McClures Magazine, January, 1896, Vol. VI. No. 2 | Page 8

my opinions to be erroneous, I shall be ready to
renounce them.
"Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or

not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being
truly esteemed of my fellow-men by rendering myself worthy of their
esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be
developed. I am young, and unknown to many of you. I was born, and
have ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no
wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me. My case is
thrown exclusively upon the independent voters of the county; and, if
elected, they will have conferred a favor upon me for which I shall be
unremitting in my labors to compensate. But, if the good people in their
wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too
familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined."
[Illustration: BLACK HAWK WAR RELICS.
Tomahawk. Indian Pipe. Powder-horn. Flintlock Rifle. Indian Flute.
Indian Knife.
From a photograph made for this Magazine.
This group of relics of the Black Hawk War was selected for us from
the collection in the museum of the Wisconsin Historical Society by the
Secretary, Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites. The coat and chapeau belonged to
General Dodge, an important leader in the war. The Indian relics are a
tomahawk, a Winnebago pipe, a Winnebago flute, and a knife. The
powder-horn and the flintlock rifle are the only volunteer articles. One
of the survivors of the war, Mr. Elijah Herring of Stockton, Illinois,
says of the flintlock rifles used by the Illinois volunteers: "They were
constructed like the old-fashioned rifle, only in place of a nipple for a
cap they had a pan in which was fixed an oil flint which the hammer
struck when it came down, instead of the modern cap. The pan was
filled with powder grains, enough to catch the spark and communicate
it to the load in the gun. These guns were all right, and rarely missed
fire on a dry, clear day; but unless they were covered well, the dews of
evening would dampen the powder, and very often we were compelled
to withdraw the charge and load them over again. We had a gunsmith
with us, whose business it was to look after the guns for the whole
regiment; and when a gun was found to be damp, it was his duty to get
his tools and 'draw' the load. At that time the Cramer lock and triggers
had just been put on the market, and my rifle was equipped with these
improvements, a fact of which I was very proud. Instead of one trigger
my rifle had two, one set behind the other--the hind one to cock the gun,

and the front one to shoot it. The man Cramer sold his lock and triggers
in St. Louis, and I was one of the first to use them."]
Very soon after Lincoln had distributed his handbills, enthusiasm on
the subject of the opening of the Sangamon rose to a fever. The
"Talisman" actually came up the river; scores of men went to
Beardstown to meet her, among them Lincoln, of course; and to him
was given the honor of piloting her--an honor which made him
remembered by many a man who saw him that day for the first time.
The trip was made with all the wild demonstrations which always
attended the first steamboat. On either bank a long procession of men
and boys on foot or horse accompanied the boat. Cannons and volleys
of musketry were fired as settlements were passed. At every stop
speeches were made, congratulations offered, toasts drunk, flowers
presented. It was one long hurrah from Beardstown to Springfield, and
foremost in the jubilation was Lincoln, the pilot. The "Talisman" went
as near Springfield as the river did, and there tied up for a week. When
she went back Lincoln again had a conspicuous position as pilot. The
notoriety this gave him was quite as valuable politically, probably, as
was the forty dollars he received for his service financially.
[Illustration: MAJOR ROBERT ANDERSON.
From a photograph in the war collection of Robert A. Coster.
Born in Kentucky in 1805. In 1825 graduated at West Point. Anderson
was on duty at the St. Louis Arsenal when the Black Hawk war broke
out. He asked permission to join General Atkinson, who commanded
the expedition against the Indians; was placed on his staff as Assistant
Inspector General, and was with him until the end of the war. Anderson
twice mustered Lincoln out of the service and in again. When General
Scott was sent to take Atkinson's place, Anderson was ordered to report
to the