open air, and that his still growing muscles must have eagerly
welcomed tasks like this, which gave him once more the exercise
that measuring calico and weighing out groceries failed to
supply. Young Lincoln's bodily vigor stood him in good stead in
many ways. In frontier life strength and athletic skill served as
well for popular amusement as for prosaic toil, and at times,
indeed, they were needed for personal defence. Every community
had its champion wrestler, a man of considerable local
importance, in whose success the neighbors took a becoming
interest. There was, not far from New Salem, a settlement called
Clary's Grove, where lived a set of restless, rollicking young
backwoodsmen with a strong liking for frontier athletics and
rough practical jokes. Jack Armstrong was the leader of these,
and until Lincoln's arrival had been the champion wrestler of
both Clary's Grove and New Salem. He and his friends had not the
slightest personal grudge against Lincoln; but hearing the
neighborhood talk about the newcomer, and especially Offut's
extravagant praise of his clerk, who, according to Offut's
statement, knew more than any one else in the United States, and
could beat the whole county at running, jumping or "wrastling,"
they decided that the time had come to assert themselves, and
strove to bring about a trial of strength between Armstrong and
Lincoln. Lincoln, who disapproved of all this "woolling and
pulling," as he called it, and had no desire to come to blows
with his neighbors, put off the encounter as long as possible. At
length even his good temper was powerless to avert it, and the
wrestling-match took place. Jack Armstrong soon found that he had
tackled a man as strong and skilful as himself; and his friends,
seeing him likely to get the worst of it, swarmed to his
assistance, almost succeeding, by tripping and kicking, in