The Sunday Oregonian., November 08, 1908, Magazine Section, Image 48

rWmwmj? MFMlfwAd in firm
,y:
m S the one hundredth anniversary
a of the birth of Abraham Lincoln
approaches It finds comparatively
few men alive who knew and con
versed Intimately with the great Pres
ident. That Lincoln was born ' 100
years ago. that his friends of the '60s
are now few and old, emphasizes how
far Lincoln and his times have passed
"Into history. With this centenial an
niversary they will have passed Into
history completely. To gather from
the lips and the pens of the survivors
of those who knew Lincoln their mem
ories of his personality Is to construct
a picture of the man and the President
which gives a more accurate idea of
him than can be had in any other way.
a few years more and of those who
knew Lincoln none will be alive.
Nearly ail of the survivors of those
who knew Lincoln are men who have
made their mark in various fields of
action and whose names are well
known. Though they are men of va
rious temperaments and diverse char
acteristics and saw Lincoln from dif
ferent points of view, there Is a singu
lar unanimity In their records of th
Impression he made upon them. . At
first they thought him awkward, com
monplace. disappointing and then they
. came to regard him with awe and af
fection. All seem to have been im
pressed with the certain cloud of des
. tiny and doom which hung about him.
Oeneral VO. Howard has often told
of his first meting with Lincoln. His
story. In brief, - Is this: "I was en
camped at Washington with the firs
three-years regiment of volunteers
from Maine, my native state, which
regiment I had raised and commanded.
One evening after parade an orderly
came to me and said that some gentle
men in a carriage over by Fourteenth
tr-et wished to see me. I walked ove
there and found a rather shabby car
rlaKC of the "hark" variety, in which
were several men who appeared to me
of very ordinary appearance. Some
one standing In the dusk by the aide
of the carriage said: "Colonel Howard,
permit me to Introduce you to our Pres,
Ident Mr. Lincoln.' I was astonished
and Imagine I showed it plainly. But
the President, as If to cover my con
fusion, said something about having
been 'looking on at Colonel Howard's
show,' and his pleasant smile and warm
handclasp quickly put me at my ease."
The President and Colonel Howard
talked for a few minutes and then the
carriage drove off.
The next time Howard met Lincoln
was in me vt ntte House. It was a
leathering of high military officers and
tatesmen and the young colonel de
termined not to talk. But becoming
Interested In the discussion of some
military subject, he had ventured an
opinion before he realised what he had
done.
Mr. Seward, apparently, thought
Howard toe young to have any right to
express opinions, and he rebuffed the
young officer. Lincoln had been stand
ing on the other side of the room, but
hearing Seward's sharp rejoinder to
Howard quickly came forward to greet
him with both hands extended. After
that Lincoln and Howard were fast
friends and met and talked many times
over the policies and plans for the war
near Washington.
Oeneral tanlel E. Sickles came to
know Lincoln In an Intimate and per
sonal way when the general was lying
In the hospital at Washington. Sickles
had lost a leg at Gettysburg and had
been brought to the capital, the sur
geons thought to die. At the begin
ning of the war Sickles had raised the
Excelsior brigade and Lincoln had of
fered him the command of It. But
Sickles had refused at first upon the
ground that he was a Democrat. "This
Is a war. not a political strife." Lincoln
had replied, and so Sickles had accepted
the commission. Now, when he lay in
hospital, the President came to see him
and talk over with him the great battle
Just ended". "I prayed during that cat
tle as I never prayed before In my lire.
said Lincoln.
The President seemed to be in a mystic
mood, grave and exalted, with rather a
sad, strange look In his eyes. "1 am In
a prophetic mood." said he. "We shall
hear good news from Grant. And you.
Sickles, will get well.'"
"The doctors do not say so." replied
t'ie Oeneral.
"I don't care," responded Lincoln con
fidently. "We shall shortly hear that '
Grant has taken Vicksburg and you will
get well."
That afternoon there came a telegram
from Grant announcing his victory; and
Sickles, of course, recovered.
Sickles says that on the day when Lin
coln came to see him and asked about the
Gettysburg battle he cried like a child
as the General told of the slaughter. To
this almost hysterical outburst succeeded
the calm, solemn, "prophetic mood."
