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4 JAMES BAIRD "WEAVER

hewn from trees taken from an extensive¹timber plat on the south part of father's claim.
The roof was made of clapboards riven by
father with an old-fashioned adz. The floor
was made of split logs smoothly hewn and
brought to a straight edge with the adz — a
real puncheon floor as it was called, sub-
stantial and strong. The doors and windows
were hung on wooden hinges, all made and
fashioned by father's dexterous hands; so the
family was comfortably housed and prepared
for the winter of 1843-1844.

"In the meantime ground had been broken
and a crop of seed corn, potatoes and other
vegetables had been grown and stored up . .
. . Mother's loom and father's handicraft
had been busy preparing for the approaching
winter, so by early fall all was ready for any
stress of weather that might come. Deer,
wolves, wild pigeons, prairie chickens and wild
turkeys abounded .... Sacs and Foxes
and Pottawattamie Indian camps near by were
all very friendly and readily exchanged courte-
sies with settlers. The Indians visited our
home more or less every day until the spring of
1844 when they had mostly disappeared,
'vamoosing' toward the west. Miles of unculti-
vated prairie intervened between the cabins of
the settlers, so that aside from my six brothers
and sisters Indian boys were my everyday play-



	4 JAMES BAIRD "WEAVER hewn from trees taken from an extensive¹timber plat on the south part of father's claim. The roof was made of clapboards riven by father with an old-fashioned adz. The floor was made of split logs smoothly hewn and brought to a straight edge with the adz — a real puncheon floor as it was called, sub- stantial and strong. The doors and windows were hung on wooden hinges, all made and fashioned by father's dexterous hands; so the family was comfortably housed and prepared for the winter of 1843-1844. "In the meantime ground had been broken and a crop of seed corn, potatoes and other vegetables had been grown and stored up . . . . Mother's loom and father's handicraft had been busy preparing for the approaching winter, so by early fall all was ready for any stress of weather that might come. Deer, wolves, wild pigeons, prairie chickens and wild turkeys abounded .... Sacs and Foxes and Pottawattamie Indian camps near by were all very friendly and readily exchanged courte- sies with settlers. The Indians visited our home more or less every day until the spring of 1844 when they had mostly disappeared, 'vamoosing' toward the west. Miles of unculti- vated prairie intervened between the cabins of the settlers, so that aside from my six brothers and sisters Indian boys were my everyday play-