Today's MD's might laugh at the idea of getting sick from a "chill" or a "draft," but these factors were taken very seriously by doctors up to the mid-20th century, and they still are by pretty much every traditional and alternative medical system throughout the world (TCM, ayurveda, homeopathy, etc). For what it's worth, I've heard one theory for how it works, in contemporary medical terms: The sudden drop in temperature causes your body to panic -- assuming you're about to develop hypothermia -- and your thyroid, which is like your body's furnace, goes into temporary overdrive. This does a good job of generating warmth, but the thyroid hormones, in larger-than-normal amounts, are pretty toxic and tend to mess people up. Some people get sick the same day, but for others, it's about four days later, kind of like a delayed allergic reaction. Cold viruses and tummy bugs are quite willing to move in and profit from this situation, but (according to this theory) they are not themselves the cause of the illness.<br><br>
Anyway, back in the days when your cabin was built, people used to insulate themselves by wearing woolen underwear and socks, <i>all the time</i>. Even in warm weather, they might have worn shorter, lighter-weight woolies, but they probably wouldn't have gone without them entirely, especially if they were considered "the delicate type" (i.e., those who got sick frequently). They didn't want to risk getting a chill to the chest or abdomen. This was considered especially dangerous if you became chilled after being overheated. Drafts were perhaps the worst of all, because the body was acclimated to the overall room temperature, and thus was vulnerable to the chill from the draft of cold air.<br><br>
Sometimes it's hard to be a non-fur-bearing mammal. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/cold.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Cold">:<br><br>
Although woolen underwear isn't cheap ($50+ per set, even for children), and it can be a pain to care for, I'd consider it to be one of the basic necessities of life in an uninsulated cabin. Perhaps there's something equivalent, and more practical, among the synthetics sold in camping stores.<br><br>
Just for fun, here's a long underwear ad from 1914:<br><br><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=-l8DAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA141" target="_blank">Duofold Underwear</a> <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">
