The new cabin of the Morrises, built after the burning of the old, was
somewhat similar in shape to that which had been reduced to ashes. There
was the same small bedroom at the north end, which, as before, had been
turned over to Dave and Henry. But this room boasted of two windows instead
of one, each fitted with a heavy wooden shutter, to be closed in winter or
during an attack by the Indians.

The old four-post bedstead, of walnut and hickory, with its cords of
rawhide, was gone, and in its stead the Morrises had built a wide bunk
against the inner wall of the apartment, with a mattress of straw and a
pillow of the same material, for feathers were just then impossible to
obtain. Under the window was a wide bench made of a half log, commonly
called a puncheon bench, and the flooring was likewise of puncheons, that
is, split logs with the flat side smoothed down. Into the walls were driven
pegs of wood, upon which the youths could hang their garments.

The room was cold, almost icy, and it did not take Dave and Henry long to
get into bed after they had made up their minds to retire. Having said
their prayers, they huddled close together for warmth, covering themselves
with blankets and a fur robe James Morris had brought from his
trading-post.

The wind had been gradually rising and by midnight it was blowing half a
gale, whistling shrilly around the cabin and through the heavy boughs of
the neighboring trees. The doors and shutters rattled and awakened Mrs.
Morris, but the boys and men slept well, for the sounds were familiar ones.

In the early morning came a change. The wind went down and there was a
heavy fall of snow which kept up steadily for many hours. By the time Dave