the building, were rendered, by their
thickness, bullet proof--so that when closed and bolted, the house was
capable of withstanding an ordinary attack of the Indians. With the
exception of one window, opening into the apartment generally occupied
by the family, and flanked by a heavy shutter, the doors and chimney
were the only means through which light and air were admitted. These
were all firmly secured at night--the unsettled and exposed state of the
country, and the dangerous proximity of the pioneers to the ruthless
savage, particularly those without the forts, rendering necessary, on
their part, the most vigilant caution.

The internal appearance of the cabin corresponded well with the
external. The apartment occupied by the family during the day, where the
meals were cooked and served, and the general household affairs attended
to, was very homely; and might, if contrasted with some of the present
time, be termed almost wretched; though considered, at the period of
which we write, rather above than below the ordinary. The floor was
composed of what by the settlers were termed puncheons; which were made
by splitting in half trees of some eighteen inches in diameter, and
hewing the faces of them as regular as possible with the broad-axe.
These were laid, bark side downwards, upon sleepers running crosswise
for the purpose, and formed at least a dry, solid and durable, if not
polished, floor. At one end of the cabin was the chimney, built of logs,
outside the apartment, but connecting with it by a space cut away for
the purpose. The back, jambs, and hearth of this chimney were of stone,
and put together, in a manner not likely to be imitated by masons of
the present day. A coarse kind of plaster filled up the surrounding
crevices, and served to keep out the air and give a rude finish to the
whole.

The furniture of the Younkers, if the title be not too ambiguous, would
scarcely have been coveted by any of our modern exquisites, even had
they been living in that age of straight-forward common sense. A large,
rough slab, split from some tree, and supported by round legs set in
auger holes, had the honor of standing for a table--around which, like a
brood of chickens around their mother, were promiscuously collected
several three-legged stools of similar workmanship. In one corner of the
room were a few shelves; on which were ranged some wooden trenchers,
pewter plates, knives and forks, and the like necessary artic