Chapter 4 HUTS AND HOUSES.

Timber felling.

Before proceeding to give directions for building huts and houses, it may not be amiss to give a few hints on felling trees. Hints they can only be, as it is just as impossible to teach the art of wielding the backwoodsman's axe by writing as it is to communicate the faculty of tracking wild animals through the forest by verbal directions. Experience and close observation are the only two true masters in both cases; still, we may be enabled to give such general directions as may save our readers from some of the humiliating predicaments we have seen the inexperienced wood-chopper placed in. Nothing is more common than to see one of this class hopelessly pinching his axe at every cut, from having commenced his chop too narrow. The length of the chop, or chip as it is sometimes called, will, of course, depend on the size of the tree; but in all cases it should be made in a long wedge form, as shown in the annexed illustration. By cutting in this way, the surface of the stump is left as level as a planed board, and the log which is separated from it has, when it falls, a wedge-shaped end. It will, in most cases, be found that the tree which you are about to fell will lean more or less in one direction. Station yourself, axe in hand, on the side towards which the tree leans; then measure your distance by placing the edge of your axe on the centre of the boll of the tree, at such a height from the ground that the axe lays in a straight and true line according to the stature of the axe man. The check or flange at the end of the axe helve should rest in the hands as the arms are extended towards the tree. This will give the distance at which the axe blade may be best brought to bear on the tree trunk. In delivering the cuts, which should follow the distance test, the axe should be dexterously and powerfully whirled round the head; sometimes obliquely from above downwards, and at others in a straight and direct sweep across the line of the log. The horizontal form of the lower cut and the wedge shape of the upper will be thus preserved until the tree is half cut through, when exactly the same system of operation should be followed out on the side of the tree opposite to that on which the first incision was made. On the second chop being nearly completed, the tree will fall directly away from the axe man in the line of its inclination. On all the tops, lops, and branches being removed, and the log cleared from surrounding impediments, it may become a question as to what purpose it is to be applied. If it is of great length, and comparatively short pieces are required, the process known as "logging up" must be had recourse to. This is carried out as follows: After measuring the length of the log, and dividing it into the requisite number of pieces by marking it with the axe, stand on the tree trunk, with your feet pointing across the grain of the wood, then with your axe proceed to cut two sloping or wedge-shaped cuts, as shown in the annexed illustration, carrying them into the log until half through it; then face about, and make two on the other side, which, when finished, should meet the others at their widest diameter, which will be that of the tree. Some settlers in wild countries burn down the trees in order to save labour; others girdle them. To perform this latter process, it is necessary to cut a wide band of bark from the butt of the tree near the ground. This prevents the sap from ascending, and thus quickly destroys vegetation. Where timber is scarce and valuable, the cross-cut saw may be made to aid the axe, and the tree taken off almost level with the ground. It sometimes, although not frequently, happens that trees are found too large to be felled by the axe or saw. This was the case with the so-called "big tree," one of the "mammoth trees" of California. It was felled by boring a complete circle of holes round and into its immense trunk with augers. Five men were occupied during twenty-two days in completing the final overthrow of the tree, which was effected, after all the holes had converged, by the introduction of a number of wedges. Its period of growth was estimated at 3000 years; it measured 302ft. high, and was 96ft. in circumference at the butt. The bark measured nearly 1ft. in thickness.

When to cut timber.

The quality, strength, and durability of timber are much influenced by the season of the year in which it is felled. In all temperate regions the autumn or winter season should be chosen, as at that time little sap is flowing through the vessels of the tree. In this country it but too often happens that well-grown oak timber is all but sacrificed in order that the bark may be procured. Early spring, the season for bark rending, is the very worst that could by any possibility be chosen for cutting timber. Charged as it is with vegetable juices, rich in saccharine matter and albumen, the seeds of dry rot and decay are carried with it, which no after treatment will serve to eradicate. In tropical climates it is well to fell such timber as is intended to be kept for future use at the end of the dry season and before the setting in of the rains; all logs intended for rails, posts, &c., should be split up, immediately after felling, into the rough forms of the objects into which, when fully seasoned, they will be converted. The bark should be all stripped off, and the rough timber placed under cover in such a situation as will admit of light and air penetrating freely through it. Timber cut and thus treated one season, should not be used until the next. The durability of seasoned timber is infinitely greater than that of green.

Timber, to split.

For efficient timber splitting, a set of thoroughly well-made and correctly-formed iron wedges, and a number of equally well-shaped wooden wedges or gluts, are needed. The iron wedges should be made of the very best tough iron, tipped with gad steel, as in the form of the annexed illustration. All the edges and corners should be slightly rounded off in order to give freedom in driving; the length, from head to point, should be 10 in., the width across the wedge 2? in., and the thickness of metal across the edge at the head 2 in. Some judgment is required in tempering wedges, as they must be hard enough at the point to prevent bending, and yet not hard enough to break. The file test is as good as any. The edge of the wedge point should never be hammered thin before tempering, but left rather thick to be reduced to the proper degree of sharpness on the grinding stone. The wooden gluts are usually considerably larger than the iron wedges; these are to be made from hard, tough, well-seasoned timber-round stout poles are convenient for making them. The proper lengths, which are mainly dependent on the size of the logs to be operated on, are sawn off. The sides or cheeks of these pieces are then chopped off with the axe in approximately true wedge form, an even surface and exact pitch is afterwards given to them with a cooper's drawing knife or a spoke shave. Wedges, whether of iron or wood, should never be driven with an iron hammer. A wedging beetle, of form shown in the accompanying illustration, should be always made use of. The hardest and toughest wood to be obtained should be used to form the head; the ends are usually hooped with flat iron rings, and the handle fashioned from some tough elastic wood, such as ash or hickory. Scarcely any two men use the same size beetle, but the following will be found fair average dimensions from which to make one: Length of beetle head 9in., binding hoops 1?in. wide and ?in. thick, diameter of beetle head 5?in., length of handle 2ft. 8in. Great care should be taken in fitting in the handle, as it is essential to the efficiency of the instrument that it and the head should be exactly true with each other. A slightly flattened handle lies in the hand more compactly, and works more freely, than a perfectly round one. Nearly all logs split best from the small or crown end towards the butt. If it is intended to divide the log into four pieces, the wedges must be inserted as shown in the annexed illustration (A), if into three they are placed as at B. When rails, &c., are to be made, the log must be divided into quarters, by first making a cross-shaped cut in the end of the log, and striking the back of the axe with the beetle until the edge enters deep enough to afford a hold for the iron wedges. Longitudinal cuts with the axe are now to be made, the whole length of the log corresponding with the cross. The wedges, gluts, and beetle do the rest when the latter implement is properly wielded. Logs for shingle making are quartered much in the same way, only instead of being split out in the full length, the log is cut up into short lengths before quartering. The shingles may be 15in. long by 9in. wide, and in form like that represented in the above illustration. The axe and beetle may be used for splitting off these wooden flakes, but the lath render's froe is a far more convenient instrument for the purpose.

The diagrams in the next page will serve to show the mode by which the long log quarters are split up into rails, &c. Some particular species of tree will split without the aid of wedges; the axe alone being used to cleave them. Two axe men attack a log, one chops in his axe blade in the line of grain, the other follows behind and chops in his, when the first man becomes the second, and so on until the cut is complete and the log is split.

Such posts as are intended to be driven into the earth require accurate and careful pointing. Each cheek of the timber should be smoothly and evenly sloped off to about the proportion shown in the illustration representing the wedge. The centre of the post will thus become the point.

The accompanying illustration represents a log clip for holding a post whilst undergoing the process of pointing. The side wedge holds the post securely in the notched piece of log laid to receive it. A camp, garden, or cattle inclosure may be easily and expeditiously fenced in by either of the plans shown in the following illustrations. The first system of railing consists in driving double posts into the earth at equal distances, and then dropping trimmed poles and pieces of wood or stones alternately between them. A wooden pin driven through the heads of both posts at each nip keeps all compact and secure. To erect a fence by the second plan, posts are driven into the ground singly, in the position shown in the diagram on the next page, and then poles are laid with their ends crossing at a sufficient inclination to rest against and be held by the posts. The rails can be adjusted to any distance apart, by fitting in short pieces or junks of pole between the ends of the long bars. A very simple and useful fence for marking the bounds of a camp, or piece of cultivated ground, is formed by planting short stout poles obliquely in the earth, so that they may cross each other like the letters XX. The points at which the poles cross are secured with a twisted withy, a bit of raw hide, a strip of twisted bark or root. Fences of this kind are very useful to show natives the nearest point to which they may stray towards the packs and bales of goods.

The natives of British Columbia and some other countries laboriously hew and chop away the two cheeks of a log with their primitive hatchets until they form a plank by the reduction of a whole tree. In India and China the natives make use of a long cross-handled saw, not unlike our pit saw, for the division of a log into planks. They do not, however, sink a sawpit as we do in this country, but set up a pair of cross legs or shears, and run the log obliquely across the upper fork until it is some distance in the air. They then saw down to the fork of the shears, and, when that is reached, reverse the log, end for end, by tilting it, and commence at the other extremity. The hunter or explorer will, as a rule, be mainly dependent on his skill as a woodsman, and wielder of the axe, for a comfortable dwelling amongst the forests. The number of a party and the duration of a visit to any particular locality will influence the kind of structure it will be best to erect. A single trapper or hunter naturalist can content himself with very moderate accommodation.

