ere called the "Clary's Grove Boys," who were noted
for the rough handling they gave to strangers. Many a new boy had been
hardly dealt with at their hands. Sometimes they would lead him into a
fight and then beat him black and blue, and sometimes they would nail
the stranger into a hogshead and roll him down a steep hill.

When Abe Lincoln first came to the town they were afraid to tackle him,
but when their friends taunted the crowd of young roughs with being
afraid of Lincoln's strength, they decided to lay a trap for him. The
leader of the gang was a very good wrestler, and he seized an
opportunity when all the men of the town were gathered at the country
store to challenge Abe to a wrestling match. Abe was not at all anxious
to accept the challenge, but was finally driven to it by the taunts the
gang threw at him. A ring was made in the road outside the store, and
Abe and the bully set to.

The leader of the gang, however, found that he could not handle this
tall young stranger as easily as he had handled other youths. He gave a
signal for help. Thereupon the rest of the roughs swarmed about the two
wrestlers and by kicking at Abe's legs and trying to trip him they
nearly succeeded in bringing him to the ground. When he saw how set they
were on downing him Abe's blood rose, and suddenly putting forth his
whole strength he seized his opponent in his arms and very nearly choked
the life out of him.

For a moment it looked as though the rest of the crowd would set upon
Lincoln and that he would have to fight the lot of them single-handed.
He sprang back against a wall and called to them to come on. But he
looked so able to take care of any number that they faltered, and in a
moment their first fury gave place to an honest admiration for Lincoln's
nerve. That ended his initiation, and as long as he stayed in New Salem
the "Clary's Grove Boys" were his devoted followers.

The leader of the gang, whom Abe had nearly throttled, became his sworn
friend, and this bond lasted through life. When other men threatened Abe
or spoke against him in any way, this youth was always first to stand up
for him, and acted as his champion many times. Curiously enough, in
after years, when Abe had become a lawyer, he defended his old
opponent's son when the young man was on trial for his life, and
succeeded in saving him.

Such an adventure as this with the "Clary's Grove Boys" was typical of
the way in which Abe, as he grew up, came