MECHANICAL INGENUITY OF BACKWOODSMEN. 241 



bread, and two saucepans, one broken. Several joints 

 of smoked meat hung from the roof, surrounded by 

 strips of dried pumpkin suspended on poles. 



The above-named boy, a girl of ten, a blue-eyed, 

 flaxen-haired, rosy-cheeked girl of four, diligently 

 munching a bunch of wild grapes, and the little one 

 on my friend's lap, formed the family ; they all looked 

 shyly at me, though they had seen me six months 

 before, so that I was not quite a stranger to them. 



We had agreed to set off' for the mountains at once 

 but S. found some business to detain him at home, so 

 it was put off till the next week, and I amused myself 

 in the mean time as well as I could ; and as I was 

 acquainted with the country, I took my rifle, and paid 

 a few visits to old acquaintances, returning to Slow- 

 trap's on the 12th December, partly on account of 

 the cold wet weather, and partly to mend my mocca- 

 sins, which had suffered severely from the sharp stones 

 of these mountains. Slowtrap happened to be mend- 

 ing a pair of shoes at the same time. It is a general 

 practice with the backwoodsmen to make their own 

 shoes, and a regular shoemaker is a, scan* article in 

 this part of the world. As they are thrown on their 

 own resources from their youth, these Americans are 

 very skilful in providing for their necessary wants, and 

 are particularly expert with the axe, which they begin 

 to wield as soon as their arms are strong enough to lift 

 it. They use it for a variety 'of purposes building 

 houses, laying roofs and floors, forming the chimneys 

 and doors, the only other tool used being an auger ; 

 and nothing amuses them more than to see the awkward- 

 ness of a new comer, when first he handles an axe. 

 21 



