Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-05-11
1mcoLE AS A FLArBoAT MAN.


employed to accompany the young man
as .sbow hand" to work the front
oars. He was paid $S per month and
ate and slept ON board. Returning,
Gentry paid his passage on the deck of
a steamboat
While this boat was loading at Gem
try's Landing, near Rockport, on the
Ohio, Abe saw great deal Of the pref
ty Miss Roby, whom he had saved
from the wrath of Crawford, the school
master, when she failed to spell "de-
fed She says, .Abe was then long,
thin, leggy, gawky boy, dried up and
shriyeled." This young lady subse-
quently became the wife of Allen Cen
try, Abe's companion in the projected
voyage.
Zone evening"" says she, "Abe and
were sitting on the banks of the Ohio,
or, rather, ON the boat spoken Of. I
said to Abe that the sun was going
down. He said to me: That's not so.
1t don't really go down. 1t seems so.
The earth turns from west to east, and
the revolution of the earth carries us
under, as it were. We do the sinking,
y Ls
comparatively still. The suns sinking
is only an appearance replied, Abe,
what fool you are! know now that
was the fool, not Lincoln. I am now
thoroughly satisfied that Abe knew the
general laws Of astronomy and the
movements of the heavenly bodies. He
was better read then than the world
knows or is likely to know exactly. No
man could talk to me that night as he
did unless he had known something of
geography as well as astronomy. He
often and often commented or talked
to me about what he had read-seemed
to read it out Of the book as he went
along; did so to others. He was the
learned boy among US unlearned folks.
He took great pains to explain; could
do it so simply. He was dif1ident then
too"
The trip Of Gentry and Lincoln was
very profitable one, and Mr.. Gentry,
ST., was highly gratified by the result.
tile affairs by handsomely putting off
on the innocent folks along the river
some counterfeit money which a
shrewd fellow had imposed upon Allen.
Allen thought his father would be an
CRY with him for suffering himself to
be cheated, but Abe consoled him with
the reflection that the "old man"
wouldn't care how much bad money
they took in the course Of business If
they only brought the proper amount of
good money home.
At Madam Bushane's plantation, six
miles below Baton Rouge, they had
an adventure which reads strangely
enough in the life of the great emanci-
pator. The boat was tied up to the
shore, In the dead hours Of the night,
and Abe and Allen were fast asleep in
the cabin in the stern, when they
were startled by footsteps on board.
They knew instantly that it was a
gang of negroes come to rob and per-
|haps to murder them. Allen, thinking
to frighten the intruders, cried out:
Bring the guns, Lincfln. Shoot themv'
Abe came without gun, but he fell
among the negroes with huge blud
Not content with beating them off the
boat, he and Gentry followed them far
back into the country and then, run
ming back to their craft, hastily cut
loose and made rapid time down the
river, fearing lest they should return
in greater numbers to take revenge.
The victory was complete, but In win
ming it Abe received a scar which he
carried with him to his grave.