the place which was to be
their future home. Winter was near at hand. There was no house, nor
shelter of any kind. What would become of the patient, tired mother, and
the gentle little sister, who had borne themselves so bravely during the
long, hard journey?

No sooner had the horses been loosed from the wagon than Abraham and
his father were at work with their axes. In a short time they had built
what they called a "camp."

This camp was but a rude shed, made of poles and thatched with leaves
and branches. It was enclosed on three sides, so that the chill winds or
the driving rains from the north and west could not enter. The fourth
side was left open, and in front of it a fire was built.

This fire was kept burning all the time. It warmed the interior of the
camp. A big iron kettle was hung over it by means of a chain and pole,
and in this kettle the fat bacon, the venison, the beans, and the corn
were boiled for the family's dinner and supper. In the hot ashes the
good mother baked luscious "corn dodgers," and sometimes, perhaps, a few
potatoes.

In one end of the camp were the few cooking utensils and little articles
of furniture which even the poorest house cannot do without. The rest of
the space was the family sitting-room and bed-room. The floor was
covered with leaves, and on these were spread the furry skins of deer
and bears, and other animals.

It was in this camp that the family spent their first winter in Indiana.
How very cold and dreary that winter must have been! Think of the stormy
nights, of the shrieking wind, of the snow and the sleet and the bitter
frost! It is not much wonder if, before the spring months came, the
mother's strength began to fail.

But it was a busy winter for Thomas Lincoln. Every day his ax was heard
in the woods. He was clearing the ground, so that in the spring it might
be planted with corn and vegetables.

He was hewing logs for his new house; for he had made up his mind, now,
to have something better than a cabin.

The woods were full of wild animals. It was easy for Abraham and his
father to kill plenty of game, and thus keep the family supplied with
fresh meat.

And Abraham, with chopping and hewing and hunting and trapping, was very
busy for a little boy. He had but little time to play; and, since he
had no playmates, we cannot know whether he even wanted to play.

With his mother, he read over and over the Bible stories which both of
them loved so well. And