At the outset of the Black Hawk War, an outbreak of Indians in
Illinois, the popularity of Abraham Lincoln induced the young men of
the Sangamon Valley, in forming a company of mounted riflemen, to vote
him as their captain. The forces were very irregular _irregulars_, did
no fighting as a body, and were insubordinate to the last. Once it was
in an ironically amusing manner. The commander had saved a friendly
Indian from a beating, that being General Cass' order, as well as what
his humanity prompted, though at the same time there had been Indian
tragedy in his own family, and he had the racial Indian hatred in his
blood. The mutineers threatened still to shoot the captive.
"Not unless you shoot _me!_" rejoined the taunted commander.
The men recoiled; but one voiced the general sentiment in:
"This is cowardly on your part, Lincoln, presuming on your rank!"
"If any of you think that, let him test it here and now!" was the
reply, equally as oblivious of military decorum.
But they flinched, for he was larger and lustier than anybody else.
"You can level up," he said, guessing their reasoning; "choose your own
weapons."
The more sane roared with laughter at this monstrous offer on the
superior's part, and the good feeling was renewed between chief and
file.
* * * * *
GENERAL McCLELLAN'S OPINION OF LINCOLN AS A LAWYER.
The whirligig of time brings about strange revenges, for a truth.
General McClellan was chosen to visit the seat of the Crimean War to
study the siege operations about Sebastopol. Returning and seeing no
prospects in the air--of his professional line--he became
superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. He was acting
for its president in December, 1855, when a bill was laid under his
eyes. It was the demand of Abraham Lincoln, of the law firm of Lincoln
& Herndon, Springfield, Illinois.
The firm had offered in October to act for the company to defend a suit
brought by McLean County. Lincoln had won it. To prevent any demurrer
about the fee of one thousand dollars, a fourth of that having been
paid for the retainer, he had six members of the bar append their names
to testify the charge was usual and just. Nevertheless Superintendent
McClellan refused to pay, alleging that:
"This is as much as a first-class lawyer would charge!"
You see, Mr. Lincoln was still but "the one-horse lawyer of a one-horse
town."
* * * * *