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Excerpts from
Abe Lincoln
and the Frontier Folk of New Salem
By Thomas P. Reep
Rewritten and edited by
Constance Reep Unsworth,
former managing editor of Weekly Reader
ISBN: 0-913337-36-6; Trade Paperback; 160 pages;
Illustrated by 32 photos and 4 maps;
Library of Congress Catalog #: 00-029140;
$14.95 RETAIL
Denton Offut, an embryonic Napoleon of Finance, desired to carry
some produce from Beardstown to New Orleans in a flatboat,
and having made inquiry in Springfield for a good man to operate the boat,
learned of Dennis Hanks. It was arranged that Hanks and his nephew,
Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln's step-brother, John D. Johnston,
should pilot this flatboat for Offut, leaving about the first of March, 1831.
Hanks would leave them at St. Louis and go to Coles County, to which
place his family was to move with Thomas Lincoln,
Abraham Lincoln's father.
This was the winter of the deep snow. When the snow went off about the first of March, the country was
so flooded that it was not practical to go cross-country. Consequently these men bought a row boat
and floated down the river, stopping at the town of Sangamon, about seven miles northwest of Springfield.
Landing here, they found Offut at Springfield and learned that he had neglected to secure a
flatboat at Beardstown; so they contracted to build a boat for him out of timber to be taken
from some government land near Sangamon town. By the middle of April, this boat was completed.
After loading it with barrels of cured meat, flour, wheat and other products of the country,
they started on their way.
Lodged on Salem Dam
All went well until they came to New Salem, where the boat was carried by the force of the current far out
on the dam. Its prow hung in the air, and its stern, into which the contents slid, was so low that the water
ran into and filled that end of the boat. The boat being in a fair way of sinking, the boatmen hurriedly
shifted and unloaded the boat before it sank.
The townspeople of New Salem came out in force and rendered much assistance in the way of advice.
A tall, homely, raw-boned member of the crew appeared to have in mind just what to do. Borrowing an
auger and preparing a wooden plug of the proper size, he bored a hole in the end of the boat that projected
over the dam and by tipping that end down, caused the water to run out of the boat. Thus lightened,
it slipped over the dam when the hole in the bottom of the boat was securely corked.
The flatboat was then reloaded, and the boatmen proceeded on their way.
About five miles below New Salem, adjacent to Blue Lake, are what are locally known as the yellow banks
on the Sangamon River. Here Squire Russell B. Godbey brought a number of hogs which he had sold to
Offut for shipment to New Orleans. These stubborn porkers refused to go peaceably and quietly
onto the boat. Local tradition has it that at Lincoln's suggestion, their eyes were sewn shut.
As a result, the hogs walked quietly into the boat, after which the stitches were cut.
In the course of about a month, the flatboat reached New Orleans. Lincoln and his companions,
except for Dennis Hanks who had left after reaching St. Louis on the downward trip, spent a month
in disposing of their stock of merchandise and seeing the sights of New Orleans.
New Orleans Slave Market
It was on this trip that Lincoln is alleged to have witnessed the sale of a family of negroes at the auction
block and noted the buyer's examination of their teeth, of the shape of their bodies, and of the texture
of their flesh. Overcome by the brutality of it all, Lincoln dragged his companions away and said,
"If ever I get a chance to hit that thing (meaning slavery), I'll hit it hard."
Offut, having determined to establish a store at New Salem, and having employed Lincoln to clerk for
him, purchased a stock of goods for shipment by boat to Beards-town, Illinois, the river port nearest to
New Salem. About the middle of June, they took passage up the river. At St. Louis, Lincoln and his
step-brother, John Johnston, left Offut and went to visit Lincoln's father and stepmother near
Charleston, in Coles County, where they had moved from Macon County hoping to find a healthier climate.
Sometime in the latter part of July, Lincoln left for New Salem, arriving there around the first of August.
On the 8th day of July, 1831, Offut had secured from the county commissioner's court of Sangamon
County a license to retail merchandise at New Salem. After this, he had to secure a lot and
build a store building. The building was probably erected sometime between the above date and
September 2nd, at which time his deed was executed.
Lincoln Clerks at Election
While waiting for Offut, Lincoln boarded at the Rutledge Inn and "loafed" about the town. The election at that
time was held during the first week in August, and Lincoln, being at the polling place, was asked by Mentor
Graham if he could write. Lincoln replied, "I can make a few rabbit tracks," whereupon he was
invited to assist in keeping tally, the regular clerk having failed to appear. It is said that during a lull
in voting, Lincoln took the opportunity to tell stories and thus entertained and interested those present.
 
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