Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-06-21
Boyhood OF Abe LincoIn-Hfs First
and Only Schooling.

she having come out in the December OF
that year. 1t has been seen that she
was as much impressed by his mental
precocity as by the good qualities of his
heart.
Hazel Dorsey was the first master
He presided in small house near the
Little Pigeon Creek meeting house, a
mile and half from the Lincoln cabin.
1t was built Of unhewn logs, and had
holes for windows" in which creased
paper served for glass. The roof was
just high enough for a man to stand
erect. Here he was taught reading,
writing and ciphering. They spelled in
classes, and trapped up and down.
These juvenile contests were very excit-
ing to the participants; andi is said by
the survivors that Abe was even then
the equal, if not the superior, of any
scholar in his class. srEH
The next teacher was Andrew Craw-
ford. Mrs. Gentry says he began peda-
gogue in the neighborhood in the winter
of l822-'23, while most of his other
scholars are unable 10 fix an exact date.
He kept" in the same little school
house which had been the scene OF Dor
sey $ labors, and the windows were still
adorned with the CREASED leaves OF old
copy-books that had come down from
Dorsey's time. Abe was now in his fif-
teenth year, and began to exhibit symp-
toms of gallantry toward the weaker
sex, as we shall presently discover. He
was growing at tremendous rate, and
two years later attained his full hight
of six feet four inches He was long,
wiry and strong, with big feet and hands,
aud the length of his legs and arms were
out of all proportion to his small trunk
and head. His complexion was very
swarthy, and Mrs Gentry says that his
skin was'shrivelled and yellow even then
He wore low shoes, buckskin breeches,
linsey-woolsey shirt, and a cap made OF
| the skin Of an opossum or coon. The
breeches clung close to his thighs and
legs, and failed by large space to meet
the tops of his shoes. Twelve inches
remained uncovered, and exposed that
much of shinbone,. sharp, blue and
marrow He would always come to
school thus, good-humoredly and laugh
ing" says his old friend Nat Grigsby.
He was always in good health, never
was sick, had an excellent constitution,
and took care of it.
Crawford taught manners" This
was feature of backwoods education to
which Dorsey had not aspired, and
Crawford had doubtless introduced it as
refinement which would put to shame
the humber efforts of his predecessor
One of the scholars was required to re-
tire and re-enter as polite gentleman is
supposed to enter a drawing-room. de
was received at the door by another
scholar and conducted from bench to
bench until he had been introduced to
all the young ladies and gentlemen :
in the room. Abe went through the or
deal countless times. If he took seri-
GUS view of the business it must have
put him to exquisite torture, for he was
not perfect type of manly beauty, with
his long legs and blue shins, his small
head, his great ears, and shriveled skin.
If, however, it struck him as at all funny,
it must have filled him with unspeakable
mirth and given rise to many antic
tricks and sly jokes, as he was gravely
led about, shamed.faced and gawky, un-
der the very eye of the precise Crawford,
to be introduced to the boys and girls of
his more ancient acquaintances.
Nat Grigsby tells us, with unnecessary
particularly that ESSAYS and poetry
were not taught in this school" Abe
took it (them) up on his own account.
de first wrote short sentences against
cruelty to animals ana at last come
forward with regular composition
on the subject, he was very, muca an
noyed ana pained by the eondnct Oh the
boys, who were IN tne habit oil catching
terraplns, ana putting, Goals oil hre on
their backs. de Wonld chide us, says
Nat, tell US It was wrong, ana would
write against 1t.
The third and last school to which
Abe went was taught by a Mr.. STaney,
In 1876, 10 get there he mad 10 travei
four and a halt miles; ana TINS going
back and forth SO great distance occu-
pied too much OF his time. Hls attend
ance was therefore only at odd times,
and was speedily broken of altogether.
The school-house was much IKE the
other one near the Plgeon-Creek meet
ing-house, except that it had two chin
neys instead OF one.
Abe never went to school again in
Indiana or elsewhere.
As the earliest books man reads may
be well supposed to have some influence
on his after lie, 1t is interesting to know
what literature was within the reach oil
eur young scholar. Mr.. Lamon says:
Among the BOOKS upon winch ABE
'Iaid his hands were IEsop rabies
hoolnson OruSoe, buhysh fIgrim
Progress, History OF tne w united
States, and weems Liie oil Washlng-
ton. All these ne reau many umes'
and transferred extracts from them to