Lincoln returned for his family and the rest of his goods.

During his father's absence, the boy Abe had his first observation of
sorrow. A brother had been born in the cabin and had died in infancy.
The little grave was in the wilderness, and before leaving that country
forever, the mother, leading her six-year-old boy by the hand, paid a
farewell visit to the grave. The child beheld with awe the silent grief
of the mother and carried in his memory that scene to his dying day.

The father returned with glowing accounts of the new home. The family
and the furniture,--to use so dignified a name for such meager
possessions,--were loaded into a wagon or a cart, and they were soon on
the way to their new home.

The traveling was slow, but the weather was fine, the journey
prosperous, and they arrived duly at their destination. They pushed
northward, or back from the river, about eighteen miles into the woods
and settled in Spencer County near to a hamlet named Gentryville. Here
they established their home.

The first thing, of course, was to stake off the land, enter the claim,
and pay the government fee at the United States Land Office at
Vincennes. The amount of land was one quarter section, or one hundred
and sixty acres.

The next thing was to erect a cabin. In this case the cabin consisted
of what was called a half-faced camp. That is, the structure was
entirely open on one of its four sides. This was at the lower side of
the roof, and the opening was partly concealed by the hanging of the
skins of deer and other wild animals. This open face fully supplied all