from the shore they found they were unable to make any
headway against the strong current. Carman had the paddle, and Seamon
was in the stern of the boat. Lincoln shouted to them to 'head
upstream' and 'work back to shore,' but they found themselves
powerless against the stream. At last they began to pull for the wreck
of an old flatboat, the first ever built on the Sangamon, which had
sunk and gone to pieces, leaving one of the stanchions sticking above
the water. Just as they reached it Seamon made a grab, and caught hold
of the stanchion, when the canoe capsized, leaving Seamon clinging to
the old timber, and throwing Carman into the stream. It carried him
down with the speed of a mill-race, Lincoln raised his voice above the
roar of the flood, and yelled to Carman to swim for an elm-tree which
stood almost in the channel, which the action of the high water
changed. Carman, being a good swimmer, succeeded in catching a branch,
and pulled himself up out of the water, which was very cold, and had
almost chilled him to death; and there he sat, shivering and
chattering in the tree. Lincoln, seeing Carman safe, called out to
Seamon to let go the stanchion and swim for the tree. With some
hesitation he obeyed, and struck out, while Lincoln cheered, and
directed him from the bank. As Seamon neared the tree he made one grab
for a branch, and, missing it, went under the water. Another desperate
lunge was successful, and he climbed up beside Carman. Things were
pretty exciting now, for there were two men in the tree, and the boat
was gone.

"It was a cold, raw April day, and there was great danger of the men
becoming benumbed and falling back into the water. Lincoln called out
to them to keep their spirits up and he would save them. The village
had been alarmed by this time, and many people had come down to the
bank. Lincoln procured a rope, and tied it to a log. He called all
hands to come and help roll the log into the water, and after this had
been done, he, with the assistance of several others, towed it some
distance up the stream. A daring young fellow by the name of 'Jim'
Dorrell then took his seat on the end of the log, and it was pushed
out into the current, with the expectation that it would be carried
downstream against the tree where Seamon and Carman were. The log was
well directed, and went straight to the tree; but Jim, in his
impatience to help his friends, fell a victim to his good intentions.
Making a frant