In 1821 the Hudson's Bay and Northwest companies amalgamated, allowing fur traders to settle in more permanent forts and avoid leapfrogging each other in competition for good locations; so the construction methods changed as well.
We worked it out: posts anchored in the ground,
as in the past, were prone to sink
or splay in the wet, sand-filtered loam,
leaving laterals behind; that is, the sills and horizontals
stayed at grade, while verticals descended.
With freeze and thaw, the stress-points cracked and rotted:
the whole unstable, needing frequent repair.
Not to say that post-on-sill, the other way,
is stable. Soil subsidence can still cause cracks,
gaps between the logs that need re-filling every fall.
But we are building more than houses here:
small adjustment speaks of adaptation,
forward motion. Standing pat is fear;
doing nothing, denial of the future.
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