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Show L A Min fVvt 'T A Story of the Builders P -tL 1 Xdl 1 JLU1 of Democracy K " - -.&Wi3 IRVING BACHEIXER 1m J Copjrliht. IrTlnc Dsthsltsr M I NOW HE BELONGS TO THE AGES STANTON "A Man for the Age" It Abraham Lincoln. The book It fiction H r ! ooallng with fact history in the gulta of fiction. It it an intimate U study of Abraham Lincoln during hi formative period at New Salam, ft III. It tall chapter in Rls life that no man can read without mlle Ft i and tear and wonder. I'M' ' Abraham Lincoln arrived at New Salem in 1831, "a ttranger, a ft frlendlet. uneducated, penniless boy, working on a flat boat for 910 k month," a he hlmielf put it. In 1837 he left to take up hi law K practice in Springfield. In thoao lis year ho transformed hlmielf to Big" of acknowledged ability, of promise, of more than local repu- f "' tatlon. It was at New Salem that he earned the nickname of "Honest Abet" that he was defeated for tho legislature and elected) that he juv won and lost by death Ann Rutledge. HjP Irving Bacheller Is one of the very few men who could write Bt such a book. Hi work i well known. Thi will add te hi fame. I " I CHAPTER I. Which Describes the Journey of 8am , son Henry Traylor and His Wife and Their Two Children and Their Dog Sambo Through tha Adirondack WIU --. dernesa In 1831 on Their Way to tho Rft Land of Plenty Furthermore It De- Hi , scribes tho Soaping of tho Brlnv HJ ' steads. LVsB Ha In the early summer of 1831 Sam- Hn- non Traylor and his wife, Sarah, and HJ! two children left their old home near Hjj the village of Vergenncs, Vermont, HJr' and began their travels toward the HJ ' netting sun with four chairs, a bread HE ,' hoard nml rolling-pin, a -feather bed HJ mid blankets, a small looking-glass, a HJ nkillet, an nx, u pack basket with a HJ pail of solo leather on tho same, a HJ . water pnll, a box of dishes, a tub of HJ i alt pork, a rllle, a teapot, n sack, of Hg uical, sundry small provisions and a HJ violin, In a double wagon drawn, by Hi i oxen. It Is u pleasure to note that HJI lliey had a violin and were not (lis- HJf posed to part with It. The reader must HlE, ot overlook Its full historic slgnlfl- Hit oance. The stem, uncompromising HlE' Plrit of the Puritan had left the, HB house of the Yankee before a violin HB- could enter It. Ilumor and tho love HH f P'ny had preceded and cleared a HB: waT 'or It Where thero'was a fiddle HHT there were cheerful hearts. A young HH Mick shepherd dog with tawny points HH - nnd tlie name of Sambo followed the HH! wagon. H ' K we had been at tha Congrega- H8 tlonal church ou Sunday wo might H have heard the minister saying to HH ; Samson, after the service, that It was HHL Qrd to understand why the happiest HH, family In the parish and the most be- HH, loved should be leaving Its ancestral HH home to go to a far, new country of HH ' which little was known. We might also BV iiave heard Samson answer: HH t "It's awful easy to bo happy here. HH fW slide along In tho samo old groove, HH' lthl,t our fathers traveled, from Ver- HHL gennes to Paradise. Wo work and HHI IP'oy nd go to mcetln' and put a shin HHL Plaster In the box and grow old and HHf jnarrow and stingy and mean and go HHk ,P to glory and are turned Into saints HHT and angels. Maybe that's the boat Hi thing that could happen to us, but HI iSarah and I kind o' thought we'd try HHf ' new starting place and another routo BHI o heaven." HHwt Sarah and Sampson had been raised HHY BB adjoining farms Just out of the HJ village. He had had little schooling, HHu (hat his Mind was active and well In- HHi cllned. Sarah had prosperous relit- HHYj tlvea In Iloston and had had tho nil- HHM .vantage of a year's schooling In that HHT' city. She was n comely girl of a HHw itasto and refinement unusual In the HHV place ai)d 'time of hei birth. Many HHf well-favored youths hud sought her HHV hand, but, better than othent, she HHV liked the big, masterful, good-natured, HHK, humorous Samson, crudo as ho was. HBHl j Naturally In her hands his timber had HlR undergone somo pinning and smooth- HHEI lng and his thoughts had been gently HHy ,0(1 ,nto mvr ani Pleasant ways, HBH r'ot us lako n 'oolc nt t,iem as "'ey HH