Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1921)
RED CLOUD. NEBRASKA, CHIEF ea v-c-; jggys e a SJl m-iw Ji5fJ7jf CiEiiHSS aaaa aw aaa mi mi wanasBBi FORm&i A SXOHY 0FT1IE BUILDERSyDEHOCCflCy SIEVING BACHELLER, crcvyv&fr s&sjv& xachellxr. CHAPTER XXII. 21 Wherein Abe Lincoln Reveals Hla Method of Conductlno a Lawsuit In the Case of Henry Drlmstead et al., vs. Lionel Davis. They found tunny of Dnvls' notes In Tazewell county. Alio Lincoln's complaint represented seven clients mill a sum exceeding twenty thousand dollars. With the pnpers In his pocket Harry went on to the Honey Creek settle ment. There he found that the plague had spent Itself and that Illm had gone to a detention eatap outside the city of Chicago. He whb not per mitted to Bee her, the regulations hav Ing hecotne very strict. In the city he went to the store of KM Fredenberg. The merchant received htm with en thusiasm. Chicago had begun to re cover from (lie panic. Trade was lively. Harry spent the afternoon with Mrs. Kelso ami Hint's halty hoy. Hu wrote a very tender letter to Illm thnt day. He told her that he had come to Chi cago to live so that he might he near her and ready to help her If she need ed help. "The same (Oil love Is In my heart that made me want you for my wife long ago. that has lllled my let ters and sustained me In many an hour of peril" he wrote. "If you really think that you must marry Da vis, I ask you at least to wait for the developments of a suit which Abe Lin coln Is hrlnglng In behalf of many citizens of Tazewell county. It Is likely that we shall know more than we do now hefore that ease ends. I miw your heautlful HttJe hoy. lie looks no much like you that I long to steal hltn and keep him with me." In n few days he received this brief reply : "Dear Hnrry: Your letter pleased and pained me. I have been bo tossed ahout that I don't know quite where I stand. For a long time my life has been nothing hut a series of emotions. What Honest Abe may he able to prove I know not, but I am sure that ho cannot disprove the fact that Mr. DavlB has been kind and generous to me. For that I cannot ever cease to bo grateful. I should have married him before now but for one Blngular circumstance. My little boy cannot he made to like him. lie will have noth ing to do with Mr. Davis. He will not be bribed or coerced. I saw In this a prophecy of trouble. 1 left homo and went down Into the very shadow of death. It may he that we have been Baved for each other by the wisdom of childhood. I must not see you now. Nor shall I see him until I have found my way. Kven your call cannot make me forget that I am under u solemn proinl.se. "I'm glad you like the boy. He Is a wonderful child. I nnnied him Ne hernial! for his grandfather. We call lilm Nlm and sometimes 'Mr. Nimble' because he Is so lively. I'm homesick to see him and you. I am going to Dixon to teach and earn money for mother and the baby. Don't tell any ono when; I nm and above all don't come to see me until In good heart 1 can ask you to come. "God bless you I "MM." In a few weeks the suit came on. Davis' defense, as given In the an swer, alleged that the notes were to be paid out of the proceeds of the biiJo of lots and that In consequence of the collapse of the boom there had been no such proceeds. Aa t the un derstanding upon which the notes were drawn, there was a direct Issue of veracity for which Abo Lincoln wan exceedingly well prepared. Ills cross-vxanilnutlnn was as merciless ns Hiinllght "falling round n helpless thing." It wns kindly and polite In tone but relentless In Its searching. When It ended, the weight of Davis' character bad been necnrately estab lished. In his masterly annulling up Mr. Lincoln presented every circum stance In favor of the defendant's po sition. With .remarkable Insight he anticipated the arguments of his at torney. He presented them fairly and generounly to the court and Jury. Ac cording to Samson the opposing law yers admitted In a private tall: that Lincoln hid thought of presumptions In favor of Davis which had not oc curred to them. Therein Iny the char octcrlfltlc of Mr. Lincoln's method In n lawsuit. "It was a safe thing for him to do, for be never took a cabo in which Jus tice was not clearly on his side," Sam son writes. "If he had been deceived ns to the merits of a case lie would drop It. With the sword of Justice In his hand he was Invincible." A Judgment was rendered In favor of the plaintiffs for the full amount of tkslr claim "xUh costs. Tho character - , AGES of Lionel Davis had been sulllclentJy revealed. Kven the credulous Mrs. Kelso turned against him. Mr. Lin coln's skill as n lawyer was recognized In the north as well as