Lincoln, the unknown

A he Lincolns settled near Decatur, Illinois, on a stretchof timber land running along a bluff overlooking the SangamonRiver.Abe helped to fell trees, erect a cabin, cut brush, clear theland, break fifteen acres of sod with a yoke of oxen, plant it tocorn, split rails, and fence the property in.The next year he worked as a hired man in the neighborhood,doing odd jobs for farmers: plowing, pitching hay, maulingrails, butchering hogs.The first winter Abe Lincoln spent in Illinois was one of thecoldest the State had known. Snow drifted fifteen feet deep onthe prairies; cattle died, the deer and wild turkey were almostexterminated, and even people were frozen to death.During this winter Lincoln agreed to split a thousand railsfor a pair of trousers made from brown jean cloth dyed withwhite-walnut bark. He had to travel three miles each day towork. Once, while crossing the Sangamon, his canoe was upset,he was thrown into the icy water, and before he could reach thenearest house, Major Warnick's, his feet froze. For a month hewas unable to walk, and so he spent that time lying in front ofthe fireplace at Major Warnick's telling stories, and reading avolume of the Statutes of Illinois.Prior to this, Lincoln had courted the major's daughter, butthe major frowned on the idea. What? A daughter of his, aWarnick, married to this gawky, uneducated rail-splitter? A32