himself out; but the icy water chilled him to the bone. But he was
safe for the present, seeing which the captain called out to the other
to let go his pole and let himself be carried down to the tree, also.
If he hung on in the open there much longer, he would become stiff and
unable to swim. The man managed to reach his mate, and the two were
joined at the tree.

The manager of the rescue found a log and, attaching a rope, rolled it
into the stream, with the help of others who had arrived on the scene.
They towed it up some distance to get a good send-off, and a young
daredevil got on it with the intention of being floated down to the
tree, where all three would become passengers and be drawn home. But
in his haste to do so, Jim Dorrell raised himself off his log by the
branch he grasped and, along with the other unfortunates, made three
men to be saved.

When the riderless log was hauled up inshore, Lincoln mounted it to
make the next cast in person. Having an extra rope with him, he
lassoed the tree and soon drew the log up. Cold as they were, the
three men dropped down and straddled beside him. At his orders the
men on the bank held the rope taut, so that the log, allowed to swing
off freely, slung around with the current to the side, and the four
were disembarked. This made Abraham the hero of the Sangamon River
among the boatmen.

(Narrated by John Rolls, of New Salem, a witness.)


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