40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



water to put out the fire that might be made against the palisades. 

 Ladders were used to ascend to them (S 91-92; C 122). 



The towns on the frontiers and nearer to the enemies were the 

 best fortified in respect to the enclosing walls, which were about 2 

 lances high, to tlie gates and entrances, which were closed with bars 

 and built so one had to turn sideways and could not stride straight in, 

 and location. The site adjoined some good stream. It was on a place 

 slightly elevated and surrounded by a natural moat if possible and, 

 although the walls were rounded and the village compact, had enough 

 space vacant between the houses and the walls to defend itself against 

 the enemies' attacks (S 92). 



In villages that were not fortified, the inhabitants could only flee 

 when attacked (JR 10: 51, 95). In the summer, the people could 

 escape to an island or hide in the forest. In the winter, they did 

 not know where to hide: they could not hide on an island as the ice 

 served as a bridge for the enemy ; they could not hide in the forests 

 as the leaves had fallen from the trees and, in the winter, the tracks 

 made in the snow gave away their location (JR 10: 51). The in- 

 defensibility of these villages led the Jesuits to advise the Huron to 

 construct square forts with four little towers at the four corners so 

 that four Frenchmen with guns could easily defend the entire village 

 (JR10:53). 



Longhouses comprised the Huron winter village. A village might 

 have as many as 50, 60, or 100 of these houses and might contain as 

 many as 300 or 400 families (JR 10: 211; cf. JR 15: 153; 35: 87). 

 The chief town once contained 200 houses, but it was divided into 2 

 villages and rebuilt in a new locality (S 92) . 



In each house were from 4 to 5 fires, usually 2 or 3 paces apart 

 (JR 15: 153; 16: 243; 17: 177). As 2 families used each fire, 1 on 

 each side, 8 to 10 families (60 to 80 people) occupied 1 longhouse 

 (JR 15: 153; 16: 243; 35: 87; S 94). Some houses had 8, 10, or 12 

 fires (or 24 families) ; others, fewer, depending on their length (S 94; 

 C 123-124). One house in which there was one fire and one family 

 is mentioned (JR 17: 91). A hole in the top of the house permitted 

 the smoke to escape (JR 8: 107; C 124; S 80, 95). The houses were 

 filled with fire, smoke, naked bodies, and dogs (JR 17: 13). 



The dwellings were made of large sheets of cedar [by common con- 

 sensus and usage, the best (cf. JR 14: 43-45)], ash, elm, fir, or spruce 

 bark and had the shape of a bower or garden arbor. These houses 

 [called ganonchia (S 93) ] were of various lengths; some were 2, others 

 20, 30, or 40 brasses and often 25 or 30 fathoms long and were 

 usually 4 brasses or 6 fathoms wide and high ( JR 8 : 105-107; C 122- 

 123; S 93). Some of these houses were 70 feet long (JR 15: 153). 

 Inside, along both long walls, sheets of bark were placed on the 

 ground to make a bed and over this, placed on poles laid and sus- 



