254 



THE MKXOMIXI INDIANS 



[ i:th. ANN. 14 



framework of a wigwam of this character. The top and sides of this 

 skeleton structure are covered with large sheets of birchbark and mats; 

 sometimes pieces of canvas or an old blanket are added. The materials 

 used for covering will be described later. Alter the poles have been 

 planted or driven into the ground until they stand like the vertical 

 sticks of a basket-maker's frame, they are drawn inward across the 

 interior and securely tied with strips of basswood bark. The width of 

 the wigwam is usually about 10 feet, and the length 14 or 10 feet. Hori- 

 zontal poles are next lashed to the arched ribs, each from a foot and a 

 half to 2 feet apart, excepting at the open or doorway ends of the struc- 

 ture, where the vertical poles are about 3 feet apart. Mats are then fas- 

 tened to the framework on the outside, first in a continuous row at the 

 bottom, the next row overlapping the first row, and so on until the top 

 is reached. Over the dome are thrown pieces of bark— excepting at 

 the center of the roof, where a smoke-hole is left. 



Jwd£"2 



-Bark domicile for summer us 



To complete the covering of the wigwam, mats are used as door flaps, 

 the top of a mat being fastened to the top of each opening, while the 

 other end is permitted to fall to the ground. To enter the structure, 

 a person has merely to lift one side of the mat, allowing it to fall in 

 place after entering. 



The sides of the wigwam are covered with pieces of pine bark cut in 

 sections long enough to extend from the ground to the roof. These 

 pieces are fastened in place usually by strips of bark, but sometimes 

 they are nailed. 



Another variety of temporary structure of the Menomini, used gen- 

 erally during the summer when the natives go from home to pick ber- 

 ries, gather wild rice, or to dig snakeroot, is quickly made by planting 

 five or six saplings on each side of a parallelogram; the ends are 



