150 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



intermingled with charcoal and cultural detritus. A few fragmentary 

 burned beams (fig. 17) occurred in the more barren upper part of 

 this layer, which presumably is the collapsed roof of the old lodge. 

 This occurrence of charred wood in the upper portion of the mixed 

 strata may indicate the burning of the lodge. However, the lack of 

 any charred posts suggests that such burning may have occurred after 

 its collapse. At the bottom of the mixed layer, ash, bits of charcoal, 

 and artifacts were more numerous, indicating a poorly marked floor 

 line. Below this, except where the few subfloor excavations occurred, 

 the soil was a clean, hard yellow clay. Judging from the relationship 

 of the old floor level to the surrounding surface, it would appear 

 that before building the lodge an excavation had been made to a 

 depth of almost 2 feet. It is interesting to note that this almost square 

 semisubterranean earth lodge, some 33 feet on a side, had in the 

 course of time come to form a circular pit 3 feet deep and 60 feet in 

 diameter, the high walls of the remaining pit evidently being formed 

 as a result of wash from the roof prior to its collapse. There was little 

 indication that this lodge had been burned down while occupied, and 

 the paucity of artifacts suggested definite abandonment and the sub- 

 sequent gradual decay of the structure. 



The passageway from house i commenced in a pit in the middle of 

 the south wall and extended for over 31 feet beyond the walls of the 

 house. It was 3 feet wide where it left the house and 2 feet 6 inches 

 wide at the 31 -foot point. Its depth at the house was 3 feet, and 

 at the 3 1 -foot point it was still 2 feet 8 inches below the surface. To 

 judge from this gradual rise and the present ground level (fig. 18), 

 the entire passage would have been 88 feet long before it came to 

 the surface. However, it may have ended abruptly with a step any- 

 where beyond the 31 -foot point to which we traced it. The passage 

 is remarkable for its steep pitch where it enters the south side of the 

 house and for the rectangular depression or pit in the floor at this 

 place (figs. 16, 18). Even more remarkable is the small fireplace 

 in the center of this pit. A pottery pipe, a large fragment of heavy 

 antler from a white-tail deer, two fragments of bison scapula hoes, 

 two shaft polishers, and a considerable number of potsherds came 

 from the lower portion of this pit. The nature of this deposit in 

 conjunction with the abundant ashes, charcoal, and baked clay indi- 

 cates that this fireplace had been in use over a considerable period. 

 The pit combined with the steep ascent of the passage at this point 

 would have made for warmth, but the fire in this particular place 

 must have been a decided nuisance so far as the passage was con- 

 cerned. This circumstance rather strengthens the theory that this 