In the middle counties. From that day forth no man enjoyed u like popularity In Taze well county. When Samson and Harry Needles left the courthouse, there seemed to he no obstacle between the young man and tin: consummation of his wishes. Unfortunately, as they were going down the steps Davis, who blamed Samson for his troubles. Hung an In sult at the sturdy Vermouter. Sam son, who had then arrived at years of llrin discretion, was little disturbed by the auger of a iniiii so discredited, Hut Harry, on the sound of the hate ful words, had leaped forward and ilealt the speculator a savage blow In thi face which for a few seconds had deprived him of the power of speech That evening n friend of Dnvls called at the City hall with u challenge. The hot-bloodeil young soldier accepted It against the urgent counsel of Samson Traylor, Mr. Lincoln huvlug left the city. As to the dctolln of the tragic scene that followed next day, the writer has little knowledge. Samson wns not the type of man for such a chron icle. The diary speaks of his part In It with shame and sorrow mid re morse. We know thnt It was at day break when he and Harry rode to a point on the prairie "something more than n tulle from the city limits." There he tells us they met Duvls and one friend of the latter and two sur geons. It Is evident, too, that great secrecy had been observed In the plan and Its execution and that, until some time after the last act, Lincoln knew nothing of the later developments In the drama of Dnvls' downfall. For the rest of the dcploralde scene the historian must content himself with the linked details lu the dlury of a puritan pioneer. "I went because there was no escape from It and with the shadow of God's wrath In my sold," Snmson writes. "The sun rose ns we halted our horses. We paced the Held. The two men took their places twenty yards apart. The pistols rang out at the command to lire and both men fell. Davis had been hit at the left shoulder. My handsome boy lay on bis face. The huJIet had bored through his right lung. ISefore I could reach him he had risen to his feet to go on with the battle. Davis lay like one paral yzed by the shock of the bullet. Ills seconds declared they were satlstled. 1 saw them take the bullet out of The Two Men'Took Their Places. Harry's hack, where It had lodged un der his skin. I helped them put the wounded men Into the wngon nnd rode to the home of one of the doctors near the city wherein were rooms for the ac commodation of critical cases, leading Harry's horse and praying for God's help and forgiveness I took care of the boy until Steve Nuckles came to help me. Hltn arrived when Harry wiih out of his head and didn't kuow her. She was determined to stay and do the nursing, hut I wouldn't let her. She did not look Btrong. I loaned her, the money to pay the debt to Davis and persuaded her to go hack to her work In Dixon. She went and was rather heartbroken about It. "The surgeon said that Harry would llvo If lung fever didn't set In. It set In, hut he pulled through. He mended slowly. I had some fear of arrest, but the conspiracy of sllunco keut tho facts under cover. It partly doe, T rucas, to the friendship of Julm Wentworth for me nnd Hon est Ab He kept It out of the papers. Thnro ww no complaints nnd the ru mors soon fell Into silence. "The hoy, 'Mr. Nimble Is n cun ning little man. When he began to get better, Harry loved to play with him and llftcn to his talks ahout fairies. The young man was able to leave his bed, by and by, but he didn't get over his weakness and pallor. He had no appetite. 1 sent him with Nuckles Into the Wisconsin woods to live In the open. R'hcn I took the small hoy to Dixon with me In the saddle. Illm had Just go! back to her work. She told me Unit Ellpliatet Biggs had been there, lie had heard of the boy unil wished to see lilm and demanded to know wl'ero he was. For fear that Illggs wmild try to get possession of 'Mr. Nlu)lc' I took him with me to Sprlngller4 In the- saddle. "I leam that Davis has recovered his hoiiJtt hiki left the city. A man can not ?o business without friends nnd after the trial Chicago wub no pluce for Mm." CHAPTER XXIII. Which PrMenU the Pleasant Comedy of Individualism In the New Capital, and the Courtship sf Lincoln and Mary TcJd. Samson, wltb "Mr. Nimble" on a pad Bluff is? with straw In front of him, Joggcfl ncross the prairies and waded the -reeks and sloughs on his way to Sprll-guVd. The little lad was In his fourth yittr that summer. He slept end talked much on the way and kept Samson busy with queries about the sky and the wrecks and the great llowery meadows They camped he first night In n belt of timber nn'r Samson writes that tho boy "slept srug against me with his bend on tiy nrti. He went to sleep crying for hlr mother." He adds: "It remlndvtl m; of the old days of my young frthertiood. 