Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-08-09

DBtly dittl G4l Olttscta OA ItSDtAN3 ttC quaintanco that proved in time to be oi inealculable value Having i'll some nn. accountable manner absorbed mora knowledge than most young men or his age possessed, he was often ill demand to write letters, calculate interest on notes, survey lands and render his neighbors other like services.
 As deputy surveyor of the county, great confidence was reposed in his skill and ability, and he was often sent for to perform services outside of his official district. He was once hired to do some work in an out of the way place for Pennsylvania German who owned con- siderable land and who had the appear ance and reputation of being an old miser Lincoln spent the day with him, and, to his surprise, found that, al- though cold and uns0eiab3e to the world, when under his own rooftree he was one of the most liberal and companionabie of men. In the evening the young sur veyor, after an exchange of anecdotes 1n which the Pennsylvanian took the lead- ing part, could not refrain from impart ing to his hest the unfavorable opinion he had formed of him before the meet ing and his agreeable disappointment after an acquaintance of one day. The German, with equal candor, answered that he, too, had to report Q disappoint- ment that when he first heard of his guest it was in connection with his can- didacy for the legislature. Consequent ly," he added, .'I had come to the con clusion that on your arrival here should see a man who at least looked as if he had brains enough to represent his con- stituents when he reached the state capi- tai. ;
 As soon as he reached New Salem Lincoln laughingly related the incident to friend who tells us what followed. ] quote now from the latter manuscript, written before Mir Lincoln's death |; 1T told Lincoln the Pennsylvanian's re- ply was an ungenerous and undeserved thrust unless he intended it for joke, and in the latter event failed to see the wit. No, responded Lincoln, The meant all he said, for it was before l was washed. To appreciate that state ment shall have to tell you an anec- dote to give you an idea of the fix I was in. When l was q boy, lived in Ken lucky, where drunkenness was very com mon, especially on election days, At an election in a village near where l lived, on day when the weather was unusual ly inclement and the roads exceedingly muddy, toper named Bill became beastly drank and staggered down a narrow alley, where he lay all day in the mud. Recovering at dark from his stuper and finding himself more or less unsightly, he immediately started for the town pump to wash himself. On the way to and near the pump another drunken fellow was leaning against a hitching post. This fellow Bill i'll the darkness mistook for the pump itself He at once took hold of his arm in mis- take for the handle, and raised and low cred it several times-a motion which so agitated the occupant of the post as to bring about all immediate reverse ac- tion of the aesophageal canal. Bill, be- lieving all was right put both hands under and gave himself a vigorous washing. He then made his way to the neighboring grocery for something to drink Why Bill, " exclaimed one of his chums i'll tones of surprise as he en- tered, how in Gods name did you get so dirty?" "f you think l n dirty now, :" hiccoughed Bill, ''you ought to "a seen me before was washed. '' ''
 No one of the offices he filled did Mir. Lincoln administer so acceptably to all concerned as that of deputy surveyor of Sanganlon county. His well known rep utation for honesty and truth made him the natural arbiter iii many dispute over the titles to and boundaries of land. In the summer of 1882" relates a pioneer of New Salem days, ''I had a horse race with George Warburton. induced Lincoln, who came to the race to be a judge of the contest much against his will and apparently ill the face of his protest. There were a good many annoying questions to decide, but when the race was over more than one man declared he was the fairest man they ever dealt with If he is living when I die, [, proclaimed one fellow, I want him to be my executor, for he is the only man l ever saw who is entirely just and inflexibly honest. J
 To decide or locate a disputed land corner he was sent for from the extreme northern line of the county. The con testants had agreed before his arrival to abide by his decision. "He came, says one, with compass. flagstaff and chain. He stopped with me three or four days and surveyed the whole section. When in the neighborhood of the disputed cor ner by actual survey, he called for his staff and driving it in the ground at a certain spot said, Gentlemen, here is the corner We dug down below the point indicated, and To! there we found six or eight inches of the original stake sharpened at the end and beneath which was the piece of charcoal placed there by the government surveyor years be- fore. y