206 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 176 



nails. At some points along the exterior of the sills, fragments of 

 the original siding of the building were seen, but these were not uni- 

 form in either materials or dimension, and probably represent casual 

 repairs made on the building at various times. 



The sill found in place on the south footing of the rear wing pro- 

 vided some detail concerning the original timber construction of the 

 building. This sill showed four excavated areas or mortises, two 

 each approximately 4 by 4 inches and 4 by 6 inches, and extending 

 through the sill vertically. These holes, made to receive vertical 

 timbers, the braced frames of the walls proper, were not regularly 

 placed, as might have been expected. These mortises were the only 

 ones seen on any of the sills still in place, and while vertical timbers 

 similarly placed doubtless continued about the whole building, no 

 concrete evidence of their original position elsewhere was found, 

 in either mortises or spiking. 



In addition to the mortise holes in the sills mentioned, some further 

 knowledge of the construction of this building was available from 

 groups of spikes along the inner edge of this sill, approximately 1 

 foot 6 inches on center, which showed the original location of vertical 

 studding of the inner face of the wall. These studs, to which the 

 lath and plaster had been fastened, had probably been 2- by 4-inch 

 dimension, or larger. Many fragments of lath, as well as great 

 quantities of broken plaster, were found in the building debris on 

 the site. The plaster was white or painted in various colors, and some 

 larger fragments were collected. The colors include red or pink, 

 green or blue, and a shade of brown. The fragments were so scat- 

 tered, however, that it was impossible to be certain of color or colors 

 that had been used in any particular room from the fragments found 

 within any part of the whole site. 



Adjoining the kitchen wing and on its south side were the remnants 

 of a much-decayed wooden porch floor (pi. 47, a, h). No attempt 

 had apparently been made to remove this when the building was de- 

 molished. The porch floor had been built with two sills, but that at 

 the outer edge of the floor was so badly rotted that only traces of the 

 original wood had been preserved. The second or inner sill was 

 found in place, midway between the outer and inner edge of the floor 

 (fig. 20; pi. 48, a). This second sill was 5 by 8 inches, set on edge, 

 and was actually two separate timbers laid end to end, the longer orig- 

 inally measuring slightly more than 614 feet in length. On these 

 sills, at right angles, floor boards had been laid, nailed in place, in two 

 layers. The lower floor boards were 1- by 2-inch dimension, the 

 length averaging 3 feet, but of miscellaneous materials, some being 

 plain, some tongue-and-groove lumber (pi. 47, h). After this floor 

 had been in use for some time, a second floor had been put down over 

 it, also at right angles to the sills, the boards used having been 1- by 