Board wigwam.

Log house, to build.

A simple form of wigwam can be thus built with the aid of the axe only, in a very short time; search out and cut four stout fork ended posts between 6ft. and 7ft. long, sharpen their ends, drive two of them into the earth firmly at 9ft. apart, then cut a couple of straight strong poles of about 1ft. girth and 10ft. long, lay one of these in the forks of the two posts and fasten it there with a twisted withy or a bit of raw hide; then measure off 5ft. from one of the posts, and, parallel with it, set up one of the others, plant the remaining one at the other end, lay in the second pole, secure it as before, and the framework is complete. Now look out for a free splitting tree, log it up into 13 ft. lengths, split these into boards, place them in a sloping direction against the poles which rest in the forks, and arrange them so that the upper ends do not meet, but leave a good wide opening for the smoke to come out. Split up a log or two the length required to board up the ends of the wigwam; this can be done by setting the boards upright, leaving a wide one movable to form a door, drive in a few hard wood pegs so as to catch the bottoms of the boards and all is made secure. During the day a board or two to leeward may be slid aside to let in light, by night air enough comes in through the chinks. As a more permanent home for a party who are about wintering in the woods, it is best to construct a log hut of the description represented in the following illustration; its size must, of course, depend on the number of its proposed occupants; it can be made either oblong or square. When a sufficient number of trees of convenient bulk for handling have been felled and logged up into proper lengths, the ends should be notched with the axe, as shown in the illustration. The four ground logs are then laid and keyed together by their notches; the second row are then placed on these, either by the aid of skid bars placed in a slanting direction on the lower logs, or by manual labour. When all the walls are high enough, the doorway must be cut in the following manner: Begin on the upper log and chop through at each end, the exact width of the proposed opening follow down, cutting log by log until the ground log is reached; cut this nearly half through and then split out the piece, the other portion below forms your threshold. Take a fresh log, and in it split out a space exactly to correspond with that in the ground log, place this as a crowning log with three others, uncut, to form your wall plate, the split-out piece will form the top of your doorway; the square hole for the window or shutter is chopped out in the same way. The gable ends and ridge log must be adjusted at such a pitch as to insure a free run for rain water or melted snow; the four ends or butts of the gable angles should rest and be firmly wedged in four holes axed out for them in the ends of the upper row of wall-plate logs; where the gable peak crosses, the logs should be notched together and pinned; the ridge log will then rest in the crutches formed by the intersection. Now, after having selected the most convenient spot for a fire-place, chop a hole through the logs, including that on the ground, about 3ft. wide and 4ft. 6in. high. There are several ways of forming a chimney and fire-back; one is to build a beehive-shaped wall outside the opening, plastering the inside with clay, and forming a rough chimney stack with turf and stones. All chinks or crevices between the logs are stopped with clay and moss. Some American trappers and hunters proceed as follows: They cut a number of poles long enough to reach the top of the proposed chimney, which is, of course, a little higher than the ridge of the roof; they then plant the sharpened ends of the poles in the earth in such a way as to form a semicircular hedge surrounding the back of the hole in the logs, and about 6ft. at its widest part from them. An inner hedge of sticks about 6ft. long is now planted within the row of long poles, at about 8in. from them; a number of bushy twigs are now collected and interwoven between the poles and sticks until a sort of double wall of basket work is formed between these wicker partitions; a quantity of wet clay and small gravel is firmly impacted, and rammed down until the space will hold no more. The long poles are then gathered together into a sort of inverted funnel form, a hole being left where their small ends meet for the smoke to pass through; a thorough slap-dashing with thin wet clay within and without finishes the affair. The inner layer of basket work consumes in time, but leaves the clay and stone hard enough to resist an ordinary heat. Huts of this description are either half log-roofed or shingled; that represented in the illustration is covered by the former mode. Logs of fitting size and length are split in halves; the surfaces of one-half of these are slightly hollowed with the axe or adze, and then placed side by side with the round surface downward on the ridge bar and wall plate; on the hollowed faces of these over every interval is laid face downward one of the flat-faced pieces. (See illustration, p. 275.)

Temporary wigwams.

To roof-in one of these log huts with the shingles we have before described, the builder must proceed in a different manner; rows of rafters must be pinned on to catch the shingles. The first row, or that at the wall plate, should project some inches beyond it; on the heels of these a long flat lath or batten of wood is secured by wood pegs driven in here and there, this nips the row of shingles and keeps them in place. The second row is laid over and beyond the batten and so on, much as slates or tiles are laid for the roof of an English house. Doors and shutters for log houses are usually made of boards obtained from split logs pinned together with cross-bars, and are generally called dowel hinged; an auger hole is bored a few inches into both frame and door, a hard wood peg placed half-way into each hole gives perfect freedom of motion, and will last as long as the house. A flooring is very easily made by splitting a large log into rough boards, and much increases the comfort of the establishment. The above illustration represents a rough temporary wigwam, which may be easily made as follows: Select either a large fallen log or high bank for a back; drive two stout forked pieces sufficiently far from the back and far apart to give space for the interior; lay another pole across the crutches for a front wall plate, and two side poles from the back, long enough to rest on and be secured to this. Thatch with hemlock or balsam fir branches, arranging them layer upon layer, butt end upwards. The gable ends can be closed with either branches or grass-covered hurdles or frames. Another kind is made by placing all the posts double, and then dropping the planks down between them, so that they are nipped by the uprights, as shown in the accompanying sketch.

The huts of savages.

As an almost invariable rule, the huts built by savage nations are round, or approximate more or less to the circular form. But sometimes they are shapeless things, like the rude "gunyah" of the Australian, which consists merely of a sheet of bark of the tea-tree (one of the Eucalypti) broken across the middle and set up in a triangular form to shelter "the body" from the inclemency of the weather; while small fires are lighted all around for warmth and defence against the mosquitoes, or a dry log, 6ft. or 8ft. long, is laid on either side, and set on fire in several places. Equally simple is the hut of the desert bushman. A few sticks are set up against each other, so as to form an irregular cone, with one side left open to admit "the body" of the sleeper, as shown in the illustration on p. 279. In almost all tribes the commencement is made in the same manner. A circle is traced or imagined on the ground, and the women, squatting down, with sharp pointed sticks work holes a foot or more apart all round it; long flexible wands are inserted, and their tops bent over and lashed together, and if the hut be large, one or more poles are placed inside the circle as supports. In Kafirland the fire-place is simply a flat hearth, occupying the centre, so that the poles, when there are any, are arranged round it. Smaller rods are wattled all round, or bound tightly to the ribs with strips of the inner bark of the mimosa, or other tree, and the hut is thatched with reeds, grass, or whatever may be the favourite or most convenient material of the country.

In Kafirland the huts are hemispherical, like beehives, or rather like inverted bowls, slightly flattened on the top. The thatching is very neatly and compactly done, and generally small ropes of grass are carried many times round and round outside the hut, and laced with smaller strips through the thatching to the inner frame. The floor is nicely clayed with a compost of "kraal mist" or cattle dung, and the fine clay of ant-hills broken up and well mixed. Sometimes the inner wall for 2ft. or 3ft. high is plastered with the same, and pumpkin seeds stuck into it in fanciful patterns, and picked off again, when the clay is dry, leaving a glazed film sparkling in the hollow.

In one of our sketching trips through Kafirland in 1848 we had been advised by Captain Roper, of the Rifle Brigade, who commanded at the Buffalo Mouth, always to go to a hut or village at night, as should any accident befall us our "spoor" could be traced, and the owner of the hut or headman of the village be held responsible; while, on the contrary, should we sleep in the bush, and our horse be stolen, and the thieves act on the principle that "dead men tell no tales," it would be very long before we were missed, and tracing might be impossible.

There is one fault in these Kafir huts. They resemble an inverted bowl; the door is cut out of the edge, and there is no other aperture whatever. The consequence is that if one stands up his lower extremities may be absolutely chilled, while from the waist upward he is immersed in a bath of smoke or heated air; and when the fire has gone low, and the intensely cold air of the early morning fills the lower part, driving the warm air above the level of the doorway, the sleeper is glad to wrap himself more closely in his mantle.

In countries where stratified rocks, as sandstone, &c., which split easily into flat slabs, abound, huts are frequently built of stone. A circle of blocks is laid on the ground, then another on them, with the edges projecting a little inward, so that the circumference of each course is less than that of the one immediately beneath it; a large slab covers the top, and finishes the building. Such huts are found in the north-eastern part of the Free State in South Africa, formerly the Orange River Sovereignty.

Among the various Bechuana tribes in and beyond the Free State, the building of a hut is a more elaborate and artistic affair; in fact, it deserves rather to be called a house, consisting, as it does, of walls and a roof perfectly distinct from each other. In its simplest form it consists of a row of stakes from 4ft. to 7ft. high, set up in a circular form, and of a conical roof, the frame of which is mostly made separately on the ground, and then lifted into its place, and bound firmly upon the upright wall. In the larger huts a smaller concentric circle of stakes (of course much longer than the first, as they have to reach the roof at a higher point) forms an inner chamber, and generally the eaves of the roof are extended, so as to form also a verandah, or shade, all round; and, besides this, there will be a larger circular wall inclosing a courtyard, frequently of considerable dimensions.

CHIEF'S HUT, VAAL RIVER.

