[38] Sheahan, Life of Douglas, pp. 16-17.
[39] Sheahan's account of this incident (pp. 18-20) is confused. The episode is told very differently in the MS. Autobiography.
[40] MS. Autobiography.
[41] In the Autobiography, Douglas makes a vigorous defense of his connection with the whole affair.
[42] Just when he dropped the final s, I am unable to say. Joseph Wallace thinks that he did so soon after coming to Illinois. See Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society, 1901, p. 114.
[43] Joseph Wallace in the Illinois State Register, April 30, 1899.
[44] Douglas tells the story with great relish in his autobiography. The title of the act reads "An Act creating M'Lean County," but the body of the act gives the name as McLean. Douglas had used the exact letters of the name, though he had twisted the capital letters, writing a capital C for a capital L.
[45] Ford, History of Illinois, pp. 285-286; see contemporary newspapers.
[46] Illinois Advocate, May 4, 1835.
[47] Ibid., May 6, 1835.