o railroads. There was not even a stage
route. They packed their bedding on two horses and set out on the
journey overland. It took seven days, sleeping on the ground under
the stars at night. And when they reached the new home, there was not
even a shelter waiting for them. A road had been cut through the
forests, but all the clearing was yet to be done.

Abraham had an axe of his own and he went to work with it. He was a
true pioneer boy, and not one bit afraid of work. He cut poles while
his father laid the foundations of the new cabin. They were only able
to put up a "half-faced" camp at first, with three sides and one side
open. And it was hard work. The great, unhewn logs had to be all
notched and fitted together, and the cracks filled in with clay. They
made a loft, and fitted in a door and a window. Abraham learned how to
make a table and some stools. Then, after the bitter winter was over,
the spring brought them more comfort and happiness. The corn and
vegetables they planted came up, and Abraham had a little time to read
again.

He had a new book, now, that a neighbor had let him take. It was the
story of a boy who had, also, in his little boy days, an axe like
Abraham's; but he had used it to cut down his father's cherry tree.
When he had grown to be a man, though, he was our Great American.
Abraham took this book, the Life of George Washington, to bed with him
and read it when the snow was sifting in through the cabin roof and
over his quilt. He read the book many times.

"What are you going to be when you grow up?" the neighbor asked
Abraham.

"I am going to be the President of the United States," the boy
replied.

Every one thought this a very good joke, for Abraham was growing up
now. He had legs that were too long for his body and it was the same
way with his arms. He was almost six feet tall although he was not yet
fifteen years old. His head, set on top of his long neck, looked
almost out of place. People laughed when they compared him with other
Presidents of the United States.

Abraham kept his thought in his mind, though, and he went on working,
and reading when he had time in the fire light of the long winter
evenings. As he threshed, and chopped, and plowed, he could not help
dreaming a little. All his life he had worked hard for others, and he
really liked this kind of work more than any other. He wanted to go on
helping others, only in a greater, broader way.

We all know what happene