Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-11-16
FAIR SORT OF A SPEAKER AND
PLEASANT COMPANY.
SOME CLEVER ANECDOTES OF
OLD ABE.
Senator John NJ. Pallner'S Estimate of
l.incoln-That Was Away Back in
notwithstanding "Reminiscences
Summers Query About Mrs Lincoln.


has recently related some of his per-
sNnal recollections of Abraham Lincoln
that are very interesting as well rs
! new. He knew Mr.. Lincoln as far
back as 1889, and the two were thrown
great deal together from that time
on until LincOln's death.
Senator Palmer did not in those early
days see any of the signs of future
greatness which others profess to have
| fOreSeen.
L regarded Lincoln Us a good law,
yer and a fair sort of speaker" the sen
ator said, taking off his gold-rimmed
spectacles and laying them on a half
finished speech he was preparing.
None of us thought much about him
one way or another, save as we did
OF one another. He was always good
company, and though a great many
stories have been attributed to him
he never heard of, much less told, he
was an lnVeterate story teller. He
did not seem to tell stories 50 much foI
the stories themselves as for purposes
OF Illustration and application [ could
relate many while have been told and
| published until everybody knows them
stories [ heard him tell myself. But
| S Tim, his purpose in story telling
Cam show you by one sotry-I think
1t was about the first | heard him tell
a lot Of us were standing together one
lay, listening to eX-Judge Krum, of
st. Louis, roasting judge who had de
clded a case against him. Krum critl
clsed the magistrate sharply, and
wound up by declaring that he would
take the case to the supreme court and
nave the judges of that high tribunal
show this magistrate what law was
and take some Of the conceit out of
him at the same time.
! That said Lincoln. who was one
OF the group, that reminds me of a
! man who had a dream He dreamed
! that if he would go and dig in a certain
! place and not say q word he would dis
! cover some precious treasure And he
dreamed that he went and dug, and
that while he was digging great many
! things occurred calculated to make him
! speak, but he didn't open his mouth
{ Battles between soldiers were fought,
and. too, between ships. But he kept
on digging and said nothing. Pretty
soon mighty giant came up to the Dit
and then passed on taking enormous
strides and moving with great rapidity
But the man kept on digging and said
nothing. After a while a little bit of a
man came prancing UP. He stopped at
the pit and, seeing the digger, said:
Seen a man pass here?
1.-THE digger spoke not and the little
fellow said: Can't you answer a civil
question:
Still the man spoke not, whereupon
tie little fellow said:
oh, well, 1 will catch him.
"And off he ran, but though his legs
NOV ed rapidly their shortnass prevent
ed his covering much ground, which
! struck the digger so forcibly he forgot
himself, and in a tone of disgust and
contempt, calculated: The hell you
wilIv
'"The crowd caught the application in
an instant" the senator continued,
'and all but Krum roared."
Did Lincoln cut much Of a figure IN
congress-"
No. He did his duty in a satisfac-
tory manner enough, but he didn't set
any gass ATTIRE That was in the '4O's,
during the Mexican war. He only
served one term. In 1856 he was a
candidate for the senate and he asked
me to support him. [ told him [ would
! like to do So but that as [ had had a
row with some of my party because of
my eSpOuSal of the anti-NebraSka bill,
it was necessary that l should be more
democratic than ever. Lincoln saw my
position and, though he felt hurt at my
refusal and was a little angry, per-
hapS, he came around all right I
nominated Trumbull, and on the first
ballot Lincoln got, [ think, 40 votes,
Shields Al, and T1umbull ). After a
while Lincoln saw that he could not
get us five and he went among his
own men and ordered them to vote for
Trumbull, and Trumbull was elected
That night lincoln came to our room,
and because of the way he assisted us
we promised to stand by him in the
next fight, two years later, against
Douglas. That was memorable cam
paign, and we canyaSSed the state to-
gether. 1t was then that Lincoln made
the greatest speech Of his life, begin
ming with: United we stand, divided
we fall Lincoln was a great cam
paigner. He was very tails feet 9
inches. His speeches were full Of
stories and he kept the audience with
him. But Douglas beat us.
''When the national campaign began
the following year we went in to nomf-
nate Lincoln Just before the conven-
ton I remember the father of the
Hornblower who is to succeed Justice
BlatchfOrd on the supreme bench came
to me to get me to consent to putting
Lincoln on the second place on the
ticket. David Davis was present, and
when I refused point blank both Horn
blower and Davis berated me. Horn
blower insisted that we should have
some known and tried man like Seward
to head the ticket but / allowed that
Lincoln was qualified. Hornblower
went away much disguised, and when
he left I turned on Davis and berated
him for the tongue-lashing he had
given him.
Il don't believe that Lincoln expected
to be nominated"
Il remember" Mrs. Palmer observed,
II remember the day he was nominal