1T was
vice of the times rather then the men,"
says prominent soldier and lawyer who
figured in the trial of some similar eases,
and when some of the parties were arrested
by federal authority and taken to an east
ern prison much sympathy for them was
expressed. After many prominent men
had been appealed to in vain friend of the
prisoners suggested that good natured old
Dennis Hanks could get them out II he
could see Old Abe"
1t was hailed with acclamation, and
Dennis was straightway arrayed in new
suit and started for Washington. 1t was
the event of his life. He was robbed on
the way, but reached the White House.
His experience he detailed thus: Rapping
at the door he was met by a colored serv-
ant who asked his mission:
81 want to see President Lincoln"
Where is your cardP" inquired the
usher.
Haven't no card. Tell Abe that Dennis
Hanks wants to see him."
The colored man soon returned with a
broad smile on his face and showed him
up. Mr.. Hanks walked into the presidents
room and exclaimed, How are you, Abe"
The president left his desk, and walking
toward him exclaimed, "Why, Dennis,
what brought you here?' and threw his
arms around the old man and embraced
him.
The president heard his plea and sent
him to Secretary Stanton. Later he saw
the two together, and, according to Dennis,
the secretary told him, every ID one
of those men ought 10 be hungW Decision
was reserved, and Dennis returned home
the proud possessor of silver watch pre-
sented to him by Mr.. Lincoln. He had
seen good deal of life at the White House
in u short time and detested Secretary
Stanton worse after 1t than he had before.