Fig. 397. the roofs on real houses. To produce a like result on the sides, have the front and back logs of the roof longer than those built in the front and back of the house, the difference being the same increase in measurement as in the sides of the roof (Fig. 396, A B and C D).
Cut a piece of paper two and one-quarter inches long and one and one-quarter inches wide to indicate the door; fasten it by the four corners to the centre of the front of the house immediately above the foundation log. Cut another piece of paper the size of the window—one inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide—and
Fig. 398. paste it also on the front of the house midway between the door and the end of the house, allowing it to come a little lower than the top of the door (Fig. 396). With paint-brush and white paint mark the logs along the edge of the paper door and window; then carefully take down the house, placing the logs in eight different piles: the front of the roof in one place, back of roof in another, first end of roof in the third pile, and second end in the fourth. Tie each group of logs separately and label. Proceed in like manner with the four sides of the house proper, first removing the pieces of paper. Cut the logs marked with the white paint on the inside of the lines to make openings for the door and window, then rub off the remaining paint from the logs.
Now your material is
Ready for Building
and you must find some land upon which to erect the house. Fortunately log-cabins need no cellars, so digging will be unnecessary, and the ground need not be deep. A piece of bookbinder’s stiff pasteboard or a light-weight wooden board seventeen by twenty-three inches or thereabouts will prove the best kind of a ground plot and, after space is reserved for the house, will allow for a large yard. Mark the location for the house a little to one side of the centre and near the back of the lot, as shown in illustration of An “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.
Fig. 399.
Have ready some strong glue and begin the building of the cabin. Glue down the four foundation logs to the board, being cautious to lay them straight and even; then proceed as when first erecting the building, only this time glue each log to the lower ones at the notched ends, using putty in place of mortar between the lengths of the logs. Now, do not say you have no putty. If you cannot get it, use plaster-of-paris; if you have no plaster-of-paris, use clay; and if there is no clay use mud. The ends of the logs bordering the window and doorway must be held level and kept from falling together by chips glued in between them (Fig. 399).