The following Lincoln anecdote is quoted in the _Literary Digest_:
One evening, just before the close of the Civil War, he had
some visitors at the White House, among them some Senators and
members of Congress. One of the guests asked the President what
he would do with Jefferson Davis if he were captured. Crossing
his legs and looking at his friends with that peculiar twinkle
in his eyes, he said: “Gentlemen, that reminds me of an incident
of my home in Illinois. One morning, when I was on my way to the
office, I saw a small boy standing on a street corner crying as
if his heart would break. I asked him what was the cause of his
sorrow. He said, ‘Mister, don’t you see that coon?’ pointing to
a poor little beast that he had tied to a string. ‘Well, that
animal has given me a heap of trouble all the way along, and now
he has nearly gnawed the string in two. I wish to goodness he
would gnaw it in two and get away, so I could go home and tell
my folks he had escaped from me.’”
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