pioneers. For both work and play Abraham had one great advantage.
He was not only a tall, strong country boy: he soon grew to be a
tall, strong, sinewy man. He early reached the unusual height of
six feet four inches, and his long arms gave him a degree of
power as an axman that few were able to rival. He therefore
usually led his fellows in efforts of muscle as well as of mind.
That he could outrun, outlift, outwrestle his boyish companions,
that he could chop faster, split more rails in a day, carry a
heavier log at a "raising," or excel the neighborhood champion in
any feat of frontier athletics, was doubtless a matter of pride
with him; but stronger than all else was his eager craving for
knowledge. He felt instinctively that the power of using the mind
rather than the muscles was the key to success. He wished not
only to wrestle with the best of them, but to be able to talk
like the preacher, spell and cipher like the school-master, argue
like the lawyer, and write like the editor. Yet he was as far as
possible from being a prig. He was helpful, sympathetic,
cheerful. In all the neighborhood gatherings, when settlers of
various ages came together at corn-huskings or house-raisings, or
when mere chance brought half a dozen of them at the same time to
the post-office or the country store, he was able, according to
his years, to add his full share to the gaiety of the company. By
reason of his reading and his excellent memory, he soon became
the best story-teller among his companions; and even the slight
training gained from his studies greatly broadened and
strengthened the strong reasoning faculty with which he had been
gifted by nature. His wit might be mischievous, but it was never
malicious, and his nonsense was never intended to wound or to
hurt the feelings. It is told of him that he added to his fund of
jokes and stories humorous imitations of the sermons of eccentric