Men Who Knew Lincoln Best.
Of all the men living today who knew
Lincoln personally probably General T.
T. Bckert who was chief of the Govern
ment telegraph service during the war,
and Charles A. Tinker, Albert B. Chand
ler and David Homer Bates, who were
OEN -
cipher operators in the War Department
knew him most Intimately, since they
saw him every day, at all hours of the
day, and generally several times a day.
They saw him In all his moods and In
success and failure.
The military dispatches at first came
Into General McClellan's headquarters
and Eckert, with the rank of captain,
was stationed there to superintend the
business of the telegraph. Borne enemy
made a report charging Eckert with
neglect of duty and Stanton, In a rage,
sent for the Captain. As the Secretary
of War was berating and threatening
Bckert after his well-known fashion, the
Captain felt an arm placed upon his
shoulder and to his surprise the voice of
Lincoln said: "Mr. Secretary, I am sure
you must be mistaken, for I have visited
the headquarters at all hours of the day
and night and have always found Captain
Eckert attending to his duty." The Presi
dent bad entered unobserved while the
Secretary was fulminating, and his In
terference saved Eckert from summary
dismissal from the Army If not worse
consequences. Stanton apologized and
made the Captain a Major. Naturally,
Eckert and the. President came to be
very good friends.
A. B. Chandler, now president of the
Postal Telegraph Company, says that
Lincoln used frequently to write tele
grams In the War Department telegraph
office and that his method of composi
tion was slow and laborious. He would
evidently think out a sentence before he
wrote It, and you could see his Hps move
as he repeated to himself what he was
going to write before he set It down. He
ould sit looking out of the window, his
left elbow on the table and now and then
scratching his head In perplexity as If
In search of the right word. But when
he had written there was little Or no
revision or scratching out, and the dic
tation was clear and good. Sometimes
Lincoln would pronounce an entire sen
tence out loud before be set It down.
Major David Homer Bates, who retired
from the telegraph business as president
of the Baltimore tk Ohio Telegraph Com
pany, bad his first meeting with Presi-
THE SUNDAY OHEGONIAX. PORTLANI. yOVEMKEIl 8, 1903.
' -iu "Mki&fcH . " I p. , . n, .
eoiv. -A.
dent Lincoln "when I wss ordered to
Washington two weeks after Sumter wss
fired on. He was In Secretary Cameron
room and with him was General Scott.
Lincoln's tall, gaunt frame and homely
face was not at first attractive to me,
while General Steott, with his large
frame, his stately bearing and his golden
epaulets seemed an Ideal figure."
Major Bates tells how Lincoln used to
sit In the War Department telegraph
office for hours, sometimes reading end
sometimes telling stories, as he waited
for Important dispatches to come in.
Sometimes ho had a volume of Shakes
peare which he read, and again It would
bs the productions of Petroleum V.
Nasby. Wnen he came to anything which
he thought particularly funny In -Nasby
he would read It aloud. Nasby' s phrase,
"Oil's well that ends well" seemed to
tickle the President's fancy Immensely.
Lincoln was fond of sitting with Ms chair
tilted back and his feet on a desk or
table. Then he would get up and look
over the shoulders of the operators as
they wrote out messages or translated
cipher dispatches.
How Xlncoln Received the News of
Defeat.
When Lincoln received the news of
the battle of Ball's Bluff and the death
of his old friend Colonel Baker, "he
walked out of the telegraph office in
tears and apparently dazed," says Major
Bates. He was In the telegraph of
fice when, after the battle of Gettys
burg, Meade telegraphed that he was
"preparing to attack the enemy." He
called Sates up to a large map and
pointed out the positions of the two
armies. "They are driving the enemy
across the river Instead of preventing
him from crossing. They will be pre
pared to fight a magnificent battle when
there is no enemy there to fight, he said.
