Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-05-04

party was made up and Abe left out,
as sometimes happened through the in
fiuence of Crawford, he sulked, fumed,
got mad, nursed his anger into rage
and then broke out in songs or chron-
icles, which were frequently very bit
ter, sometimes passably humorous and
invariably vulgar.
At an early age he began to attend
the preachings roundabout, but prin-
cipally at the Pigeon Creek church,
with q view to catching whatever
might be ludicrous in the preachers air
or matter and making it the subject OF
mimicry as soon as he could collect an
audience of idle boys and men to hear
him. A pious stranger, passing that
| way on Sunday morning, was invited
to preach for the Pigeon Creek congre-
cation, but he banged the boards of the
old pulpit and beloved and groaned so
wonderfully that Abe could hardly con-
tain his mirth.
| This memorable sermon was a great
| favorite with him, and he frequently
reproduced it with nasal tones, rolling
eyes and all manner of droll aggrava-
lions, to the great delight Of Nat Grigs-
| by and the wild fellows whom Nat was
able to assemble. None that heard him,
not even Nat himself, who was any
| thing but dull, was ever able to show
wherein Abe's absurd version really de-
parted from the original.
The Importance of Gentryville as a
| center of business soon began to pos
sess the fmaginations Of the dwellers
between the two Pigeon creeks. Why
might it not be a great place Of tradei
Mr.. Gentry was most generous pa
tron; it was advantageously situated
where two roads crossed; it already
| a store.
Dennis Hanks, John Johnston, Abe
| and the other boys in the neighbor-
hood loitered much about the store, the
grocery and the blacksmith's shop at
Gentryville. Dennis ingenuously re-
marks, Sometimes we spent little
time at grog, pushing weights, wres-
Ting, telling stories" The time that
Abe "spent at grog" was, in truth, a
'little time" He never liked ardent
spirits at any period of his life, but he
did take his dram as others did.
He was natural politician, intensely
ambitious and anxious to be popular
For this reason and this alone he drank
with his friends, although very temper
ately. If he could have avoided it with
out giving offense he would gladly have
done so. But he coveted the applause
Of his pot companions and, because he
could not get it otherwise, made faint
pretense of enjoying his liquor as they
did. The people" drank, and Abe was
always for doing whatever the ''peo
pie" did. All his life he held that what
soever was popular-the habit or the
sentiment Of the masses-could not be
essentially wrong. But, although 8
whisky jug was kept in every ordina
rily respectable household, Abe never
tasted it at home. His stepmothel
thought he carried his temperance tt
extremes.
I The Great Jones.
Jones, the great Jones, without whom
it was generally agreed that Gentry
vile must have gone into eclipse, bu
with whom and through whom it was
l
itan crossroads was Abe's frient
and mentor from the moment Of theil
! acquaintance. Abe is even said to have
clerked for him-that is, he packed
and unpacked boxes, ranged goods Oh
the shelves, drew the liquids in tht
cellar or exhibited the stone and earth
l enware to purchasers; but in his serv
ice he was never promoted to keeping
accounts or even to selling the finel
goods across the counter.
But Mr.. Jones was very fond Of his
] clerk = enjoyed his company, appre
ciated his humor and predicted some
thing great for him. AS he did no
doubt that Abe would one day be {
man of considerable influence he tool
pains to give him correct views of the
nature of American institutions. Al
. ardent Jackson man himself, he iIlDart
ed to Abe the true faith, as delivered
by that great democratic apostle, ant
] the traces of this teaching were never
. wholly effaced from Mr.. Lincoln's
l mind.
II While he remained at Gentryville hi
politics accorded with Mr.. Jones', and
: even after he had turned Wing in Hi
nois, John Hanks tells us that ht
wanted to whip a man for traducins
Jackson. He was an eager reader o1
newspapers whenever he could ge
them, and Mr.. Jones carefully put into
his hands the kind he thought a raw
youth should have. But Abe's appetite
!. was not to be satisfied by what Mr.
: Jones supplied, and he frequently Dor
: rowed others from Uncle Wood, wht
) lived about a mile from the LincolI
cabin and for whom he sometimes
worked.
What manner of man kept the Gen
tryvflle grocery we are not Informed
Abe was often at his place, however
and would stay so long at nights, tell
ing stories and cracking jokes, thai
Dennis Hanks, who was ambitious il
the same line and probably jealous OF
Abe's overshadowing success, got mao