The Hound and the Wolves - An Abe Lincoln Tale

Top is the myth. Bottom is the reality.
(An Abraham Lincoln, Storyteller visual by Gemini.)

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln quickly learned that many of his newly minted “generals” were prone to fantastic boasts of military genius—right up until they met the enemy.

The day after one of these braggarts suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Confederates, a group of visitors to the White House mentioned the general’s name. Lincoln listened, and a familiar glint came into his eye.

“He reminds me,” Lincoln said, “of a fellow who owned a dog.”

The Legend of the Wolf-Killer

According to the owner, this dog “hungered and thirsted” to hunt and kill wolves. In fact, the man declared, the dog just “hankered” to get at ’em so much, it was a struggle to keep the animal from devoting all twenty-four hours of the day to the destruction of the creatures.

One day, a group of friends—weary of the danger wolf packs posed to their community—decided to put these boasts to the test. They organized a hunting party and invited the owner and his “killer” hound to lead the way.

The owner suddenly found himself very “busy,” but as he was the most notorious loafer in town, his excuses were met with contempt. He was forced to go. The hound, unaware of the danger ahead, seemed excited for the lark.

The “Chase” Begins

Since wolves were plentiful, the party soon discovered a pack. The hound was released. But as soon as the dog saw the ferocious creatures, he lost heart, tucked his tail, and tried to slink away. After much coaxing, the dog was finally enticed into a thicket of underbrush where the pack had retreated.

Almost immediately, the woods erupted in a cacophony of snarling, growling, and yelps of terror. The battle was on!

Suddenly, the wolves and the dog burst from the brush and raced across a distant pasture. To the observers, it looked like the dog had the savage creatures on the run. The owner’s chest swelled with pride; his boasts were restored.

The Farmer’s Report

On horseback, the hunting party followed the din. They eventually came upon a distant farmhouse, where a farmer stood idly leaning on his gate.

“Have you seen anything of a hound and a pack of wolves around here?” they shouted.

“Yep,” the farmer replied.

“How were they going?”

“Purty fast.”

Exasperated by the man’s brevity, the dog’s owner finally asked, “What was going on when you saw them? Who was winning?”

The old man drawled, “Well, the dog was a leetle bit ahead.” [1]

Lincoln’s Conclusion

“Now, gentlemen,” concluded the President, “that’s the position in which you’ll find most of these bragging generals when they get into a fight with the enemy. That’s why I want ‘doers’ and not ‘boasters’.”

Another story from the archives of Abraham Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

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📚 Works Cited

[1] McClure, Alexander K. (1901). "Abe" Lincoln's Yarns and Stories. Philadelphia, PA: International Publishing Company.