Arizona republican., 1914-07-15
WHEN LINCOLN WAS ELEVEN

In the autumn that followed his eleventh birthday Lincoln plowed for seventy days, overturnng nearly 150 of stubble He had become of the regular hands
 We were bounded the north by the praries reaching to the Arctic ocean; the west by Indians and buffaloes the south by Chicago, and the east by Wisconsin and New England. A luminous trail led from Noshonoc Osage. All else still vague and vast Vasco de Gama's seas"
 The winter which followed pitess and the new cabin had no tree to shelter it from the blast the piled around it in great drifts All winds taught these woods people and for all the bleakness of the level lands of the north Lin coin remarks upon this
 We had heard of blizzards, of course, but had never experienced such storm came in February. It lasted for two days, and the wind moving eighty miles an hour, made life in the open almost imposs ble. The strongest could face it unprotected and boy of eleven was helpless in it. If I opened my mouth the blast blew the air from my lungs, filling me with smotherng sense of weakness We hardly stirred from the house during forty-eight hours. and have the vivid recollection of the morning after the tempest had spent it's force for went to school drifts high the fences and hard iron"
 The schoolhouse stood the corner of the Stewart farm, less than half mile the north but many mornings Gin the days which followed) the children found it quite far enough. Climbing the ridges and wallowing through the loose snow to their knees, battling with the frost like
 
 moaning with pain, their toes frozen their lungs scared by the frost. And yet they went, the codest days, because they loved the companionshp of the schooroom and hated the loneliness of the home in which their mother toled uncomplainingly Hester accompanied them and seemed not to fear the wind.
 She two years older than l." said Lincoln. "and strong and vigorous. Perhaps she did not suf- fer much owen did. 1 hope not
 The result of all this exposure intoerabe pest of chblains Every boy and girl in the school less in agony with it. Residents of warm climates will understand what it means to suffer in this way.
 This affliction sometimes alluded to by elders joke but it not joke to On the contrary, it was condition which demanded sympathy. After getting thoroughly warmed up (along about the middle of the forenoon) there into heels and toes most intense itching and burning and aching, a sensation so acute that sitting still impossible, and all over the room would arise uneasy shuffling and drumming pounded heels against the floor scraped itching against the edges of our desks.
 On the days when the winds beat and clamored at the loose north windows, the girls, bumped and shvering sat with their shawls over their shoulders to keep from freezing, and the whole school sought permission to stand before the fire.
 "On such days we found dinner pails (stored in the entry way) frozen solid, and at noon we all stood around the stove thawng out our mlnce ples and apples and bread and butter. l recall vividy gnawing at the modified outside of doughnut while still the frosty heart of it made my teeth ache
 Happily all days were not Ike thls mere were afternoons when the streaned warm into the room when the icicle formed the caves, adding touch of grace of wonder to the desolate building moments when the tinkling of the sleighbells passing by seemed to express the natural cheer and buoyancy of youthful hearts"
 These were rigorous experiences. Perhaps they made the strong stronger certainly they caicu lated to assassnate the delicate.
 At least two of the girls" Lincoln declares, died as a result of the exposure"
 Nevertheless, there was wild charm in the winter plain, in the severest weather To the north all was unknown but the south seemed very civilized for in this direction stood the county sea toward which the children turned with touch of wonder. When the wind in the south it seemed that life easier to sustain. At such times strengthened up, threw back the lapes of our jackets and smiled feeling less keenly the war far of he nnar hlast