The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-12-05
sUILT Her OWN HOUSE.
Mrs, Ann easier Says She "Spunked Up
aud Wont to Work.


and Wont to Work.
Mrs. Ann easier, of Vashon island,
v ash, built her log house with her own
fair hands, and anyone who knows
anything about the building of log cab
ms will appreciate the performance.
The mystery of how she did it she will
explain, good-naturedly, too, for she is
used to questions, the fame of her ire
mendous pluck having spread far and
wide.
How did I come to do it ?" asked
the little woman, who is as plump and
rs brown and as wTinkled as russell
apple. "Spunk, guess. l drifted up
here from Yolo county and took up
claim. When l came to build house,
saving, hewing and flattening the logs
was my greatest trouble. l got them
into place by means of ropes. almost
gave it up, when l had an idea. l was
sitting on log, holding q cross log
by stout rope and too tired to think,
when all of Il sudden made up my mind
that something would have to be done.
I looked around, but there was nothing
in sight but trees and ferns. l went
for the ferns. / didn't know hardly
why myself, but | know this, that a
log will move if it has something slip
perry to move on, so | chewed fern tops
to see what could do. 1t made pulp
something like slippery-elm bark and
it worked.
you see, there was not sign of any
help anywhere. l began on the fern
at the first round; just when l finished
the first round a man came along.
What are you trying to do?' said he.
I'm not trying to do anything said L.
I'm building my house You'll never
do it, said he. Well see,' says l.
That's the way got my spunk up"
On one who does not live on the dense
lr-grown islands of Puget sound much
of the pith of Mrs. Casters experience
will be lost, while the real hardships of
her undertaking to one who has seen
these tangled forests will seem more
and more inexplicable the more one
knows of her environments. The Cas-
Ter ranch is in the middle of Nashon
island, to which the deep tidal waters
of Puget sound are the only approach,
and in those days, when Mrs. Ann first
made up her mind to 'spunk up" the
place where her cabin stands was the
heart of a wild and stubborn wilder
ness.
II built that house in IA days, and
then l plastered it, throwing on the
plaster with my hands and smoothing
it down with case knife" said she.
The plaster on the interior of The old
portion of the dwelling has caked and
dropped OFF, but in the main it still
stands as weather-proof as when it was
first chinked into the windy crannies
by the unique methods of this plucky
woman.
by and by" said Mrs. easier, " the
man who had dared me came around
1t was all finished by that time"
"And what did he say?"
"He threw his hat down On the
ground and said: Well, the devil!"
All around the land has been cult
waited and acreage sold, at fair profit
when tie hard and lonely pioneer days
OF Mrs. easier with the iron nerves are
considered. Orchards of plums, prunes
and pears reward her somewhat and she
sells enough to bring her some Injuries
Around the immediate dooryard giant
frs, spruce and cedar stand, while the
grouse lives life of idle ease undis-
turbed by the hunter in these still al
Tdost trackless wilds.
And there it still stands. 1t has been
built on to, tidied up and planted
around until it would be hard to find
a spot in all the northwest more full
of good things. Chickens, cows and
| blooming plants with old-fashioned
names abound, while not the least at
tractive feature is the bright, decisive
little woman who for all her IS years
bids fair yet to make her threatened
trip to her beloved California and head
the list of new women who already live
there.-San Francisco Examiner.