Echoes from the Cabin
His "Wide" Interior Door Was Criticized—Until Narrow Ones Trapped Smoke and His Vented Clear
His "Loose" Floorboards Were Ridiculed—Until Tight Ones Buckled From Swell and His Breathed Right
His "Flat" Cabin Floor Was Mocked—Until Sloped Ones Pooled Water and His Drained Clean
His "Low" Cabin Roof Was Mocked—Until Tall Ones Caught Wind Damage and His Stayed Intact
His "Wide" Cabin Chimney Was Ridiculed—Until Narrow Ones Choked With Soot and His Drew Clean
His "Short" Cabin Rafters Were Mocked—Until Long Ones Sagged Under Snow and His Held Firm
His "Odd" Corner Fireplace Was Criticized—Until One Woodpile Heated His Whole Cabin All Winter
His "Backwards" Window Placement Was Ridiculed—Until His Cabin Got 4 Hours More Sunlight Daily
The "Crooked" Cabin Logs He Used—Until Earthquakes Toppled Straight Ones and His Stood Firm
His "Low" Cabin Doorway Was Criticized—Until It Trapped Heat Inside While Tall Ones Let Cold In
How a "3-Penny Bundle of Moss," Packed by a Widow, Sealed the Cabin Gaps That Let Winter Winds In
His 'Tilted' Cabin Roof Was Mocked—Until Winter Snow Slid Off While Others Collapsed Under Weight
His Neighbors Laughed at Upside-Down Shingles—Until His Cabin Stayed Bone-Dry in Storms
How One Settler's Useless Attic Stones Kept His Cabin 21 Degrees Warmer Every Night
They laughed at his "ridiculous angled chimney" —until it heated three rooms with a single fireplace
They mocked his "silly trick of airflow in the corner" until his cabin became 28 degrees warmer dail
They Called His Garden .Planted Backwards'—Until Fall Proved It Yielded Triple the Harvest Without..
His Neighbors Laughed at His 'Upside-Down' Cistern—Until the Drought Proved It Stored Twice the Wate
How One Homesteader's 'Useless' Attic Gaps Kept His Cabin 19 Degrees Cooler in Brutal Summers
His Neighbors Mocked His 'Backwards' Chimney Design—Until Winter Proved It Burned Half the Firewood
How a “6-Cent Piece of Charcoal,” Saved by a Mountain Boy, Rekindled the Fire That Warmed His Cabin
How a 2-Cent Bit of Clay, Moulded by a Widow, Sealed the Cracks That Let Wind Into Her Cabin
How a “5-Cent Rusty Nail,” Found by a Farmer, Saved Twenty Log Houses from Collapse in the Ice
How a “7-Cent Hollow Log” Used by a Hermit, Channeled Heat and Kept His Log House Warm for Ten Weeks
How a “2-Cent Piece of Clay,” Shaped by a Mountain Woman, Kept Her Log House Free from Cracks