The Oskaloosa herald., 1905-04-13

far western state OF Illinois. The
ensuing five years, 1881 to 1886, COW
err one of the most interesting per-
iods OF Lincoln's early life. when he
learned the lessons Of owe and
death, and to rise ABOVE the bitter
ness Of despair 1t was during this
period that Mrs. Lyster. then Wen
ma Cameron. knew him, received
at his hands the odd nickname or
"Quinine" and became a quiet OBJ
server of his courtsnip of her beau
tifnl cousin, Ann Rutledge.
Lincoln at cameroh's.
One of the foremost men of the
New Salem neighborhood was the
Rev. John Cameron, Mrs. LISTERS
father. He preached in the Presby-
terrain church on Sundays, and, af-
ter the custom of those sturdy times,
turned a shrewd eye to business dur
ing the week. He it was, indeed,
who, with his fathers brother, the
James Rutledge mentioned by his
torians in connection with this lus-'
trum of Lincoln's life,, laid out the
town-site of New Salem.
At the time of Lincoln's advent in
New Salem .Parson" Cameron with
his wife and family, eleven daugh-
tiers and one son, had his home in a.
log house a few miles from town on
the banks Oh the Sagamon, close to-
the Rutledge and Cameron mill,
which combined the business Of
saving timber and grinding gTist.
The mill, on a dam that jutted out
a few hundred feet in to the river,
was one of the last landmarks of the
locality to crumble away. Lincoln
for a short time was in charge of ii.
Mrs. Lyster does not recall the
day that Lincoln first came TO her
fathers house to board, but believes
that it was in the winter or spring
of 1888. Lincoln was a great, big
fellow then" says Mrs. Lyster. '.fnll
to the chin with fun and always
playing droll pranks on US girls.
He was clerk in Denton Ofutt's
store when he came to US, and my
noIuGE NudI ecu ul1u CAS NS4Aa2 q
week for his bed and board"
The 'sus girls referred to by Mrs.
Lyster, were eleven in number (rem-
forced by one brother) and a right |
merry crowd for log cabin home it |
may be guessed. In the order OIL
their ages they were: Betsy Gamer |
on, nicknamed isabelle by Lincoln; |
Vienna, whom the future president |
preferred to address as "Quinine";
perhaps because at seventeen she |
could find sharp thrust to answer
his teasing; Thomas, lone brother |
in a wilderness of girls, called Tam
O'Shanter" by Lincoln; and Nancy,
Jane, Martha, Sarah, Salina and So
rena (the twins), Eliza Caroline mad
.rf
A FiVe-MiIe Trudge.
Lincoln walked five miles daily be-
tween his store nd his boarding
house and did it for months, striding |
from "Parson" Cameron's log cabin |
in the early mornings to Denton OF |
futt's general store, and back again
at dusk. He loved exercise in the
open, he was proud of his physical
strength and great powers of endur-
ance Mrs. Lyster remembers abe"
striding steadily, but unhurriedly
home" giant shoulders dropped,
shaggy head bent and eyes glued to
the pages of a grammar which he
held up we'll as he walked. |
Awaiting him at the long tramp's |
end were the friends, who, in &C.
cepting the one dollar a week board |
had taken him and made him one
of themselves. Lincoln, or Abe, as
we one and all soon came to call
him, was a member of the family as
long as he stayed with u.s." Mrs. |
Lyster says. ITO him my mother |
was Aunt Polly" a fact borne out |
by historians, though the meager lit |
erature dealing with this period OF
Lincoln's life speaks but incidental
ly Of the Camerons.
Lincoln" says Mrs. Lyster, re-
calling those rare days, was a re-
markable young man for pranks. |
He had a nickname for each one of |
us girls but can only remember |
few. One of his tricks was to pluck
his friends by their ears; he was al
ways doing that I have heard my
father speak of seeing Abe stand
ing at a corner or in the road, tell
ing one of his droll stories or en-
gagged in earnest discussion, and, at |
the climax in the tale or converse
ton, stretching out one OF his long
arms and gently pulling the listeners
ear instead of plucking the la
pei Of his coat. From more than one
Of us Cameron girls Abe: caught a i
scolding for not leaving our ears
alone.
An Embarrassing Scene.
"One of the jokes he played on us
I remember well. Bill Green was
one of the beaux of the neighborhood
and there were none too many to
go round. We Camerons could take
care of eleven, ourselves, you know.
Betsy was the Oldest of us and Bill