Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-08-06
LINCOLN'S PLEA.
How He Secured the AcquittaI of the
Son of an Old Friend.

/ Lincoln was ever engaged was that III
winch he defenned Duff Armstrong, the
son OF friends Of his early days in Hi
nois, against the charge of murder.
For years this case has figured with
mora CT less detail i'll all biographies Of
Lincoln, and it has been made a con-
spIcuous episode in At least one novel
OF western life, Edward Eggleston 5
I The Graysons.
Although the hero OF the case, Dull
Armstrong, is still living, no one has
ever beer able until now to get a state
ment from him for publication. ]. Nc
Can Davis Of Springfield, Ill, has per-
suaded Armstrong 10 tell what he re-
members Of the broiI IN which he was
supposed to have murdered a compan-
ion, and also Of the trial in which i1n-
coin secured his release Armstrong
is now in his sIXty-third year. and has
long been a respected citizen OF the lit
tie village Of Ashland, in which he
passes most of his time. He has been
Tor several years a member Of the Cnrls-
tan church. His trial for the murder
OF Pres" Metzker is a subject he sell
it, and those about him have not often
been inQujsitive.
The accounts hitherto printed he pro-
nOunces glaringIy inaccurate. This is
his own story Of the alleged murder and
OF the trial:
1T was on a Saturday night, and
camp-meeting was over for the day.
In the edge of the grove were three
bars where liquor was sold. Here gath
erd all the men and boys who went to
camp meeting to drink whisky and
have a good time-and a great many
went for no other purpose. | had been
a. the meeting two or three days. and
had been drinking much, but l was
then becoming sober. Up to this time
Pres Metzker and | had been good
friends; but Pres had been drinking
and was in an ugly mood. He had a
loaded whip in his hand and was de-
termined to have fight with me. |
hit him a terrible blow, knocking the
skin from one IF my k1uckles. We
ciinched, and Pres rather got the best
OF me. [ was strong for one of my size.
and was able to catch him and throw
him back over me. He got up first and
came at me again. Then We fought like
tigers. At last he got lne under him.
More than a hundred people stood by
watching and when the boys saw Pres
was getting the best Of me they pulled
him off. We walked up tC the bar, and
each taking a drink Of whiskey, we
bumped glasses and were friends again.
| saw nothing more OF him until the
next morning, when he walked to the
bar with a stolen quilt around aim.
His right eye was swollen shut. He
bathed it with glass Of whisky, drank
another glass and then mounIs1 his
horse and rode away. Several lays
after that he died Then the officers
came and arrested me and put me IN
Jail.
Il had a preliminary trial at Havana
and was held without bail All the bad
luck in the world seemed to come to me
now. On this very day my father,
Jack Armstrong, died. On his death
bed he said to my mother: Hannah, sell
everything to clear Duff These we're
almost his last words.
After the change of venue to
Beardstown, Lincoln TOLD my mother he
would defend me. At the trial [ had
about twenty-five witnesses. The
| strongest witness against me was
I Charles Allen. He was the witness that
/ swore about the moon; he sWore that it
! was full moon and almost overhead
! Uncle Abe asked him over and over
about it, but he stuck to it. Then he
said he saw me strike Metzker with a
/ slungshOt. Uncle Abe asked him to
! tell how it was done He got up and
went through the motion, struck an
overland blow, just as he declared he
saw me do by the light of the full
moon. Uncle Abe had him to 10 1t
ever again. After Aliens testimony
everybody thought 1 would be con
victed. After Uncle Abe had talked
to the jury a little while, he said:
Now, | will show you that this man
! Aliens testimony is a pack of lies;
/ that he never saw Armstrong strike
! Metzker with a slung5hot; that he nd
not witness this fight by the light OF
the full moon, for the moon was not in
/ the heavens that night And Unen
Uncle Abe; pulled out the almanac and
showed the jury The truth about the
moon. | do not remember exactly what
it was-whether the moon had not
risen, or whether it had sets but what
ever it was 1t upset Aliens story com
pletely. He passed the almanac to the
jurors and they all inspt cted it. Then
Uncle Abe talked about the fight, and
showed that | had acted in self-Ge-
Tense and had used no weapon of any
kind But it seemed 10 me Uncle ABE
did his best talking when he told The
jury what true friends my father and
mother had been to him in the early
days, when he was a poor young man
at New Salem. He told how he used
tC go out to Jack Armstrong; and
stay for days; how kind mother was to
him, and how, many a time, he lad
rocked me 70 sleep in the old cradle.
He said he was not there pleading for
me because he was paid for it, but he
was there to help good woman who
had helped him when he needed help.
LAWYER Walker made q good speech for
me. too. but Uncle Abe's' beat anything
I ever heard.
AS Uncle Abe finished his speech
he said. I hope this man will be free
man before shutdown
THE jury retired and nearly every
body went to supper. AS soon as tho
, judge and the lawyers got back t1on