First the men,
and most of them were what would now be called jacks-of-all-trades,
felled trees, six or eight inches in diameter, and cut them into logs,
some of which were split down the center, making what are called
puncheons; others were only nicked at the ends, being left in the rough,
that is, with the bark on.
The round logs made the walls of their houses. First, the place where
the house was to be built was chosen. Next the turf was cut off and the
ground smoothed away. Then they "raised" the logs, the nicked ends
fitting together at the corner, the whole inclosing a square. Everybody
helped "raise" each house in turn, the men singing "hip-hip-ho!" as they
rolled the heavy logs into position.
A place was cut out for a window and fastened with a shutter and a
larger space was provided in the same manner for a door. They made the
floor out of the puncheons, turned with the smooth side upward, and the
roof out of rough boards, sawed from the trees. The chimney was built of
earth and stones, and a great flat stone served as the fireplace. Some
of the houses were large enough to have two rooms, one for the grown
folks and one for the children, and Mr.
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