Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1906-09-26
WARD
HILL
#LAMON,
His Friend, Intimate and
~Bodyguard

might shortly be called to act in some
public capacity which would require
him to speak his own language with
some regard to the rules of grammar,
of which, according to his confess
sion, he knew nothing at all. He car
ried his troubles to the schoolmaster,
saying, 81 have a notion to study Eng
lish grammar"
"If you expect to go before the public
in any capacity" replied Mr.. Graham,
Il think 1t the best thing you can do"
"If | had a grammar" replied Abe,
81 would commence now"
There was no grammar to be had
about New Salem, but the schoolmas-
ter, having kept the run of that species
of property, ~gladdened Abe's heart by
telling him that he knew where there
was me-. Abe rose from the breakfast
at which he was sitting and, learning
that the book was at Vaner's, only six
miles distant, set off after 1t as hard as
he could tramp. 1t seemed to Mr.. Ora
ham a very little while until he return
ed and announced, with great pleasure,
that he had it. He then turned his i'm
mediate and most undivided attention
to the study of 1t.
Reads by Burning ShaWngs.
Sometimes, when business was not
particularly brisk, he would lie under
a shade tree In front Of the store and
pore over the book; at other times a
customer would find him stretched on
the counter intently engaged In the
same way. But the store was a bad
place for study, and he was often seen
quietly slipping out of the village, as If
he wished to avoid observation. when,
if successful In getting off alone, he
would spend hours in the woods. mas
tering n book or In a state of profound
abstraction. He kept up his old habit
Of sitting up late at night; but, as lights
were as necessary to his purpose as
they were expensive, the village cooper
permitted him to sit in his shop. where
he burned the %shavings and kept a
blazing fire to read by when every n
else was in bed.
The Greens lent him books; the
schoolmaster gave him instructions In
the store, ON the road or In the mead
ows; every visitor to New Salem who
made the least pretension to scholar
ship was waylaid by Abe and required
to explain something which he could
not understand. The result OF 1t all
was that the village and the surround
ing country wondered Mt his growth in
knowledge, and he soon became as ia
nous for the goodness of his under
standing as for the muscular power of
his body and the unfailing humor of his
talk.
Early In the spring Of 1882 some en-
terprising gentlemen at Springfield de-
termined to try whether the Sangamon
was a navigable stream or not. 1t was
n momentous question to the jewellers
along the banks, and when the steam
boat Talisman was chartered to make
the experiment the popular excitement
was intense and her passage up and
down was witnessed by great con-
courses of people on either bank. 1t
was thought that Abe's experience on
his particular river would render his
assistance very valuable, and, in COM
pany with some others, he was sent
down to Beardstown to meet the Tai
isman and pilot her up.
With Abe at the helm she ran with
comparative ease and safety as far as
the New Salem dam, a part of which
they were compelled to tear away In
order to let the steamer through.
Thence she went on as high as Bogue's
mill; but, having reached that point, the
rapidly falling water admonished her
captain and pilots that, unless they
wished her to be left there for the sea-
son, they must promptly turn her PROV
down stream.