Hunters took advantage of this habit, and one
of their common customs was to watch in the dusk or at night, and secure
their approaching prey by an easy shot. Skill with the rifle and success
in the chase were points of friendly emulation. In many localities the
boy or youth who shot a squirrel in any part of the animal except its
head became the butt of the jests of his companions and elders. Yet,
under such conditions and opportunities Abraham was neither a hunter nor
a marksman. He tells us:
"A few days before the completion of his eighth year, in the absence of
his father, a flock of wild turkeys approached the new log cabin, and
Abraham, with a rifle gun, standing inside, shot through a crack and
killed one of them. He has never since pulled a trigger on any larger
game."
[Footnote 2: Franklin points out how much this resource of the
early Americans contributed to their spirit of independence by
saying:
"I can retire cheerfully with my little family into the boundless
woods of America, which are sure to afford freedom and subsistence
to any man who can bait a hook or pull a trigger."
(See "The Century Magazine," "Franklin as a Diplomatist," October,
1899, p. 888.)]
The hours which other boys spent in roaming the woods or lying in ambush
at the deer-lick, he preferred to devote to his effort at mental
improvement.
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