The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-19

would come ten miles on horseback af-
ter my mother. I know she has told
me many times how she used to try to
run away from him, but he would
come after her on his big, raw-boned
horse, his arms faping like a pair of
wings and his long legs pointing out.
Preferred Handsome Man.
AT that time, Of course she had no
idea that he would ever be president
of the United States, but even if she
would have known it she never would
have married him. She was in love
with Ben Hesson, and she married him
after Lincoln had gone with his par
ents to Illinois. Of late years my
Lincoln family. She said that when
she was a little girl she saw Nancy
Hanks, who was Mr.. Lincoln's mother,
but did not remember very much about
her. She was better acquainted with
Mr.. Lincoln's stepmother."
Gentryville is town Of about $50
people. 1t has one long, struggling
street, with one or two crossroads.
Itis built on the side of hill, one part
OF 1T being in the hollow and the other
on the hill. From the station to the
hill part Of the town it Is more than
half mile, and a long board walk
leads to the summit At the bottom
of the hill, close to the railway sta
ton. stands the old building in which
Lincoln used to be a clerk At that
time, however, the store was on the
hill. When the railroad came the
building was moved down the hill and
the place where it stood is now a to-
bacco patch.
The Store Where Lincoln Worked.
This store was kept by William
Jones. who was afterwards killed at
the battle of Atlanta, while serving as
lieutenant colonel Of the Fifty third
Indiana. Lincoln used to drive around
the country for Jones, and of evenings
would act as clerk in the store. He
was a great favorite with the people
around there and they used to go up
to Jones's store to hear Lincoln
speak pieces" and argue politics. Sew
eral debates were held in the room
above the store-a room that is now
the town hall-and in all of these Lin
coin took an active part. Mr.. Jones
was very proud of young Lincoln and
used to say frequently that he wanted
to live long enough to vote for him
for president.
In those days there were no other
towns close by and Lincoln used to
come here frequently. 1t is said of
l Y,
full of fun and mischief, who could hit
harder, jump further, run faster
and ride better than any boy of his
crowd. He was considerable Of a
fighter, too, and had a number of
Scraps" but it is declared that in ev-
cry instance he got into the fight to
protect someone else. While he had
friends, he also had enemies, but af-
ter he got into Jones' store he settled
RI n rxr1n ot%
mess or debating, he was reading any
book he could get hold of or writing
poetry. Until a few years ago there
was in Gentryville an old wooden fire.
shovel on which Lincoln had traced
these lines:
Time: What an empty vapor it's,
And days, how swift they are;
Swift as an arrow speed our lives,
Swift as a shooting star.
The present moment
The stanza was not finished, but it
was kept for many years until the old
fire shovel disappeared, and It's where
abouts are unknown to this day.
Saved Topper From Freezing.
There used to be character around
Gentryville in its early days known as
odd Holiness" who was a chronic
drunkard. One winter night "Old
IlOlHlGS WOuiQ nave ITOZ6U DuC IOI
Lincoln, who found him and carried
him home, sitting up all night to rub
the life back. This incident started a
temperance wave over Spencer county
and the debates were startling and in
teresting.
Half way up the long wandering
street for many years stood an old
blacksmith shop. In front Of it was a
wide spreading tree that still waves it's
boughs, but every sign Of the old shop
is gone. The ground on which stood
the smithy for years was owned by
of the Indiana G. A. R., but is now the
marshal. This old blacksmith shop
was a famous place in the life of Cen
tryville and was favorite resort for
the people of Spencer county. The
old blacksmith (Whose name everyone
seems to have forgotten) was natural
story teller and he had around him a
crowd of as good story tellers as him
self.
Abraham Lincoln was at this shop a
great deal and 1t was a common re-
sort for his father, Thomas Lincoln,
and Abraham's uncles, John and Den
mis- Hanks. The shop was the coun-
try newsstand, the lecture platform,
and. it was here that Abraham Lin
coin learned many Of the stories that
he told in after life. It was here that
Dennis Hanks told the story of Sykes
dog, a story that Lincoln told to Gen.
Grant after the fall of Vicksburg, and
which was one of the most famous Of
the Lincoln stories.
Sykes had a dog that was a nuisance