Had it been advisable to set all hands at the business of slaughtering, Roswell Gardiner certainly would not have lost the time he did, in the erection of his house.  But our master was a judicious and wary commander at his calling.  The seals were now perfectly tame, and nothing was easier than to kill them in scores.  The great difficulty was in removing the spoils across the rocks, as it was sometimes necessary to do so for a distance of several miles.  Means were found, in the end, to use the boats on this service, though even then, at midsummer, the northern shore of the island was frequently so closely beset by the ice as completely to block up the passage.  This, too, occurred at times when the larger bay was nearly free, and the cove, which went by the name of the “Deacon’s Bight,” among the men, was entirely so.  In order to prevent a premature panic among the victims of this intended foray, then, Gardiner allowed no one to go out to “kill” but the experienced hands, and no more to be slain each day than could be skinned or cut up at that particular time.  In consequence of this prudent caution, the work soon got into a regular train; and it was early found that more was done in this mode, than could have been effected by a less guarded assault on the seals.

As for the materials of the building, they were hauled up the rocks without much difficulty.  The frame was of some size, as is the case generally with most old constructions in America; but being of pine, thoroughly seasoned, the sills and plates were not so heavy but that they might be readily enough handled by the non-sealing portion of the crew.  Robert Smith, the landsman, was a carpenter by trade, and it fell to his lot to put together again the materials of the old warehouse.  Had there not been such a mechanic among the crew, however, a dozen Americans could, at any time, construct a house, the ‘rough and ready’ habits of the people usually teaching them, in a rude way, a good deal of a great many other arts, besides this of the carpenter.  Mott had served a part of his time with a blacksmith, and he now set up his forge.  When the frame was ready, all hands assembled to assist in raising it; and, by the end of the first week, the building was actually enclosed, the labour amounting to no more than putting each portion in its place, and securing it there, the saw being scarcely used during the whole process.  This building had two apartments, one of which Gardiner appropriated to the uses of a sitting-room, and the other to that of a dormitory.  Rough bunks were constructed, and the mattresses of the men were all brought ashore, and put in the house.  It was intended that everybody should sleep in the building, as it would save a great deal of going to and fro, as well as a great deal of time.  The cargo was to be collected on a shelf of rock, that lay about twenty feet below that on which the building stood; by following which, it was possible to turn the highest point of the pass, that