Sometimes, as on the Lower Zambesi, the row of stakes forming the outer wall of the house is plastered round with a broad central horizontal band of red or yellow clay, leaving about a third above and below it open for ventilation, and sometimes the whole is elaborately smoothed with a mixture of the fine clay of broken ant-hills and cattle dung, which, being left of its natural colour, has the appearance of a light greyish stone. All this is performed by the women, who put it down and smooth it with their hands, finishing not only the house, but the outer walls and even the floor of the courtyard, with so much nicety that, as good housewives say at home, "you might eat off it." Raised seats are generally built in the form of segments of a circle, and these are as carefully smoothed over as the rest. The hut of a Bechuana chief at Vaal River was a model of neatness in its way; the walls had been marked off into blocks, zigzag lines had been traced on them, and uncouth patterns were painted in black or coloured clay over the low door of his inner chamber, which, hung round with antelope skins, was, as he said, very nice and warm-in fact, insufferably hot. The outer apartment was 3ft. or 4ft. broad, and ran all round the inner. The part nearest the door served as a reception room, and the remoter regions were used for the stowage of rough skins, household gear, the musket and ammunition, and large pots and calabashes of outchulla or native beer, which kept up a constant simmering as it fermented, and to the taste seemed very like spoiled vinegar. Large frames are made of wattled work, and coated with clay till they resemble capacious jars; in these the corn is stored, small roofs are raised over them, and the timber around is wastefully heaped up to form a kind of shelter from the sun for the chief and council to sit under.

The hartebeeste hut shown in the full-page camp scene in Kafirland, mostly used by colonial Hottentots, is simple and easy enough to make. It has one straight side, and one lean-to, and derives its name from its resemblance to the sloping back of the animal.

The huts of the Damaras are generally of very rude construction. A circle of sticks is planted in the ground, and the tops bent over and lashed together, generally with their own bark; they are then roughly wattled, and plastered over with clay and "kraal mist." Rain so seldom falls that they seem to take no precaution against it, preferring rather to risk the few drenching showers of the wet season than to take the trouble of making their huts waterproof. Sometimes the hides of the few cattle they slaughter are spread over their huts, and kept in their places by stones or heavy poles laid on them. In one respect only they have an advantage over the Kafir hut, and that is, the smoke escapes through the cracks and interstices of the roof. Internally there may be a dried hide to sit or sleep on, an earthen pot for cooking, a calabash or two, or a bambuse or wooden bowl for milk or water; two or three skins stripped off whole, as sacks for "uintjies" or earth nuts; and it may be an axe, of Ovampo, or more rarely of European, manufacture.

The box made of stiff leather, in which they carry grease and red ochre, may also be here; but, with the exception of their cattle, the Damaras seldom possess much more property than can be carried on the person.

The huts of the Berg Damaras are still more primitive; and sometimes they seek no other shelter than one or two small bushes, the lower branches of which are cut away, while the upper ones are brought together and interwoven-others being added if needful-and grass thrown loosely over all.

Indeed, small trees, with the lower branches cleared away, and the upper ones drawn together and interlaced, form very convenient huts or arbours. The Bechuana women, in making a kraal, beat the mimosa branches on the ground till they flatten them into a fan-like form, then they plant them side by side and interlace the branches.

The Namaqua Hottentots, the Makobas or canoemen of the Bō-tlét-lē River, and many of the Bechuana tribes in the Orange River Sovereignty and elsewhere, build hemispherical frames of flexible wands, and cover them with mats of rushes like cheese mats. These are very neatly made. The Hottentots use flat awls, 18in. or 20in. long, for this purpose, but the Makoba awl is not more than 5 in. or 6 in. Small thongs of dressed antelope skin, or cords twisted from the fibres of different plants, are used for sewing the mats. These might be easily made by a traveller needing them, and he could best do it by having two or three needles of any convenient length, from 4in. or 5in. to 20in.; they should be flattened at the point, and pierced with an eye to carry the cord on which the reeds are strung. The most convenient method would be to fix the needles upright at the proper distance from each other, and then press upon them as many rushes as their length would allow; these, with the strings drawn through, should then be removed, and a fresh set threaded on, care being taken to see that the strings are kept clear, so that they reeve consecutively through all the rushes, and make a smooth uniform mat. Generally, however, it will be found that, where the proper materials grow, the natives will make and sell them cheaply enough. Mats of this description are much used by the natives of North-West America in hut building; the needles used in that country are not unfrequently 5ft. long.

Crook and prong house, to build.

It often becomes necessary for the traveller, if he contemplates a stay of a few months, or even weeks, in any one place, to build his own hut; and it is as well that this should be, if possible, somewhat superior in size and form to the dwellings of the natives around him. If the nature of the ground and the materials at hand will admit of it, this may as well be a house regularly walled and roofed, and at least the four corner posts, as well as the two which support the gables, should be firmly let into the ground. If care is taken to cut all these with a fork, so that the ridge pole of the roof may rest in the forks of the gable poles, and the wall plates in those of the four corner posts, the building will be much stronger, and the work greatly facilitated. The rafters may also have forks, which can rest upon the wall plate, but this would leave the thickest part of the branches upward; a little labour in thinning them off would remedy this, or they might, in favourable localities, be so chosen that it would be of very little consequence. Every alternate rafter should be reversed, so that its forks might help to support the battens. All the poles forming the side walls should have forks to help to support the wall plate, and those which form the sides of the doors or windows should be so selected that smaller forks, at the proper height, would serve to receive the sills of the door and windows. Such a frame as this would present the greatest amount of strength and firmness with the least possible necessity for lashing, pegging, or other fastening.

The sketch of the framework of a house indicates the manner in which the forks and branches may be used to the best advantage. If trees of proper size are abundant, the builder will be able to choose them so as to suit their places, with as much regularity as indicated in the drawing; if not, he must make the best of the materials.

The smaller framework beside it represents that of a hut we built at Dep?t Creek. We set up three forked poles as a triangle at either end, laid a ridge pole between them, and lashed it firmly there. Rafters and battens were added, and we stripped off large sheets of tea-tree bark (Eucalyptus melaleuca?) to cover it. We also obtained some of the white-barked red-gum tree (Eucalyptus resinifera); but this is more brittle, and did not answer so well.

The roof may be covered with the reed mats already spoken of, one or two thicknesses of which, if the roof has a pitch of not less than 45°, will suffice to keep out rain; or it may be thatched with grass, reeds, or the broad leaves of the fan palm-remembering that, whatever material is used, it will cast off water much better if the point of the leaf is downward. The lowest course will be laid and securely fastened first; then the next, overlapping it; and so on to the top. This may be done by simply lashing the stalks of each course to the proper batten; or a thatching needle may be made of wood, smooth and flat, an inch or more in breadth, and pierced near the point with an eye to carry the lashing. The inner bark of many trees, though unfit to make cord which is to remain permanently flexible, will answer very well for this purpose; for if stripped as required, and used while still wet, it will tie in any knot, and bear straining tightly. It will hold well enough when dry, though it would not again bear working up, on account of its brittleness. The leaves of the Phormium tenax, of New Zealand, which grow much like those of the common flag, are very generally used in that country, just as they are gathered, for binding various matters. Excellent twine, thread, cloth, and rope are made from the fibre, as will be seen as our work proceeds.

The walls may be filled up, according to taste or necessity, with mats or reeds; or, if permanent shelter from bad weather is required, nothing is better than wattle and daub, and if the wattling is carefully done, and good clay or broken ant-hills and "kraal mist" used for the daub, a very neat job may be made of it. We have shared the hut of a sergeant of Sappers in the forest of the Pierie Hills in Kafirland, where he had a clay hearth, and wattle and daub chimney, and, though a roaring fire was kept up, he did not anticipate any danger. He had charge of a party who were cutting timber, and one noble "yellow wood" they had just felled was no less than 7ft. diameter at its base. The bush vines hung in long straight lines, like ropes from the upper branches of this tree; and on one of these, 60ft. or 80ft. long, and not more than an inch thick, the sergeant, who was a heavy man, raised himself, and swung to and fro without fear of breaking it. In fact, these vines may be used while green for many of the purposes of rope or cord. We have disentangled nearly 30ft., as fine and almost as tough as a small fishing line, from the forest in front of the Victoria Falls, and rolled it into a small coil; but once dry, it becomes brittle, and cannot be straightened. Some of these vines bear fruit, which, though not equal to the cultivated grape, is by no means to be despised.

When looking for a spot along the banks of the Zambesi on which to establish a camp and rebuild our boat, in September, 1862, Ave were warned by the natives who came to meet us against the pretty little sequestered spots beside the tributary rivulets, as they were certain to be infested by mosquitoes. We, therefore, having in view also the probability of being obliged to stay far into the unhealthy season, tried back about a mile, and selected a limestone spur which had a small valley between it and the higher range in its rear.

Roof, to raise.

