Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1914-02-10


of Springfield, ILL.,, who frequentl,
appeared in cases at Urbana, ILL.,, 81
miles distant and Buchtel's home.
"Yes, | knew Lincoln and a more
intensely human man l never knew
said the old pioneer at his home
East Washington and Forty-third
streets. "Lincoln was practicing
Z law at Springfield and for several
years handled eases at Urbana, my
old home. And he had a great repu-
tation. Everyone said that you can 7
beat Lincoln and generally speaking
they were right.
fThe last time friend of mine
got mixed up in breach of promise
suit, was deputy in the sheriff IS
Office at the time.
"There were no train connections
and the defendant, Burt Carl engaged
man to ride horseback to Spring
field to retain Lincoln and if he
could not get away to retain a firm
of lawyers known as Gridley and
Bennett.
"The man rode all night, using re-
lays of horses, and when he got there
he found Lincoln had been engaged
by the other side. When he returned
and told Carl, Carl said: Well, we
might as well quit. The jury will
believe anything Abe Lincoln tells
them.' And they did in this case.
"In court Lincoln was invariably
courteous to witnesses for the op-
posing side. He took pains not to
offend them and would try and make
them his friends. His system was to
lead them around gently and then
bring out inconsistencies in their
| testimony. He never got loud but
spoke in conversational tones when
arguing before jury, and used very
few gestures. He had habit of
walking up and down before the jury
box while talking.
"He always stopped at the Geer
house, and in the evenings bunch Of
men would always be waiting for
him to come out and sit on the bench
in front of the hotel and tell stories.
He could never invent them to suit
the occasion if he happened to have
none on tap that would fit.
"a good joke was something he
looked for at all times, in those days.
He was immensely strong, and his
favorite trick was to sit down be-
tween two men, and then pretending
he was going to rise, lay his hands
on their legs and pinch They us
ually rose much more rapidly than
he did,"
"Just to illustrate how strong he
was: We had a blacksmith at Ur-
bana who could throw a sledge ham
mer pretty far. One evening the
boys thought they would get "Abe"
as everyone called him, to compete
with the smith. Rankin, the smith,
hurled the iron a long distance and
then Lincoln was asked if he could
do it.
"Well, | used to be tolerably well
at handing an axe when I farmed
on the Sangamon, said Lincoln,
pulling off his coat. Then he laid his
tall stovepipe hat on the ground,
spat on his hands, rubbed dirt on. the
sledge handle and grasped it with
one hand. He gave it swing and
as it shot into the air, Rankin, seeing
he was beat, shouted, "Someone go
after that hammer, don't want to
see it lost" Lincoln was great at
pitching horseshoes, too, but he could
not run much because his feet were
too long.
"At that time he did not wear chin
whiskers but was clean shaven. He
was very pale, the lines in his face
deepened by study; his eyes were
sunk back into his head, and one at
first glance would feel sorry for him.
"He was not beautiful by any man
ner of means, but the gentleness of
his manner, his democratic spirit, and ,
his facility of making friends made
him very popular and his arrival in
town was always hailed with joy"
Williams Poses for Lincoln Portrait. ]
And at this point, Mr.. Buchtel told
something which is almost a state
secret. After Lineoln's death, the
government wanted a portrait of Lin
coin painted and invited a number of
artists to compete. The prize pic
ture, which now hangs at Washing
ton, was posed for by the late Judge {
George H. Williams, the -'grand old
man of Oregon.
"Judge Williams told me this him !
SELF" said Mr.. Buchtel. "The body
Of Lincoln is a copy Of Williams, with
Lineoln's head. There was a strik-
ing similarity between them as far
up as the shoulders, and / found out c
ahonf the r,ietlnra uhen I r,nnnarted 1