Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-06-16
CALLED ON LINCOLN
And Well Remember What the President
Said and Stories He Told.

Said and Stories He Told.
colonel j. w. Porter, the we'll known
| citizen CT Bangor, is so full of anec-
dotes of peculiar and interesting ex-
periences which have come TO him in
the course of his life. that when, one
day this week, a Commercial reporter
asked him for some thing entertaining.
a satisfactory reply was not long in
Forthcoming. Col. Porter tells a good
story we'll, and perhaps he never told
a better one than that about his visit
to Abe Lincoln in Washington, in 1864,
which he related to the reporter in this
/! fla shion:
| In the year 1864 l was the messenger
| who carried the electoral vote of the
State of Maine to Washington" said
| Gel. Porter. Il arrived there the 22d
day of December and was the guest of
| United States Senator Nathan A. Far
well and Representative John II. Rice.
! delivered my certificate of votes. /
was told that ii was customary for mes
sengers to call upon the President. On
| the evening of the oath, with Messrs.
| Farwell and Rice. | called upon the
President. Mr.. Farwell introduced me
| to him as Col Porter from Maine, and
with a twinkle in his eye the President
wished to know what my regiment was.
| | told him | was on the staff of Gov
Coburn and staid at home ard attended
| to my business. He said that the men
who staid at home and attended totheir
| business were as necessary to the sue
| cess of the war as those who went to
la ~ no
ried on without money.
I'VE made the usual call and rose to
leave when the President said: Now,
gentlemen. | have been at work nard all
day and / wish you would take your
seats, and we Will have a friendly chat.
The other gentlemen accused me of being
perfectly willing to stop as | undoubtedly
was, as ! was not in the habit OF calling
upon Presidents. We resumed our seats
ard conversation ensued.
That day the President had received
through rebel sources Information Of the
defeat of the expedition against Fort
Fisher Mr.. FarweH asked the President
whose scheme that was. The President
replied, j was down at the war Office
one day and Gen. Butler was there and
proposed this attack on Fort Fisher and
he went into calculations and proved
that so much powder would blow up SO
many rebels. but ] could not quite see
how he would do it. but / thought he
vised the secretary to let him go.
lie made all manner of fun of the Fort
Fisher expedition and was reminded OF a
story Immediately. which was that two
men out Vest one It very large man
ard the other a very small man. got into
It quarrel and little while after the
large man was talking with third party
and the little man came up aifd began TO
peck away al the large man 5 back
whereupon the large man turned around
and looked at the little man and asked
him what he was doing. SAID he, 1 am
fighting. d-n you.
'.Then Mr. Farwell inquired for the 9TH
er armies and army corps. The Presi-
dent had on his table a chart or map or
the situation of all the Union armies with
nins stuck into ii and when an army
charged its situation he would cnange
pin. Mr. Farwel and Mr.. Rice looked
At the chart while / kept my char uptl
Tho President said; Haul up; haul up,
colonel | hauled up and sat down pc
side him for an hour, an houf WhIeh
probably never shall forget.
Mr.. Farrell asked him about the
emancipation proclamation. and why ne
did not issue it before he did. Mr.. Ian
coin replied that he was engaged III
n .clliar light or war; he said he mad
rti,eIs in the South and rebels in the
North and rebel sympathizers in Europe
He wanted to give the South ali~the OPP
partunity he could .,,
more flies with molasses than you can
with vinegar and | was after the HES.
When the time came in which | thought
I must take the step my FANNY Was az
thn Soldiers Home. and one morhins II
,,awned upon me that | must issue
proclamation.
"He said that he wrote the proclama-
tior ON the top of his hat between the
Soldiers Home and the war once III
Washington and that afterwards not an
was dotted or a I crossed IN what ne
r.,,afe am mindful of the fact that
there was paragraph added 10 What
Mr. lincoln wrote; | am also mindful OF
ali tha lives of Mr.. Lincoln that J h3Ne
hecn able to get at. with the statements
relative to the emancipation pfocla ANA
ton. and | do not change MY i'Ioiiee'A0H
Of what he said. 49,, -,
de1ffai campaign of 1864 was threc-
car,,Sred one. there being three candl-
datps for President. Mr.. Farwell asked
him how he felt about the Fremont OPP
tMr lincoln replied that 1t did not
worry him much brt it remindfd nm OF
story Two 1rishmcn came over 10
tbic ca3,ntry and the first evening they
sa iliad an for a walk. As they strolied
alnng .hev heard the frogs making their
co,,,, -, sarnd of Ugh. ugh. AIr. Lin
coin initated them exactly. After con-
sidera he searching one man SAD - me
other: patrick, be iaoers | nave IL II
is nothing 'but a did noise
'.AIr lincoln was fnll OF s5ois ~ u az
he vent along, for he laughed at II as
heartily as did the Others. After quite
], Ion, evening. we babe him good night.
A cbanfer of the Order of the Eastern
40 obarter members, has