Hog Stealer

 

                                                

About the year 1850, a man was indicted for stealing hogs, but didn't have enough money to hire an attorney to defend himself.  When the judge learned this, he told the man "I'll appoint you one--do you have any preference among the members of the bar sitting over there?  "I choose the tall one over there,” said the man, pointing to Abraham Lincoln. 

Lincoln took the man into a back room to ask him the details of the case.   "What's your defense?" he asked him.   "I don't have any facts to give you," said the man.  We'll jump in there and defend my case on general principles and I know you'll clear me!"

"That's interesting,” said Lincoln.  "On the back of this indictment are the names of a half dozen witnesses who'll swear that you stole the hogs."

"I can't help that," said the accused man.  He was very calm and very self confident that he'd be acquitted.

When they returned to the court, they entered a plea of not guilty.  All the witnesses took the stand and testified that the man had stolen the hogs.  It was a plain and simple case of hog stealing.  When the prosecutor's speech to the jury was coming to an end, the accused leaned over to Lincoln and said, "Pitch in, go to it with a whoop and a yell and you'll see that I'll be cleared of the charges!"

Lincoln went over and addressed the jury.  He could see that they were intently listening to every word he said, whereas they hadn't paid any attention to the prosecuting attorney.  Lincoln asked the Court to instruct the jury that, if they had any reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt, they should find him not guilty."

The jury went out to deliberate the case.  They returned in a hour.  "What is your verdict?" asked the judge.  "Not  guilty!"

Lincoln took the man outside the court and they walked away out of earshot of everyone there.  "I don't understand this case at all,” said Lincoln.  But I want to know the inside story of it, all the facts from top to bottom!"

The man confessed, "Well, it's true!  I stole all the hogs and many more than they indicted me for.  And, I sold them to my neighbors, those folks who were on the jury. They knew that if I was convicted, they'd have to pay for those hogs.  Now, Mr. Lincoln, do you see where the joke comes in?

Lincoln used to tell this story with great gusto and to the delight of fellow members of the bar, saying, "That case beat me badly, more than any I ever had."

 --Story adapted from the wonderful old book by Emmanuel Hertz entitled Lincoln Talks.