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Show THE FIRST HOUSES When their harvesting was finished that first year, the settlers began to build houses in the fort and prepare for winter. Roadways and alleys were marked off and nearly two hundred houses were erected-many of them using the rear wall of the fort for the rear wall of the house. A slant roof and adobe walls were characteristic, but a few were made of logs. Most houses had one door, two windows, and sod roofs, and dirt floors were in all of them. There were some houses along the alleys and a few of them were built both inside and outside of the fort. Some men were brave enough to risk Indian attack on their families and decided to live outside of the fort. The fort wall was spaced with portholes every sixteen feet and they were seven feet from the ground. A flat roofed house in one corner provided a platform upon which guards could stand for a good view of possible Indian trouble. Wide wooden gates centered the north and south walls, and narrower wooden gates centered the east and west walls. A huge fireplace in each house was used for night light as well as heat and cooking. Pitch pine and cedar wood made excellent fuel. Matches were unknown so it was important to keep fires burning constantly, banking them well at bedtime. If a fire died out, live coals were obtained from a neighbor by carrying them in a bucket, shovel, or pan. 24 |