This we named Logier Hill, after our old and steadfast friend in Cape Town; and, setting to work with a keen American felling axe, cut down the thorns and brushwood on the top, while the people assisted us in cutting or dragging the fallen bushes to the verge. Three mimosas, which were in a good position, we left standing, and added one for the fourth corner post. Then selecting flexible branches, we framed upon the ground an oval of corresponding size; on this with lighter poles (most of them the young straight branches of the "kookom boyou," a gigantic sterculia in general appearance, somewhat resembling the baobab), we framed a roof similar in form to that of a marquee, using for lashings the inner bark, stripped from the branches just mentioned. To lift this, as its weight was considerable in proportion to its strength, and all the people were away collecting poles or grass for the completion of our huts, was rather difficult, but we had fortunately a small coil of manilla line and a few blocks. With two of these we made a tackle, and lifting one side of the roof 2ft., supported it by a forked branch while we raised the rest, shoring it in the same manner all round, and then lifting it again and supporting it on longer forks till it was high enough to be fastened securely in its place. We placed forked uprights under it at proper intervals, but as the eaves projected considerably we did not find it necessary to close in the walls, but when the rain came on laid fresh poles upon the roof and thatched it with grass and reeds to the ground. For central supports we took two forked poles, and instead of setting them upright at the two ends of the ridge pole gained additional rigidity by crossing them like an X, and lashing them together in the centre. At one end, raised upon forks above 18in. high, we made a platform of small poles as straight as we could get them to serve for a bed, and when a buffalo was shot spread over it the dried hide to level it a little more. This platform was continued all round between the uprights and the eaves, and various stores were laid on it.

One advantage here was the immunity from the ravages of the white ant, which is seldom found in a limestone country. But as the rainy season came on hosts of the destructive little white-shouldered beetle that feeds on skins, preserved hides, and specimens of all kinds-seeming rather to enjoy arsenic soap and other preservatives-ravaged everything made of untanned leather; while other kinds, larger and still more unpleasant to the eye and touch, would actually commence eating the velschoens off our feet during the short meal time.

We should have preferred reeds for thatching, as when laid at a sufficient angle, say anything above 45°, they cast off water perfectly, although if laid at a lower angle they might be by no means water-proof. Of course the cut ends of the stems must be upward, and the leaves pointing down, or the water will be retained, and allowed to leak through instead of being thrown off; and this rule holds good when grass or such like material is used. If the roof of the hut be conical, the ends may simply be brought up and tied tightly together, or they may be worked into an ornamental form like those of the Bechuana (see p. 281). If it has a ridge as ours had, it must be covered with a horizontal layer, sufficiently thick to keep the water from insinuating itself between the meeting of the two sides.

In our own house we stretched the sails of our boat and calico tent within the roof to keep off any leakage during heavy showers, and added fresh poles and grass to the outside. Sir Richard Glyn, who visited the hill after we had been compelled to abandon it, and who returned to England before us, reported that our house was the strongest building of the kind he had ever seen.

Bamboos, for building.

In countries like the Indian islands, where bamboo can be obtained in any quantity and of any size, from a reed fit for a lady's arrow to one big enough for the mast of a small sloop, it is easy enough to build a house; the extreme strength and lightness of the material, with its glossy surface and neat and uniform appearance, rendering it in every sense most valuable for such purposes. Poles of uniform size may be planted closely so as to form a wall, or pillars may be placed more or less apart, and mats or blinds of smaller reeds, or larger ones split up, may occupy the intervals. Balconies, strong and sufficiently ornamental, may be formed; and the eaves of the roof may be made to project to any distance, so as to form an effectual verandah; while palisades or fences of any form or height may be constructed ad libitum.

Bamboo, from its polished siliceous covering, is, externally at least, proof against the ravages of the white ant, which destroys without mercy all the softer kinds of wood and vegetable or animal fibre, whether in the form of boxes, furniture, books, clothing, specimens of natural history or botany, drawings, or articles of necessity or luxury of any kind.

If thunderstorms are frequent or dangerous, a glass bottle on the highest point of the roof will act as a non-conductor, and may not unfrequently avert the flash that might otherwise destroy the building. It is not always, however, effectual.

Doors and gates, to make and hang.

Doors or gates may be made as closely worked or as open as may be desired; and, while upon this subject, it may be as well to mention a very convenient way of hanging them in the absence of regular hinges. The hinge side of the door or gate should be a standard of some strength, to which all the rest is framed and securely fastened with pegs or lashings; round this and the corresponding doorpost a strap or thong of leather or cord should be passed in figure of 8 fashion to form each hinge, or it may simply be passed round both and "seized" between them with smaller cords. This, however, will not hold the door with sufficient stiffness to let it swing true and easily; therefore, take a common ale or porter bottle, bury it neck downwards in the ground, leave the lower end of the standard somewhat longer than the door, point it a little, and insert it in the hollow at the bottom of the bottle-the gate will swing fairly on such a pivot, as it never gets out of order, and it may almost be said will never wear out.

The gate itself (Fig. 1) may be built of rough branches-one tolerably stout limb, for the hinge or swinging side, should have a good branch projecting from its lower part diagonally upwards to the upper part of the latch side; another fork, with its branches as nearly at right angles as possible, will form the latch side and top rail; and a third will make the lower one. Never be in a hurry to trim off small branches; generally they will weave in and add to the strength; and, if not, they are easily cut off afterwards. When the posts are set up on the ground, it is as well to char the ends as a protection against damp or wood-destroying insects; cut notches near the ends, and in them wedge good heavy stones-they will keep the posts firm, and in countries where there is frost nothing else can prevent their rising out of the ground. We found this arrangement very valuable in the Crimea. It is not necessary that the bottle should be whole; if the "cup" under the bottom is perfect, the broken edges of the sides will give it additional firmness.

In Fig. 2 the gate post has a fork, and another on the branch serving as the top rail makes the upper hinge. One of the other branches has a fork projecting from the lower angle and working on the gate post as a cutter's gaff does on the mast. This is easy to make, can be unshipped at a moment's notice, and hung up again as readily. Fig. 3 is a more regularly made gate on the same principle. The top rail has a hole working on the thinned upper part of the gate post, which is pierced with holes, and has a peg so that the gates may be raised or lowered as required; the lower part works on the gaff principle.

It is generally desirable to hang a gate so that it may shut of itself after it has been opened; and to ensure this, if iron hook and staple hinges can be had, let the hook of the upper hinge project a little farther from the gate post than the lower one, as in Fig. 5. If it is requisite that the gate should remain open-which is sometimes, though not often, the case-the upper hook should project less than the lower, as in Fig. 4. Generally, if the hinges be equal, the gate will hang in whatever position it may be left; but if the post inclines from the perpendicular to right or left, the gate will swing to the same side.

Very good standards for fences may be made by cutting half mortices in the opposite sides of a squared log, 4ft. or 5ft. long, as in Fig. 6, then cutting it into planks, and, before these are quite detached, sawing it down in the direction of the diagonal line; a pair of these are matched together, as in Fig. 7, and the lower end morticed into a flat plank so far as to let one hole come below it to receive a key to fix it there. The horizontal plank should rest upon a short log at each end, and it may be held in place by a couple of notched pegs driven into the ground.

Walls, to build.

Many of the natives of South Africa are very handy at building rough stone walls; but they require an overseer to insure the proper binding of the stones as they are laid. Some of their own countrymen may be found with skill enough for this. It is no use to build up two fair faces, as in Fig. 8, and then fill up the middle with loose stones-their weight would be sure to force out the sides and bring down the whole structure; but large flat stones should be chosen, as in Fig. 9, to reach either quite through the wall, or at least so far that the stones on the other side may meet and have a bond with them. Such walls, miles in length, are built without cement of any kind. If galvanised iron wire is to be used for fencing, to support upright rails, it is a good plan to have two rail-heads fixed at the proper distance, and to make the turns of the wire on these to insure each loop being equidistant, as in Fig. 10.

Chalk lines and measuring lines of all kinds suffer from being coiled or rolled up by hand-turns and kinks are put on or taken out of them; and it is much better to have reels, either like the log-reel of a ship, or like Fig. 11 (see p. 290), where a peg in the circumference of the disc serves as the crank by which to wind it up.

Plank screens to make.

Effective screens can be readily extemporised with planks of any kind and ropes; the simplest plan is to double the rope, making one part somewhat longer than the breadth of all the planks to be used, and leaving whatever spare end may be upon the other to hoist the screen by when finished. The first plank is laid in the bight of the rope, the two parts of which are then crossed and the next plank laid between them; they are crossed again for the third plank, and so on till all are inclosed. If there is not an eye on the shorter end of the rope, make a bow-line knot or two half hitches on it (see "Knots and Hitches"), and pass the longer end through; then lead the spare line at each end of your screen over the forks of trees, or sheer legs, or whatever support you mean to use, and hoist away simultaneously and carefully; for this arrangement, though perfectly strong and secure while every part remains in its proper place, is most easily disarranged; and in fact the great advantage of it is that, when no longer required, it can be shaken to pieces like a house of cards, leaving neither holes or imperfections in the planks nor kinks or knots in the rope. We have shown the boards rather far apart in our illustration for the sake of distinctness, they will lie closer, but they must always be separate by more than the thickness of the rope. They may be made to lie closer by omitting to cross the ropes and "stopping" them together with small cord, as in Fig. 2; or a perfectly weather-proof wall with overlapping edges may be obtained by looping the rope into a chain, as in Fig. 3, taking care to make the lower link well fast, for on this the security of the whole depends. To take this to pieces nothing more is necessary than to slip each loop off the end of the plank; let go the fastening of the lower end, and all the links of the rope chain will shake out.

