LINCOLN 



3438 



LINCOLN 



wood, which he could then whittle clean again. 

 Paper was too precious for daily practice in 

 writing; it was saved for copying extracts from 

 borrowed books. Thus Lincoln managed to 

 learn more than the average boy of the neigh- 

 borhood, yet when he was elected to Congress 

 and was asked to give the facts of his life for 

 the Dictionary of Congress, he dismissed his 

 early years with two words, "Education de- 

 fective." 



Even as a boy Lincoln won a reputation for 

 witty and forceful speech. He read everything 

 he could lay his hands on. Every wandering 

 preacher was sure to interest one boy in his 

 audience, and every session of the county court 



ONE OF HIS EARLY BOYHOOD HOMES 



numbered him among the listeners. His knowl- 

 edge, his humor and his gift for telling stories 

 made him a favorite. His personal appearance 

 encouraged the laughter with which his talk 

 was always met. Tall and "lanky" he reached 

 his full height, six feet four inches, at seven- 

 teen with a care-free mass of hair he was, in 

 the words of a contemporary, "the ungodliest 

 sight I ever saw." Naturally he became a 

 satirist, and the man who felt the sting of his 

 sharp retorts was likely to remember them for 

 a long time. In 1831 young Lincoln received 

 his first chance in life. John Hanks, a relative 

 of his mother, engaged him to help take a 

 boatload of provisions and merchandise to New 

 Orleans. Lincoln and his two companions built 

 the boat which carried them down the Missis- 

 sippi. 



Political Ambitions. Only a year later, in 

 March, 1832, Lincoln felt strong enough to an- 

 nounce his candidacy for the Illinois legisla- 

 ture. In an address to the people of Sangamon 

 County he explained his opinions and revealed 



considerable skill in writing. One of its para- 

 graphs, because of his own limited schooling, 

 is especially noteworthy: 



"Upon the subject of education, not presuming 

 to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I 

 can only say that I view it as the most important 

 subject which we as a people can be engaged in. 

 That every man may receive at least a moderate 

 education, and thereby be enabled to read the his- 

 tories of his own and other countries, by which 

 he may duly appreciate the value of our free 

 Ktitutions, appears* to be an object of vital 

 portance. 



While the election was still far away, 

 Black Hawk War threatened Illinois. Li 

 enlisted at the call for volunteers, and 

 chosen captain of his company. It is said 

 the oath of enlistment was administered 

 Lincoln by Jefferson Davis. The volun 

 were mustered out, without having seen 

 fighting, in May, when Lincoln at once 

 listed as a private. It is a strange coincide 

 that he was mustered in by Lieut. Ro 

 Anderson, who was in command of Fort Si 

 ter in the critical days of 1860 and 1861. 

 turning to New Salem in July, Lincoln th 

 all his energies into the election campai 

 Though he was a Whig candidate in a 

 mally Democratic district, he stood 

 among twelve candidates, and in his own 

 cinct only thirteen votes out of 300 were 

 against him. 



Lincoln then faced the necessity of 

 a living. In the previous year he had se 

 as clerk, but it was because of reputa 

 rather than business experience that he 

 able to buy a half interest in a general 

 in New Salem. Lincoln had no money, so 

 gave his notes in payment. The vent 

 proved disastrous after an uncertain exi 

 of a year, and it took Lincoln fifteen years 

 pay the debts thus created. In May, 1833, he 

 was appointed postmaster at New Salem; it I 

 was not a burdensome position, for the mailj 

 came but once a week, on horseback. In after i 

 years he was in the habit of saying that he 

 carried the post office in his hat. The position 

 was far from lucrative, and Lincoln was obliged 

 to split rails, and help at the mill, and do any 

 possible work to add to his slender income. 

 In 1834 he served for a time as deputy- 

 surveyor of Sangamon County. 



In the same year he was elected to the Illi- 

 nois house of representatives, in which he sat 

 until 1842. In 1836, when a candidate for; 

 reelection, he made an interesting statement 

 about the right of suffrage: 



