In the Heart of the Rockies eBook

“That is a good day’s work,” Harry said as the logs were piled at the inner end of the hut.  “That is about half a ton of wood.  If we have but a week of open weather we shall have a good store in our cellar.”

The work continued steadily for a week.  The horses were each day taken to feed at the meadow, the two wood-choppers continued their work, while the rest of the party hunted.  The Indians had on the second day gone down the valley, and returned with the report that the Indian lodges had all disappeared and that the valley was entirely deserted.  Eight more wapiti were killed during the week, and fourteen smaller deer.  Of an evening they occupied themselves in sewing the skins together with thongs of leather, the holes being made with their knives; and a curtain at the mouth of the hut was completed and hung.  Four wide slabs of wood had been cut.  These had been bound together with thongs so as to form a sort of chimney four feet high, and with a good deal of difficulty this was secured by props in its position over a hole cut through the skins, above the fire.

“The first avalanche will carry it away, Tom.”

“Yes, uncle; but we have had one avalanche here, and it seems to me the chances are strongly against our having another in exactly the same place.”

The skins of the smaller deer were carefully scraped with knives on the inner side, smeared with bears’ fat, and then rubbed and kneaded until they were perfectly soft.

CHAPTER XI

WINTER

The erection of Tom’s shed for the horses did not take long.  The whole party, with the exception of the two Indians,—­who, as usual, went hunting,—­proceeded to the pine-wood above the beaver meadow.  After a little search six trees were found conveniently situated with regard to each other.  The axemen cut down three young firs.  One was lashed by the others between the two central trees, to form a ridge-pole eight feet from the ground; the others against the other trees, at a height of three feet, to support the lower ends of the roof.  They were but ten feet apart, so that the roof might have a considerable pitch.  Numbers of other young trees were felled and fixed, six inches apart, from the ridge down to the eaves.  On these the branches of the young fir-trees were thickly laid, and light poles were lashed lengthways over them to keep them in their places.

As the poles of the roof had been cut long enough to extend down to the ground, no side walls were necessary.  The ends were formed of poles lashed across to the side trees, but extending down only to within four feet six of the ground, so as to allow the horses to pass under, and were, like the roof, thickly covered with boughs.  The lower ends were left open for a width of four feet in the middle, uprights being driven into the ground and the sides completed as before.

“What do you want a doorway at both ends for?” Tom asked.  “It would have been easier and quicker to have shut one end up altogether, and it would be a good deal warmer.”