An "out-of-character" moment for Lincoln?

[RJNorton]

Craig, I too have wondered if Matheney did some embellishing. As far as I know there are no other known accounts of this incident. Based on Matheney's timing for the beating, Lincoln was both an attorney and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives when this happened. I understand Gene when he says "frontier justice," but I still wonder if this really occurred in the exact manner Matheney described.