AMERICAN PINES. 65 



clearing away a few of the surrounding trees, and 

 building a camp of round logs, the walls of which 

 are seldom more than four or five feet high; the 

 roof is covered with birch bark or boards. A pit is 

 dug under the camp to preserve any thing liable to 

 injury from the frost. The fire is either in the mid- 

 dle or at one end: the smoke goes out through the 

 roof; hay, straw, or fir branches are spread across 

 or along the whole length of this habitation, on which 

 they all lie down together at night to sleep, with 

 their feet next the fire. When the fire gets low, he 

 who first awakes, or feels cold, springs up and throws 

 on five or six billets ; and in this way, they manage 

 to have a large fire all night. One person is hired 

 as cook, whose duty it is to have breakfast ready be- 

 fore daylight; at which time all the party rise, when 

 each takes his ' morning^ or the indispensable dram 

 of raw rum immediately before breakfast. This meal 

 consists of bread, or occasionally potatoes, with boiled 

 beef, pork, or fish, and tea sweetened with molasses; 

 dinner is usually the same, with pease-soup in place 

 of tea; and the supper resembles breakfast. These 

 men are enormous eaters, and they also drink great 

 quantities of rum, which they scarcely ever dilute. 

 Immediately atter breakfast, they divide into three 

 gangs: one of which cuts down the trees, another 

 hews them, and the third is employed with the oxen 

 in hauling . the timber, either to one general road 

 leading to the banks of the nearest stream, or at 

 once to the stream itself; fallen trees and other im- 

 pediments in the way of the oxen are cut away with 

 an axe. 



" The whole winter is thus spent in unremitting 

 labour: the snow covers the ground from two to 

 three feet from the setting in of winter until April; 

 and in the middle of fir forests, often till the middle 

 of May. When the snow begins to dissolve in 



VOL. n. 6* 



