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MICHIGAN FOOD & BEES BY A. D. P. VAN BUREN
Pottawattomies, the settler's country cousins, may be said to have been the main help in raising the first log houses in this part of the State. I know of an instance where but two white men were present at the raising, the rest being Indians. They lifted cheerfully and lustily in rolling up the logs. They also assisted much at raising in after years. Only let them know that—"Che-mo-ko-man raise wigwam, like Indian come help him, " and you could count on their aid. In our settlement we depended on Goguac and Climax prairies and the intermediate region for aid at raisings.
The hands being all on the ground and everything ready, the settler superintended his own raising, or requested some one else to do it. In either
case the one who commanded the men was called the "boss. " He was implicitly obeyed in all things. He gave the word and the work begun. The two side logs were laid securely in their places, and the two end logs were fitted to theirs. Four good ax-men—men who "knew how to carry up the corners"__Were then selected and one placed at each of the four corners
of the building to be erected. Their duty was to block off the tenons and fit their end of the log for its place. The logs were rolled up on two long skids by the united strength of the party, who pushed with hands and shoulders as long as they could, and when the log got top high for them to reach, they took stout poles with a crotch in one end, that were called "mooleys" and putting the crotches against the log they pushed it with many a "heave-o-heave" to its place on the building. Thus log after log was rolled up, and all the corners carried up true and secure, until the top log was in its place, the plates put on, the rafters erected, and the house was raised.
Michigan
Page 10
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