60. How the First Log Houses were built.—If we could have made a visit to one of the rough log houses of the Pilgrims after they had brought in their scanty furniture from the vessel, and when affairs had become a little settled, many things would have seemed strange to us.
There is no front entry to the house, for there is only one rough door, and that opens directly into the house; no parlor, no bedroom, no kitchen, but all in one, with perhaps a loft overhead. The inside walls are like the outside, rough, but plastered between the logs. The roof is made of timbers, for there is no sawmill for sawing logs into boards. The timbers do not fit closely, and although there is a covering of thatch, the snow blows in quite freely.
61. A Peep into a Pilgrim's House.—Let us take a glimpse into one of these Pilgrim houses. The huge fireplace, made of rough stones laid in clay, fills nearly one whole side of the house. The men bring in great logs of wood for the fire. Even when the logs are on the fire there is room for a person to sit on a stool at each end of the logs, and yet be inside of the fireplace. This is the children's favorite seat.
The chimney has a big throat, as large as a hogs-head. One can sit at the end of the logs and look up and see the sky. The sides of the chimney are roughly laid, and the big stones project so far into the room that the children use them as a staircase in climbing up to their bed in the loft.
In those days nobody had ever heard of a stove. All the cooking of the family was done over a huge fire or in front of it. They used the iron pots and skillets they had brought from England, some of which are still preserved at Plymouth. If they had the good luck to shoot a wild goose or turkey, they thrust a long iron rod through it and roasted it above or before the fire, giving it a turn now and then; or else they hung it very near the fire with a stout string, turning it around at times. The wintry winds often dashed in strong gusts down the big chimney, making it freezing cold all through the house.
62. The Scant Furnishings of their Homes.—There were few or no chairs, but here and there a stool, or some solid blocks cut from the trees. In one corner, on a rude shelf resting upon two wooden pins driven into the log, were a few books,—always a Bible, a hymn book, the Psalms, and possibly a few others.
Hanging from a beam was a little iron cup, in which there was some fish oil, with a twisted rag or a bit of wick; this contrivance served for a lamp when needed. But the big fire usually answered for an evening lamp.
On one side of the room was a rough cupboard or case of shelves for their few dishes. They had no nice glass or china with which to make a display. The glass they had was coarse and of a brownish tint. The early settlers often used leather bottles, leather cups, and rough plates called trenchers, chipped from blocks of wood. Often two persons ate out of one trencher. At this time forks were not in general use. The Pilgrims cut their food with knives and then managed it with their fingers.
Their few pewter dishes they were very proud of, and they kept them in sight in the cupboard, bright with frequent scouring; for the Pilgrim women were excellent housewives, and everything about the house was scrupulously neat and clean.
63. Other Articles of Household Furniture.—Around the log cabin were two or three big chests, in which each family brought over its goods. These were used to keep their better clothing in, if they had any, and for seats. In the corner was a spinning wheel to spin the wool for their clothing. On these large wheels the mothers and daughters used to spin great piles of wool and flax. Two or three of the houses had large looms—machines on which the thread they spun was woven into stout cloth for the family.
We should have seen no timepiece in their living rooms. There was neither clock nor watch in the whole settlement. On sunny days the women knew when to have dinner ready by the noon mark, as it was called—a notch cut on some beam near the window, showing just where the line betwixt sunshine and shadow came at twelve o'clock.
In the corner of the log house was the gun, close to the door, where it would be ready for use at any moment.
Although the family slept in the one big room, we should not have seen any bed in the daytime. It was turned up against the wall, and fastened to the side of the cabin. At night it was turned down and nearly filled the room. None of the beds were very soft, for they were filled with hay or leaves. By and by, after they had shot enough wild fowl, they had feather beds.
64. Around the Dinner Table.—When the little family gathered around the table for dinner, there was before them neither an abundance nor a variety of food. There was no milk, butter, nor cheese; for there was no cow in the colony. It was four years before a cow was brought over from England. They had no eggs, no beef nor pork nor lamb, and of course no vegetables yet, nor any nice white bread. The provisions they brought in the ship were partly spoiled, and were nearly used up. So they had to get food as best they could.
Now and then the colonists killed some game, but they had to be careful and not waste their powder and shot. One day they shot and cooked an eagle; but, as Bradford wrote in his journal, it was "woefully tough." They could not often shoot a bear or a deer. They obtained some corn of the Indians by trading such trifles as they could best spare. The records tell us that once a Pilgrim bartered a little dog for a peck of corn.
65. The Daily Fare becomes scant; Hardships increased by Hunger.—By and by all the other food failed, so that their main article of diet was corn. This they made into meal by pounding it on smooth stones. But even this supply from the Indians was often scanty and uncertain, so that at times they were without it until, after a year or two, they raised their own crops.
The rest of their provisions they obtained from the ocean—clams, lobsters, and various kinds of fish. But their fishing boat was so frail and their hooks and nets were so poor that this source many times disappointed them.
Thus, the two articles on which they chiefly depended being Indian corn and sea-food, they were sometimes entirely destitute, unable to obtain either.
What a condition! "I have seen men," wrote one of the Pilgrims, "stagger by reason of faintness for want of food; they knew not at night where to have a bit in the morning." They were so badly off that if it were possible for a friend to visit them, the best they could offer him would be a piece of fish and some water!
Such was the daily living of the first Pilgrim settlers in this country. Such were a few of the hardships they bravely and patiently endured. And yet, strange to say, when the Mayflower sailed for home in the early spring, as we have before stated, not one of these stout-hearted men and women returned in her to England.
CHAPTER VI.
THE INDIANS AND HOW THEY LIVED.
66. How the Indians looked; the Clothes they wore.—Let us now learn a few things about the Indians as they were before their habits and mode of life had been changed by contact with white men.
The heads of the Indians were always bare. It was customary for them to allow one tuft of hair to grow longer than the rest. This was called the "scalp lock." When a fight had been finished, this lock served as a convenience