The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-04-19
ABRAHAM's sTEPMoTHER.

ABRAHAM's sTEPMoTHER.
his pay He said to me one day that
his father taught him to work, but he
never taught him to love it. " Verify
there was but one Abraham Lincoln.
His chief delight during the day, if
unmolested, was to lie down under the
shade of some inviting tree to read and
study At night, lying on his stomach
in front of the open fireplace, with a
piece of charcoal he would cipher on a
broad wooden shovel When the latter
was covered over ON both sides, he
would take his fathers drawing knife
or plane and shave it off clean, ready
for fresh supply of inscriptions the
next day He often moved about the
cabin with piece of chalk, writing
and ciphering on boards and the flat
sides of hewed logs. Whenever bare
wooden surface had been filled with his
letters and ciphers he would erase
them and begin anew.
The first lawbook Lincoln ever read
was 1.-The Statutes of Indiana. He OBJ
ts1ned the volume from his friend David
Turnham, who testifes that he fairly
devoured the book in his eager efforts
to abstract the store of knowledge that
lay between the lids. No doubt, as
Turnham insists, the study of the stat
utes at this early day led Abe to think
Of the law as his calling in maturer
years. At any rate. he now began to
evince no little zeal in the matter of
public speaking-in compliance with
the old notion, no doubt, that lawyer
can never succeed unless he has the ele-
ments of the orator or advocate in his
construction-and even at work in the
field he could not resist the temptation
to mount the nearest stump and prac-
tice on his fellow laborers
With all his peaceful propensities Abe
was not averse to contest of strength,
either for sport or in Settlements in
one memorable case-of grievances
occurrence in Gentryville in those days.
and the prestige of having thrashed an
opponent gave the victor marked social
distinction Green B. Taylor. with
whom Abe worked the greater part of
one winter on farm, furnished me
with an account of the noted fight be-
tween John Johnston, Abes stepbrother,
and William Grigsby. in which stirring
drama Abe himself played an important
role before the curtain was rung down.
Taylor's father was the second for john
ston, and William Written officiated in
similar capacity for Grigsby.
''They had a terrible fight, " relates
Taylor, land it soon became apparent
that Grigsby was too much for Lincoln S
man, Johnston After they had fought
a long time without interference, it hav-
ing been agreed not to break the ring,
Abe burst through, caught Grigsby,
threw him off and some feet away.
There he stood, proud as Lucifer, and
swinging a bottle of liquor over his head
swore he was the big buck of the lick. ;
If any one doubts it, he shouted, he
has only to come on and whet his
horns +" A general engagement fol-
lowed his challenge, but at the end OF
hostilities the field was cleared, and the
wounded retired amid the exultant
shouts of their vlctors.
Keeping Close to History.
Much of the latter end of Abe's boy
hood would have been lost in the midst
of tradition but for the store OF lnfor-
nation and recollections was fortunate
enough to secure from an interesting old
lady whom | met in Indiana in 1865
She was the wife of Josiah Crawford
blue Nose, as Abe had named him
and possessed rare accomplishments for
a woman reared in the backwoods OF
Indiana. She was not only impressed
with Abe's early efforts, but expressed
great admiration for his sister Sarah,
whom she often had with her at her
own hospitable home and whom she de,
scribed as a modest, industrious and
sensible sister of humorous and equal