Here and there the smooth surface of the timber was broken by small clearings. Each of these marked the place where some hardy homesteader had settled in the woods and was making a home for himself and perhaps his family. For the most part they were along stream beds where they could get water. Some of the clearings had evidently been worked for longer periods than others, for they were much larger. The houses and barns which had been erected appeared quite diminutive on account of the large trees standing near by.