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 