Major Bates often saw Lincoln walk
ing alone from the White House over to
the War Department and observed that
on such occasions he would be talking
to himself. In sftite of his funny sto
ries and his attempts at cheerfulness
and optimism the Major says that he
saw a dark cloud settle upon the face of
the President when. In the telegraph of
fice, he received the news of the Battle
of Bull Run. and that the cloud was
never lifted except for the brief period
which Intervened between the surren
der of Lee and Lincoln's assassination.
Colonl Tinker, the third of the three
cipher operators, had met Lincoln be
fore he came to Washington. He had
been at operator at Pekla, III., when
Lincoln dropped in to attend a term of
court, and he had been one of a group
which used to Rather around the ris
ing lawyer In the evening to hear him I
GEN". ?TEWrV5T
ICWDODRCaSD.
' talk. Once, in, the telegraph office, Lin
coin had asked him to explain the
workings of the telegraph. Tinker had
tried his best, but at the end Lincoln
said: "What puzzles me Is that you un
derstand what It says and I don't" It
was somo time after Colonel Tinker- had
been in the War Department telegraph
office before Lincoln recalled him as
the young man who had once ex
plained telegraphy to him.
Colonel Tinker was In the office when
the telegram announcing the nomina
tion of Andrew Johnson for the Vice
Presidency was handed to Lincoln.
"Well," said the President, "I thought
It might be so. Perhaps he Is the best
man but'' and he went out leaving the
sentence unfinished.
CnllOni and Porter Also Knew Lin
coln. Senator Shelby JI. Cullom, of Illinois,
went to Springfield to study law when
he was a young man. He had known
Lincoln ever since he was 12 years old
and had made him his hero. Though he
did not study In Lincoln's office the lat
ter gave him many sound words of ad
vice and helped him about his studies.
The Senator tells of a drugstore In
Springfield where every night Lincoln
used to go and talk to the men assem
bled to hear him. Often they would sugr
gest a subject Just to hear Lincoln's
views on It and get him to taking.
The Lincoln-Douglas campaign took
place while Cullom was In Springfield.
Cullom met Lincoln Just after word had
been received of Douglas success In the
election.
"Well, Mr. Lincoln," said Cullom
hopelessly, "we are beaten."
Tes," said Lincoln, We are beaten."
"I am very sorry," said Cullom.
Lincoln put his hand on Cullom s
shoulder and smiled down at" the young
er man. "Oh, my boy, don't worry. It
will all come right In the end."
General Horace Porter happened to
be at the White House reception at
which Lincoln and Grant met for the
first time. He was standing near the
President and at about :30 was sur
prised to hear a commotion near the
door. Soon Grant appeared in the line
of guests. He had come on to be made
Commander-in-Chief of the armies, but
his arrival that night was unexpected.
When Grant drew near the President,
till keeping his place In line. Lincoln
recognized Grant from the pictures of
him he had seen and, hie face lighting
up with a smile, he advanced a few
steps and grasping the General by the
hand exclaimed heartily: "Why, here
Is General Grant; this Is a great pleas
ure, I assure you." He shook Grant's
band for several minutes in his enthu
siasm. Lincoln . was eight Inches taller
than Grant and Porter says It was a
memorable sight to see the tall, awk-
' ward President stand there and beam
down upon the sturdlly-bullt, stolid
General.
Porter saw Lincoln again when he
visited Grant's headquarters before
Richmond. Porter was then on Grant's
staff. The President had a pleasant
word for each of the stiff officers and
showered congratulations upon Grant
for the work he had done.' He had
come by boat and the passage had been
rough, he complained, but when one of
the staff recommended a glass of cham
pagne he declined it with a jest Porter
says that Lincoln never smiled when
telling a. story until the climax was
reached, when he laughed as heartily
as any of his hearers.
General Grant suggested that the sol
diers would like to see the President
and Linooln consenting, he was placed
on the back of a big bay horse and
set out for a tour of -the camp, ac
companied by the General and a glit
tering escort He wore a high silk Bat,
black trousers and a frock coat and
Porter says that after he had ridden
a short distance his - appearance was
ludicrous, for his trousers had no straps
and were soon above his ankles, his
tall hat was awry, and his black clothes
were gray with dust. The soldiers were
so overcome with Joy, however, that
they did not seem to notice this fact
and cheered Lincoln again and again.