'Mr. Nimble' wanted to f-ct all the flowers and splash his bate fPet In every stream. In the evening he would talk to the Btars as If he were playing with them. He Is like some of the grown folks In Chicago. He would sit hanging on to the relns.jmd talk to the horse and to Goil by the hour. He used to tell me that God wns a friend of his and I thirik he wns right. It was good luck to get hack to Sarah and the children. They took the little stran ger into their hearts. 'Heart room, house room' Is the motto of this part of the country." . It wns a new town to which Snmson returned. The governor and the state olllcers hntl moved to Springfield. The new cnpltol was nearing completion. The hnrd times which had followed the downfall of "M ban unjustly dim inished Mr. Lincoln's confidence In his nblllty ns a legislator. He enjoyed the practice of the law, which had be gun to turn his Interest from the af fairs of state. Hut the pot of political science boiled before the fireplace In the rear of Joshua Speed's store every evening thnt Lincoln and his associ ates were lu Sprlnglleld. The wit and wisdom which bubbled Into Its vapors and the bent that surrounded It were the talk of the town. Many came to witness the process nnd presently It wns moved, for a time, to more accommodating quarters. Hefore a crowd of people lu the Presbyterian church, Lincoln, Logan, linker and Ilrownlng for the Whigs, and Douglas. Calhoun, Lamborn and Thomas for the Democrats, having assiduously prepared for the trial, debated the burning Issues of the time. The effort of ench filled an evening nnd Lincoln's speech gnve him new hope of himself. Wise men begun to have grent confi dence In his future. He had taken the style of Webster for his model. He no longer used the broad humor which had characterized his efforts on the stump. A study of the best speeches of the great New Knglnndcr had made him question Its value In n public address. Dignity, clear rea soning and Impresslveness were the chief alms of his new method, the lat ter of which is aptly Illustrated by this passage from his speech In reply to Douglas In the debate mentioned : "If I ever feel the soul within me elevate nnd expnnd to those dimen sions not wholly unworthy of Its Al mighty Architect, It Is when I con template the cause of my country de serted by nil the world besides, and I standing up boldly nnd alone and hurling defiance at her victorious op pressors. Here without contemplating consequences before high heaven and In the face of the world I swear eter nal fidelity to the Just cause, as I deem It, of the land of my life, my liberty anil my love." In these perfervld utterances one may find little to admire save a great spirit seeking to express itself and lacking as yet the refinement of taste equal to his undertaking. He was no heaven-born genius "sprung In full panoply from the head of Jove." lie was Just one of the slow, common folk, with a passion for Justice and human rights, slowly feeling his way upward. Ills spirit was growing. Strong In Its love and knowledge of common men and of the things neces sary to their welfare, It was beginning to seek and know "the divine power of words." F.very moment of leisure he gave to the study of Webster and Hurke und Ilyron nnd Shakespeare and Hums. He had begun to study the art of Irving and Walter Scott anil of a new writer of the name of Dickens. There were four men who slept with him In the room above Speed's store, nnd one of them hns told how he used to lie sprawlod on the Moor, with' his pillow and candle, reading long after the others had gone to sleep, Samson wrltos that ho never knew a man who understood tho art of using minutes as he did. A detached minute was U him a thing to be filled with valaa Yet there were few men so deeply It love with fun. He loved to laugh m u story-telling nnd to mutch his hu mor with Thompson Campbell a fa mous raconteur und to piny with children., Fun was as necessary to him as sloop. He searched for It In people and In hooks. He came often to Samson's house to play with "Mr. Nimbi" ml to talk with Joe. Some of his best thoughts (nine when he was talking with Joe and some of his merriest moments when he was playing with "Mr. Nim ble." He confessed that It was the latter that reminded lilm that he had better be looking for a wife. Hut Lincoln was only one of nany remarkable personalities lu Springfield who had discovered themselves and were seeking to lie discovered. Sun dry individuals were lifting their heads above the crowd, but