s\v.\NT..Nl IXniAX TKIMI'.S OF IJIF. I.OWIli; M ISSISSl I'I'I \■AI,M.^ 59 



ari'ow. and the oIIht cimI. which stands out IVdiii tlic wooil. incxcnts 

 (lie arrow from falliuii' out of the lish's l)oily." 'Jdiis airow was also 

 attacluMl by a cord (o a wooden float which prevented the fish from 

 (livin<r lo the bottom or Ix'comini:- lost." 

 Their houses are described as follows: 



[The ral)iiis] of I In- Aikaiisas and of the Yazoos are quite round and have 

 almost the shape ot nur ice houses (ghtcicrcs). They are constructed of larj;e, 

 long poles jilanted in the earth alwut 2 feet apart in a great circle 40 to 50 

 feet hi diameter which approach each other ahove. where they are hrought 

 together and tied, forndng a Ivind of dome. Around these poles the savages 

 plait pliant iiieces of wood arranged horizontally at vertical distances of al)fint a 

 foot which they attach with cords from pole to iiole. Afterward, kneading well 

 with their feet some clay which they mix with that kind of moss of which I 

 liave spoken, which is called " Si)anish beard," they make a mud with which 

 they plaster their cabins, which, when this work is finished, appear as if 

 built entirely of earth. They are then covered with the bark of the cypress 

 or with i)alnietto. Such are the houses of the savages in which one discovers 

 neither windows nor chimnejs but only a narrow door ."> feet high. There are 

 also some square cabins in which many holes have been pierced at regular 

 intervals. These are something like loopholes, serving to discover the enemy 

 and to shoot through. From this circumstance these cabins have been called 

 "fort cabins." It is probably to protect themselves from the mosquitoes and 

 gnats (wariiitjoiiiiis) that the savages do not leave any openings in their cabins. 

 Moreover, as it is in the middle of the cabins that they make the fire, it hap- 

 pens tliat the smoke rising and not finding any exit, after having filled the 

 dome, spreads into the entire cabin and goes out by the door, so that on enter- 

 ing one at first sees nothing and is stifled with smoke. In summer and when 

 the weather is fine the fire is made in front of the cabin outside.^ 



The cabins of the great village of the Natchez, the only one I saw, are in the 

 shape of a square pavilion, very low. and without windows. The top is rounded 

 much like an oven. The majority are covered with the leaves and stalks of 

 corn; some are built of clay mixed with cut straw, which seemed to me to be 

 tolerably strong, and which were covered within and without with very thin 

 mats. That of the great chief is very neatly plastered on the inside. It is also 

 larger and higher than the i-est. placed on a somewhat elevated spot, and stands 

 alone, no other building adjoining it on any side. It fronts the iioi-tji and has a 

 large oj)en space in front, not of the most regular outline.'' 



The cabins of the natives are all perfectly square. There is not one which 

 measures less than 15 feet each way. but there are some more than ;'>0.'' This 

 is their method of constructing them : 



The natives go into the young woods in search of poles of young walnut 

 (hickory) trees 4 inches in diameter by 18 to 20 feet long. They plant the 

 largest at the four corners to determine the dimensions and the size of the 

 dome. But before planting the others they i)repare the scaffold (rafters). 

 This is composed of four poles fastened together above, the ends below resting 

 at the four corners. On these four jioles they fasten others crosswise 1 foot 

 apart, all making a four-sided ladder or four ladders joined together. 



° Du Pratz, Hist, de La Louisiane, ir, 167-168. 

 ''Itumont. Mem. Hist, sur La Louisiane. i, 14l!-144. 

 •^Charlevoix in French, Hist. Coll. La., l.'iO-lCO, 1851. 



•' Elsewhere he gives the dimensions of the great chiefs house as .^O feet square by 

 about liO In'srli. 



