What did Mr. Lincoln enjoy doing?

[Troy Cowan]

I joined this thread because I believe that people can be misled when people talk about events and they do not specify the time period when it occurred. If you ask--did Lincoln enjoy fishing? I would say yes. If you asked--did Lincoln hate fishing? I would say yes. The answer depends on the time period you are talking about.

Eva said, "Troy, in your first statement you said "he enjoyed fishing". Now it seems to me you say the opposite. And still I would like to know from where you got he wouldn't go near a fishing pole as an adult."

The statement you quote was an opinion, the words were mine. There seems to have been a change in Lincoln's philosophy about hunting and fishing. As a child he went hunting and fishing and gave it up when he became an adult.
Perhaps Lincoln never enjoyed fishing, but took satisfaction in putting food on the table.

I do not like to mow the lawn, but I do like the look of a newly mowed lawn. I will continue to mow the lawn. Do I hate to mow the lawn? No. Do I love to mow the lawn? No. It is something that needs to be done, maybe Lincoln felt that way about fishing.

Ward Lamon commented in is book Life of Lincoln on the subject.
When Abraham was seven-years-old Dennis Hanks led him on numerous fishing trips. p.30
While Lincoln was living in New Salem Lamon said, "Mr. Lincoln hated fishing with all his heart." p.139
To me that means that he would not go near a fishing pole. I could have worded it better.

I said that young Lincoln did not hit the ball with a stick and run the bases. I will stick by my statement and challenge anyone to prove me wrong. This brings us back to the need for setting the time and place. Lincoln did play town ball in Springfield when he was forty years old with other lawyers and nearby businessmen. If you simple say Lincoln played town ball. Some may think that as a child he played town ball. To avoid confusion it becomes necessary, at times, to state the time period.
Little things like "with coattails flying" do become important when you realize that the lawyer Lincoln was playing fully clothed in his business attire. Don't forgot to mention that he was also wearing a top hat when running the bases.

Lincoln did have a soft spot for animals at times. On his second trip to New Orleans with Denton Offutt and John Hanks the following happened. Stopping along the riverside settlements to sell goods, Denton bought some hogs to resale further down river. The boys were having a difficult time controlling the hogs on the raft when Lincoln had the idea to sew their eyelid shut. Lincoln held the hogs noise, John the tails, and Denton sowed the hogs eyes shut.