BUSHNELL] NATIVE VILLAGES AND VILLAGE SITES 69 
first are oblong squares, the latter is circular, they have no chimnies 
but let the smoke find its way out through a hole at the top in their 
dwelling houses, but in the hot houses, where it can, in these they 
make large wood fires, on the middle of the floor, which being by even- 
ing all coals, they enter it, and sleep on benches made round the inside 
of the building.” 
As Romans remarked, the buildings of the Choctaw were “‘ exactly 
similar to those of the Chickasaw,”’ this description should therefore 
apply to the houses of both tribes, especially to the northern Choctaw 
living near the Chickasaw. 
James Adair, who spent many years as a idea among the southern 
Indians, and whose work treats principally of the Chickasaw among 
whom he lived the greater part of the time, has left a detailed account 
of the manner in which they constructed their different houses. 
(Adair, (1), pp. 417-421.) The whole village aided in the work, ‘‘and 
frequently the nearest of their tribe in neighboring towns, assist 
one another. . . In one day, they build, daub with their tough 
mortar mixed with dry grass, and thoroughly finish, a good commo- 
dious house. They first trace the dimensions of the intended fabric, 
and every one has his task prescribed him after the exactest manner. 
. For their summer houses, they generally fix strong posts of 
pitch-pine deep in the ground, which will last for several ages.’’ 
The posts being of equal height were notched to hold the wall 
plates. A larger post was then placed in the middle of each gable 
end, and another in the center of the house to mark the position of 
the partition. The frame was completed by using many small split 
saplings and some larger logs, all of which were secured by tying. 
The outside was made of ‘‘pine, or cypress clap-boards, which they 
can split readily; and crown the work with the bark of the same trees, 
all of a proper length and breadth, which they had before provided.’ 
The covering was held in place by split saplings, tied to the frame 
at the ends. 
“They provide themselves for the winter with hot-houses . . . To 
raise these, they fix deep in the ground, a sufficient number of strong 
forked posts, at a proportional distance, in a circular form, all of an 
equal height, about five or six feet above the surface of the ground: 
above these, they tie very securely large pieces of the heart of white 
oak, which are of a tough flexible nature, interweaving this orbit, from 
top to bottom, with pieces of the same, or the like timber. Then in 
the middle of the fabric they fix very deep in the ground, four large 
pine posts, in a quadrangular form, notched a-top, on which they lay 
a number of heavy logs, let into each other, and rounding gradu- 
ally to the top. Above this huge pile, to the very top, they lay a num- 
ber of long dry poles, all properly notched, to keep strong hold of the . 
under posts and wall-plate. Then they weave them thick with their 