Great firmness may be imparted to any of these arrangements by placing a small pole inside, and securing every plank to it by successive hitches of a smaller line, as in Fig. 4; or, if stouter poles be used, the walls may be built up in this manner, commencing from the bottom plank and fastening the upper ones as you go on. Each plan will have its advantages under peculiar circumstances. In the Indian islands, large hollow bamboos are either split into three or four parts, making somewhat rounded narrow planks, or an incision is made in the side of the cane, when it is opened out, laid flat, pressed, and converted into a single plank. Movable screens of considerable size are made in the same manner as in Figs. 1 and 2 already referred to.

Makeshift shelves.

A shelf is easily made by piercing holes in the four corners of a plank, passing lines through, and suspending it to a beam. A very neat set of bookshelves may be obtained by doubling two cords of sufficient length, working an eye in the bight of each, passing the ends down through the holes in the first plank, and turning double knots on them, so that it hangs fairly; then passing them through the next and knotting them, and successively through as many more planks as you require shelves.

Reed houses, screens, and sheds.

We have seen houses built by traders or missionaries almost entirely of reeds, some of which grow from 10ft. to 20ft. long and more than 1in. thick. Bundles of these, with the thin ends and butts reversed, and overlapping each other so as to equalise their strength as much as possible, are laid on the ground to serve for top, bottom, and centre battens; then across these the reeds are distributed in two or three layers, according to the required thickness of the wall; other battens are laid on the upper side to correspond with those below, and the cords-slips of bark, palm leaf, twisted grass rope, or thin and flexible forest creepers-are passed through to bind the whole tightly together. If a number of these are made say 12ft. or 15ft. square, they may easily be arranged on the framework of a house, or set up as a continuous fence. A trench is dug about 1ft. deep, the screen inserted in it, the earth well pressed down, and support is given either by shores, if needful, or by the next screen forming an angle with the first. If the wood of the country is more available for making hurdles, they can be used in the same manner.

We have had very excellent temporary stables and sheds erected in Central India, composed entirely of poles, cords, and grass, forming what is called "chupper" screens. These are formed by laying together double poles; in the space left between these poles long tufts of jungle grass are arranged, until the whole frame is filled up, when the sticks or poles, being tightly drawn together with cord, the grass is nipped between them, as shown in the above illustration. When in the Tartar country, we saw a number of very comfortable huts made by cutting out a kind of notch in the hill side. The space thus formed was first framed over with strong poles, and then covered with brushwood; a layer of turf covered all, and soon took root, forming feeding grounds for whole families of goats, which walked about on the houses quite at home. The fronts of these hill dwellings were composed of wicker work, plastered with clay. Logs were hollowed out by the Tartars almost as thin as paper, when their ends were stopped with clay. In those the bees laid up their stores of honey, which was taken as required, without disturbing the industrious swarm in the next log. The annexed illustration represents one of these huts and a pile of bee logs.

Defensible farm-houses.

During the Kafir war we visited the homestead of a Scottish farmer, who, although upon the very border, had gallantly determined to stand his ground, and to that end he had built a small defensible tower; the flat roof covered with raw hides, and surrounded by a loopholed parapet, and the only door fronted by a solid shield of brickwork, with a small aperture on one side, so that an enemy attempting to enter must do it in a stooping position, and before he could turn and straighten himself in the doorway, must present his head in the most convenient possible position to have it split by the defenders. A large water cask was kept filled in the fort, and even should the enemy gain possession of the lower room the women and children could still be tolerably safe in the upper, except from random shots fired upwards through the floor, and which of course could be returned in the same manner from above. Against fire their only defence lay in the supply of water we have already mentioned, but care was taken to have nothing inflammable in the lower room. There was no staircase; the ladder would be drawn up through the trap. The beams and flooring would require a considerable blaze to ignite them, and against any quantity of material being brought in for that purpose the defenders relied upon their rifles, or no less deadly smooth bores, loaded with loopers or buck shot.

Blockhouse.

Blockhouse, among military edifices, is, as its name implies, a building constructed chiefly of timber. If alone, it constitutes an independent fort; if formed in the interior of a field-work, it becomes a retrenchment or redoubt, and serves to protect the defenders from the inclemency of the weather when the work is occupied during a considerable time, or to prolong the defence when the work is attacked, and after it is taken to enable the garrison to obtain a capitulation. When the blockhouse is to be employed only as a retrenchment, its plan is generally a simple rectangle, and its walls consist of a single row of piles placed upright in the ground. These are pierced with loopholes at the distance of 3ft. from each other, in order that the building may be defended by a fire of rifles from within. The roof is formed by laying timbers horizontally across the inclosed area and covering them with fascines and earth. The interior breadth of the building may be from 18ft. to 20ft., in order to allow a passage between the two rows of bedsteads. These are placed with their heads to the side walls, and serve as stages on which the men may stand to fire through the loopholes when the latter are much elevated above the floor. In a mountainous country the blockhouse possesses great advantages over an ordinary field fort, inasmuch as the interior of the latter would be incessantly ploughed up by the fire of artillery directed into it by the enemy from the surrounding heights. Here, then, the blockhouse may with propriety be constructed as an independent work; its plan may have re-entering angles, or be in the form of a cross, in order to allow the faces to be defended by flanking fires from the rifles and revolvers from within; and the walls may be thick enough to resist even the shot from 9-pounder guns. For this purpose they must be made by planting parallel to each other, at a distance of 3 ft. or 4ft., two rows of strong piles, those in each row being close together, and the interval between the rows being filled with earth up to the height of the loopholes, which should never be immediately under the roof of the building. The roof must be made shell proof, as before; but it has been recommended, when the work is not overlooked by the enemy, and when its breadth will permit, to have the piles forming the side walls long enough to arise above the roof, and, either alone or with a mass of earth behind them, to serve as a parapet.

Where blockhouses have to be constructed among hostile or doubtful Indian tribes, who are not the possessors of artillery, the fascine and earth roof and double rows of piles may be easily and safely dispensed with.

Logs, squared with the axe and laid on each other, may be substituted for piles with advantage, as the labour of planting firmly in the earth so many ponderous beams of wood is considerable. It is well, in building a blockhouse, to construct a raised breastwork of small logs round the margin of the roof; these may be roughly squared and doweled together with short wooden pins. The roof itself should, after shingling, have a goodly layer of sand, earth, or raw hides laid over it in order to guard against the fire-tipped arrows of hostile savages. A few auger holes here and there serve to carry off rain water or melted snow, and the log breastwork can be both loopholed and fired over with ease.

Frontier blockhouses are usually built of squared logs of timber dowelled together; loopholes are made for firing rifles through, and portholes for one or two iron guns. Some frontier posts are merely squares of heavy log palisades, with all the requisite offices and buildings erected within them. A banquet runs from end to end of each side of the square in order that the defenders may command the attacking force. All trees and bushes within long shooting range are carefully removed so that there shall be no cover.

Waggon burgs, to make.

Bands of travellers in Africa not unfrequently so arrange their waggons as to form substantial defences against the attacks of hostile natives. We have often assisted in forming these so-called "waggon burgs." They are made as follows: One waggon, with all the women, children, and ammunition, is placed in the centre. Others are drawn up, each with its inner fore wheel nearly touching the outer hind wheel of the one before it, and forming just such an angle with it that the dozen or thereabouts of vehicles form an almost perfect circle, their poles and trek gear extending on the outside, so that the oxen can again be yoked to each without disorder or confusion. There is room inside for the horses and cattle beside the defenders; and, should danger be imminent, the waggons can be locked together by the drag chains, and all the interstices choked with thorn bushes, the stems of which thrust inward would be securely fastened by pegs driven into the ground, or by lashing branches, cut short for the purpose, to the inner wheels, or by "reims" or thongs reeved through the bifurcations; while the tangled branches would oppose a barrier that no enemy could force in the face of the bullets or the small shot that would be poured through. The gear of the oxen would also be brought in and used in strengthening the defences.

Farm and village, to fortify.

In rendering a farmhouse defensible regard must be had to the character of the expected enemy. In countries like South Africa, where the main object of the Kafir is the acquisition of cattle, the house ought to command and protect the kraal, the fence of which will often of itself form a shelter for the crafty foe. It is usually circular, as this form is most easily made, and will inclose the greatest number of cattle, with a given amount of material; but, if it were made triangular, with bastions on the two angles nearest, the guns of the defenders would sweep the other two sides, their fire crossing at the farthest angle, and leaving no place for an enemy to conceal himself. The house itself, with its outbuildings, should if possible be in the form of a square, inclosing as large a courtyard as is convenient for the accommodation of the defenders and their allies, and on emergencies for their horses, with a few sheep or oxen. If there be a spring or well in it so much the better; a ledge or bank, 18in. or 2ft. high, should run along the inside of the wall, so that the loopholes may be too high for the enemy to look in at or fire through; and there should be small chambers projecting from the angles, or at least from two diagonally opposite loopholed, so that each can enfilade two sides of the wall.

ENTRENCHED VILLAGE OF OBJIMBENGUE.