not with the modesty and self-distrust of Honest Abe. "Steve" Douglas, whom Samson had referred to as " that little rooster of a man," put on the stilts of n brave and ponderous vigor. Ills five-foot stature and his hundred pounds of weight did not lit the part of Achilles. Hut he would have no other. He blus tered much with a spear too heavy for his hands. Lincoln used to call him a kind of popgun. This free-for-all JoiiRt of Individual ism one of the first fruits of freedom In the West gnve to the life of the lit tle village n rich flavor of comedy. The grent talents of Douglas had not been developed. Ills character was as yet shifty and shapeless. Snm of the leading citizens openly dlstrusten him. Lincoln never liked this little man, lu opposing whom he wns to come to the fulness of his power on the platform. It Is evhfent thnt Lin coln regarded lilm ns an able advocate of small sincerity looking chiefly for personal advancement. There Is a passage In the diary which Illustrates the character of Dou glas and Lincoln's knowledge of It. The passage relates to a day In the famous debates of lS.'S. Lincoln hnd not reached Havana In time to hear the speech of his opponent. A great crowd had come by train and lu wagons. Taking advantnge of his ab sence. Douglas had called Lincoln "a liar, a coward and a sneak," and de clared that he was going to fight lilm. Lincoln heard of this and said lu his speech: "I Bhnll not light with Judge Doug Ins. A fight could prove nothing at issue In this campaign. It might prove that he Is n more musculnr man than I, or that I am a more muscular man tbnn he, but this subject Is not men tioned lu either pJntform. Again, he nnd I nre really very good friends and when we are together be would no more think of fighting me than of fighting his wife. Therefore, when the Judge talked about fighting, he was not giving vent to any ill feeling, hut wns trying to excite well, let us say, enthusiasm ngnlnst me on the part of his audience." Justice accomplished her ends now nnd then with comic displays of vio lence In the prairie capital. One night Abe Lincoln and certain of his friends captured a shoemaker who had beaten his wife' and held hltn at the village pump while the aggrieved woman gave lilm a sound thrashing. So this phase of Imperial Ism was cured In Soring Held by "hair off the same dog," as Lincoln put It. One evening, while K. D. linker was speaking In the crowded village court room nbove Lincoln's olllce and was rudely Interrupted and lu danger of assault, the long legs of Honest Abe suddenly appeared through a scuttle hole In the celling above the platform. He leaped upon It and seizing a stone water pitcher defied any one to Inter fere with the right of free speech In a worthy cause. So It will he seen that there were zestful moments In these sundry vindi cations of the principles of Democracy lu the prairie capital. (TO UK CONTINUED.) CULTIVATE HABIT OF THRIFT Practice Means That One Will Be Ready to Seize Opportunity When It Comes. Practice thrift habitually. Make It as much a part of your routine as eating and sloepl-.g. Get yourself sys tematlzed. Work on a definite sched ule. Save, regular amounts. Plan your work and your actions so that you will have no Idle time, no lost motion, no wasted energy. The are among the secrets of suc cess, happiness and progress. The time to begin the cultivation of thrift habits Is now. Tim most Important message thnt can b convoyed to the people of this initio-) today I: "(Jet the thrift habit." Practice thrift not for u brief Inter val o' Intermittently, but habitually. Dlsniell said, "The greatest secret of success In life Is to be ready when jour opportunity comes." Thin brief nenteuce furnishes one of the best reasons for practicing thrift that ever has been given. It presents a phase of the ipicstluu to which not enough attention Is paid. Ordinarily turlft is looked upon as a means of safeguarding one against possible emergencies or of building up an ac cumulation of money for some definite purpose. Hut there nre many unex pected turns In the pathway of life. Thrift Magazine To Be Exact. "So yau called on the famojis novel ist?" "Yes," Bald Mrs, Gawker. "Did J'"" Hiitl "I"1 m & brown study?" "Why, no. I think the room wns Mu lshed lu blue." Birmingham Age-Herald. AfUBirl Eir Al.,, 1MI4T The s Flavor Lasts 3 When a man fulls Into un error ho la likely to be more or less Injured x his descent The charm of a bnthroom Is Its spot lessness. By the use of Red Cross Ball Blue, all cloths nnd towels retain their whiteness until worn out. Advertise ment. Life As I See It Mnn Is Just n hnndful of mini, but a good woman can mold lilm Into something