1827

"Another move, to New Salem, a village in Illinois. The long, lanky boy was a man now. He ferried people and goods down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
In between the pull of the pole and the splash of the water, he listened to hunters spin tall tales of a mighty marksman, 'half man, half alligator,' and sailors describe giant mosquitoes that could kill a man.
He heard lawyers tall how they used words to gain justice for ordinary folks. He heard preachers quote from the Bible: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
He stored these different voices in his heart and wove them into his own words."