Up to this moment the thousands of soldiers who lined the banks had been shouting and talking to each other, and making a most confused noise; but when the _Lexington_ entered the growing current on the rifts a hush fell upon the great throng, until no sound was heard save the beating of her paddles and the rush of the current as the pilot drove her straight at the opening. There the current took her from his hands, lifted her up on the leaping waves, and, rolling her heavily from side to side, dashed her down into the pool below. [Illustration: The Fleet Passing the Dam. _From an engraving._] The mighty cheer that the great host of spectators raised seems to echo in the ear to this day as one reads the story of the incident, for the ship was safe. The _Neosho_, _Hindman_, and _Osage_ passed through the dam after the _Lexington_, but there were others still above the rifts, and these could not pass. But after a while it was found that, even with the break unrepaired, the dam still raised the water more than five feet, and so, instead of repairing the break, Bailey built two wing dams on the rifts above, and these gave the needed depth, and the remainder of the squadron passed down in safety. Bailey received the thanks of Congress, and was made a brigadier-general. And to conclude the story of the Mississippi squadron, we may quote the words of Mahan in his admirable “Gulf and Inland Waters”: “After the Red River expedition little is left to say of the operations of the Mississippi squadron during the rest of the war.” CHAPTER XIII FARRAGUT AT MOBILE THE FORTS AND THE CONFEDERATE SQUADRON THE UNION FORCES WERE COMPELLED TO FACE--THE CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD JUST MISSED BEING A MOST FORMIDABLE SHIP--TEDIOUS WAIT FOR MONITORS--WHEN THE SOUTHWEST WIND FAVORED--THERE WAS A FIERCE BLAST FROM THE FORTS AT FIRST, BUT THE TORPEDO WAS WORSE THAN MANY GUNS--FATE OF THE _TECUMSEH_ AND CAPTAIN CRAVEN--THE LAST WORDS OF THE MAN FOR WHOM “THERE WAS NO AFTERWARD”--TORPEDOES THAT FAILED BENEATH THE FLAGSHIP--CAPTAIN STEVENS ON THE DECK OF HIS MONITOR--WHEN NEILDS UNFURLED THE OLD FLAG IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM--HOW FARRAGUT WAS LASHED TO THE MAST--JOUETT WOULD NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY A LEADSMAN--MOBBING THE _TENNESSEE_. [Illustration: Entrance to Mobile Bay. _From “The Navy in the Civil War.”_]