The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-02-20
Andersen gntelltgsnrFr:
Abraham Llncoln's Profanity.

"Speaking Of Billy Herndon and
Abe Lincoln said an old Illinois
man, Mr.. Azariah Wendell, who is
resting in his advanced age upon a
farm somewhere eouth Of Springfield,
cit reminds me, after that story OF
yours about the distillery pigs, of an
incident in the early life Of these two
men that has never found its way into
print"
A Glob-Democrat reporter had just
related to the old gentleman at the
Southern Hotel an experience at
great Kentucky distillery, where hogs
are fed on the sour mash residuum
from the stills. The porkers after
their meals became tipsy, and often
fell to fighting, when they were whip
ped into submission by stalwart ne
groes., 4
"This INCIDENT" he observed, Gil
lustrated as we'll as anything I ever
knew Lincoln to say, and I knew him,
more or less intimately thirty years,
his keen wit and sarcasm when he
wanted to hit hard without giving
fighting talk. Billy Herndon, as eve
.rybody knows, was addicted at times
to the excessive use of hard drinks.
It happened at Phoenix, one of the
stopping places in the famous practice
circuit that. Lincoln, Herndon, Judge
Logan, Shelby Gullum, and the Others
used to ride over. Lincoln was very
fond of Herndon, but was always an
noyed and disgusted when he let Ii
,quor get the better Of, him-for Lin
coin, you know, was one of the most
temperate of men, and in the midst of
the hard drinking and revelry of the
early times,s which scotched the ca.
reers of many. brilliant young men, ,she.
was always sober and always had his
wits about him. The frat oysters
that bad ever come into town had just
arrived. Though it was cold wealth
er, they were a little the worse for
their long journey from the seaboard;
but this made no difference, evident,
ly, to!HerDdon and Lamon, who were
in an unusually convivial mood after
long days ride on horseback, and
they did great justice to the new deli
cacy. Their artificial appetitcs lent
zest to the feast, and they sat there
and ate oysters and drank and cracked
Jokes till some of the tired lawyers,
among them Lincoln, went upstairs to
bed. Presently Herndon was taken
with sudden queer feeling about the
stomach, aud he made an unsteady
rush for the back door. He passed on
out into the darkness, and kept going
till he ran against fence. He
steadied himself by the top board, as
seasick passenger does at the taffrail
of a ship, and proceeded to unload on
the other side. It proved to be pig
pen he had come to, and the surprised
occupants rushed quickly to the
trough. t. was a new sort OF feast
for the pigs, but they took to it kind
ly, and when the supply ceased they
set up great squealing. Then Hern-
don began to swear at them in loud
voice. The way he talked to these
hogs, you would have thought he was
making one Of his characteristic sledge
hammer arguments to jury to clear a
horse thief. Lincoln heard the rum
pus, carae downstairs and asked Lamon
what the trouble was.
aOh, nothing said Lamons cts.
only Billy souts back, dividing his
liquorVith the shoats.
tLincoln went to the door and yell
ed out in his keen treble voice:
"Billy Billy! For Gods sake don't
stand out there in the dark quarrell-s
lug with those hogs! There's certain
ly enough of the - stuff in the
country for both Of you.