Lincoln, the unknown

6I n March, 1837, two years after Ann's death, Lincoln turnedhis back on New Salem and rode into Springfield on a borrowedhorse, to begin what he called his "experiment as a lawyer."He carried in his saddle-bag all his earthly possessions. Theonly things he owned were several law-books and some extrashirts and some underwear. He also carried an old blue sockstuffed with six-and-a-quarter-cent and twelve-and-a-half-centpieces—money that he had collected for postage before thepost-office "winked out" back in New Salem. During this firstyear in Springfield, Lincoln needed cash often, and he needed itbadly. He could have spent this money and paid the Governmentout of his own pocket, but he would have felt that that wasdishonest. So when the post-office auditor finally came aroundfor a settlement, Lincoln turned over to him not only the exactamount, but the exact coins he had taken in as post-masterduring the preceding year or two.The morning that Lincoln rode into Springfield, he not onlyhad no cash reserves of his own; but, to make matters worse,he was eleven hundred dollars in debt. He and Berry had lostthat amount in their ill-fated grocery venture back in NewSalem. Then Berry had drunk himself to death and left Lincolnto shoulder the obligations alone.To be sure, Lincoln didn't have to pay; he could have pleadeddivided responsibility and the failure of the business and havefound a legal loophole of escape.48