Part 10 (1/2)
”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 inia, he had built two or three onNo s, notch them, and lay them firmly in their beds--no man knew better how to split the 'clap-boards,' lay thele nail--no man kne to 'chink' the walls, clay the chi-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 tiht 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 tith, none of the rest of us were idle In cooking ourafter the children, Mary found sufficient employment; while Frank, Harry, and I, with the help of our horse Pos 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 thee-pole co 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 hile' the roof of our house During that day, I e 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 God 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 hu the week, and our little ones were dressed out, as if for a holiday Taking the with us, we all walked down to the lake and soe 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 shore, and others upon the little islets There was only one which we could reach, and this we exareat curiosity It stood only a few yards from the shore, 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 rass 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--forthe 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 ofa 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 et in and destroy him The houses were all plastered over withof 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 thes were not regular cones, but rather of an oval shape; and sometimes tere placed, as it were, 'under one roof,' so as to steady the They were all pretty large--ht 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 thele 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 co their provisions for the winter These consisted of the leaves and soft twigs of several species of trees--such as , birch, andin the water in front of several of the houses
”It was late in the season for beavers to be constructing a new da 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 thenan the trees and accumulate 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 deter operations, to lend the in their stock of provisions”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE SAGACIOUS SQUIRREL
”While we thus stood watching theabout the habits of these interesting animals, an incident occurred which very much amused us, and proved that the beavers were not the only aniacity
”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 da 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 ater
”A the tops of these trees we observed several s nimbly about from branch to branch and from one tree to the other They were squirrels They seeh they had been alarmed by the presence of an enemy
But there did not appear to be any such enemy near the down the trunks of each, as far as the water would allow the 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 hich they passed from place to place, would have led one to believe that there were ten tis and leaves were constantly kept inthrough them
”We had noticed these ani about in the sa unusual, had paid no attention to their movements Noever, it occurred to us that these little creatures--who never take to the water unless compelled by absolute necessity--had been suddenly cut off fro 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 fros and branches It was plain that the squirrels had been living for soet off fro the unusual co theher up the lake, a sot into the strea borne down by the current It was at thisthe little island of timber upon which were the squirrels; but it cah the lake was hardly perceptible It was this log that was causing such a flurry; and the anih--to use it as a raft
”We seated ourselves to watch their radually; 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 froathered upon that side; and now, instead of running up and down the trunks, as before, they all stood upon the top
”'Poor little creatures!' said Mary, 'they will be unable to reach it, after allWhat a pity!'
”Just as shefloated forward to the point where it was likely to be nearest to the clu branch stretched out in that direction; but, as we calculated, the driftas not likely to pass 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 fore
”'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 Gosh!+ de leap hiinny leap far furrer Looky now! Yonder de go--wap!'