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

158 ABRAHAM LINCOLN QUARTERLY
in the cabin he sold to Bigham in 1897, and which was exhibited at Nashville, Tennessee, as the Davis birthplace
cabin.
John M. Cissell, custodian of the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park, and associated with the birthplace
farm from childhood, has stated to the writer that when he
was a boy of eleven, he assisted Bigham's son in carving
roman numerals on the logs of the reconstructed Davenport
cabin when it was taken apart to be shipped to Nashville in
1897. According to Mr. Cissell, this marking was done with a
two-inch chisel, and he identifies thirteen logs in the front
and side walls of the log structure now in the Memorial as
having these carved marks.
Inspection of the interior of the cabin now in the Memorial
of the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park, discloses
that there are two logs in its walls with very old marks of
black paint. One log, marked "S io," is the tenth log from
the ground on the side where the door is located. The other,
marked "E 7," is the seventh log from the ground in the side
opposite the fireplace. Obviously, there are at least three sets
of logs in this structure: one set with marks carved in some
of the logs, another set with very old black paint marks, and
the remaining logs with no marks at all, presumably the logs
required to make replacements.
Mr. Cissell's statement that the logs of the Davenport cabin
were marked with roman numerals has been accepted by
the National Park Service.5 There seems to be no logical
reason for doubting, Mr. Brewer's statement that he had
marked the logs of the Davis cabin. Some of both came back
on the flatcar to Louisville, and apparently some of both
came to rest in the structure now in the Memorial. Thereupon the Davis cabin ceased to exist. What became of the
left-over logs has not been ascertained.
112Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park, p. i i.