Abe Lincoln’s Gamble

 A Circuit-Riding Story

Circuit Lawyer Painting by Lee Dubin

Abraham Lincoln was known for his cautious decision-making, especially when it came to money. He was no reckless spender, nor was he one to take unnecessary risks. But once, during his years as a circuit-riding lawyer, Lincoln made an investment—not in land, business, or stocks, but in the potential of a wayward young man.

This incident took place in a small courthouse northeast of Peoria, Illinois, where Lincoln often defended cases, sometimes free of charge, for those who couldn't afford legal representation. Among the regular faces at the courthouse was a farmer with an unfortunate problem—his son, Jed.

Jed was no stranger to trouble. Shiftless, selfish, and always at odds with the law, he had a knack for landing himself in scrapes. His father, believing that money and gifts could buy his son’s way out of trouble, frequently arrived at court with offerings of honey, meat, and animal traps, hoping to persuade authorities to let Jed off the hook just one more time.

But Lincoln had seen enough. He was tired of watching Jed escape consequences through his father’s interventions. One day, when the farmer made yet another appeal on his son’s behalf, Lincoln surprised the courtroom.

"You have talked your son out of a scrape for the last time, sir," Lincoln declared. "I am representing the other side, but instead of taking up the court’s time, yours, and mine, I am going to hand down my own decision."

A Unique Sentence

Instead of sentencing Jed to jail, Lincoln issued a different kind of punishment—or, perhaps, a challenge.

"If you don’t want to go to jail," Lincoln told Jed, "then go out into the wild. Leave your father’s home and prove your worth. Trap at least fifty animal pelts before I return for the spring court session. You must do it alone—no help. The people will make sure my orders are followed."

The crowd was stunned. And they were even more astonished when Lincoln reached into his own pocket, counted out a sizeable sum of money, and handed it to Jed so that he could purchase traps and supplies to start his venture.

Jed didn’t resist. Instead, he set off eagerly on his mission, leaving the town behind.

From Criminal to Trapper

At first, Jed saw Lincoln’s challenge as nothing more than a way to escape punishment. But soon, he discovered something else—he loved the wilderness. The independence. The thrill of the hunt. The promise of profit. What began as an obligation became a passion.

By spring, when Lincoln returned to town, Jed had far exceeded expectations. He proudly displayed over 350 pelts—a remarkable achievement.

Lincoln was thrilled. True to his word, he took all the pelts back to Springfield, sold them for a premium price, and sent the money back to Jed, keeping not a cent for himself.

A Legacy Born From a Gamble

From that day forward, the once-troublesome youth was no longer known as Jed the delinquent—he became "Trapper Jed" - a name that followed him through the years.

There was no craftier trapper or trader than Jed, and as his success grew, he married and raised eleven children. He never once, however, took credit for his own transformation. Instead, he told anyone who asked that he owed his success to Honest Abe—his mentor, his investor, and the man who saw potential where others only saw failure.

Fact or Folklore?

Was this tale a true event, or just another Lincoln legend passed down through the years? We may never know. But if anyone could bet on human nature and win, it was Abraham Lincoln.

This was another story about Abe Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

Works Cited

[1] "Lincoln . . . A Smart Investor". [This was from some rural or small town monthly magazine in Illinois in the 1960s. The article is unattributed.]