Evening star., 1901-12-19
HOMES OF PIONEERS.
How Early Settlers In the Northwest
Built Log Houses.
From the Milwaukee Sentinel.

From the Milwaukee Sentinel.
When the pioneers came to Wisconsin
they brought with them the habits Of in
dustry that were much needed in section
so remote from the cities and factories of
the east. One Of the things they first
learned was to raise everything they need
ed as far as possible, then to revise their
supposed needs, and go without the rest,
at least until such time as they could bet
ter afford to buy. Economy was necessarily
the watchword with them, for they had
generally expended most Of their means in
getting to the new country and in buying
land which was to furnish them with their
living. Their first homes were marvels of
cheapness, and still they were considered
good enough for many years. But cheap
as they were, they cost much in labor and
brain work, two things for which the pio-
neers were noted The present generation,
raised in an age when everything is cheap
and right at hand could hardly believe the
story of how some Of these pioneer homes
were built. The son of one of the pioneers
told me the following story regarding the
manner in which his father built his first
Wisconsin home almost without money:
my father had barely enough money to
pay for his land after he came to Wiscon-
sin with his family. was about six years
old at the time and remember well many of
the things that he did to get along without
buying material for house construction. In
IQc nTSl pidCe, tQere was NdrQly nall or
screw used in the building. There were no
hinges to the doors except those father
made himself and 1t seemed as though he
was able to make almost anything that
was needed. To begin with, he had plenty
of timber, and thus it was easy to construct
the body Of a log house, but when II came
to finishing 1t off 1t was another story.
The logs for the house were carefully pre-
pared where the trees had been felled, the
sides being hewed to a line and the ends
fitted SO that they would join at the corners
and lie close together. Some log houses
were built of rough logs and the spaces be-
pieces of timber set In mud for lack of NOR
tar, but father wanted something better
than that.
'It was no easy task for one man to do
the most Of such work, but father was ac-
customed to the use of the broad-ax and
the adze. implements which have almost
gone out Of use now that sawed timber
can be had for every possible building
purpose. 1t was something even in those
days to be good scorer as the man was
called who laid out log and reduced 1t
to stick Of square timber. The use Of
the broad-ax was also difficult. and not
easily learned, but the people in those days
had to learn almost everything. Few car
penters at the present day could square a
log and fit it for building, as the people
Of those days had to do. for the reason that
time 1t Is long time since have seen a
oroad-ax, or an adze. but In my youth I
became quite expert in the use Of both Of
them.
THE roofs of most Of the early buildings
were made without either boards or shin
gies Tamarack poles were generally used
for rafters, and upon them were placed
ribs of hardwood, generally oak. on which
to lay the Shakes which served the pur-
pose Of shingles. These shakes were
made of straight-grained timber. so that
they could be Of the same width and
thickness. and they were laid in courses
up and down, instead Of horizontally, as
Is the case with shingles