1888.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 199 



of poles. The sides of the door are formed by two posts (A) from 6 to 

 8 inches in diameter and standing about 4 feet apart. Over the door 

 they are connected by a cross-bar (B, Fig. 3). Sometimes this frame-work 

 of the door consists of heavy planks. The frame-work of the house front 



Fig. 4. Construction of Kwakiutl house. Longitudinal section, from c to d. 



consists of two or three vertical poles (0), about 3 inches in diameter, 

 on each side of tbe door. They are from 8 to 10 feet apart. Their 

 length diminishes toward the sides of the house according to the inclina- 

 tion of the roof. These poles are connected by long cross-bars (E), which 

 are tied to their outer side with ropes of cedar bark at half the distance 

 between the roof and the ground. The frame- work of the rear part is 

 similar to that of the front, but that of the sides is far stronger, as it 

 has to support the roof. Two heavy posts (F) about 9 inches in diame- 

 ter are erected. Their heads are cut out and a beam of the same 

 diameter is laid over them. At the joints it is cut out so as to fit into 

 the heads of the posts. On both sides of the door and in the correspond- 

 ing part of the rear side, about 3 feet distant from the central line of 

 the house, the supports of the roof (U) are erected. These form the 

 principal part of the frame work, and are the first to be made when the 

 house is built. They stand about 3 feet from the walls inside the house 

 These uprights are about 1^ feet ill diameter and are generally con- 

 nected by a cross-piece (G) of the same diameter. On each side of the 

 cross-piece rests a heavy beam {H) which runs from the front to the rear 

 of the house. 



Sometimes these beams are supported by additional uprights {V), 

 which stand near the center of the house. The rafters (R) are laid over 

 these heavy timbers and the beams forming the tops of the sides. They 

 are about 8 inches in diameter. Light poles about 3 inches thick are 

 laid across the rafters. They rest against the vertical poles (0) in the 

 front and rear of the house, and are fastened to the ratters with ropes 

 made of cedar bark. After the heavy frame-work which supports the 

 central part of the roof is erected a bank about 3 feet in height is raised 

 all around the outlines of the house, its outer side coinciding with the 

 lines where the walls are to be erected. Long, heavy boards i or 5 

 inches thick are implanted lengthwise along the front of the house, their 



