Charley, Hubert, and Terence were to take three
yoke of oxen and the three plows, and to commence to get the land
in order for cultivation; the ground selected as a beginning being
that lying below the house near the river. Mr. Hardy, Hans, and the
two peons were to work at the house, and Seth was to finish the
well, which, although begun, had been stopped during the press of
more urgent work, and the water required had been fetched from the
stream in a barrel placed in a bullock cart. The way in which adobe
or mud houses are constructed is as follows: The mud is prepared as
for brick-making; but instead of being made into bricks, it is made
at once into the wall. The foundation having been dug out and
leveled, two boards are placed on edge eighteen inches or two feet
apart. These are kept in their places by two pieces of wood nailed
across them. The space between these boards is filled with mud. in
which chopped hay and rushes have been mixed to bind it together.
The boards are left for a day or two, while the builders proceed
with the other part of the wall. They are then taken off, and the
heat of the sun soon dries the wall into a mass almost as hard as a
brick. The boards are then put on again higher up, and the process
repeated until the walls have gained the desired height.
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