worth while. Louisville Courler-Journul. MOTHER, QUICK! GIVE CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP FOR CHILD'S BOWELS Even n sick child loves the "fruity" taste of "California Fig Syrup." If the little tongue Is coated, or If your child Is listless, cross, feverish, full of cold, or hns colic, a teaspoonful will never fall to open the bowels. In a few hours you can see for yourself how thoroughly It works nil the constipa tion poison, sour bile and waste from the tender, little bowels and gives you a well, playful child again. Millions of mothers keep "Callfornln Fig Syrup" handy. They know n ten spoonful todny saves a Blck child to morrow. Ask your druggist for genuine "California Fig Syrup" which has di rections for babies and children of all ages printed on bottle. Mother I You must say "Callfornln" or you may get aft Imitation llg syrup. Advertisement. The Right Instinct. "Come; Dorothy," twltl her father Impatiently, "throw your doll on the bed and hurry or we "hall be late." "Daddy, how can you?" reproved tho child. "I Isn't that kind of a muvver." Boston Transcript. ksSiliw MliW f II I. I III lP I l 1.1. .1.11, a JMlMaT?!. Him mm l2 III '!! ;J nMruiLH' '" '" '" '" "- "' W !!,' JjmUL'JiI m restem&nadaOffers mL& -. iW.lllt B jswM.zyijiaC'ta.----"iKC-.3Kki! uc, Room Mmmw W f?....-.. Ma-M nc Jm Evciy ricai wiiijwiiiiiimiiiiiummiiiirT Next time you want to concen trate on a piece of work Just slip. a stick of WRIGLEY'S between your teeth. it's a wonderful help in daily tasks and sports as well. Hazards disappear and hard places come easy, for WRIGLEY'S gives you comfort and poise it adds the zest that means success. w A great deat forSc SEALED TIGHT KEPT RIGHT '''tiimnnx Unpoetic. "Why did the Arab fold up his tent nnd silently steal uwuy?" "I suppose," snld the cnmjwr, "It wns the same old story. The mosqui toes got to he too much for him." A Feeling of Security You naturally feel secure when yon know that the medicine you are about to take is absolutely pure and contains i UJimfuI or habit producing drugs. Such a medicine is Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Koot, kidney, liver and bladder remedy. The same standard of purity, strength and excellence is maintained in every bottle of Swamp-Root. It is scientifically compounded from vegetable herbs. It is not a stimulant and Is taken hi teaspoonful (loses. It is not recommended for everything. It is nature's great helper in relieving ! and overcoming kidney, lirer and blad- 1 der troubles. A sworn statement of purity is witk every bottle of Dr. Kilmer's Swamp ( Root. If you need a medicine, you should have the best. On sale at all drug stores ' in bottles of two sizes, medium and Urge. However, if you wish first to try thkf prcat preparation send ten cents to l)r. Kilmer & Co., Hinfthnmton, N. Y., for a I sample bottle. When writing he sure and mention this paper. Advertisement. i The Long and Short of It. "Frank," observed the wife, "yon were talking lu your sleep last night, and you frequently spoke In terms of endearment of n certain Kuphemla. Who Is Kuphenila?" "Why, my deur, that was my Bis ter's name." "Frank! Your sister's nnme wa Mnryl" "Yes, dear, but we called her Eo phemln for short." ' Judge not your neighbor; he may be on the Jury wheu It Is your turn to face the Judge. Health and Wealth and has brought contentment and happiness to thou sands ot home seekers and their families who hive settled on her FREE homesteads or bought Und at attractive prices. They have established their own homes and secured prosperity and independence. In the great grain-Rrowtnil sections of the prairie provinces there is still to be had on easy terms) Fertile Und at $15 to $30 an Acra land similar to that which through many years faaa yielded from 20 to 43 bushels of wheat to the acre oats, barley and flax also in Brest abundance, while raising horses, cattle, sheep and bnria is equally profitable. Hundreds of farm ers in Western Canada have raised crops in a single season worth more than the whole cost of their Isnd. Healthful climate, good neighbors, churches, schools, rural telephone, excellent markets and shipping facilities. The climate and aotl offer Inducements for almost every branch, of afiriCUUlUC. Alio uuva.llttl.C3 tut Dairying, Mixed Farming and Stock Raisins make n tremendous appeal to In duttrlous set tiers wishing to improve their circumstances. Kor llloitrattd lllrtor. mtpa. dMtrlptlon of farm ODDortgnlllM In tinltob. blclitu, Alberts snd UrltUU ColBiaUi, rwJoMU railway rtUa. wrus W. V. BEHNETT 4, Bee Dldg., Omaha, Neb. rrfSfi&Su WM Authtilt Asnt O.pt, at Immlrrtttftn ana ColonlMilMi, Dominion si Canada t k .' 1 ' I )
