The Desert Home Part 10

"The first thing to be done, then, was to provide ourselves with a house. It would be a 'log-cabin,' of course; and putting up a log-cabin was a mere bagatelle to Cudjo. During our residence in Virginia, he had built two or three on my farm; and no man knew better than he how to do the thing. No man knew better than he how to shape the logs, notch them, and lay them firmly in their beds--no man knew better how to split the 'clap-boards,' lay them on the rafters, and bind them fast, without even a single nail--no man knew how to 'c.h.i.n.k' the walls, clay the chimney, and hang the door of a log-cabin better than Cudjo. No. I will answer for that--Cudjo could construct a log-cabin as well as the most renowned architect in the world.

"There was plenty of the right kind of timber at hand--plenty of tulip-trees with their tall straight trunks rising to the height of fifty feet without a branch; and for the next two days the axe of Cudjo could be heard with its constant 'check--check,' while every now and then the crash of a falling tree woke the echoes of the valley. While Cudjo was felling the timber and cutting it into logs of a proper length, none of the rest of us were idle. In cooking our meals, scouring the vessels, and looking after the children, Mary found sufficient employment; while Frank, Harry, and I, with the help of our horse Pompo, were able to drag the logs forward to the spot where we had designed to put up the cabin.

"On the third day, Cudjo notched the logs, and on the fourth we raised the walls up to the square. On the fifth, we set up the gables and rafters, which, you know, is done by shortening the gable-logs successively, as you go upward, and tying each pair of them by a pair of rafters notched into them, at the ends, precisely as the wall-logs below. A ridge-pole completed the frame, and that was laid by the evening of the fifth day.

"Upon the sixth day, Cudjo went to work upon a large oak which he had felled and cut into lengths of about four feet each, at the beginning of our operations. It was now somewhat dry, so as to split easily; and with his axe and a set of wedges he attacked it. By sunset, he had a pile of clap-boards beside him as large as a wagon--quite enough to 's.h.i.+ngle' the roof of our house. During that day, I employed myself in tempering the clay for c.h.i.n.king the walls and plastering the chimney.

"On the seventh day, we all rested from our labour. We did so because it was Sunday. We had resolved ever to keep the Sabbath. Though the eyes of men could not see us--which I fear is too often the reason for observing the sacred day--we knew that the eye of G.o.d was upon us, even in that remote valley.

"We rose as early as usual, and after eating our breakfast, the Bible was brought forth, and we offered--the only sacrifice to Him acceptable--the sacrifice of our humble prayers. Mary had been busy during the week, and our little ones were dressed out, as if for a holiday. Taking them along with us, we all walked down to the lake and some distance around its edge. We saw that the beavers had been as busy in building as we; and already their cone-shaped dwellings appeared above the water--some of them near the sh.o.r.e, and others upon the little islets. There was only one which we could reach, and this we examined with great curiosity. It stood only a few yards from the sh.o.r.e, but at a place where the water was deep on its front side. It was nearly cone-shaped, or rather the form of a bee-hive; and was constructed out of stones, sticks and mud mixed with gra.s.s. Part of it was under water, but although we could not look into the interior, we knew that there was an upper story above water-mark--for we saw the ends of the joists that supported the second floor. The entrance was toward the centre of the lake and under the water--so that in going out of and into his house, the beaver is always under the necessity of making a dive. But he does not mind that, as it seems to be rather a pleasure to him than an inconvenience. There was no entrance toward the land, as we had often heard. Indeed, it would be bad policy in the beaver, thus to make a door by which his enemy, the wolverene, could easily get in and destroy him. The houses were all plastered over with mud, which, by the flapping of the tails and the constant paddling of the broad web-feet, had become as smooth as if the mud had been laid on with a trowel. We knew that they were also plastered inside, so as to render them warm and commodious in winter.

"Some of these dwellings were not regular cones, but rather of an oval shape; and sometimes two were placed, as it were, 'under one roof,' so as to steady them in the water, and save labour in the building. They were all pretty large--many of them rising the height of a man above the surface of the lake, and with broad tops, where the beavers delighted to sit and sun themselves. Each house was built by its own inhabitants, and each of them was inhabited by a single pair of beavers--man and wife--and in some instances where there were families by four or five.

