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[7] and seeing a felled tree which lay with the trunk elevated at one end at a moderate angle with the ground, he at once thought of an expedient, and with self-reliance and perseverance set himself to work to put it in practice. With one of his horses he drew up the slope of the felled tree one end of a log he proposed to carry, and that being properly placed high enough for him to back the wagon under it, he in the same way drew, one at a time, two or three others, which made a load. That done, and the wagon being placed under the elevated ends, with his horse and chains he drew each log into it, and, securing his load, went quietly home, doubtless well pleased with his work, though making not the slightest boast.

His father could hardly believe the boy's assertion, that he and the horse loaded the wagon; but he knew that Ulysses was never guilty of falsehood, and he soon had the work explained so that he was satisfied of its truth, though he still could not but wonder at his son's achievement. Such practical knowledge and persistent labor he exhibited all through his boyhood, and they furnish the key to some of the great successes of his after career.

That Grant was a boy of capacity and character, is proved by the fact that, without any special political or family influence, he received the appointment of cadet in the National Military Academy at West Point. He preferred being a soldier to being a tanner, and the country now knows that he chose wisely. He was nominated for admission to the Academy in 1839, by Hon. T. L. Hamer, member of Congress from the district in which he resided. By some mistake Mr.

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