[Illustration: It was on a pleasant April day that the flat-bottomed boat, loaded with barrel pork, corn and live pigs, and piloted by young Abe Lincoln, rounded a bend in the Sangamon River and came to rest on top of the miller’s dam that stretched out across the river. The bow of the boat was raised high into the air. The squeals of the frightened pigs brought the citizens of New Salem hurrying down the bluff to the river bank. This was Lincoln’s introduction to the people of New Salem. Denton Offut, a swaggering, boastful, hard-drinking frontiersman, was owner of the boat. He became so impressed with the thriving little village that he decided to return after the voyage to New Orleans, and open a store with Lincoln as his clerk. The new store was opened the following September.] [Illustration: Lincoln helped fell the trees from which Offut’s one-room log store was erected. It stands on the bluff that leads down to the grist mill and the river bank. It was the usual type of frontier store, stocked with produce from the prairie farms or objects made at home. It was while working for Offut that Lincoln decided to improve his education. In fair weather, when there were no customers about, Lincoln could be seen lounging on the porch studying or talking with friends about slavery, crops, politics, cockfighting, horse racing or just telling stories to listening loafers.] [Illustration: At the top of the bluff, among the tall oak trees, stood the cabin of Rowen Herndon. Lincoln boarded here because it was near the store.] [Illustration: Bill Cleary’s saloon stood a short distance down the bluff from Offut’s store. It was the hangout for Jack Armstrong, who challenged Lincoln to a wrestling match. Even though the match ended in a draw, it gave Lincoln the reputation for courage and strength that convinced his associates that he “belonged.”] [Illustration: New Salem was a trading post for the farmers who cultivated farms on the surrounding prairies. On Main Street there was a cobbler, a hatter, a cooper, a blacksmith and wagon builder, a wheelwright and several merchants. These tradesmen had come to New Salem to help fill the needs felt by everyone. At the height of its prosperity, New Salem had a population of a hundred citizens and some twenty-five or thirty buildings.] [Illustration: The buildings were made of logs, notched together at the corners and chinked with native clay.] [Illustration: Roofs were pitched and covered with clapboard shingles called “shakes.”] [Illustration: Better homes in New Salem had chimneys made of stone.] [Illustration: Most homes had “cat and clay” chimneys, made of logs and chinked with native clay. On cold windy days members of the household were kept busy running outside to see whether or not the chimney had caught fire.] [Illustration: New Salem homes had window panes made of glass.]