But perhaps it will be better, instead of describing an ideal defensible homestead, to give an example of a real one, which, though not quite perfect in a military view, was as nearly so as the accommodation required for the traffic and the work carried on there would allow. Our illustration is a plan, drawn from memory, of the village of Objimbengue, to the south of which (Fig. 1) is the flat sandy bed, 400yds. wide, of the Swakop River, filled only during the flooded season, but in the dry retaining a vast amount of water beneath the sand, while a little rivulet represented by the faint line appears here and there upon the surface. Fig. 2 is a low bank or foreshore, overgrown with wild tamarisks or dabbie bushes, and partly cleared for a garden (Fig. 3) in which is a well, and used in other places for corn land, care being taken to reap the crop before there is any possibility of its being swept away by the floods of the next season. On the east of the village is a small tributary, generally dry, called the Artip (Fig. 4), and beyond this, and the limits of the picture, would be the Mission House of Regterveldt and the Damara village, with its curious entrenchments scattered without order, but not without great judgment, over the face of the hill wherever a few men could find a place to shoot from. The trench (Fig. 5), fronted by the mound of earth thrown out of it, and by a breastwork of dabbie logs, made by the Damaras, formed the outer line of defence of his homestead, and he could in emergency have depended on a thousand men to man it. Fig. 6 is the opening for the southern road leading across the river from the country of the hostile Namaquas. Fig. 7, the road leading from Walvisch Bay; and Fig. 8, the continuation of it toward Lake Ngami, and Fig. 9 is the steep edge, 15ft. or 20ft. high, of the plain, on which the village is built. Fig. 10 is a small breastwork for a brass 1-pounder gun commanding the southern road, and Fig. 11 for another sweeping the open space to the south-east, where, in fact, an attack actually took place. The guns were, however, usually kept beside the house, where one served as a time gun, and they could easily be moved whenever they were wanted. Fig. 12 was a dwelling-house; the central space is open and would serve as a shelter for native fugitives, for horses, sheep, and a few of the most valuable working oxen; the front is composed of a voor-house or entrance-hall, usually occupied for general family purposes and reception of visitors, and before it is a verandah.

At each angle are rooms used as sitting or bed chambers; on the western side are spare chambers for the reception of guests; in the rear are kitchen, bath-room, and other offices; and on the east are store-rooms and the entrance gate. Fig. 13 is the wheelwright and waggon maker's shop; Fig. 14, the smithy; Fig. 15, the sawpit; Fig. 16, the tiring plate; Fig. 17, small trenches with angular mounds before them, commanding the eastern gate of the village; Fig. 18, the graveyard; Fig. 19, the workmen's cottages; Fig. 20, the slaughter-house and waggon-shed; the walls of all these buildings being musket-proof, and the windows more or less convenient for firing from. Figs. 21 and 22 are stoutly stockaded cattle kraals; they were both square, but the triangular outline of Fig. 21 shows what would be gained in defensibility and lost in accommodation by adopting that form; Fig. 22 has small "scherms" at the angles protected by the fire from the house, and commanding the other two sides; Fig. 23 is a storehouse, adding but little to the strength of the position, but indispensable for its use. The dotted lines indicate the directions of effective fire from the dwelling-house.

In most frontier villages the church, as the most substantial building, is used as a place of refuge, and as a last stronghold against savage assailants; and on the east coast, the natives, when they throw up a rough tower of defence, always call it by the Portuguese name, "Egregia," or church.

Churches, to fortify.

We have seen the church at Shiloh converted into a very pretty little fortification by one of our own engineer officers. Bastions were raised at the angles of the outer wall, the building itself was unthatched, and a breastwork, with loopholes, raised upon the walls.

We have known friends who have had to entrench their waggons for months among tribes whose friendship was dubious; and they seemed to prefer that, especially for a night attack, or for a sentry's accommodation, the embankment should be behind the trench, and not before it, so that they might look from the very edge of the pit and see the dark figure of an approaching enemy against the sky, whilst they would be invisible against the mound behind them; whereas, if the mound were in front, they would have to raise their heads to look over it, and an enemy creeping close to the ground, would be absolutely invisible, and would, moreover, be able to see clearly the elevated figure of the sentry.

Mission churches, plans for building.

We have on several occasions been asked to draw plans for churches on remote stations, and for defensible farmhouses; in the former case, regard must be had to the nature of the materials at the disposal of the missionary, to the number of the congregation he wishes to accommodate, and also to the number and skill of the assistants, whether European or native, he can employ or persuade to join in the work. Generally, it is better so to draw the plan that a portion of the church may be commenced, and sufficiently furnished for almost immediate use; while the remainder is left to be finished as the congregation increases, and as the tribe become more and more alive to the benefit conferred on them by religion and civilisation. Some regard must also be had to the doctrinal views of the missionary requiring the plan.

If, as is frequently required, the men and women of the congregation are to be separately seated, the best form is that of the Greek cross, and the seats of the men must be placed in one arm and those of the women in the other; while the position of the pulpit, with its back against the angle of the other two, gives every individual a fair opportunity of seeing and hearing the minister.

Where this regulation does not prevail, the Latin cross is the best form; the longest limb lying east and west affords space for the congregation and the preacher. The wings or shorter limbs on the north and south give very great support to the walls, and serve for vestries or other offices; the tower and porch at the eastern end form the continuation of the longer limb, and it should also be capable of increase if necessary, by the addition of a smaller continuation at the western end.

In this case, too, it is the part intended for the congregation that should be first built. It is most probable that the materials would be rough unhewn surface stones, for powder to blast out more solid material would be expensive. Tools for quarrying would be unattainable, and men with skill or industry to work them even still more so, while ant-hill clay would be the only available cement, unless the erection should be in a limestone district, or near a beach, where shells in abundance could be procured and burnt into lime.

Bricks are often made, but they are frequently of inferior clay, and often merely sun-dried, or inefficiently burned, and are in no case equal to the well-squared and hardened article known by the same name in England.

It would, therefore, be prudent not to make the walls more than 10ft. or 15ft. in height, and to allow at least 2ft. of thickness at the base for every 10ft. of height, and even then they ought to be supported by buttresses not more than 20ft. apart; the top should not be less than 12in. or 15in. in width, and if good planks for wall plates cannot be procured, they ought to be rather more to allow for the proper bedding in of rough substitutes. The roof must have a pitch of 45° to enable it to throw off water in the rainy season, and each rafter must be two-thirds the width of the building to the outside of the walls, and so much more as is required for the projection of the eaves.

If, therefore, rafters can be procured 20ft. in length, of which 2ft. are required for projection, this will leave 18ft., and the possible width of the church may be found by adding half the length of the rafter thus-18+9=27-27ft. to the outside of the walls, or about 24ft. in the clear; this, with 4ft. of passage down the centre will give two benches of 10ft. capable of accommodating six persons each. Each sitter ought to have 3ft. of space from front to rear, although it is possible to sit in 2ft.; thus, a space of 60ft. would accommodate a congregation of 240 or 360 persons, according to the room allowed.

In many cases the fitting-up of benches may be deferred, as the natives will sit naturally on the ground, or will bring their own seats with them. At least 15ft. or 20ft. ought to be reserved for the pulpit and the communion table, and this would give an aisle of 80ft. long by 24ft. wide.

A high gable and Gothic window is doubtless a great ornament to a church, but it would be dangerous to build the wall 15ft. higher for that purpose; and it is much better, therefore, to make the end no higher than the sides, and let the roof incline at an angle of 45° instead of having a gable end.

The windows must be small, and it is better to make them lancet-shaped and narrow; if the buttresses are 20ft. apart there may be two windows, 2ft. wide between each. The rafters ought not to come over the windows, even if the wall plates be good, but ought to rest on the solid space between them.

The rafters are half checked at each end to the cross-beam and let into checks on the king-post; thus (Fig. 1) struts to the beam will considerably strengthen them, and if these are fitted into checks nailed on instead of being mortised or half checked in, the strength will not be impaired. Fig. 2 shows more clearly the manner in which the square ends of the rafters abut on the king-post. If it should be desirable to avoid having cross-beams the rafters may be framed as in Fig. 3; but unless this is very substantially done the weight of the roof is apt to expand them and force the walls outward. We, therefore, advise the common form, at least until the assistance of skilled workmen can be procured. The upper part of the king-posts may be a forked branch, and the ridge pole will lie very nicely in this.

Makeshift houses, foundations, and fences.

In extemporising rough frame-houses in dry countries, the foundation is a matter of small importance; generally, when the ground is cleared, a place sufficiently hard and smooth, and a little elevated so that rain may not flood the house, is easily found. But sometimes a foundation must be formed, not only to afford a support to the fabric, but to raise the floor above the influence of damp or of low-lying noxious vapours. We have heard of barges or vessels being grounded and houses built upon them, and have in fact seen instances of this as well as of the deck houses being removed from wrecks and set up, sometimes raised on low walls, forming very comfortable habitations ashore, and of tents being set up as roofs over walls of rough stone. We have heard of the foundations of a house in San Francisco being laid with the 21lb.-sized oblong boxes of tobacco with which the market had been glutted. In Cape Town, when meat was a few halfpence a pound, we have seen bullocks' heads used as stop-gaps in the fences near Green Point. The cores of bullocks' horns are not unfrequently used for the same purpose in this country. In Walvisch Bay we saw bags of coarse salt used as part of the foundation of the original wooden shed in which, notwithstanding its lowly appearance, many a traveller has found so hospitable a reception.

We wondered a little at first at the use of such a material on a beach overflowing for miles at every spring tide, but found it was protected from actual contact with the sea by an embankment of sand, supported by posts and planking. Rain would not occur perhaps once in two years, and the fresh water from the Kuisip overspread the flats so rarely that such a contingency was hardly taken into account. The bags and their contents seemed to be in a normal state of dampness, but did not appear to waste in consequence of it.

