Norris, who was tried separately in Mason County, had been convicted of manslaughter and sent to the penitentiary, so that the trial in Cass County involved the guilt or innocence of Armstrong only, and the principal witness against him was one Allen, who testified that at about eleven o'clock on the evening of August 29, 1857, he saw the accused strike Metzker with a slung-shot. Lincoln conducted the cross-examination of the witness, Allen, and in the course of it he asked him how near he was to Metzker at the time the blow was struck, and other questions, the answers to which indicated that Allen was a considerable distance away at the time tradition fixes the distance at about 150 feet. Lincoln then inquired of the witness how at that distance he was able to see the blow struck at that hour of the night. Allen replied that he saw it by the light of the moon. Lincoln caused the witness to repeat this answer several times, so that there could be no doubt in the mind of any one as to the statement of the witness. Allen also testified very positively that the moon was shining brightly at the hour named. Among other evidence on behalf of the accused, Mr. Lincoln introduced an almanac, by means of which he showed that on the night in question the moon had just completed its first quarter, that it set before midnight, and that at the hour named by Allen it was so dim, because so near the western horizon, as to render it impossible that Allen could have seen, by its light, a blow struck by Armstrong. The result was that the jury disregarded the testimony of Allen and returned a verdict of not guilty. The foregoing is a substantially correct version of the almanac incident. The apocryphal account of it, however, pictures Mr. Lincoln as stooping to a piece of chicanery to deceive the court and jury, which, if true, would render his conduct worthy of the contempt of all men, in that it charges him with imposing upon court and jury, as well as opposing counsel, an almanac of an earlier year,' which showed that on the night of August 29, at the hour named by the witness, there was no moonlight. This latter version of the incident is so absurd and so inconsistent with the character of Mr. Lincoln that it is surprising that it should have been believed by any one, and yet there have been, and doubtless still are, those who profess to believe it. That it is false is easily proved. Such an imposition could not have escaped the notice of the presiding judge and the counsel for the prosecution, for it is inconceivable that they would not have carefully examined the almanac before per1 Lamon's Life of Lincoln. mitting it to be presented to the jury, and such examination would have revealed the attempted fraud. That such an examination was in fact made is shown by an account of the incident written by James L. King, librarian of the State Library of Kansas, which was published in the North American Review for the month of February, 1898. Mr. King there states that Abram Bergen, a lawyer of high standing at the Topeka bar, was present at the trial of Armstrong. He was at that time a young man but recently admitted to the bar. As Lincoln was then well known as one of the leaders of the bar of Illinois, it was but natural that young Mr. Bergen should pay close attention to everything which he said or did, and that the same should be deeply impressed upon his mind; for two years later, while the incidents of the trial must have been fresh in Bergen's mind, Lincoln was the most-talked-of man in the country by reason of his nomination to the presidency. Mr. King, in the account mentioned, states that Mr. Bergen told him that after the production of the almanac by Mr. Lincoln, the counsel for the prosecution produced another almanac for the year 1857, for comparison with the one introduced by Lincoln, and that both agreed as to the position of the moon on the night of August 29 of that year. The most complete answer, however, to the dis torted version of the incident mentioned will be found in an examination of any almanac for the year 1857. "The Old Farmer's Almanac" for that year, which has been examined by the writer, and a copy of which is before him while writing these lines, gives the phases of the moon for the period in question. From this it appears that the moon completed its first quarter on August 27, 1857, and that on the evening of August 29 of that year, the moon set at twenty-one minutes before twelve o'clock, or at eleven o'clock and thirty-nine minutes. The time of the rising and the setting of the sun and moon is the same in the same latitude everywhere if measured by the time of the day or night in any particular locality. To illustrate: if the moon rises at seven o'clock in New York, measured by New York time, it will rise on the same evening in Chicago at seven o'clock measured by Chicago time, but at eight o'clock measured by New York time; for although the time of its rising in Chicago is actually one hour later than in New York, there being one hour's difference in the time as measured by the clock, the hour of its rising is identical. That this is true is shown by the "Chicago Daily News Almanac for 1914, by which it appears that on August 29, 1914, the moon set in New York and throughout northern Illinois at eleven o'clock and forty-three minutes. |