PHASES OF FARM LIFE 229 



all, heave), "he-o-he," at the top of his voice, 

 every man doing his best. Slowly the great tim- 

 bers go up; louder grows the word of command, 

 till the bent is up. Then it is plumbed and stay- 

 lathed, and another is put together and raised in 

 the same way, till they are all up. Then comes 

 the putting on the great plates, timbers that run 

 lengthwise of the building and match the sills 

 below. Then, if there is time, the putting up of 

 the rafters. In every neighborhood there was al- 

 ways some man who was especially useful at "rais- 

 in's." He was bold and strong and quick. He 

 helped guide and superintend the work. He was 

 the first one up on the bent, catching a pin or a 

 brace and putting it in place. He walked the lofty 

 and perilous plate, with the great beetle in hand; 

 put the pins in the holes, and, swinging the heavy 

 instrument through the air, drove the pins home. 

 He was as much at home up there as a squirrel. 



Now that balloon frames are mainly used for 

 houses, and lighter sawed timbers for barns, the 

 old-fashioned raising is rarely witnessed. 



Then the moving was an event, too. A farmer 

 had a barn to move, or wanted to build a new 

 house on the site of the old one, and the latter must 

 be drawn to one side. Now this work is done with 

 pulleys and rollers by a few men and a horse ; then 

 the building was drawn by sheer bovine strength. 

 Every man that had a yoke of cattle in the country 

 round about was invited to assist. The barn or 

 house was pried up and great runners, cut in the 