slowly lenvo the village of their birth. HHh The wagon Is covered with tent, cloth HHf drawn over hickory arches. Thoy are HHJ. ulttlng onj scat overlooking the oxen HHV' la the wagon front. Tears are stream- HHV lag down the face of tho woman. The HHVJJTk man's head Is bent. Ills elbows are HHH resting on his knees; tho hickory HHVJ handle of his ox whip lies across his HHH tap, the lash at his feet. He seems to HHVJL he looking down at his boots, Into the VHV1, tops of which his trousers have been HHVf folded. Ho Is a rugged, blond, bearded HHVJ' man with kindly blue eyes and a MVHi rather prominent nose. There Is a MVVj jtrlklng expression of power In the jMHB head and shoulders of Samson Traylor. HHV .The breadth of his back, tho alio of HH jhls wrists and hands, the color of HHh Ma face betoken a man of great VVH efewngtli. This thoughtful, sorrowful, HHL jtttltuda la tho only evidence of crao- HVV tipn which he betray In a few VVH wlnutes he begins to wblstlo a lively HE tttae. VH ' Tile boy Josfah familiarly called VVVI 'Joe elta beside' his mother, no Is HHI a!ndr, swoet-faced lad. He Is HR Jooklng up wistfully at his raothc- I HHY Tha little girl Detsey sits between him I HHJ and hr father. HH That everilng they stopped at the HHJ Aouse of an old friend some miles HH jp tha rusty road to the north, HH "Btere we aregoln' west," Snra- HHT iOon shouted to the man at the door- j I HH tep. Baaew c He alighted and helped his family out of the wagon. "You go right In I'll take care o the oxen," said the man. Samson started for tho houso with the girl under ono arm and the boy unilor tho other. A pleasant-faced woman greeted them with a hearty wolcome nt tho door. "You poor man I Come right In," she said. "Poor I I'm tho richest man In the world," said he. "Look at tho 'gold on that girl's head curly, flno gold, too tho best there Is. She's Iletsey my little toy woman half past seven years old bluo ejes helps her mother moth-er get tired every day. Here's my toy man Joslnh yes, brown hulr and brown eyes like Sarah heart o' gold helps his mother, too six times ono year old." "What pretty faces 1" said tlie woman wo-man as sho stooped and kissed them. "Yes, ma'am. (Jot 'cm from the fairies," Samson went on. "They have all kinds o' hends for llttlo folks, an' I guess they color 'em up with the blood o' roses an' tho gold o'-butJer-cups an' tho blue o' violet, Hero's this wife o' mine. She's rlcher'n I am. She owns all of us. We're her slaves." "Looks as young as she did the day she was married nlm years ago," said the woman. "Exactly 1" Samson exclaimed. "Straight as. an arrow and proud) I don't blame her. She's got enough to make her proud, I say. I fall In love again every time I look Into her big, brown eyes." They had a Joyous "evening and a restful night with these old friends and resumed their Journey soon after daylight. They ferried across the lako at Burlington and fared away over the mountains and through the deep forest on the Chatcaugay trail. Since the Pilgrims landed between tho measureless waters and the pathless path-less wilderness they and their descendants des-cendants had Jicen surrounded by the luro of mystery. Tho lovo of adventure, adven-ture, tho dcslro to explore the dark, Infested and beautiful forest, the dream of fruitful sunny Innda cut with water courses, shored with silver sil-ver and strewn with gold beyond It these were the only heritage of their sons and daughters save the strength and courage of tho plonoer. How true was this dream of theirs gathering detail and allurement as It passed from sire to son. On distant plains to the west were lands more lovely and fruitful than any of their vision; In mountains far boyond was gold enough to gild tho domo of the heav-" ens, as the sun was wont to do at eventide, and silver enough to put a fairly respectablo moon In It Yet for generations their eyes were not to see, their hands were not to touch, these things. Thpy were only to push their frontier n little farther to tho west and hold the dream and pass It on to tholr children. Thoso early years of the Nineteenth century held tho first days of full, flllment. Samson and Sarah Traylor had tho old dream In their hearts when they first