To make the logs hold together at the corners of our cabins it is
necessary to lock them in some manner, and the usual way is to notch them.
You may cut flat notches like those shown in Fig. 162 and this will hold
the logs together, as shown by 162 _E_ or you may only flatten the ends,
making the General Putnam joint shown in Fig. 163. This is called after
General Putnam because the log cabins at his old camp near my farm at
Redding, Conn., are made in this manner. Or you may use the Pike notch
which has a wedge-shaped cut on the lower log, as shown by Fig. 164 _J_,
made to fit into a triangular notch shown by 164 _H_. When fitted together
these logs look like the sketch marked 164 _F_ which was drawn from a
cabin built in this manner.
But the simplest notch is the rounded one shown by _A_, _B_, and _C_ (Fig.
165). When these are locked together they will fit like those shown at
Fig. 165 _D_.
Away up North the people dovetail the ends of the logs (Fig. 166) so that
their ends fit snugly together and are also securely locked by their
dovetail shape. To build a log house, place the two sill logs on the
ground or on the foundation made for them, then two other logs across
them, as shown in Fig. 168.