5 Chapter 2 The Wider World

Chapter 2 The Wider World Abraham Lincoln knew he didn't want to be a farmer like his father. But he didn't know what he did want to do. So when he was twenty-one, he decided to leave home and find out.

He was hired to help sail flatboats loaded with supplies down the Sangamon River. One time, the boat got stuck on a dam in front of the town of New Salem in central Illinois. It began filling with water. Lincoln and the others onboard couldn't free it. Suddenly Lincoln had a brilliant idea. He bored a hole in the front of the boat and shifted all the supplies to that end. The boat tipped toward the hole and all the water ran out until the boat was high enough to go over the dam. Denton Offutt, the boat's owner, was so impressed that he

offered to put Lincoln in business. He decided to build a store in New Salem. Lincoln would manage it. NEW SALEM

New Salem was a small village. But to Lincoln it seemed large and bustling. The store was a place where people gathered. Lincoln quickly became popular. People trusted him. He would never take advantage of anyone, even for a few cents. He

joined a debating club and took part in town politics. He also went to the meetings of the local court. The justice of the peace began asking his opinion on cases, because what he said was always so funny. But his opinions were also very intelligent. Soon people began coming to Lincoln for legal advice. Lincoln didn't just impress people in town. Some rough farm boys called the Clary's Grove gang had heard about Lincoln—the young man everyone was praising so much. They wanted to take him down a peg. So they challenged him to a wrestling match. We don't know whether Lincoln won or lost. But the way he took on the whole gang won the boys over. They became his friends and loyal supporters, too.

In 1832, Lincoln's friends convinced him to run for the Illinois State Legislature. He didn't win, but he came close. In the meantime, Offutt's store failed, and Lincoln lost his job. Just then, a war broke out between the Illinois settlers and Native Americans. Lincoln joined the militia. He never actually fought any battles. But he boasted about all the blood he'd shed—because of the mosquitoes. He decided to run for the state legislature again. He could count on support from all his friends in New Salem. But some farmers thought he was just