The voyagers appeared to have suffered
irreparable shipwreck at the very outset of their venture, and
men and women came down from their houses to offer advice or to
make fun of the young boatmen as they waded about in the water,
with trousers rolled very high, seeking a way out of their
difficulty. Lincoln's self-control and good humor proved equal to
their banter, while his engineering skill speedily won their
admiration. The amusement of the onlookers changed to gaping
wonder when they saw him deliberately bore a hole in the bottom
of the boat near the bow, after which, fixing up some kind of
derrick, he tipped the boat so that the water she had taken in at
the stern ran out in front, and she floated safely over the dam.
This novel method of bailing a boat by boring a hole in her
bottom fully established his fame at New Salem, and so delighted
the enthusiastic Offut that, on the spot, he engaged its inventor
to come back after the voyage to New Orleans and act as clerk for
him in a store.
The hole plugged up again, and the boat's cargo reloaded, they
made the remainder of the journey in safety. Lincoln returned by
steamer from New Orleans to St. Louis, and from there made his
way to New Salem on foot. He expected to find Offut already
established in the new store, but neither he nor his goods had
arrived. While "loafing about," as the citizens of New Salem
expressed it, waiting for him, the newcomer had a chance to
exhibit another of his accomplishments.
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