The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-26

To the Editor OF the Indianapolis Journal:
General Veile, in defending Abraham
Lincoln from the often published state
ment that he was a fatboatman in his
young days. seems burdened with the ter
rible fact, as he will have it. that those
boatmen We're of low grade. as to morals,
'drunkards," etc. The General has no
right, in truth, to make those statements
as to the character of the fatboatmen of
the early days of the river settlements.
1t is d gross libel upon the general char
acter of the early settler. There were
drunkards among the early settlers, the
same as now, but they were not among
the boatmen, for the very good reason
that they could not be relied on in time
of need, in case of storms, wind, or any
other emergency. FIatboatmen carried
whisky in their boats and nine-tenths of
the best people then kept it in their houses
for general consumption. usually before a
meal, and especially i'll the morning; and,
too, the drunkard would often develop
himself during the day-and for that very
reason every one who was known to get
drunk, on any occasion, at home or away
from home, was not employed on a fiat
boat. Much of their time those boatmen
were idle, but always on the alert while,
during that idleness, the one inclined to get
drunk on any occasion would have ample
opportunity to do so; and then, upon ar
emergency he would be useless IN any
effort required to avert danger. The very
reverse of the character which General
Veile would give to those boatmen was the
fact. Many prominent farmers would send
their own produce, several uniting to fill a
boat, or merchants and other men would
buy produce, fill a boat and send it down
the river, in sober hands. Christians of all
grades, even to the preacher, operated
f1atboats. One preacher, / remember, ran
those boats even as long as Lincoln is
family of boys, who nearly all did the same
running, the most of their lives, while
calling to be steamboatmen--even to cap
t~aincies:. The late Captain David, who re-
Gently died in Madison. had his start on a
little story about one OF the best citizens
whom Nevay ever had may show just how
near a ~'drunkard'' got to being "a fiat
a Methodist and a temperance man, and
at first a wool ,carder; then a steam flour
so far as loading a boat at the vevay
wharf. He had no patience with a drunk
to help him load his boat who soon de-
veloped the whisky in him SO strongly as
to cause the good man to pull off his
it: Lay there. Methodist, until / thrash
the whisky out of this fellow" And, as
the T fellow ,at as to ona so s SOBER him hh so and Td he re,
turned to work. There is the story of old
Heathcoate Plcket-of his flatboating. ex-
perience before any steamboat fioated on
the Western waters. / heard him relate
it in my very early youth and he lived
made sixteen trips on fiatboats to New
Orleans and walked back every time,
ways treated kindly by them. He could
not have been a drunkard all that time,
yet he used whisky all his life. His sister
was the first female child born in Switzer-
lane county and her nephew, John +. Cot
ton, son of Judge William Cotton, and who
was a member of the constitutional con-
vention of the State and of later Lesisla-
lures, was the first born male child, and
lived until a year or two ago.
Indianapolis, March rs. A. s. X.