BUILDING THE STONE HUT.—Page 120.
At the end of some three months, after incessant and exhaustive labor, I had the satisfaction of seeing the stone work to my house all done, the top of the walls being at least two feet above my head, and I should say at least twelve inches thick; this was all mortared up both on the outside and inside, and was as strong as a fort. The last layers of stone gave me the most trouble, but by means of a large, nearly round stone, upon which I stood, I was enabled to finish my task, although at great pains. The erection of the roof was comparatively an easier matter, although that also took me a long time and was only completed after great patience. I found growing on the shores of Rapid River a species of cane, and I found that I could cut these down without difficulty, and gathering a large number of them, I spliced them together for my uprights and ridge-pole, with manilla yarns, and then laid the remainder close together from the ridge-pole to the eaves, projecting over the latter some two feet. These were secured to the ridge-pole by manilla strands, and in the centre of my house a strong forked tree as large as my leg received the ridge-pole from both ends of the house, and sustained it. This cane roofing, which was both light and strong, I thatched heavily with sedge, similar to that with which I had covered my hut. I fastened up the openings that I had left for windows with goat skins for the present, hanging them on wooden pegs which I could remove when the weather was fine. At the rear end of my house I had, I should have said, built me a nice open fire-place and a tall chimney, which I had had to finish after the roof was done, so as to stand upon the latter to carry the chimney up high enough to make it safe to carry away the sparks from my thatch. Into this large, dry, airy, and clean room, I brought by different trips all my worldly goods. I had put out the lamps in the tower at the landing-place hut long ago, having no further need of it, but I still kept it as a receptacle for my spare flint, steel, and tinder, and knew that I could go there to obtain them to start a fire should I by chance be without them on my own person.
Whilst my house was in course of construction I had not been idle about a thousand and one other things, but I had let nothing of importance interfere with this—to me—imperative duty. After my house was all finished I commenced setting out round about it, at about fifty paces distant, a species of alder, which I noticed grew rapidly and thickly, and which I foresaw would in a very few years entirely conceal my habitation. When I had gotten things well about me, I found by my journal that I was in the month of March,—in other words, that the summer had passed and that I had been none too soon in preparing myself for the winter, which was yet to visit me.
CHAPTER XIII.
Make a hatchet of my iron hammer. Make matches and utensils for house. Team of goats, chairs, table, etc. Birch-bark canoe. Arrangements for winter.