In a log ca-bin way out in the western part of New York State, deep in
the dense, wild woods, was born, on Jan-u-a-ry 7th, 1800, the boy who
was to be the thir-teenth pres-i-dent of the U-nit-ed States. His
fa-ther had gone there from Ver-mont, to get a-way from the In-di-ans,
who gave no peace in his old home; and no house stood near-er than four
miles to the lit-tle home he had built in the wild new land; there was
no school; and if there had been lit-tle Mil-lard had not much time to
go; for he was ver-y young, when he was taught to earn mon-ey and help
in the lit-tle home. He learned how to make cloth from the soft white
wool; and was hard at work, in this way, till he was nine-teen years
old; then a love of books came to him; and a law-yer took note of
him and gave him such aid that he soon took a high place in the
law-stud-ies. When he was twen-ty-two, he went to Buf-fa-lo, and taught
school, to help pay his way, as he went on with the stud-y of law. He
was bright and quick, and, in 1823, he be-gan to prac-tise law and
soon rose to such a high place in the state bar that his state sent
him to Con-gress. Here his work was done so well that he was made
vice-pres-i-dent, when Tay-lor took the pres-i-dent's seat; and on his
death be-came pres-i-dent.
While he was in the chair one of his aids was the great Dan-iel
Web-ster, who looked af-ter the laws of all the states. He had been in
of-fice but a short time, when a band of men tried to get Cu-ba from
Spain; but they were soon put down. He was in of-fice one term, and then
went home to Buf-fa-lo, and took up the prac-tice of law a-gain. In 1855
he went to Eu-rope, where he stayed for one year; he then came home to
lead a qui-et life, full of stud-y, till his death on March 8th, 1874.