AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



timper, but as f r me, I can only say I niver saw 

 it." Hortense always laughs at this an.d persists 

 in believing that, somehow or other, the remark 

 was not intended to be complimentary. 



The plumbing about the house was started by 

 a boat engineer assisted by one of the guides. 

 Deck Huntoon, and later Deck became boss 

 plumber. The adaptability of these men is 

 something wonderful. They seem able to turn 

 their hands to any sort of work with the least 

 possible instruction. The plumbing was well 

 done, and we have never been troubled with 

 leaking pipes. At first four kerosene barrels, 

 connected by short pieces of iron pipe, did duty 

 for a tank, and later, when a professional plumber 

 settled in the village, he built us a cedar tank 

 and lined it with copper; but the barrels did 

 very well for several years, and the waterj even 

 at first, had no taint of oil. For several years we 

 used the lake water for all purposes, — and most 

 excellent, pure water it was, — pumping it into the 

 tank with a force pump worked by hand. To 

 save labor, I got a hot-air pump at a cost of two 

 or three hundred dollars, but it was little im- 

 provement over hand-power. It pumped little 

 if any faster than the hand pump, and a man still 



20 



