574
The Green Bag,
jive, for it included several counties; courts were held hundreds of miles apart, necessi tating long and often dangerous journeys on horseback through the pathless woods, over Indian trails. Ten days were sometimes re quired for a journey, during which the trav eler was glad to find shelter in a log cabin, where he could pass the night wrapped in a blanket on the floor. This was a luxury not always possible, as it occasionally happened that a piece of dry ground was the only place for the wear)' traveler to rest for the night, lighted by the stars shining above him and lulled to sleep by the cries of wild beasts in the neighboring forest. Strolling Indians some times crossed the path of the traveler, and, again, swollen rivers had to be swum. Cass •described the "dripping spectacle of despair" which he exhibited when his faithless horse threw him and his luggage into Scioto •Creek, the horse landing on one side and his master on the other. Long afterwards, he laughingly recalled his early experience, re membering how the troubles of the day were frequently "recompensed by the comforts of the evening, when the hospitable cabin and the warm fire greeted the traveler—when a glorious supper was spread before him,—tur key, venison, bear's meat, fresh butter, hot corn bread, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, and pumpkin butter. Courts were held wherever it was conven ient: a log cabin court house was a luxury; a room in a tavern was sometimes improvised for the purpose; even a room in a backwoodman's hut was, in an emergency, used, his Honor sitting on the bed instead of on the bench. There were few of what Shakes peare calls "the law's delay" in those primi tive times. There were no "dilitory tactics," which, now, too often stop the wheels of jus tice. Lewis Cass proved himself an able and ready advocate. His natural capacity en abled him to grasp legal distinctions and to
master details, while his great industry, and regular business habits were important fac tors in contributing to his success at the bar. His reputation spread from county to county, and by the time he had been at the bar ten years, he was one of the leading lawyers of Ohio. He was often opposed by old and able men who were recognized as the foremost members of the bar of the northwest. In the matter of the impeach ment of the judges, already mentioned, the State employed Henry Baldwin, the famous Pittsburg lawyer, to prosecute the case. The trial attracted wide attention on account of the standing of the accused, the great repu tation of the counsel, and the importance oï the issues involved. A vast crowd of people was present at the hearing. Baldwin, in spired by the extraordinary occasion, put forth all his powers of learning and elo quence, and, when he had concluded his great effort, the friends of the accused thought the door of hope was closed against the judges, and that their conviction must follow. The young advocate for the defence rose in the midst of a profound silence, and, after a few preliminary remarks, he entered into an unanswerable argument which car ried away the court, the jurors, the people, and secured a complete victory for the ac cused judges. After this great triumph, Lewis Cass had all the business he could attend to, as every person who got involved in the toils of the law thought himself safe if he could secure him as his advocate. With a great legal career opening before him, Lewis Cass turned away from the serene and peaceful life of intellectual renown to pursue the stormy but fascinating path of political honor. At first the military spirit took pos session of him, and he was commissioned a colonel in one of the Ohio regiments raised in the war of 1812. His services were re warded by being made a brigadier general
