These cabins were the homes of miners. They built their cabins quickly using whatever material was most easily obtained so more time could be put into mining. Logs notched at all corners fit closer together, requiring less chinking to fill the spaces. Chinking material came from whatever was on hand, usually mud, grass, and moss. Despite this attempt to keep heat in, the cabins were very cold in the winter. The board roofs leaked badly, so later, corrugated iron was used to make them more waterproof. Glass windows were so expensive that putty was used to put broken pieces back in the hole. Occasionally, miners put too much wood into their woodstoves, causing them to become red hot. Several cabins were known to have burned down in this manner.
