Our excavation was therefore
somewhat T-shaped (see Fig. 182). At the deepest part we had to dig down
about 10 feet.
[Illustration: Fig. 182. Excavation for the Cave.]
The digging was all done by Saturday, when Hillock pulled up with a big
load of slabs. Slabs are a very unsatisfactory kind of wood for most
purposes. Being the outside cut, they are usually very irregular and weak
in spots. In many places they are almost clear bark. Of course, had our
pocketbooks permitted, we would have used stout scantlings for the corner
posts of our cave house and substantial boards for the walls, roof and
flooring, but we had to be content with materials at hand. Eight of the
best slabs were selected for our corner posts; four of them we cut to the
length of 8 feet and the others to a length of 6 feet. The long slabs were
set up at the rear of the cave, two at each corner, one flat against the
rear wall, with its edge buried in the corner, and the other against the
side wall, with its edge tight against the rear slab, as in Fig. 183. The
same was done at the forward corners with the shorter slabs. A couple of
slabs were now set up on each side of the passageway, and a corresponding
pair against the rear wall.
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