Lincoln visited Porter's tent before
he returned to Washington and in
speaking of Grant said, "When he gets
hold of a place he holds on to It as If
he had Inherited it."
A Veteran Editor's First Meeting
With Lincoln.
Colonel A. K. McClure, the veteran.
writer. Journalist and politician, first
met Lincoln two months after his elec
tion. He ' went to Springfield to see
Lincoln at the latter's invitation. He
rang the bell of Lincoln's house and
Lincoln himself came to the door.
"Tall, gaunt ungainly," says McClure,
"with a homeliness of manner that was
unique In Itself, I ' oonfess that my
heart sank within me as I remembered
that this was the man chosen by a
great people to be its ruler In the grav
est period of its history." But within
half an hour McClure's first impres
sions had entirely vanished and he was
filled with respeot and affection for
the man with whom he was talking.
After that first interview McClure saw
the President often. ' '
Once, when a draft had been effected
and McClure, though a civilian, was in
charge of the Military Department of
Haxrisburg, he was enraged at the
slowness with which the-recruiting of
ficer of the city was mustering in the
men and went to Washington to com
plain. Lincoln listened to his story and
then, . without replytng, sent for Ad- ,
Jutant-General Thomas. I
"General," said Lincoln, "what Is the j
rank of the senior military officer at
Harrlaburg?"
"Captain, sir," responded Thomas.
"Bring roe a commission." said Lin- j
coin, "for Alexander K. McClure as As
sistant Adjutant-General of United j
States Volunteers, with the rank of
Major."
McClure protested, but was finally
won over by Lincoln. He went back to
Har.riFburg and sent for the senior of
ficer to come to his office. The Cap
tain came and barely treated McClure
with civiiity. McClure handed the of
ficer the commission and asked to be
mustered Into service. Off came the
Captain's hat, he mustered McClure In,
and there was no more trouble.
Chauncey M. Depew got to know
Lincoln fairly well when he 'spent the
Winter of 1S64 In Washington and saw
him often in consultation concerning
New Tork politics.
"They say I tell a great many stories,"
Lincoln once said to Depew. "I reckon
I do, but I have found In the course of
a long and varied career that the plain
people the plain people take them as
they run, are more easily Influenced by
a broad and humorous Illustration than
In any other way. What the hypercrit
ical few think about It I don't care."
Frederick Seward, Who Is now 84 years
old, of course knew Lincoln well. It
was Seward who was sent to tell Lin
coln of the plot to assassinate him as
he passed through Baltimore on his
way to Washington to be inaugurated,
thus causing, a change of route. He was
Assistant Secretary of State to his
father, William Henry Seward, and
Acting Secretary In the Cabinets of Lin
coln, Johnson and Hayes. In defend
ing his father from the knives of the
assassins sent to kill him at the time
of the murder of Lincoln, Mr. Seward
was badly wounded, and but for his
fortunate presence and his struggle with
the assassins his father would have been
killed. Seward was one of the Com
missioners negotiating the Alaska pur
chase and the acquisition' of Pago-Pago
In the Samoan group. Hie fund of
remlnlscenpes concerning Lincoln he has
not yet put In writing; but It is not too
late for him to do so, and this Lincoln
centennial la an opportune time.
i
Speaker Cannon's First View of
Lincoln. '
Joseph G. Cannon first saw Lincoln
when he drove with a hotel keeper of
the little Illinois town of Tuscola Into
Decatur. As they passed along the
street In their wagon the hotel man sud
denly said, "There's Abe Howdy, Abe?"
"Howdy, Arch?" came back the answer
from a tall spare man standing in front
of the hotel.
A little later Cannon saw Lincoln writ
ing a dispatch at the telegraph office
In the station. The Illinois State Con
vention, which was to elect a delegate
to the National Convention, was In ses
sion In Decatur, and it was no secret
that Lincoln's name was to come up.
Cannon went to the convention and
there saw the celebrated rails brought
In with the legend printed on a long
white cloth. "These rails were made by
Dennis Hanks and Abraham Lincoln In
1830." There was a call for Lincoln,
and though, as Speaker Cannon says,
"Lincoln was a mighty long man," the
crowd passed him over their heads to
the platform.
