THE first time any working plans of an underground house for boys were
published was when an article by the present writer on the subject
appeared in the _Ladies' Home Journal_. Afterward it was published with a
lot of similar material in "The Jack of All Trades." Since then other
writers have not hesitated to use the author's sketches with very little
alteration; imitation is the sincerest compliment, although it is not
always fair, but it does, however, show the popularity of the
underground-house idea.
The American boy's hogan may be built like the preceding shacks of the
material found in the woods or it may be constructed of old boards and
waste material to be found in village back yards or on the farm, or, if
the boys have the price or if they can interest their fathers or uncles in
their scheme, it may be built of milled lumber procured at the
lumber-yard.