Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pioneering Journeys of the Ingalls Family
Montgomery County, Kansas
Little House on the Prairie

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A log cabin

Pa built a log cabin on the prairie. First he cut down trees and split logs. Then he built the foundation and the walls, cutting holes for a door and windows. He used the canvas from the wagon as a roof covering until he had time to build a slab roof. He also built a stout door, a fireplace and a solid oak floor. What do you think the Ingalls family brought with them to start their new home? Use this drawing of a log cabin as a background and make your own illustration for the story.

A bed in a log cabin -- Photo courtesy of Living History Farms, 2600 111 th Street, Urbandale, IA 50322 http://www.livinghistoryfarms.org

Pa built a bed in the corner of the cabin. There was no straw on the prairie so Ma filled the mattress with dry grass. Then she tucked in the sheets and put her prettiest quilt on the bed. Pa made chairs and a table from logs and a fireplace of rocks, sticks and mud. When the fireplace was finished, Ma placed the little china woman that she had brought from Wisconsin on the mantel.

A woman cooking at a fireplace -- Photo courtesy of Living History Farms, 2600 111 th Street, Urbandale, IA 50322 http://www.livinghistoryfarms.org

When Ma cooked in the fireplace, she raked coals on top of the bake oven to cook cornbread and corn cakes. She used a skillet with legs, called a spider, to cook salt pork and wild game such as rabbits and prairie chickens.