"Abe, -did you spilt those rails?"' cried
some one in the crowd.
"Dennis Hanks says X did," answered
Lincoln. "I don't know whether I did
or not but I have split many a better
one.
John B. Henderson, ex-Senator from
Missouri and now regent of the
Smithsonian Institution, knew Lincoln
well, being in the Senate from 1863 to
1S63. Being, as it was, debatable
ground, no one In Missouri was safe
out of either the Confederate or the
Union armies. The National author!,
ties held many military prisoners, ' and
Henderson was frequently called uopn
to Intercede for their relief. After Lin
coln's second inauguration Henderson
made out a list of cases pending against
citizens of Missouri for treason and
kindred crimes and had his clerk classi
fy them according to the amount of
evidence against the prisoners. Then ha
went to the President showed him the
list with the abstract of evidence an
nexed, and asked that all those against
whom the evidence was slight or doubt
ful should be released-
"Do you mean to tell me, Henderson,"
asked Lincoln, "that you wish me to
let loose all these people at once?"
"Yea. I do," replied the Senator.
Lincoln demurred at first, saying he
had no time to look over the evidence,
but finally said, "Well, so be It. I hops
we are right."
"I know we are," said the Senator.
"Durned If I don't think so, too," said
Lincoln.
General Stewart L. Woodford, who- re
ceived his commission In the Army from
Lincoln, was at first opposed to him po
litically. He went to the convention of
1860 a strong advocate of W. H. Seward
and stuck to him to the last, but after
ward he became one of Lincoln's strong
est partisans and got to know him inti
mately. He says that before he ever met
Lincoln he heard his speech In Cooper
Union and it Impressed him as the best
speech he had ever heard- His subse
quent experience In hearing speeches
from all sorts of men In all lands has
not clianged that opinion.
At the recent celebration of the semi
centennial of the Lincoln-Douglas de
bates at Galesburg, 111., there was present
Clark E. Carr, of that town, a lawyer
long prominent In official affairs, once
Minister to Denmark and the holder of
other Important positions. During the
war Carr server! on the staff of Governor
Yates, and was active In organizing and
sending troops to the front as well as
active In the field. As a young man
Carr heard the last debate between Lin
coln and Douglas at Galesburg, and In
the course of his varied career met Lin
coln many times. He describee bim as
the drollest and at the same time the
most serious man he ever met. He heard
the Gettysburg address and the speech at
the second Inaugural, and says that on
those occasions he thought Lincoln the
most dignified, the most majestic and
the most benignant person that imagina
tion could picture.
General T. J. Henderson, who served In
the Union Army aa Colonel of the 112th
Illinois Volunteers, was mode Brevet
Brigadier-General, and is now a member
of the board of managers of the National
Soldiers' Home at Washington, also holds
the distinction of having known Lincoln.
"The first time I saw Lincoln," he says,
"was during the memorable campaign of
1840, the Tippecanoe and Tyler too cam
paign, when I was a boy of fifteen. It
was at an immense Whig mass meeting
at Springfield, 111., In the month of June.
There were many speakers, and while I
was too young to judge I know I thought
them all great men I thought none of
them greater than Abraham Lincoln."
Ralph Emerson, the Rockford, 111., man
ufacturer and Inventor, and the founder
of the Emerson Normal and Industrial
School at Mobile, Ala., studied luw in his
early days, but, by advice of Lincoln,
who was his personal friend, he dropped
law and went Into business. Others now
living who knew Lincoln personally and
well are General Alexander 8. Wehb,
General Isaac S. Catlin, General Thomas
H. Hubbard. General Henry Burnett
General Anson G. McCook, Supreme
Court Justice David J. Brewer, and John
Bigelow, who was appointed Minister to
France by Lincoln, and is now 91 years
old. Copyright 1908, by the Associated
Literary Press.)
The Modern Verdict.
"Who killed Cock Robin?"
"Not I," said the sparrow.
"ThouKh my bow and arrow
Look quite circumstantial, I tVi
But I fueRi you have heard
That th poor robin bird
Was run down by an automobile."