Lincolniana; Or, The Humors of Uncle Abe — John Shaqi
Lincolniana; Or, The Humors of Uncle AbeAdderup, Andrew
General
Lincolniana; Or, The Humors of Uncle Abe
Adderup, Andrew
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Anecdotes
A committee of the enemies of Mr. Chase called on the President just
after the Pomroy circular was sent forth and advised him to purify his
cabinet and let Chase go. Old Abe replied that "it is not so easy a
thing to let Chase go. I am situated very much as the boy was who held
the bear by the hind legs. I will tell you how it was. There was a very
vicious bear which, after being some time chased by a couple of boys,
turned upon his pursuers. The boldest of the two ran up and caught the
bear by the hind legs, while the other climbed up into a little tree,
and complacently witnessed the conflict going on beneath, between the
bear and his companion. The tussel was a sharp one, and the boy, after
becoming quite exhausted, cried out in alarm, 'Bill, for God's sake
come down and help me let this darned bear go!' Now, gentlemen," said
Mr. Lincoln, "you see what a fix I am in--it may be dangerous to hold on
to Chase, but it will require more assistance than I see at present, to
help me let him go."
Too Deep.
During the Black Hawk war, when the valiant Illinoisians were in
hasty retreat from what they thought certain scalping, and the roads
exclusively bad, in fact, unfathomable mud.--In this predicament,
the corps in which Uncle Abe was, became somewhat scattered, when the
officer commanding, called out to the men to form _two deep_. "Blast
me!" shouted Abe from a slough, in which he was nearly buried, "I am too
deep already; I am up to the neck."
Uncle Abe's First Speech.
When Uncle Abe first made his appearance in the Illinois House of
Representatives, and was desirous of delivering his sentiments on a
certain measure, he rose and began:--"Mr. Speaker, _I conceive_----" but
could go no further. Thrice he repeated unsuccessfully the same attempt;
when Douglas, who had more confidence, and had been a year longer in the
House, completely dumbfounded Abe by saying: "Mr. Speaker, The honorable
gentleman has _conceived three times, and brought forth nothing._"
Cute.
One night Uncle Abe came wet and cold to a cross road tavern in Indiana,
and found the fire more thoroughly blockaded with Hoosiers than mother
Welles has been able to blockade the Southern Confederacy. Abe ordered
the landlord to carry his horse a peck of catfish. "He can't eat
catfish," said Boniface. "Try him," said Abe, "there's nothing like
trying." The crowd all rushed after the landlord to see Abe's horse
eat the peck of catfish. "He won't eat them, as I told you," said the
landlord, on returning. "Then," coolly responded Uncle Abe, who had
squatted on the best seat, "bring them to me and I'll eat them myself."
Abe's Spelling.
Being asked by a client in Springfield why he spelled so badly in his
law papers, Uncle Abe replied, "Because, the Suckers are so cussed mean
they won't pay for good spelling."
A Soldier's Theory of the War.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account