Some of them who had finished their houses earlier than the rest, had already commenced gathering their provisions for the winter. These consisted of the leaves and soft twigs of several species of trees--such as willow, birch, and mulberry--and we saw collections of these floating in the water in front of several of the houses.

"It was late in the season for beavers to be constructing a new dam. It is generally in spring when they perform that labour; but it was evident that the present colony had just arrived--no doubt driven by trappers or Indians, or perhaps drought, from their last settlement, hundreds of miles away. We conjectured that they must have come up the stream that ran away to the eastward.

"They must have entered the valley some time before we discovered them, as it would have taken them several days to gnaw down the trees and acc.u.mulate the materials for the dam that had so suddenly started up to alarm us. Some of these trees were nearly a foot in diameter, while many of the stones--which they had rolled up or carried between their fore-paws and throat--would have weighed nearly a score of pounds.

"It was evident, then, they had arrived late in the season, and had worked hard to get ready for the winter. But Cudjo and I were determined, as soon as we should have finished our building operations, to lend them a hand in laying in their stock of provisions."

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THE SAGACIOUS SQUIRREL.

"While we thus stood watching the movements of our beavers, and conversing about the habits of these interesting animals, an incident occurred which very much amused us, and proved that the beavers were not the only animals whom Nature had gifted with extraordinary sagacity.

"Near the middle of the lake stood a clump of tall trees--their trunks immersed for two or three feet under the water. These trees had been upon the bank of the rivulet, previous to the formation of the dam; and they were now surrounded on all sides, forming a kind of timber islet.

It was evident, however, that they were destined to decay, as they were trees of the poplar species, and such as could not live with their roots covered with water.

"Among the tops of these trees we observed several small animals leaping nimbly about from branch to branch and from one tree to the other. They were squirrels. They seemed to be labouring under some unusual excitement--as though they had been alarmed by the presence of an enemy.

But there did not appear to be any such enemy near them. We noticed that they pa.s.sed from tree to tree, running down the trunks of each, as far as the water would allow them; and then, after looking outward, as if they intended to leap into the lake, they would suddenly turn back again, and gallop up into the high branches. There were in all about a dozen of them; but the nimbleness with which they pa.s.sed from place to place, would have led one to believe that there were ten times that number; and the twigs and leaves were constantly kept in motion, as though a large flock of birds were fluttering through them.

"We had noticed these animals before, from time to time, das.h.i.+ng about in the same clump of trees; but not thinking it anything unusual, had paid no attention to their movements. Now, however, it occurred to us that these little creatures--who never take to the water unless compelled by absolute necessity--had been suddenly cut off from their usual range by the forming of the dam, and were held where they were in a state of captivity. This was the more evident, as the trees had been stripped of many of their leaves, and the bark was peeled from the more tender twigs and branches. It was plain that the squirrels had been living for some time upon short allowance, and were anxious to get off from the place.

"We now saw what was causing the unusual commotion among them at that particular time. Near the clump of trees, but higher up the lake, a small log was floating in the water. It had somehow got into the stream above, and was being borne down by the current. It was at this moment nearing the little island of timber upon which were the squirrels; but it came on very slowly, as the current through the lake was hardly perceptible. It was this log that was causing such a flurry; and the animals evidently intended--should it come near enough--to use it as a raft.

"We seated ourselves to watch their manoeuvres. On came the log slowly and gradually; but, instead of drifting directly for the timber, it was borne by the current in a direction that would carry it at least twenty yards from the trees. The squirrels had gathered upon that side; and now, instead of running up and down the trunks, as before, they all stood upon the topmost branches apparently watching the motions of the log.

"'Poor little creatures!' said Mary, 'they will be unable to reach it, after all. What a pity!'

"Just as she made this reflection, the log floated forward to the point where it was likely to be nearest to the clump in pa.s.sing. A long branch stretched out in that direction; but, as we calculated, the driftwood was not likely to pa.s.s nearer than twenty yards. On this branch, however, the squirrels had now gathered, one behind the other in a long string, and we could see the foremost of them straining himself as if to spring.

"'Surely, they do not intend,--surely, they cannot leap so far!' said Mary, as we all stood holding our breath, and watching them with intense curiosity.

"'Yes, Missa,' replied Cudjo; 'de do intend. Gos.h.!.+ de leap him, too.

