It was pretty hard to cook, however, without stoves, and awkward to eat without dishes.

At first the cooking was done out-of-doors, in the old-fashioned, primitive style, in pots and skillets placed over a fire.

Some of the carpenters' benches that had been used in the construction of the building were utilized for tables.

As for dishes, there were too few to make it worth while to spend time in describing them.
No one connected with the boarding department seemed to have any idea that meals must be served at certain fixed and regular hours, and this was a source of great worry.

Everything was so out of joint and so inconvenient that I feel safe in saying that for the first two weeks something was wrong at every meal.