eam, whose waters, finding their source in
the neighboring bills, rushed down, all gleesome and sparkling, over a
limestone bed, and

"From morn till night, from night till morn,"

sung gentle melodies for all who chose to listen.

The building itself though rough, both externally and internally, was
what at that period was termed a double cabin; and in this respect was
entitled to a superiority over most of its neighbors. As this may serve
for a representative of the houses or cabins of the early settlers of
Kentucky, we shall proceed to describe its structure and general
appearance somewhat more minutely than might otherwise be deemed
necessary.

The sides of the cottage in question, were composed of logs, rough from
the woods where they had been felled, with the bark still clinging to
them, and without having undergone other transformation than being cut
to a certain length, and notched at either end, so as to sink into each
other, when crossed at right angles, until their bodies met, thereby
forming a structure of compactness, strength and solidity. Some ten or
twelve feet from the ground, the two upper end logs of the cabin
projected a foot or eighteen inches beyond the lower, and supported what
were called _butting poles_--poles which crossed these projections at
right angles, and, extending along the front and back of the building,
formed the eaves of the roof. This latter was constructed by gradually
shortening the logs at either end, until those which crossed them, as we
said before, at right angles, came together at an angle of forty-five
degrees, and the last one formed the ridge-pole or comb of the whole. On
these logs, lapping one over the other, and the lower tier resting
against the butting poles, were laid slabs of clapboard--a species of
plank split from some straight-grained tree--about four feet long, and
from three to four wide. These were secured in their places by logs in
turn resting on them, at certain intervals, and answering the purpose of
nails; necessity requiring these latter articles of convenience to be
dispensed with in the early settlements of the West. As the cabin was
double, two doors gave entrance from without, one into either apartment.
These entrances were formed by cutting away the logs for the space of
three feet by six, and were closed by rude doors, made of rough slabs,
pinned strongly to heavy cross bars, and hung on hinges of the same
material. These, like the rest of