. Richard of Jamestown ; a story of the Virginia colony . rew up theroof of branches concerning which I have spoken;but it was only to shelter us until better could be built. BUILDING A HOUSE OF LOGS While the others were hunting here and there for thegold which it had been said could be picked up inVirginia as one gathers acorns in the old world, CaptainSmith set about making a house of logs such as wouldprotect him from the storms of winter as well as fromthe summer sun. This he did by laying four logs on the ground inthe form of a square, and so cutting notches in the endsof each that when
. Richard of Jamestown ; a story of the Virginia colony . rew up theroof of branches concerning which I have spoken;but it was only to shelter us until better could be built. BUILDING A HOUSE OF LOGS While the others were hunting here and there for thegold which it had been said could be picked up inVirginia as one gathers acorns in the old world, CaptainSmith set about making a house of logs such as wouldprotect him from the storms of winter as well as fromthe summer sun. This he did by laying four logs on the ground inthe form of a square, and so cutting notches in the endsof each that when it was placed on the top of another,and at right angles with it, the hewn portions wouldinterlock, one with the other, holding all firmly in top of these, other huge tree trunks were laid withthe same notching of the ends. It was a vast amount of labor, thus to roll up theheavy logs in the form of a square until a pen or boxhad been made as high as a mans head, and thenover that was built a roof of logs fastened together 62 RICHARD OF JAMESTOWN. with wooden pins, or pegs, foriron nails were all too scarceand costly to be used for suchpurpose. When the house had beenbuilt thus far, the roof wasformed of no more than fouror five logs on which a thatch-ing of grass was to be laid later,and the ends, in what might be called the peak of theroof, were open to the weather. Then it was that roughlyhewn planks, or logs split into three or four strips, calledpuncheons, were pegged with wooden nails on the sides,or ends, where doors or windows were to be made. Then the space inside this framework was sawed out,and behold you had a doorway, or the opening for awindow, to be filled in afterward as time and materialwith which to work might permit. After this had been done, the ends under the roofwere covered with yet more logs, sawn to the properlength and pegged together, until, save for the crevicesbetween the timbers, the whole gave protection against the weather. Then came the w
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