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After I had travelled about six miles, not meeting in that distance a human being, I sat down at a spring, took from my pocket a couple of biscuit, which I had sliced, and a little piece of ham inserted, à la sandwich. This I ate, and then turned me down on "all-fours," forming a natural hydraulic machine, and thus slaked my thirst. I felt refreshed, and taking out an apple I went on my way, munching it.

I passed many foundations. Perhaps I had better explain. Four logs laid in a quadrangle constituted a pre-emption claim of a "Squatter Sovereign." This was an indication that a building was in the course of erection. A shingle would very generally be set with one end driven into the ground, and on the other would be found written the name of the architect, and the proprietor. If you loved peace, why then you would not think of squatting within half a mile of this foundation, on either side; but if you should admire the taste of the absent architect, and fancy his location, why the first ox-team that you could hire you might bring and sprawl the four logs all over; and then draw four logs yourself, place them some little distance from the place where the others were laid, place the shingle as aforesaid, with your own name written thereon, as architect and proprietor, with the additional caution— "If I find any dd rascal touching this foundation, I will cut his liver out!"

Travel on, it is getting very cold. Blanket in requisition; four more miles to travel. I expect to stay at Azariah Martin's-reach Azariah's log hut, but he is not there. The morning was pleasant, and I sup

pose they took their horses and have gone off fifteen or twenty miles to spend the day! Very social people in a new country. However, it was evident that they did not expect any call while they were absent, as a plow-chain and a padlock fastened the home-made door. I could have got in through several places, between the logs, but I would have been but precious little less exposed to the cold, and my landscape view would have been cut off. Hungry, wearied and very cold, with night coming on. Cannot be helped. There is no snow on the ground, just get out of the wind and sit down and rest yourself. The next time, go out and tell Azariah Martin when you are coming! "Miserable comforters are ye all," said Job. I think Job would have turned comforter to me himself, that night in Kansas. Fortune was still ahead!

A rather frightful thought now occurred to me. There is no lack of wolves in Kansas! Here was I, a shepherd, indeed, but having neither gun nor dog. A place of refuge I must have in reserve, should the prairie wolves begin to bark in any great number. I tride to insert my head between one or two of the most glaring of Azariah's "oak openings," but my head was larger than I had at first imagined it to be-the logs were as inhospitable as the plow-chain; they said, decidedly, "no admittance."

But poverty is the mother of invention. The log was low and the chimney was lower, and nearly as wide as the house itself; to the initiated this would need no explanation, but it is barely possible that this book may fall into the hands of some Fifth Avenue

CASTLE BUILDING.

177

Belle, and I will attempt an explanation. "One-half of the world knows not how the other half lives."

We have in contemplation the erection of a log cabin for the particular information of the Fifth Avenue lady of fashion. The cabin shall be sixteen feet in the clear-quite a large cabin for mere squatting purposes. Well, if the cabin is to be sixteen feet each way inside, we must have logs cut full eighteen feet long, to allow of saddling and notching-i. e., the end of one log must be chopped off in shape like the back-bone of a rather poor horse, and this is called saddling; that is, this is prepared to receive the notch, which is made by chopping the end of another log into a shape such as a saddle presents in the under part, where the padding is. Saddle and notch-notch and saddle away now, at the end, and on the end of every log, until your house is up.

Well, now you take a look to see where you would like to have the ornamentals, as, for instance, the chimney. Ah, very well; we get a large cross-cut saw now, and saw out about eight feet in length of about five of the logs. So the logs are cut out, and of course a horse and cart could be backed into the cabin. A small cabin now, about six or eight feet square, must be built around this hole for the egress of the smoke, which may be made in the cabin fire-place. This additional cabin is not, at first, built up its entire length, neither is it raised often above the gable end of the cabin. Oh, well, I can tell you better than this. You have seen towers to churches, built up in part and roofed over, until such times as the trustees can secure cash

enough to surmount it with a spire? Very well, then; the backwoodsman has frequently to leave his chimney in this condition, either from want of help, or want of money, or want of disposition; it was from the latter want that Azariah's chimney was not completed. He never did complete it. He said that the smoke was much lighter than the logs, and he hoped that it would always have an inclination to ascend, and thereby save him any further trouble.

If the castle-building ladies of the Fifth Avenue cannot understand the foregoing mode of construction, then let them ask John C. Fremont, he can tell themall about it.

If this little book should become a classic, then the boys will confound the construction of my cabin as much as the boys I once knew, did Cæsar's bridge.

The wolves did bark! I barked up the logs and I barked down the chimney! I made up a fire, but I could not make up any bread-there was neither meal, flour, nor bacon. When these failed Azariah, as they very frequently did, then he would go on a visiting and a borrowing tour. There was every evidence that he had been expelled from the cabin on this day or the day before, by his craving creditor—appetite.

Dinnerless, supperless, and a glorious prospect for breakfastless, I laid me down, and pulled the blanket

over me.

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I know a Rector not many miles from New York, who will say, if he ever reads this-"Screw loose," screw loose, somewhere!" Yet this Rector can afford to get "bread and butter," and I can and will write about "when I could get none."

CHAPTER XXX.

TWO WEEKS CAMPING AMID THE SNOW.

ON the 13th day of March, 1855, several relatives arrived at Weston, on the first boat which came up the river. I mentioned to these my condition, and proposed that we should prepare to go out into the Territory and camp until we could build a cabin.

This was agreed to. I purchased forty yards of common cotton cloth for the making of a tent. Twenty yards of rag carpet to spread on the ground for our bed, and two or three pairs of common blankets. All our bedding and clothing, save the few articles we wore daily, had been lost. In addition to these necessary articles to protect us in some degree from the cold, we procured some flour, and meal, and bacon, with a little tea, sugar, and coffee, as very great luxuries.

Our articles for cooking consisted of a tin tea-pot and a tin coffee-pot, a frying pan, an iron oven or pot to bake our bread; a tin bucket, a tin dish or pan, for mixing our bread, a few tin cups, and tin platters. Knives and forks and spoons we dispensed with, except as far as we could supply the deficiency by our own whittling knives. In addition to these, we procured a couple of the Squatter Sovereigns' "vade mecum" axes.

The next morning we procured our team to take us

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