When more commodious houses were required, the samphire, that formed the only vegetation on the flats, was collected by the Hottentot women, spread in layers alternated with sand well trodden down into it until mounds were formed about 4ft. high. On one of these a store was erected of corrugated iron, and on another the Rhenish missionaries built a wooden house they had brought out in frame, so solid and substantial, as to prove that timber in the land it came from was of far less value than metal or any other material. Perhaps for parties who can afford the carriage, corrugated galvanised iron houses offer as convenient a method as any of obtaining accommodation sufficiently permanent, and yet easily removable. The rigidity imparted by the corrugation could not be attained by any thickening of plain sheets, while scarcely more room is required in packing; for although one sheet of plain iron occupies much less room than one of corrugated, the sheets of the latter fit so closely one upon the other that a dozen or twenty require not much more space than one. Dr. Livingstone took a house of this kind to the Zambesi in 1858; it formed a very efficient shelter for our stores on Expedition Island, but, as we never made any permanent camp beyond the Portuguese town of Tette, it was not again required. The sheets, however, used separately or together in any number according to the weight they were to support, formed excellent bases for tables, beds, settees, as well as benches, raised a few inches from the floor, on which to store such things as we wished to preserve from the white ants.

Buildings of the Portuguese in Africa.

At Tette, on the Zambesi, there are ridges running parallel to the banks of the river, with hollows between them, which may have served as supplementary channels during extraordinary floods; and, to avoid the low-lying malaria, which is of greater specific gravity than common air, the Portuguese colonists erect their houses on these ridges. The hollows serve as streets or roadways, and also as channels to carry off the deadly exhalations, which, being heavier than air, naturally seek the lowest level. The dwelling rooms are also further elevated by being built over a basement, which serves as a store-room, the elevation of a few feet frequently making all the difference between the chance of catching fever and of escaping it. In these store-rooms they build isolated platforms about 3ft. high, on forked posts of hard wood, which are carefully swept every morning, while salt is strewed around their base to prevent the white ants approaching. Probably tar or turpentine would have the same effect, but in remote regions these are not always at command. The tarred wood of our iron house was never touched; and the camphor wood of India is valued very much on account of its immunity from their attacks.

PORTUGUESE HOUSE-ZAMBEZI RIVER.

When the Portuguese on the Zambesi build large houses that are to be divided into rooms, they build into the central and side walls a row of pillars, into the thickness of which stout poles are built, with the forks left upon them, and perhaps other rows of pillars without the connecting walls are built for the verandah.

Dr. Kirk, when consulted as to the best method of colonising the Shire, or Sheeree River, gave it as his opinion that the estates lying low in the fertile valleys should be cultivated by natives only (who in their own country do not seem susceptible to the deadly influence of fever, though when removed to another locality that is not perceptibly worse, they are as liable to be attacked as Europeans), and that the proprietors should have their residences upon the hills, as far as possible above the level of the malaria, with a small military force at their disposal, to keep order when necessary among the inhabitants of the valley. This certainly appears to be the only feasible plan of occupying such a country with any benefit to the various parties concerned.

Rio Negro huts.

An Indian cottage, on the banks of the Rio Negro, has been thus described:-"The main supports are trunks of some forest tree, of heavy and durable wood; but the light rafters are the straight, cylindrical, and uniform stems of the Jará palm. The roof is thatched with the large triangular leaves of the Caraná palm in regular alternate rows, neatly bound with sipos or forest creepers. The door is a frame of thin strips of wood neatly thatched over. It is of the split stems of the Pashiuba palm. In one corner is a heavy harpoon for cow-fish; it is of the black wood of the Pashiuba barriguda. By its side is a blowpipe, 10ft. or 12ft. long, and a little quiver of small poisoned arrows hangs near it. With these the Indian procures birds for food or for gay feathers, or shoots the hog or tapir; and it is from the stem and spines of two palms that they are made. His great bassoon-like musical instruments are of palm stems; the cloth to wrap his valued feather ornaments is a fibrous palm spathe, and the rude chest for his treasures is woven from palm leaves. His hammock, his bowstring, and his fishing line are fibres of palm leaves; the first from the miriti, and the other two from the tucum. The comb on his head is the hard bark of a palm. He makes fish-hooks of the spines, or uses them to puncture on his skin the peculiar markings of his tribe. His children eat the agreeable red and yellow fruit of the pupunha or peach palm, and from the assai he has prepared and offers you a favourite drink. A carefully-suspended gourd contains oil from the fruit of another, and the long elastic-plaited cylinder used for squeezing dry the mandiocca pulp to make his bread is of the bark of one of the singular climbing palms which alone can resist for any considerable time the action of the poisonous juice. In each of these cases a species is chosen adapted to the special object to which it is to be applied, and often having different uses which no other plant can serve so well."

Papuan tree houses.

The arboreal dwellings of the Horaforo tribe in New Guinea have been thus described by Dr. J. Coulter:-"Against each tree rested a notched pole, and at a whistle from the chief, answered by hundreds of similar sounds in every direction, natives with flambeaux flitted down the poles till the whole forest was brilliantly illuminated. In fact, they had their houses, or rather nests, in the trees, and when they retired for the night the pole was hauled up to prevent surprise. These abodes were made by thinning away some of the branches, and laying horizontal poles on others sufficiently stout to bear them; the uprights are cut with forks, which rest on the lower branches, while their upper ends are lashed with cocoa-nut fibre to those above; the sides are formed by bamboos lashed closely together; the roofing is also of cane covered by sheets of thick bark sewed together, and perfectly proof against the heavy rains. The flooring is laid with split bamboos and light wood, and the walls are lined with stout matting, which gives sufficient shelter against the piercing winds. The shape varies according to the spread of the tree; sometimes when they extend all round an extensive house is made to inclose the whole tree; the smallest will measure 16ft. square, but sometimes they are longer and less wide; and when the whole tree is built in they are three times as large. They are perfectly safe, for the lower branches are as thick as an ordinary tree."

PAPUAN TREE HOUSE.

American Indian lodges.

The lodges of the North-American Indians are perhaps the most convenient residences which could be devised for people of their nomadic habits. The lodge poles, or supports, are made from tough durable wood, well-grown young saplings being selected for the purpose. On the line of march they are, by fastening them to a sort of pad, secured on each side of a horse, or even dog. The ends trail on the ground like the skids of a sledge, and are packed with various odds and ends, which are prevented from falling off by cross-bars and a lashing of hide or twisted bark rope, as shown in the full-page illustration. When the camp is about being formed, the poles are freed from their attachments and set up in a circle, forming an irregular cone, the apex of which consists of the converging and collected ends of the poles, through which the smoke escapes. The lodge covers are made from prepared skins, on which are depicted, in rough outline, some of the most noteworthy achievements and events in the life of the owner. The lower borders of the skin covers are secured to the ground with pegs, whilst thongs are made use of for binding the poles in places and uniting the skins. The tracks of the trailing lodge poles in the sand, or across the plains, may be looked on by the traveller as peaceful indications, as, where the lodge gear is, the squaws and papooses will be found. On the war path all such impedimenta are left behind in some place of safety.

INDIAN LODGES.

The full-page illustration, representing "Indian Lodges," will serve to explain the manner in which dwelling places of this description are set up.

Fuegean pole houses.

Some of the natives of Terra del Fuego construct small but tolerably comfortable huts from straight trimmed poles; these are arranged in a shallow pit, the exact size of the floor of the intended hut; they are arranged side by side in conical form, the tops of all the poles being brought together become self-supporting. All the interstices, except those where the heads of the poles come together (which form exits for the smoke), are filled in tightly with a mixture of clay and thick soft moss. Huts thus built will resist the action of the heaviest storms, and are tolerably dry. Peat, when cut in slabs or blocks, makes a valuable building material. We once built a shooting house, or rather hut, near the banks of a large river with this substance. We thatched it with reeds laid over willow poles. The door was made of wicker work covered with clay; the hinges were twisted willows. The window was made of oiled paper; the fireplace was plastered with clay, and we mounted a small barrel in lieu of a chimney pot. The fuel used was peat, so there was no danger of its taking fire.

Hutting in the Arctic regions.

In a continuous Arctic winter the usual relations of fluids and solids are so completely changed that entirely new necessities arise, accompanied by as novel means for supplying them. Water, either for drinking or other purposes, is as scarce as in the driest parts of India or Africa; for though in temperate countries it may be a luxury to let a piece of ice melt in the mouth, the expenditure of animal heat in thawing a mouthful of snow in the Arctic regions would be greater than even the most robust constitution could afford.

Water, in fact, unless kept in constant agitation, loses its fluidity. A sheet of ice is as dry as a piece of glass, and snow seems to have no more moisture in it than the dust of the highway on a Derby day.

Owing to this quality snow does not accumulate on small surfaces elevated and exposed to the wind. Captain Parry found that from the roof of his vessel a fresh breeze invariably carried off any snow that had settled on it in calm weather, and also from the masts, yards, sails and rigging. His opinion is that in high latitudes the less the ship is dismantled the better, for the frost does not hurt the gear, and no harm can occur from thawing till the season for refitting arrives.

