48 



TSIMSIIIAX MYTHOLOGY 



thinner planks are let into these grooves. The two top moldings of 

 the front are also thick planks, which are grooved. Over the door D 

 is a short, heavy plank, on which rests a single thinner vertical plank. 

 The construction of the back may be seen in figure 1. Sometimes the 

 houses are built on steep banks, so that only the rear half is built on 

 the ground. In this case a foundation of heavy cedar trees is built. 

 A short log is placed with one end in the bank, the butt end standing 

 out toward the beach, where the side wall is to be. Another log is 

 placed in the same manner where the second side wall is to be. A 

 third heavy log is placed over the butts of the two projecting logs. 

 Then two more logs are put on top of the first pair with their ends 

 in the bank, and thus a foundation is built up to the level of the 

 embankment. This is covered with a platform, and the house is 



Fir,. 3. Front elevation of house. 



built about eight or ten feet back from its outer edge, so that the 

 platform forms the front portion of the floor of the house as well as 

 a summer seat in front of the house door. 



The fireplace was in the center of the house, just under the smoke 

 hole. In the daytime the people lived on the floor of the house. The 

 seat of the house owner was in the rear of the fire. Guests used 

 to sit by the side of the fire. The beds were arranged on a platform 

 that ran all around the walls. Provisions were also kept partly on 

 this platform, partly on shelves, which were suspended from the beams 

 and rafters. Sometimes young people had their bedrooms on such 

 shelves. According to tradition there were some houses that had more 

 than one platform, and in winch the floors were quite deeply excavated. 



The building of a house of this type required considerable skill in 

 woodworking. 1 In former times the Indians felled largo trees by 



' For detailed descriptions of the industries of the Coast Indians see Boas 11 . 



