Homesteading 



cession overhead and tempering the power of 

 the sun. 



One loves to dwell on the brilliance of the 

 atmosphere, the exhilarating prairie breeze, and 

 the cloud-shadows chasing each other across hills 

 and hollows, and green bluffs with patches of 

 yellow grain here and there. 



On the present occasion, however, there was 

 little sun ; showers of rain fell, and there was 

 a chilly wind, ominous presage of an early winter, 

 and in spite of the general spirit of hope and the 

 hilarity that prevailed, it was impossible entirely 

 to discount the adverse conditions. 



It was evidently high time to prepare my home- 

 stead for winter residence, and, the picnic over, 

 we proceeded to Tom's and loaded up the wagon 

 with the stove, tent, and nearly all our belong- 

 ings, and with Nancy tied behind and her pretty 

 foal running by her side or bounding in front, 

 started for my place, where we once more set 

 up our tent. 



The first job was to haul the logs I had cut 

 in the spring, which, as they were not far away, 

 did not take us long, and then we began to build. 



There was no time to hew the sides of the logs 

 square, as is usually done in a timber country, 

 nor were the logs suitable for that, so we com- 

 menced by laying two parallel at the right dis- 



112 