Dis n.i.g.g.a see 'em in Vaginny leap far furrer. Looky now! Yonder de go--wap!'

"As Cudjo spoke, the foremost squirrel launched out into the air, and the next moment pounced down upon the log. Then another followed, and another, and another, looking like so many birds flying through the air in a string, until the log was covered with the little creatures, and floated off with its cargo!

"We supposed that they had all succeeded in getting off, but in this we were mistaken. On looking up to the trees again, we saw that there was still one remaining. He appeared not to have got out upon the projecting branch in time,--for the weight of each of those that preceded him, coming down upon the log had pushed it so far off, that he became, no doubt, afraid to venture taking such a long leap. He was now running to and fro, apparently in a frantic state--both on account of his inability to escape, and his being thus left alone. For some time he kept springing from tree to tree, running down the trunks of all to the very edge of the water, and stopping now and again to look hopelessly after his companions.

"At length, we saw him descend a tree, whose bark was exceedingly rough--in fact, crisped outward in great broad pieces, or scales of a foot long, and several inches broad, that looked as though they were about to fall from the tree. For this reason, the tree is known among backwoodsmen as the 'scaly bark.' Having descended this tree, nearly to the point where it rose above the water, the squirrel was seen to stop; and for a moment we lost sight of him, where he was hidden behind one of the broad pieces of bark. We thought he had taken shelter there, intending to rest himself. Presently, however, we saw the bark moving backwards and forwards; and from what we could see of the little animal, it was evident he was trying with all his might to detach it from the tree. Occasionally he ran out from the crevice--scratched the bark outside with teeth and claws--and then hurriedly disappeared again.

"These strange manoeuvres were kept up for several minutes, while we all remained upon the sh.o.r.e, watching with curiosity for the result.

"At length, we saw the piece of bark move rapidly outward from the trunk, and hang down suspended only by a few fibres. These were soon gnawed by the teeth of the squirrel, and the broad scale fell into the water. It had hardly touched the surface, when the animal ran nimbly down, and leaped upon it! There was no current at the spot where the bark fell into the water; and we were in doubt whether it would carry him out from among the trees; but we were soon convinced that our squirrel knew what he was about. As soon as he had fairly balanced himself upon his tiny craft, he hoisted his broad bushy tail high up in the air, by way of a sail; and, the next moment, we saw that the breeze catching upon it wafted the little mariner slowly, but surely, outward!

In a few seconds he had cleared the trees; and the wind soon brought him within the influence of the current, which caused his bark to float downward after his companions.

"These had well-nigh reached the breastwork of the dam; and Harry wished very much to intercept them as they got to land. This wish, however, was overruled by his mother, who very justly declared that the little creatures deserved to escape, after having so well amused us by their ingenuity.

"In a short time, they all leaped ash.o.r.e, and went scampering off among the trees in search of a dinner--for by this time, no doubt, they were sufficiently hungry."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

A HOUSE BUILT WITHOUT A NAIL.

"Next day Cudjo and I went on with our housebuilding. This day was appropriated to roofing it. We first laid a row of the clap-boards, projecting considerably over the eaves--so as to cast the water far out.

These we secured near their lower ends by a long straight pole, which traversed the roof horizontally from gable to gable, and was lashed down by strips of wet elk-hide. These we knew would tighten as they dried, and press the pole firmer than ever against the boards.

"We now laid a second row of the clap-boards--with their lower ends riding the upper ones of the first row, and thus securing them. The second row was in its turn secured by a horizontal pole, along its bottom, and at its top by the lower ends of the third row; and so on up to the ridge.

"The other side was s.h.i.+ngled in a similar manner; and the ridge itself was secured against leakage, by allowing the clap-boards, on one side, to project upwards, and shelter the ends of those on the other. This gave our cabin quite a chanticleer sort of comb along its top, and added to the picturesqueness of its appearance.

"Our house was now built and roofed, and we could say that we had finished a house without ever having been inside of it--for as yet it had neither door nor windows. As the s.p.a.ces between the logs were not yet 'c.h.i.n.ked,' it looked more like a gigantic cage than a house.

"Our next day was devoted to making the door and window--that is, making the apertures where these were to be. We designed having only one window--in the back.