turned their faces to the West. For years Sarah had resisted re-sisted It, thinking of the hardships and perils In the way of the mover. Samson, a man of twenty-nlno when he set out from his old home, was said to ho "alwajs chasing the bird In the bush." He was never content with tho thing In hand. There were certain cer-tain of their friends who promised to come and Join them when, at last they should have found the land of plenty. But most of the group that bade them good-by thought It a foolish fool-ish enterprise and spoko lightly of Samson when they were gone. America Amer-ica has undervalued the brave souls who went west In wagons, without whose sublime courage and endurance tho plains would still be an unplowed wilderness. Often wo hear them set down aa seedy, shiftless dreamers who could not make a living at home. They were mostly the best blood of the world and the noblest of God's missionaries. Who does not honor them above the thrifty, comfort-loving men and women who preferred to stay nt home, whero risks were few, the supply of food sure and sufficient suffi-cient and the consolations of friendship friend-ship and religion always at hand? Sameon and" Sarah preferred to enlist and tnke their places In tho front battle line of Civilisation. They had rad r little hook ra'led The Country of the Sangamon. Tho latter was a word of the Pottawa-tomles Pottawa-tomles meaning land of plenty. It was tho nanio of a river In Illinois drain-lug drain-lug "boundless, flowery meadows of unexampled beauty and fertility, belted belt-ed wltli timber, blessed with shady groves, covered with game and mostly level, without a stick or a stone to vex the plowman." Thither they were bound; to take up a section Of government land. They stopped for a visit with Ellsha Howard and his wife, old friends of theirs, who lived In tho vlllngo of Malone, which was In Franklin county, New York. There they traded their oxen for a team of horses. They were large gray horses named Pete and Colonel. Tho latter was fat and good-natured. good-natured. His chief Interest In life was food. Pete was always looking for food and perils. Colonel was the near horse. Now and then Sannon threw a sheepskin over his back and put the boy on It and tramped along within arm's reach of Joe's left leg. This was a great delight to tho little lad. They proceeded at a better pace to the Black Illver country, toward which, In the village of Canton, they tnrricd again for a visit with Captain .Moody and Silas Wright, both of whom had taught school In tho town of Vergennes. They proceeded through DeKalb, ntchvllle and Gouverncur and Antwerp Ant-werp nnd on to the Sand plnlus. Thoy had gone far out of their way for n look at these old friends of theirs. Samson's diary tells how, at the top of the long, steep hills he used to cut n small tree by the roadside and tie Its butt to tho rear axle and hang on to Its branches while his wife drove the tenrn. This held their load, making an effective brake. Traveling through tho forest, as they had been doing for weeks, while tho day waned, they looked for a brookslde on which they could pass the night with water handy. Samson Tramped Along Within Arm's Reach. tethered, fed and watered their horses and while Sarah and tho children built a flro and made tea nnd biscuits, ho was getting bait and catching fish In the stream. "In a few minutes from the tlmo I wet my hook a mehi of trout would bo dressed nnd sizzling, with a piece of salt pork, In the pan, or It was a bud day for fishing," ho writes. After supper the wagon was partly unloaded, the feather bed laid upon tho planks under the wagon roof nnd spread with blankets. Then Samson sang songs nnd told stories or played upon the violin to amuse tho family. Often If the others were weary and depressed ho would donco merrily around the fire, playing a lively tune, with Sambo glad to lend a helping foot and much noise to the program. By and by tha violin was put away and all knelt by the fire while Sarah prayed aloud for protection through the night 8o It will be seen that they carried with them their own little theater, church and hotel. 