518 



HABITATIONS 



[b. a. e. 



serves as a chimney and also to give light 

 to the interior of the dwelling; a soi't of 



PALMETTO house; LOUISIANA INDIANS 



sail is rigged and fastened outside of this 

 opening to guide the smoke and prevent 

 it from annoying 

 the occupants of 

 the lodge. The 

 entrance passage- 

 way, which usu- 

 ally faces east- 

 ward, is from 6 

 to 10 ft long and 

 is built in the 

 same manner as 

 the lodge." An 

 important type 

 is the Wichita 

 grass hut, circu- 

 lar, dome-shaped 

 with conical top. 

 The frame is 

 built somewhat 



L.:^ 



council houses, for the chief's dwelling, 

 or for structures designed for other official 

 uses. 



The erection of houses, especially those 

 of a permanent character, was usually 

 attendeci with great ceremony, particu- 

 larly when the time for dedication came. 

 The construction of the Navaho Itogan, 

 for example, was done in accordance with 

 fixed rules, as was the cutting and sewing 

 of the tipi among the Plains tribes, while 

 the new houses erected during the year 

 were usually dedicated with ceremony 

 and feasting. Although the better types 

 of houses were symmetrical and well pro- 

 portioned, their builders had not learned 

 the use of the 

 square or the 

 pluml)-line; the 

 unit of measure 

 was also appar- 

 ently unknown, 

 and even in the 

 best types of 

 ancient Pueblo 

 masonry the 

 joints of the 

 stonework were 

 not "broken." 

 The Indian 

 names for some 

 of their struc- 

 tures, as tipi, 

 wigwam, wicki- 



WINNEBAGO BARK HOUSE; MINNESOTA. (gILFILLAn) 



in panels formed by ribs and crossbars; 

 these are covered with grass tied on shin- 

 gle fashion. These grass lodges vary in di- 

 ameter from 40 to 50 ft. The early Florida 

 houses, according to Le IMoyne's illustra- 

 tions published by De Bry, were either cir- 

 cular with dome-like roof, or oblong with 

 rounded roof like thoseofSecotanin North 

 Carolina, as shown in John White's fig- 

 ures. The frame was of poles; the sides 

 and roof were covered with bark, or the 

 latter was .sometimesthatched. TheChip- 

 pewa usually constructed a conical or hem- 

 ispherical framework of poles, covered 

 with bark. Formerly caves and rock 

 shelters were used in some sections as 

 abodes, and in the Pueblo region houses 

 were formerly constructed in natural 

 recesses or shelters in the cliffs, whence 

 the designation diff-dn'elJings. Similar 

 habitations are still in use to some extent 

 by the Tarahumareof Chihuahua, Mexico. 

 Cavate houses with several rooms were also 

 hewn in thesidesof softvolcanic cliffs; so 

 numerous are these in Verde valley, Ari- 

 zona, and the Jemez plateau, New JNIex- 

 ico, that for miles the cliff face is honey- 

 combed with them. As a rule the women 

 were the builders of the houses where 

 wood was the structural material, but the 

 men assisted with the heavier work. In 

 the Southern states it was a common 

 custom to erect mounds as foundations for 



w]}, hogan, and iglu, have come into use to 

 a greater or less extent by English-speak- 

 ing people. 'tieQ Adobe, Archeulogi/, Archi- 

 tecture, Cl{tf'-chvclUngs, Earth lodge, Forti- 

 fication aud Defense, Grass lodge, Hogan, 

 Kiva, Mounds, Pueblos, Tipi. 





SEOOTA, A TOWN OF THE CAROLJNA COAST. (hARIOT) 



