44 



THE ABORIGINES OE PORTO RICO 



[ETH. ANN. 25 



have not yet been tied or nailed to the beams, but there are posts at 

 the four corners which are stouter than the rest. The beams used in 

 construction are rough, undressed logs, and there is no attempt at 

 hewing or planing them. The pile of straw on the ground is thatch, 

 later used to cover roof and walls. 



The next picture (plate Ii, h), representing a partially completed 

 building, is situated in a small fishing village not far from Barceloneta, 

 at the mouth of the Manati river. It has the thatch tied to the side 

 beams forming the walls and on the rafters forming the roof. The 

 figure shows the care that is used in the arrangement of the thatch 

 and its attachment to the framework of the building. 



The next illustration (plate Ii, c), representing a partially constructed 

 l)uilding near Barceloneta, shows the method of tying this thatch to 



the side beams and to the 

 rafters. The thatch is 

 arranged in bundles, as 

 shown in the figure, at- 

 tached directly to the 

 rafters, and held in place 

 by rods fastened a few 

 inches below the points 

 of attachment. 



The next step in the 

 construction of this house 

 would be to lay another 

 course of the thatch 

 higher up than that 

 shown in the last figure, 

 and so in succession until 

 the ridgepole is reached. When the different courses are all tied in 

 place, the loose hanging ends of the lowest course are trimmed to a 

 proper length with a sharp knife. In attaching the thatch, the courses 

 on the sides of the house begin near the ground at the base of the 

 wall, but the first of those on the roof is at the caves. Each successive 

 course is laid above the course last preceding in both instances. 



A completed cabin is shown in the accompanying picture (plate ii, 

 c/, f), taken from a photograph of buildings situated near the last. 

 To prevent leakage at the ridgepole, it is often customary to lay 

 along the top of the roof a row of palm leaves bent at an angle, as 

 shown in the figure. 



TlIATCHEO WITH PaLM LeaVES 



Here and there on the island, but less commonly than the first- 

 mentioned type, we find houses covered with the sheaths of palm leaves, 

 called i/(t<juas. No thatch is employed in cabins of this type, although 

 the method of construction resembles that mentioned aliovc. One 



