The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-06-27
WHOLE NO., 291.

postmaster and surveyor he met every
body and all classes of people. an ac-
quaintance that proved i'll time to be of
incalculable value. Having i'll some un-
accountable manner absorbed more
knowledge than most young men of his
age possessed he was often i'll 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 a
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 unsocialae to the world,
when under his own rooftree he was one
of the most liberal and companionable
of men. In the evening the young sur
veyor, after an exchange Of anecdotes in
{ iilCl tIic eliliSN ~ illlitIl tDOh tlle ltdu-
ing part, could not refrain from impart-
ing to his host 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 disappoint
ment !; that when he first heard of his
guest it was in connection with his can
didacy for the Legislature. Consequent
| ~, !" he added, 81 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 COLI
stituents when he reached the state capi-
| tai. y
As soon us he reached New Salem
Lincoln laughingly related the incident
to friend who tells us what followed. /
quote now from the latter's manuscript,
written before Mr.. Lincoln's death:
II told Lincoln the Pennsylvania 5 re-
ply was an ungenerous and undcserved
thrust unless he intended it for joke,
and in the latter event l failed to see
the wit No., responded Lincoln, 'he
meant all he said, for it was before |
| W At NttSIl''t. ~ lildt Stdit-
ment l shall have to tell you an anec-
dote to give you an idea of the fix l was
in. When | was boy lived in Ken
lucky, where drunkenness was very com
mon, especially on election days. AT an
election in village near where lived
on Il day when the weather was unusual
ly inclemcnt and the roads exceedingly
muddy, Il topper named Bill became
beastly drunk and staggered down
narrow alley, where he lay all day in
the mud. Recovering at dark from his
stupor 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 in the
darkness mistOok for the pump itself
He at once took hold of his ann i'll 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 an immediate reverse ac-
tion Of the ;Hsophagcal canal. Bill, be-
lleving all was right, put both hands
under and gave himself vigorous
washing. He then made his way to the
neighboring grocery for something to
drink. why, Bill, d." exclaimed one Of
his chums i'll tones Of surprise as he en-
tered, how in Gods name did you get
so dirty 4" If you think IN dirty now, "
hiccoughed Bill, you ought to "a seen
me before l was washed. - -
No one Of the Offices he filled did Mr.
Lincoln administer SO acceptably to all
concerned as that Of deputy surveyor of
Sangamon county. His well known rep
utation for honesty and truth made him
the natural arbiter in many dispute
over the titles to and boundaries of land
I'm the summer Of 1882, =" relates II
pioneer of New Salem days, Il 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 i'll the face of
his protest There We're 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 |
die, proclaimed one fellow, L want
him to be my executor, for he is the only
man | ever saw who is entirely Just and
inflexibly honest
To decide or locate 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 10! 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 "
Too Much Alike.
Another curious instance of resem-