The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-05-19

ONE OF the first needs OF a settler In
anew country IS a house. This, it often
happens, he constructs himself, and as
a few indispensable household goods
and at most a few hundred dollars com
prise his entire possessions, it must be
built as quickly and as cheaply as pos
sihle. Under these circumstances the
first buildings erected are neither preten-
tious nor commodlous. Usually they
contain but one room, and that is often
a small n They are constructed Of
the cheapest lumber procurable, have
one or two windows and a door, and the
owner considers himself fortunate if he
can afford a single roof. Sometimes
roof and sides are sheathed with tar.
paper which wind and rain soon pene-
tratc. Or the sides may be weather
boarded" and the roof shingled.
This is by no means a permanent
residence. Often it is wanted only fol
the few months the settler is required
by government to live upon the land in
order to own it. In the case Of a per.
manent resident, it s%ufices until time
and money permit the construction of a
more comfortable dwelling.
Sod is used as a building material in
the West. Strips are ploughed in a spot
thickly clothed with short grass. These
strips are Of a uniform thickness of three
inches and of a breadth of about ten
inches. When cut into pieces of a con
v%enient length they are ready to be built
like bricks into walls. Sometimes the
sod is piled around an ordinary frame
house, but the wall often consists only
Of sod, without other support. Owing
to the nature of material, the walls must
be very thick, and for this reason sod
makes a warm house. The roof may be
Of shingles or it may be Of rough boards
covered with a few inches Of earth and
sod.
Houses built in this manner are a GOOD
protection from wind and weather when
new, but they soon become comfortless
enough. The soil is washed away from
window and door frames, leaving holes
through which the rain pours in summel
and snow drifts in winter. A few 500
houses that are still occupied were built
twenty years ago. Some Of them are
plastered on the outside and these re.
semble stone houses very closely at a
short distance. This external plastering
serves the double purpose Of improving
the appearance of the house and of pro.
tecting it from rain and frost. Many
however, are upholstered either inside
or out, and every rain washes some soil
from the walls, until in a few years they
are levelled TO the prairie.
The dugout is frequently seen. For Its
location a steep hillside is best suited.
1t consists essentially Of a hole dug in
the ground, and is as lowly as an ant-hlll
or the home of the prairie-dog. The hill
itself usually forms three sides Of the
house, while the fourth may be sod OF
lumber. In the fourth side are all the
doors and windows the house contains
The roof is formed by laying beams OF
poles from wall to wall, and covering
these with a layer of straw and earth.
Sometimesa framework is built within
this hole, to keep the walls from tumbl-
ing in upou the occupants, and a floor is
added; but these improvements are not
always necessary. The inmates Of these
houses do not fear the ~iercest winds that
sweep across the prairie.
There is still another kind Of house
that IS peculiar to the West. This is
half frame and half dugout. A hole is
dug in the ground to the depth Of two
feet or more, and Of the desired size.
Over this a frame house is constructed
to the hight Of four feet. Two or three
half length windows are put in the sides,
steps are made leading down to the floor,
the earth taken from the hole is banked
outside almost to the caves, and the
house is complete.
It not infrequently happens that the
rattlesnake seeks the wormth Of the
Western fireside. The little striped
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