20 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF INDIAN LANGUAGES. 
§ 4—DWELLINGS. 
The priscan, 7. ¢., primitive dwellings of the Indians were of two classes, 
permanent and temporary, which for convenience we will call wigwams and 
lodges respectively. Prior to the introduction of the horse upon this con- 
tinent the Indians were far less nomadic than they have subsequently been 
known. ‘Their sedentary life led most of the tribes to the construction of 
somewhat permanent dwellings; yet to a slight extent many of the tribes 
had habits of roaming; especially they made journeys to favorite hunting 
grounds or fishing waters. When on these journeys they exhibited consid- 
erable skill in the erection of temporary dwellings; and they even provided 
for their wants in advance by preparing lodges made of the skins of animals. 
Their wigwams were constructed of various materials—poles interlaced 
with bark, reeds, tules, grass, &c.; slabs rived from young saplings, and 
these sometimes covered as the poles; poles and slabs covered with earth; 
and, finally, some tribes exhibited considerable skill in the erection of stone 
dwellings. 
It may be that wigwams or permanent dwellings were sometimes made 
of the skins of animals, but it seems more probable that in their priscan 
condition skin lodges were used chiefly as temporary dwellings. Their 
wigwams were of multiform construction—conical, square, and oblong; 
they were made to accommodate two or more households—often an entire 
gens. 
The lodges or temporary dwellings were usually made of the dressed 
skins of animals supported by lodge-poles, or of brush, bark, grass, &c., 
supported in like manner. 
A description of both classes of dwellings should be given. The 
method of dividing the wigwams into compartments should be noted, and 
the names of the compartments given; also the names of the other parts of 
the house, as doorways, smoke escapes, &e. 
In their dwellings the Indians are punctilious in assigning places to 
the regular occupants and visitors. Their rules for such occupancy are 
important. 
In the slab houses of the northwest coast, Indian architecture with 
materials of wood was most highly developed. Here the houses are orna- 
