MY HOME ON THE HILLTOP. 99 



ion merely, but, at all events, there is a cheer in the 

 open fire that nothing else can supply, and I knew 

 that there would be long days in the rainy season 

 when it would be grateful. 



The construction of the fireplace and chimney was 

 more difficult than the building of the house, but 

 with sticks and clay and a few flat stones I made 

 something that answered my purpose. The whole 

 house was only sixteen feet wide by twenty-four 

 long, and this was divided into tw^o rooms, that con- 

 taining the fireplace being devoted to use as a living 

 room and study. 



The new place I called the " Hilltop " and the 

 old one the " Seaside," and, having removed to the 

 former the bulk of my belongings, I set about im- 

 proving the situation in earnest. On the slopes of 

 the hill I planted a great many arrowroot slips ; for 

 this plant, which is a native of tropical America, grows 

 readily in the rich soil of a hillside, such as I had 

 here. Not only did I have to consider the soil and 

 situation in undertaking this cultivation, but the con- 

 tiguity of a stream of running water, which would be 

 essential in the gathering of the crop and the prepa- 

 ration of the starch. That was a contingency remote, 

 a year or so hence ; but, although I knew the odds 

 might be against my reaping the benefit of this labor, 

 yet I was willing to take the risk. 



The hillslopes were also best for the cassava, many 

 cuttings of which I transplanted here, and eventually 

 had a broad strip of cultivated land stretching down 

 from my door to the pond. Around the house I set 



