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Lincoln's home in Indiana during the winter of 1816-19.

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substantial cabin. These were cut to the proper lengths, notched near the ends so as to fit into each other when laid up; and then the neighbors from far and near were summoned to the "raisin'," which was an event in those days for much rude jollity and cordial good-fellowship. A raising was an occasion for merrymaking as well as for hard work; and these opportunities for social gatherings, few as they were, were enjoyed by young and old. The helpful settlers "snaked" the logs out of the woods, fitted the sills in their places, rolled the other logs up by means of various rude contrivances, and before nightfall had in shape the four walls of the log cabin, with the gables fixed in position and poles fastened on with wooden pins to serve as rafters, and even some progress was made in the way of covering the roof.

The floor of this primitive habitation was the solid ground, pounded hard. The cracks between the barkcovered logs were "chinked" with thin strips of wood split from the plentiful timber. Similar labor "rived" or split the "shakes" with which the roof was covered, and from which the swinging door was made. Later on, huge slabs of wood split from oak and hickory logs and known as "puncheons" were laid on floor joists of logs and were loosely pinned in place by long wooden pegs.

In one corner of the cabin, two of its sides formed by the walls thereof, was built the bedstead of the father and mother. Only one leg was needed, and this was driven down into the ground, a forked top giving a chance to fit in the cross-pieces that served for foot and side of this simple bit of furniture. From these to the logs at the side and head of the bedstead were laid split shakes," and sometimes thongs of deerskin

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were laced back and forth after the fashion of bedcording. On this was placed the mattress, filled with dried leaves, corn-husks, or whatever came handy. The children's bed, a smaller contrivance, was sometimes fixed in another corner; but when the wintry wind whistled around the cabin and the dry snow sifted through the cracks, the little ones stole over to the parental bed for warmth.

In making all these preparations for home-life under their own roof, little Abe took an active part. He early learned the use of the axe, the maul, and the wedge. With the "froe," a tool something like a long wedge with a wooden handle, he was taught to "rive" the shingle from the slab; and with maul and wedges—a highly prized possession-he mastered the art of splitting rails and billets of wood for building purposes. In labors like these, the lad hardened his sinews, toughened his hands, and imbibed a knowledge of woodcraft and the practical uses of every variety of timber. He knew every tree, bush, and shrub by its foliage and bark, as far as he could see it. The mys terious juices that gave healing to wounds and bruises, the roots that held medicinal virtues in their sap, and the uses to which every sort of woody fibre was best adapted were all familiar to him.

It was impossible that a boy so imaginative and full of fancy, as young Abe certainly was, should grow up in these forests and shades without imbibing some

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queer notions" about men and things. Even to the most practical of mankind, there is an awesome solitude in the unexplored forest wilderness; and the sighing of winds, the roar of night-prowling animals, the hollow murmur of distant streams, and the indescribable hum that goes up continually from the hidden life of

the forest live ever after in the memory of those who have spent much of their childhood in scenes like these. The brooding lad took in many a lesson which could not be expressed in words, and never to the latest day of his life forgot the traditions and the scenery of the wilderness, never lost the lesson of God's greatness and man's insignificance.

It was during their first year in Indiana, and when Abraham was in his tenth year, that a mysterious disease called "the milk-sick" appeared in the region. Exactly what "the milk-sick" was nobody nowadays seems to know. No physician acknowledges any such form of sickness; but there are traditions of it yet extant in the Western States, and Mr. Lincoln, later in life, described it as resembling a quick consumption. Cattle as well as human beings were destroyed by it, and in the far-off wilderness it was not then uncommon to find an entire household prostrated with the disease, while flocks and herds were dying uncared for. It was a sad and gloomy time all through southern Indiana and Kentucky when "the milk-sick "raged.

In the preceding autumn, Mrs. Betsy Sparrow and her husband and her little nephew, Dennis Hanks, had followed the Lincolns into Indiana and were settled not far away in a half-faced camp. Dennis Hanks was Abraham's playmate and distant cousin, for Mrs. Sparrow was Nancy Lincoln's aunt. The Sparrows, man and wife, were taken down with " the milk-sick " and were removed to the Lincoln cabin for better attendance. Soon Abraham's mother was also stricken, and poor Thomas Lincoln had his hands full.

Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow died first, and were buried on a little knoll in the forest within sight of the cabin. On the 5th of October, a few days later, Nancy Lincoln

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