Abraham Lincoln quarterly. [Vol. 5, no. 3]

IS THE CABIN AUTHENTIC?

155

local press stated there was a mantel with the logs. '0
The car was decorated with flags and bunting and two
large framed pictures of Lincoln were erected above the log
pile. A military escort for the logs was provided by the State
of Kentucky in the form of an officer and four enlisted men.
Captain Neville S. Bullitt was the officer in charge of the
escort, and he well remembers the trip to New York to bring
back the logs. Captain Bullitt gave the writer an account of
the return to Louisville, and indicated that the departure
in New York City was without much public attention and
that Philadelphia, where the car stayed a day, showed the
least interest. The car was attached to both passenger and
freight trains in its journey to Louisville, and the farther
west the car went, the more interest was shown. Stops were
made at Baltimore, Harrisburg, and Altoona. There was an
immense crowd at Pittsburgh. A huge crowd had gathered at
Richmond, Indiana, but got only a brief glimpse of the logs
as the flatcar was pulled through the station. The car was
scheduled to stop at Cincinnati, but for some reason did not
go there. The crowd at Indianapolis was estimated at ten
thousand and included a band. Indianapolis thoughtfully
provided a squad of National Guardsmen to help out Captain Bullitt's men, who were kept busy thwarting splinter
snatchers.
Captain Bullitt has told the writer concerning the last day
of the journey that, "about noon that day a special freight
train consisting of about ten cars was made up. Our flatcar
and a caboose were attached, and we set out on the final lap
of the journey ending at Louisville. The Indianapolis
Chamber of Commerce had received so many telegrams
from citizens of towns along our route begging for an oppor"0 Louisville Courier-Journal, June 13, 19o6: "Until the cabin is put together
in Central Park to-day all that can be seen is a pile of rough and partially decayed
logs, an old door which is minus one of its original panels, and a rough mantelpiece."