Later, square holes which could be securely barred at night and
during cold weather were made to serve as windows. Flat pieces of
sandstone, if they could be found, were used in building the
great fireplace; otherwise, thick timbers heavily covered with
clay were made to serve. In scarcely a cabin was there a trace of
iron or glass; the whole could be constructed with only two
implements--an ax and an auger.
Occasionally a family carried to its new home some treasured bits
of furniture; but the difficulty of transportation was likely to
be prohibitive, and as a rule the cabins contained only such
pieces of furniture as could be fashioned on the spot. A table
was made by mounting a smoothed slab on four posts, set in auger
holes. For seats short benches and three-legged stools,
constructed after the manner of the tables, were in common use.
Cooking utensils, food-supplies, seeds, herbs for medicinal
purposes, and all sorts of household appliances were stowed away
on shelves, made by laying clapboards across wooden pins driven
into the wall and mounting to the ceiling; although after sawed
lumber came into use it was a matter of no great difficulty to
construct chests and cupboards.
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