The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-09-20
VOORHEES, AID LINCoLN.
He Was a IRENE ndousIy strong Man
Both Phy sieaIly and Mentally, and Al
ways Had n Cocoa story "a Tell

He Was a TremendousIy strong Man
Beth Phy sieaIIy and Mentally, and Al
ways Had a Coca story 40 Tell
Abraham Lincoln. - said Senator
Voorhees,. while cOnyeTsiDg with a
Washington Star writer one day dur
ing the last session, was known t.
me long before he ever came to the
White House, or 1 dreamed of Con
gress. | remember him when L was a
young man as tall, angular figure
with a shaggy shock of dark hair who
used to ride the circuit as a lawyer,
and whose business OCCASIONALLY
brought him as far as my baliwick in
Indiana. Even in an early day Lin
coin had considerable fame as sue
cessful trial lawyer. He told stories
as effectively then as no did in after
years, when, as president, his
stories were born to be success. He
was a singularly good talker to iuries,
and had that convincing gift which
few men possess of talking with his
audience rather than to ii. Most
speakers talk to- an audience. Lin
coin talked with his, and that with
| his homely rhetoric, through which
ran an eternal current of sentiment,
was the real secret of his victories.
Few lawyers cared TO meet Lincoln
on even terms. Even when he had a
weak case he was dangerous. Doug
las once said of him; when he is right
on can't beat him when he is wrong
YOU must be careful, or he'll beat you.
This makes strong man of Lin
coin. Douglas was right, and the
history of his later collisions with
Lincoln ON the stump, and final great
contest with him at the ballot box,
might go a long way toward proving it.
Lincoln was man of tremendous
physical strength. He had long, gor-
illa-like arms. and was as powerful as
an orge. In his younger days he had
great fame as wrestler. II was the
common practice of lawyers in that
day to put in the noon hour in wrest-
ling, leaping and running. The mem
bers of the bar were as well known for
their wrestling us for their strength
before Judge and jury. Lincoln was
unquestionably the champion wrestler
of his time and circuit. No one ever
succeeded in getting him on his back.
With Lincoln's strength and facility
for physical exercises, it should be
no wonder that he was a famous rail
splitter
Mentally Lincoln was much more
powerful man than men of his time
were willing to credit. 1t is signlti
cant that in the most trying time IN
our history there never was an occa-
sion so great but Lincoln was greater
than the occasion: never a crisis so
Formidable but what Lincoln was pow
crful enough to dominate it. | have /
often thought of the labors of this |
man during his four years of civil war, |
and wondered what some, Of our later
and 'oycrworked' presidents would |
think if they had been in Lincon's
place. If, in addition TO the ordinary
business of the Government, they had
had navy in every water of the |
globe and an army of 1000, 600 of
fighting men, in the field.
II was in Congress while Lincoln |
was in the White house and saw a
great deal of him. He was man who
knew nothing of physical fear, and
while men about him used to tell him
stories of possible assassination, and
the necessity for care, bincoln never
seemed to pay much heed to them.
He was often seen walking about the
streets, or making frequent excursions
10 the forts and camps and other
points about Washington. | don't
.hink he was afraid of anything ON
'arth.
with all his care and with all his
work, he always had time to listen to
n tell good story and | can picture
Tim now as he used to walk up and
Town his office at the White House,
ubbing his shaggy head with one
land, while he held the other against
he small of his back, and laughed
at some story which was
,eing told. Lincoln always laughed
Is hard at his own stories as he did at
ours, SO he had a great many laughs
II the course of a day,
Occasionally he would seem wrapt /
n fashion of sentimental gloom.
The war panied him exceedingly in
PERSONAL way. The thought of the
laughter of men and the sorrow and
rouble of their families would worry
i'm as much as if every soldier who
;as killed was his long time personal
riend. Now and then somebody who
ad deserted, or in some fashion viola
ed military law, would be sentenced
D be shot. Lincoln never failed to
ardon every one of them, if the case
'as brought to him. He would not
Il one of them be executed One day
@ said to me, when | was visiting at
be White House Voorhees,, don't
on know it seems strange to me that
man of my nature and my former sur
should have been brought to
place like this. Doesn't it strike
on as queer that |, who never had
cart enough to kill chicken, and
HON the sight of blood never failed
, make sick, should be placed in this
osition, with rivers and torrents of
lood flowing all about me, and be
oliged to take part in it, year after
carp
Lincoln was certainly "A great
merican, and an abundant type of
lie American of his time. Ages
hich come after us will call Lincoln
greater man than we do. F."