There had been a quarrel among some young men one night near an out-of-door camp meeting, and one had been stabbed to death. Young Armstrong was arrested on the testimony of one who claimed to have seen the blow struck by the light of the moon. Lincoln made the witness repeat his testimony about the moon and then began his address to the jury. He told of his relations to the prisoner's father, of the kindness of the mother, and how he had played with the boy as a child. Then he said that he was not there as paid attorney but as a friend of the family. With that explanation, he reviewed the testimony showing that all the evidence depended on what the witness had seen by the light of the moon. At this point he produced an almanac showing that there was no moon on the night of the murder. The jury took only a very short consultation to bring in a verdict of "Not Guilty." This story has often been told in which the almanac is represented as having been an old one, thus winning the case by a trick of falsehood, but investigation has proven this to be untrue, accordingly supporting the statement that Lincoln never used such tactics to win a case. We have learned that no character in history can be understood except in relation to its surroundings. Otherwise, Lincoln's fight with the backwoods' ruffians might now seem vulgar and lawless, but it was in truth a powerful factor in building his life for its supreme service. It not only helped to establish his own conscious integrity, but it was planting respect for him among his neighbors, which was as necessary for his growth of reputation as anything at any time in his career. The time when a boy can afford not "to care what people think" depends very much not only upon the boy and the people, but also upon what is meant by the "care" and the "think." IV. THE PIONEER MISSIONARY OF HUMANITY The pioneer West was indeed uncouth, but there were many noteworthy redeeming features in the zeal of the better classes for ideal interests. Doubtless, Lincoln was often inspired by such a fair view of humanity. Many an incident is told of the unselfish devotion among the people with whom Lincoln lived. The zeal in having a mission in those days was something that is almost unimaginable in these days. It is illustrated by the following incident told by Milburn of the useful men of those days in touch with the Lincoln life.