Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-02-08
HOMES OF PIONEERS.
How Early Settlers in the Northwest
Built Log Houses.


When the pioneers came to Wiscon-
sin they brought with them the habits
of industry that were much needed in
a section so remote from the cities and
factories of the East. One of the
things they first learned was to raise
everything they needed as far as pos
sible, then to revise their supposed
needs and go without the rest, at
least until such time as they could
better 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 con-
sidered good enough for many years.
But cheap as they were, they cost
much in labor and brain work, two
things for which the pioneers were
noted. The present generation, rails
ed in an age when everything is cheap
and right at hand, could hardly believe
the story of how some of these pion-
0GE uOulSS were Uu1lI. lIS SOA VI OIC
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 mon
ey to pay for his land after he came
to Wisconsin with his family. l was
about six years old at the time and
remember we'll many of the things
that he did to get along without buy
ing material for house construction.
In the first place, there was hardly
nail or screw used in the building.
There were no hinges TO the doors eX-
cept those father made himself, and
it seemed as though he was able to
make almost anything that was need
ed. To begin with, he had plenty OF
timber, and thus it was easy to con-
struct the body of a log house, but
when it came to finishing it off it was
another story. The logs for the house
were carefully prepared where the
trees had been felIed, 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 between the logs were
chinked with small pieces of timber
set in mud for lack of mortar, but
father wanted something better than
that.
cit was no easy task for one man
to do the most of such work, but faith
err was accustomed 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 a good scorer as the man was
called who laid out a log and reduced
it to a 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 carpenters at the
present time could square log and
fit it for building, as the people OF
those days had to do, for the reason
that such work is not needed at the
present time. It is a long time since
I have seen a broadaX, or an adze, put
in my youth I became quite expert. III
the use of both of them.
1.-THE roofs of most of the early
buildings were made without either
boards or shingles. Tamarack poles
were generally used for rafters, and
upon them were placed ribs of hard
wood, generally oak, on which to lay
the Shakes which served the purpose
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 horl-
zontally, as is the case with shingles
Milwaukee Sentinel.