"The manner in which we opened our doorway was very simple. Having first carefully rested the logs--which were to be on each side of the door--upon firm wedges, we sawed away the parts between. Fortunately, we had a saw, or this operation would have given us a good deal of trouble. Of course, we sawed away the proper size for a door; and thus our doorway, by placing the lintels and posts, was complete. In a similar manner we cut out our window in the back. We then went to work upon one of the soft tulip-trees, and sawed out enough plank to make a door and window, or rather a window-shutter. These we cut to the proper size, and bound them together by slats, and trenails made out of the hard locust-wood. We then hung them--both door and window-shutter--with strips of elk-skin. That night we carried in all our bedding and utensils, and slept under the roof of our new house.

"It was still far from being finished; and the next day we set about building a fireplace and chimney. This, of course, was to be in one of the gable ends; and we chose that looking northward--for we had built our cabin fronting the east. We wedged the logs precisely as we had done with the door, and then sawed away the s.p.a.ce between--up to the height of an ordinary mantel-piece. Behind this, and altogether outside the house, we built a fireplace of stones and clay--laying a hearth of the same materials, that completely covered the sleeper--in order to prevent the latter from being burned. On the top of this fireplace, the chimney was still to be erected; and this was done by notching short straight pieces of timber, and placing them across each other, exactly as we had laid the logs of the house itself. These pieces were put in shorter, as we advanced to the top--so that the top ones might be lighter and more easily supported by those below; and when the whole was finished, and the c.h.i.n.ks filled with clay, our chimney tapered upward like the funnel of a little factory. The chimney and fireplace occupied us quite a day, and at night--although it was not very cold--we tried it with a log-fire. It drew beautifully.

"Next day we 'c.h.i.n.ked' the walls all round with chips, stones, and clay.

We c.h.i.n.ked gables and all, until not a hole was to be seen that would let a mouse through. The floor still remained; but we intended to lay this with plank, and as we had no means of getting them except by our small saw, and they would require some time to dry, we resolved to attend, first, to several other things that were of more necessity, and finish the floor at our leisure. We carpeted the ground, which was quite dry, with green palmetto leaves, and that rendered it sufficiently comfortable for the present. We now formally entered our new house, which we had built from floor to chimney _without a nail_!

"Our next care was to furnish our horse with a house--in other words, to build a stable. Not that the weather rendered it at all necessary for Pompo--so our horse was called--to sleep under a roof; but we were fearful lest some beast of prey, prowling about by night, should fancy him--as the carcajou had fancied our poor ox.

"The stable was only a two days' job--as we built it out of logs already cut, and roofed it with the refuse of our clap-boards. Besides, we had no window nor chimney to make, and we did not c.h.i.n.k the logs, as that was not necessary for a stable in such a climate. Our horse would be warm enough without that; and Cudjo had made him a trough by hollowing out one of the tulip-trees.

"From that time forth Pompo was regularly called every evening at sunset, and shut up in his stable. We could not afford to let the carcajou make a meal of him, as in our log-hauling and other labours he was of great service to us.

"As soon as the stable was finished, we set to work and put up a table and six strong chairs. As I have said, we had no nails; but, fortunately enough, I had both a chisel and auger, with several other useful tools. All of these I had brought in the great chest from Virginia, thinking they might be needed on our beautiful farm at Cairo.

With the help of these, and Cudjo's great skill as a joiner, we were able to mortise and dovetail at our pleasure; and I had made a most excellent glue from the horns and hoofs of the elk and ox. We wanted a plane to polish our table, but this was a want which we could easily endure. The lid of our table was made of plank sawn out of the catalpa-tree; and with some pieces of pumice I had picked up in the valley, and the constant scouring which it received at the hands of our housewife, it soon exhibited a surface as smooth as gla.s.s. From my finding this pumice-stone, I concluded that our snow-mountain had once been a volcano--perhaps like the peak of Teneriffe, standing alone in the water, when the great plain around us had been covered with a sea.

"Cudjo and I did not forget the promise we had made to the beavers. We could see these little creatures, from day to day, very busy in drawing large branches to the water, and then floating them towards their houses. We knew that this was for their winter provisions. They had grown quite tame, as soon as they found we were not going to molest them; and frequently came out on our side of the lake. For this confidence on their part we were determined to give them a treat they little dreamt of--at least, of receiving from our hands.