There  is  no  need  to  dwell  upon  the  next
few  years  of  his  life.  As  storekeeper,  post-
master, and  surveyor,  he  manifested  those
traits  of  integrity  and  honesty  which  make
his  life  so  attractive.
When  the  Indian  chief  Black  Hawk  broke
the  treaty  into  which  he  had  entered  and
led  his  followers  into  Northern  Illinois,
Lincoln  responded  to  the  call  for  volunteers.
He  was  elected  captain  of  his  company,  but
saw  no  fighting.  Some  years  afterwards,
when  the  supporters  of  General  Cass  wished
to  attach  to  their  candidate  for  the  Presi-
dency some  military  glory,  Lincoln,  in  a


38       LAWYER  AND  POLITICIAN

rollicking  and  humorous  manner,  made  refer-
ence to  this  experience.  '  Do  you  know,
Mr.  Speaker,'  he  said,  4 1  am  a  military  hero  ?
In  the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  I  fought,
bled,  and  came  away.  It  is  quite  certain
that  I  did  not  break  my  sword,  for  I  had
none  to  break,  but  I  bent  my  musket  pretty
badly  on  one  occasion.  I  had  a  good  many
bloody  struggles  with  the  mosquitoes,  and
although  I  never  fainted  from  the  loss  of
blood  I  can  truly  say  that  I  was  often
hungry.'  This  rollicking  humour  turned  the
tables  upon  the  Democrats  and  helped  to
defeat  the  candidature  of  the  redoubtable
General  Cass,  who  had  never  had  any  real
military  experience.
