ion than they had dared
hope, judging from the outside appearance of the house. It was filled
with the close, musty odor common to deserted buildings, and they
quickly threw wide open all the windows and doors that were not nailed
up. On the first floor were four large rooms, each containing a
fireplace and several closets, and up-stairs were four more, lighted by
the dormer windows in the roof. A broad hall ran through the house from
front to rear, opening upon a wide back porch which was also much out
of repair. Beneath this porch Mr. Elmer discovered a brick cistern half
full of dirty water, which he knew must be very foul, as the gutters
along the roof were so rotten and broken that they could not have
furnished a fresh supply in a long time.

Behind the main house, and surrounded by large fig-trees, they found
another building, in a fair state of preservation, containing two
rooms, one of which had been the kitchen. In the huge fireplace of this
kitchen they were surprised to see freshly burned sticks and a quantity
of ashes, while about the floor were scattered feathers and bones, and
in one corner was a pile of moss that looked as though it has been used
for a bed. Beyond the kitchen were the ruins of several out-buildings
that had fallen by reason of their age, or been blown down during a
gale.

Having thus made a hasty exploration of their new home, the party
returned to the landing, to which their goods were being unloaded from
the lighter by Jan and the crew. Leaving Mrs. Elmer and Ruth here, Mr.
Elmer and Mark crossed the river to the village to see what they could
procure in the way of teams and help.

Of the twenty houses in the village, many of which were in a most
dilapidated condition, only two were occupied by white families, the
rest of the population being colored. There were no stores nor shops of
any kind, the only building not used as a dwelling-house being a small
church very much out of repair. The white men living in the village
were away from home, but from among the colored people, who were much
excited at the arrival of strangers in their midst, Mr. Elmer engaged
two men and their wives to cross the river and go to work at once. He
also engaged a man who owned a team of mules and a wagon, and who would
go over as soon as the lighter was unloaded and could be used to ferry
him across.

On its return to the other side, the canoe was followed by a skiff
containing the newly engaged colored