Fully six weeks elapsed, however, before the women were allowed to
leave the ship for their new homes on the land, and even then they
came but a few at a time and only as huts were ready and fully
equipped to receive them. Each hut contained a combination kitchen
and living-room, with a single bedchamber. A substantial fireplace,
built of stone and mortar, with a tall chimney at the back, was a
feature in every house. The cracks between the logs, and all chinks,
were sealed with thick layers of mortar; the ceilings, made of
stout saplings, were treated in a similar manner, while the roof,
resting on a sturdy ridge-pole, and securely anchored, was of three
layers of poles, interstices mortared and the whole covered with a
vast quantity of seaweed, moss and reeds held in place by several
well-fastened sections of iron railing from the decks of the Doraine.
While the huts were uniform in size, shape and construction, there
was nothing to prevent the occupant from subsequently enlarging
and improving his house. For the present, however, the interests
of all were best served by speed and compactness.
The superintendent of construction was Algernon Adonis Percival.
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