Should you at any time be so situated as to be compelled to winter on board ship in the Arctic regions, it will be well to follow the plan pursued by Dr. Kane to render his ship and cabin as cold proof as possible. He procured large quantities of moss and turf, with which the quarter-deck was thickly covered. Down below he inclosed a space about 18ft. square, and packed the walls forming it, from floor to ceiling, with the same materials. The floor was carefully caulked with plaster of Paris and common paste, on this was laid a stratum of Manilla oakum 2in. thick, and over this deposit a canvas carpet was spread. The entrance was from the hold, by a long moss-lined passage or tunnel, formed after the manner in which the Esquimaux arrange the "topsut," or rabbit-burrow like passage which leads to their huts, as shown in the illustrations at pp. 313 and 315. A number of doors and curtains were then constructed at such points as afforded a chance for the ingress of cold. This moss nest, or den, was constructed to accommodate ten men.

The outside of the ship was banked up with moss, and over that a thick bank of snow was made.

The snow, indeed, when lying in proper thickness, and sufficiently compressed, forms the best possible material for building. Cold as it is in itself, it seems to act as a non-conductor of heat; and if an internal structure, however slight, can be set up, the thicker the outer wall of snow is made the better. Captain Parry's men proceeded in the following manner: In banking the snow against the ship's sides, a wall of sufficient height was built about 4ft. from them, and loose snow was thrown in till it covered nearly the whole of the upper works; about 8in. of snow was also laid on the decks and hatches, and above this a layer of sand cemented by water, for the double purpose of preventing the escape of heat from below, and saving the planks from being rifted by the frost; and the waste heat of the galley fire was utilised by making the funnel pass up through a tank, which was kept filled with snow, thus without any extra fuel producing 65galls. of water per diem. A wall of snow, 12ft. high, was built at a distance of 25yds. all round the ship, to afford a comfortable shelter from the wind. It is also essential to make and keep always clear of ice a 'fire-hole,' from which water can be procured at any moment in case of need.

The observatory was built on shore: first of planking lined with canvas, with a layer of turf outside, and completed by an extra thickness of solid slabs of snow; it was flat-roofed, and as small as possible, the instrument room being 8ft. square, and the working room 5ft. by 8ft., thus economising either natural or artificial heat. In fact, it seems that the primary object in building a house is to make the actual dwelling room as small as possible, and the passage to it so long and narrow, that it requires almost a long journey to reach the external air. Dr. Hayes describes a snow house, or rather cave, dug by an Esquimaux in a snow drift that had collected in a sheltered hollow. He dug downward first about 5ft., then horizontally about 10ft. more, tossing the detached snow blocks out behind him, and then began to excavate his cavern, to which, when finished, he built a doorway just large enough to crawl through. The floor was covered with a layer of stones, and then with several layers of reindeer skins; the walls were also hung with skins; two native lamps lighted, a skin hung across the doorway, and he and his family were "at home," the temperature soon rising to the freezing point.

SNOW HUT-ARCTIC REGIONS.

The doctor's temporary encampments were thus formed: A pit is dug 18ft. long by 8ft. wide and 4ft. deep; over the top are placed the oars to support the sledge; over the sledge is the boat's sail, and on that is thrown loose snow. In one end of this den is a small entrance hole, closed with blocks of snow; over the floor is a strip of india-rubber cloth; over this two buffalo skins, between which the whole party of twelve pack themselves as closely as possible, the only change of costume being to take off the boots and stockings and replace them with sleeping hose of reindeer skin. A pot of hot coffee, or a hash of dried meat and preserved potatoe, cooked over a lamp of oil or alcohol, forming the repast, of which the most estimable quality is its warmth. Captain Parry, being rather surprised at the short time in which an Esquimaux village sprung up near the vessel, induced some of the natives to build a hut, and found that two or three hours were enough to complete the establishment. The only materials are snow and ice, the latter being only used for windows. A number of slabs of compact snow, 6in. or 7in. thick and 2ft. long, are cut and laid edgewise in a circle, on a level spot, covered with snow, from 8ft. to 15ft. in diameter; on this is a second tier, sloping a little inward, each slab made to fit closely by running a knife along its edges, the top is then smoothed off with the knife, and the builder, standing in the centre, receives the slabs for the successive tiers from the men outside. When the walls are 4ft. or 5ft. high they begin to lean inward, so that it appears as if the blocks laid on them would fall; but the workman still goes on raising and closing in the hemispherical walls, and when they have become too high for the slabs to be handed over to him he cuts a hole at the bottom with his knife and has them passed through. The dome is often 9ft. or 10ft. high, and it is carefully finished by the men outside dropping the nicely rounded block that serves as a keystone, to be received and fitted by the man within. The outside workers heap snow round the foundations, and carefully stop up any accidental holes between the blocks. The builder lets himself out by cutting an arch 3ft. high and 2?ft. wide, and from this they construct two passages-end to end-each 10ft. or 12ft. long and 4ft. or 5ft. high, the lowest being next the hut, as shown in the outline ground plan. The roofs of these passages are sometimes arched, and at others covered with flat slabs.

If a single apartment is required the hut is now complete, but if several families are to reside together the passage is made common to all, the first hut becoming a kind of antechamber, and is commonly a little smaller than the rest, which are entered by arched doors 5ft. high. Sometimes the ground plan assumes the form of a cross, as in the instance we now illustrate. A hole is cut into the side of each compartment, and a circular plate of ice 3in. or 4in. thick, and 2ft. in diameter, let into it. The light is like that transmitted through ground glass, and is quite sufficient.

GROUND PLAN OF SNOW HUT.

A bank of snow, 2?ft. high, round the interior of each room, except near the door, forms the bed and fireplace, the former occupying the sides and the latter the end opposite the door. The beds are made by covering the snow with a layer of stones, on which are spare paddles, tent poles, whalebone, pieces of network, and a quantity of birch twigs, reindeer skins in profusion are heaped on these, creating not only a comfortable but a luxurious resting place.

The fireplace is a shallow vessel of stone, the wick is of moss rubbed dry between the hands, disposed along the straight edge for about 18in., it supplies itself from a long strip of blubber hung near enough to be melted gradually, and drop slowly into the hollow of the stone; over the lamp is a network, on which wet boots or mittens are usually laid. Frequently there are two other lamps in the corners next the door, for no married woman or widow can be without her separate fire.

With all the lamps lighted, and the room full of people and dogs, the thermometer on the net over the fire stands at 58°; 2ft. or 3ft. away it falls to 32°, close to the wall it is 23°, the temperature of the open air being at the same time 25° below zero. If the temperature is raised higher than this, the melting of the roof causes great inconvenience; but when an inclination to drip is observed, a patch of cold snow is plastered on to absorb the superfluous heat. In the time between the extreme cold of winter, and the season when it is possible to live in tents, the natives suffer much from this melting of their walls.

The cooking is done in pots of hollowed stone (lapis ollaris), slung over the lamps. Many of these are cracked, but are joined by lacings of sinew, or rivets of copper, iron, or lead, which, with a sufficient coating of dirt, makes them again watertight. Their knives are sometimes of ivory, but the best are of iron, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company.

They procure fire by striking two pieces of iron pyrites over a leather case with dried moss in it, and a little floss from the seed of the ground willow helps to convey the flame to a bit of oiled wick-sometimes the wick for the lamp is made of asbestos.

At times, especially in the commencement of the winter, the huts are built of ice instead of snow. They approximate to a circular form, but from the flatness of the material necessarily present a number of flat sides and obtuse angles. They are cemented entirely with snow and water, and roofed with skins, which are replaced by snow as winter advances. The entering tunnels are also of slabs of ice, as are the kennels for bitches and puppies. The skin canoes are propped up on slabs of ice high enough to be out of the reach of the dogs. The semi-transparency of the walls give these huts a strange effect, and some of our later voyagers have called them crystal palaces; but all the purity, either of ice or snow, disappears, and whatever cleanliness the Esquimaux possess is forced upon them by the annual thawing of their houses.

ESQUIMAUX HUT OF ICE SLABS.

The summer tents are made of several seal or walrus skins, the former without the hair, and the latter with the thick outer coat taken off, and the rest shaved down so thin as to admit light through them. They are irregularly sewn together, forming a kind of oval bag, supported in the middle by a pole of several deers' horns or bones of other animals lashed together. On the top of this is a cross or T-piece, which serves to extend the top of the tent, 6ft. or 7ft. from the ground the lower part of the tent pole rests loosely on a large stone, from which any accident will knock it off. The borders of the skins are kept down by stones laid on them, and the top is stayed by a thong on the outer side, stretching to a heavy stone at some distance. The door is merely two flaps, one of which overlaps the other, secured by another stone.

Sometimes a little shelter from the wind is given by an outer wall of stone.

If a larger tent is required, two of these bags are made to overlap at the edges, and are set up with a couple of poles.

The accumulation of seal and walrus flesh and blubber during the summer months makes these habitations disgustingly filthy; but it is to be remembered that the great necessity of the Esquimaux is to keep himself warm, and he cannot afford to lower the temperature of his skin by washing off the grease and dirt which encrust it.

On one experimental trip Captain Parry was compelled by a sudden decrease of temperature to shelter his party in a small tent. They attempted to warm themselves by smoking, and found the temperature at their feet to be 1° below zero, while overhead the smoke had raised it to +7°, the outer air being -5°, soon falling to -15°. It was then found possible to dig a kind of cavern in the snow, the spade being lent as a favour to the men who most required to warm themselves, a small fire and a pot of soup were made, and by confining the smoke and hot air the temperature was raised to +20°, while outside it was -25°.

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