e army was encamped along the banks
of the river, and the soldiers began again their jokes upon Porter's
habit of taking gunboats for an overland journey. The army generals
began to get impatient, and advised Porter to blow up his ships, as
the troops must soon march on and leave him. Porter was sick in bed,
but this suggestion aroused him. "Burn my gunboats!" he cried,
springing to his feet. "Never! I'll wait here for high water if I have
to wait two years." And, indeed, it began to look as though he would
be forced to wait nearly that long.

[Illustration: Bailey's Dam on the Red River.]

In this time of suspense, there arose a man equal to the emergency. A
certain Lieut-Col. Bailey, who had been a Wisconsin lumberman, came to
Porter, and suggested that a dam should be built to raise the water
fourteen feet above the falls. Porter jumped at the suggestion, and
eight thousand men were set to work.

"It will take too much time to enter into the details of this truly
wonderful work," writes Admiral Porter. "Suffice it to say that the
dam had nearly reached completion in eight days' working-time, and the
water had risen sufficiently on the upper falls to allow the 'Fort
Hindman,' 'Osage,' and 'Neosho' to get down and be ready to pass the
dam. In another day it would have been high enough to enable all the
other vessels to pass the upper falls. Unfortunately, on the morning
of the 9th instant the pressure of water became so great that it swept
away two of the stone barges which swung in below the dam on one side.
Seeing this unfortunate accident, I jumped on a horse, and rode up to
where the upper vessels were anchored, and ordered the 'Lexington' to
pass the upper falls if possible, and immediately attempt to go
through the dam. I thought I might be able to save the four vessels
below, not knowing whether the persons employed on the work would ever
have the heart to renew their enterprise.

"The 'Lexington' succeeded in getting over the upper falls just in
time, the water rapidly falling as she was passing over. She then
steered directly for the opening in the dam, through which the water
was rushing so furiously that it seemed as if nothing but destruction
awaited her. Thousands of beating hearts looked on, anxious for the
result. The silence was so great as the 'Lexington' approached the
dam, that a pin might almost be heard to fall. She entered the gap
with a full head of steam on, pitched down the roaring torrent,