Page:Abraham Lincoln -- his life.djvu/21



The boy grew rapidly. At the age of seventeen he stood six feet and four inches in height. He devoted much of his time to reading, making speeches and in a limited way to writing on the political questions of the day.

At the age of nineteen, Lincoln, then employed by James Gentry, made his first voyage down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The trip was made in a flat boat filled with produce. This was sold at New Orleans.

In 1825 Abraham entered the employ of James Taylor at Anderson's Creek. He was farm hand, ferryman and Jack of all trades.

Lincoln had rapidly grown to be a young man of powerful physique.