President Lincoln, in company with General Grant, was inspecting the
Dutch Gap Canal at City Point. “Grant, do you know what this reminds
me of? Out in Springfield, Ill., there was a blacksmith who, not having
much to do, took a piece of soft iron and attempted to weld it into an
agricultural implement, but discovered that the iron would not hold out;
then he concluded it would make a claw hammer; but having too much iron,
attempted to make an ax, but decided after working awhile that there was
not enough iron left. Finally, becoming disgusted, he filled the forge
full of coal and brought the iron to a white heat; then with his tongs
he lifted it from the bed of coals, and thrusting it into a tub of water
near by, exclaimed: ‘Well, if I can’t make anything else of you, I will
make a fizzle, anyhow.’” “I was afraid that was about what we had done
with the Dutch Gap Canal,” said General Grant.