Form of House. 



89 



bow liis rafters as shown in c of the figure. This was a favorite form of house and is shown 

 in Weber's sketch on Kauai, made at Cook's first visit to the group in 1775 (Fig. 64). 

 Ver}^ soon, probably, it was found best for the stabilitj^ of the house to fasten 

 the lower end of the rafters to a stick of equal length and parallel to the ridge-pole: 

 this became the loliclait or wall-plate. In the Waimea houses of Cook's time these 

 plates were raised on posts, where they were on the banks of the Waimea River, 



•^y_;^^^^iX--^\. 



...i 



FIG. 72. II.VLE KAMAXI AT LAHAINA. 



to guard against floods, bi:t the floor remained on the level of the plate which thus 

 became a sill. 



The space under this form of house was, in the absence of flood waters, an agree- 

 able living room for the family (including the pigs, whose close connedlion with man 

 in the Pacific has already been noted), and this basement room has always been a 

 favorite with Hawaiians. When the foreign houses were built they were generally 

 raised on posts some feet from the soil, and in such case the house owner, if Hawaiian, 

 by preference occupied the space beneath the floor. When the Princess Keelikolani built 

 her palace in Honolulu, with drawing room and every convenience on the main floor, 

 which was reached by rather high doorsteps, she preferred to live in the cool basement. 



Now, if we suppose the houses of roof only, raised, as shown in Weber's pic?ture, 

 four or five feet above the ground, it would be a simple step to lower the floor and cover 



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