had many hundred acres of land. He bequeathed 1000 acres to be divided between Mordecai, junior, Thomas, and Abraham; 100 to Ann and Sarah, the children of Hannah Salter Lincoln; and 300 acres to John, the eldest son, born in Massachusetts. (")

A fever of unrest was upon the people of Pennsylvania, causing them to move southward, through Maryland, across the Potomac, into

the valley of the Shenandoah, and settling upon lands which 1759. George Washington had surveyed. John Hanks, junior, and

John and Thomas Lincoln sold their farms in Union, made their way across the Potomac River, and settled near Harrisonburg, Va. Squire Boone, with his family, went farther south, and settled at Holman's Ford, on the Yadkin River, not far from Wilkesborough, N. C.

It was a memorable year in the history of America; for while these families were seeking new homes, the flag of France was giving place to England's banner at Quebec. The settlers along the frontier who had been disturbed by the Indians could lie down at night and sleep in peace.

When John Lincoln's eldest son, Abraham, born in Pennsylvania, became of age, he left the Harrisonburg home to visit his friends, the Boones, in North Carolina, where he made the acquaintance of Mary Shipley, who became his wife. (") He built a cabin, and opened a farm on the banks of the Yadkin.

Daniel Boone knew there was a beautiful country beyond the mountains westward. In 1748 Thomas Walker and three others had dis

covered a remarkable gateway in the mountains, which they 1769. called Cumberland Gap, in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, Prime-minister to King George. They beheld a beautiful region, abounding with game. It is not surprising that Daniel Boone resolved to explore it. With four companions he passed through Cumberland Gap and travelled many miles beyond, finding meadows waving with grass, the haunt of buffalo and deer. He and one of his companions were captured by the Indians, but made their escape. When they returned to their camp the other two men were gone. They never knew what became of them. Boone remained so long that his family became alarmed. His younger brother, accompanied by another man, came in search of him. Daniel, instead of returning, sent him back to tell his friends that he was safe; he was to return with powder and bullets. Three months went by before the younger brother came. Daniel was alone the while. He knew the Indians would be glad to capture him;

but he knew their wiles, and eluded them. After being absent nearly a year, he returned to his home.

People were crossing the mountains to make their homes in Kentucky. Daniel Boone organized a company of fifty, who made a settle

ment at Boonsborough. The Revolutionary War had begun, and 1775. the Indians were being supplied with arms and ammunition by the British at Detroit. The settlers built a fort, which was often beset by the Indians. They captured Jemima Boone, and Elizabeth and Frances Callaway, who were seized while in a canoe on the Kentucky River. The people in the fort heard their cries and started in pursuit of the Indians,

who were hurrying their captives towards the Ohio River. Boone, with several others, followed in pursuit. When night came they were obliged to halt, but at daylight were pressing on once more. Boone had roamed the forest so long that he could easily keep the trail. When the sun

went down the second day he knew the Indians were not far in advance. With the first flush of daylight on the third day the pursuers were hastening on. Noiselessly, no one speaking above a whisper, they glided through the woods. Suddenly, at a sign from Boone, they drop upon the ground, for just ahead a fire is blazing, and the Indians are broiling their breakfast of venison. Four of the pursuers are to fire when Boone gives the signal; the other three, with himself, are to be ready to encounter the remaining Indians. Four rifles flash, and then

with gleaming knives all rush forward. Four of the Indians have fallen; the others are fleeing, leaving the three girls unharmed and overwhelmed with joy at their rescue.

The tide of emigration to Kentucky was increasing. A second fort was constructed near Lexington; a third was built by Joseph Bryant and his companions five miles distant. They made a mistake in not enclosing a spring of water. No well had been dug, when the place was suddenly besieged by several hundred Indians. The settlers had plenty of food, but no water. They knew the Indians were secreted in the bushes near the spring, and if a man were to go for water he would be killed. It was thought if the women and girls were to go with buckets, the Indians would think they had not been discovered, and would not harm them. The brave-hearted wives and daughters went down the path chattering and laughing, filled their buckets, and returned to the fort unharmed. Two men mounted on fleet horses

dashed out from the gateway, and rode so swiftly that before the Indians could recover from their surprise they were beyond the reach of their rifles, riding to Lexington to give the alarm. The Indians began the attack; the settlers' rifles flashed in return. The women were as brave as the men; they moulded bullets, cared for the wounded, encour aged their husbands, and assisted in every possible way in maintaining the defence till reinforcements came and compelled the Indians to flee. The hardships of a journey of 500 miles on horseback did not deter Abraham and Mary Shipley Lincoln from leaving their home on the Yadkin to establish a new home in Kentucky. They had three children, Mordecai, Josiah, and Thomas, the last a babe in the arms of the mother. They settled near Bear-grass Fort, a short distance from what is now the City of Louisville. (")

1778.

1784.

The war with England was over, but the Indians were angry because the settlers were taking possession of their hunting-grounds. It was a pleasure to them to creep stealthily through the forest, come upon the unsuspecting white man, bring him down with a bullet, and take his scalp. Abraham Lincoln was at work in the clearing with his three boys-Mordecai, ten years old; Josiah, eight; and Thomas, six. A bullet fired by an Indian pierced his heart. The scene is one for a painter: Mordecai running towards the cabin, animated by a great resolve; Josiah fleeing towards the fort; and the Indian who had fired the fatal bullet seizing Thomas by the arm to lead him away. Suddenly a rifle flashes and the savage falls, shot dead by Mordecai. (1)

Such was the tragedy in the life of Mary Shipley Lincoln. She was a widow with five young children, for two daughters had come to the cabin home. She did all that she could for them. No schools had been established in Kentucky, and her children grew to manhood and womanhood without any opportunity to obtain an education.

The Lincoln family through all the generations had been on the frontier of civilization. Few of the ancestors of Thomas had ever attended school. Their education was not from books, but from the hardships of life. They had lived righteous lives, and transmitted to their children successively the inheritance of the manly character and Puritan faith bequeathed by the weaver apprentice. Under the law of entail in Kentucky the eldest son inherited the estate of a father, and so Mordecai Lincoln came into possession of the farm, and Josiah and Thomas must begin life in poverty.

We have seen John Lincoln and John Hanks settling side by side in the Shenandoah Valley. The children of Abraham Lincoln were in