8oon after darkness fell, Sarah and the children lay down for the night while Samson stretolicd out with his blanket by the fire In good weather, the loaded musket and tho dog Sambo lying beside him. Often the howling of wolves In the distant forest kept them awake, and the dog muttering and barking for hours. Samson woke the camp at daylight and a merry song was his reveille while he led the horses to their drink When they set out In the morning Samson was wont to say to the little lad, who generally sat beside hlra "Well, my boy, what'a the good word this morning?" Whereupon Jo8 would say, parrot like; "God help us all and make His faro in shine upon us." "Well wild!" his father would an- swpr, and so the day's Journey begun. Ofti-n, near Its end. they tamo to sonic lonely farmhouse. Always Ham-son Ham-son would stop and go to the door to ask nliout the roads, followed by little Joe and Iletsey with secret hopes. One of these hopes was related to cookies and maple sugar and buttered bread and had been cherished since an hour of good fortune early In the trip and encouraged by sundry good-hearted good-hearted women along the road. Another An-other was the hopp of seeing- a baby mainly, It should bo said, the hopo of Betsey. Joe's Interest was merely an echo of hers. Ho regarded babies wltli an open mind, ns It were, for the opinions of his sister still had some weight with him, she being a year and a half older than he, but babies Imnrlnbly disappointed him, their capabilities being ho restricted. Still, not knowing what might happen, he always took a look at every baby. Tho children were lifted out of the wagon to stretch the'lr legs at sloughs and houses. They were sure to be close behind the legs of their father when ho stood nt a stranger's door. Then, the night being near, they were always Invited to put their horses In tho barn nnd tarry until next morning. morn-ing. This was due In pnrt to the wistful wist-ful faces of the little children a fnct unsuspected by their pnrcnts. What motherly heart could resist the silent nppeal of children's faces or fall to understand It? Thoso were memorable nights for Sarah and Joe and Betsey. In a letter to her brother the woman said: "You don't know how good It seems to see a woman and talk to her, nnd we talked nnd talked until midnight, after all the rest were asleep. She let me hold the baby In my lap until It was put to bed. How good It felt to have a little warm body In my arms again and feel It breathing I In all my life I never saw a prettier baby. It felt good to be In a real house and sleep In a soft warm bed and to cat Jelly and cookies and fresh meat and potatoes and bread and butter. but-ter. Samson played for them and kept them laughing with his stories until bedtime. They wouldn't tnke a cent and gave us a dozen eggs In a basket and a piece of venison when we went away." On a warm, bright day In the sand country they came to a crude, half finished, frame house at the edge of a wide clearing. The sand lay In drifts on one sldo of the road. It had evidently moved In the last wind. A sickly vegetation covered the Held. A ragged, barefooted man and three scrawny, Ul-clad children stood In the dooryard. It was noontime. A mongrel mon-grel dog, with a bit of the hound In him, came hounding nnd barking toward to-ward the wagon and pitched upon Sambo and quickly got tho worst of It Sambo, after much experience In self-defense, had learned that tha best way out of such trouble was to seize a leg and hang on. This ha did. The mongrel began to yelp, Samson Sam-son lifted both dogs by the backs of their necks, broke tho hold of Sambo and tossed aside the mongrel, who ran away whining. "That reminded me of a bull that tackled a man over In Vermont," he said. "The man had a club in his hand. He dodged and grabbed the bull's tall and beat him all over the lot. As tho bull roared, the man hollered: hol-lered: 'I'd like to know who began this fuss anyway.'" The stranger laughed. "Is that your houso?" Samson fold. The man stepped nearer and answered an-swered In a low, confidential tone: l"Say, mister, this Is a combination poorliouse and Idiot asylum. I am the Idiot. Theso are the poor." Ho pointed to the children. "You don't talk like an Idiot," said Samson. Across New York State. (TO BE CONTINUED.) 9 |