662 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



uniform, although the dimensions vary. 

 That of one of the leading men of the 

 Sambu Valley is rectangular and meas- 

 ures about 50 by 30 feet, the longest side 

 facing the river. 



The floor is raised eight feet from the 

 ground and supported on each long side 

 by a row of four palm posts, which ex- 

 tend through it and bear the weight of 

 the roof. Trunks of the Iriartea palm, 

 split open and flattened, form the floor- 

 ing. The roof is palm-thatched and with 

 four sheds, two of which correspond to 

 the long sides of the houses and join at 

 the top in a gable 12 feet long, while the 

 two remaining ones at the ends of the 

 building are triangular. There are no 

 walls (see page 661). 



Access to the floor is by means of a 

 notched pole, which is turned over when 

 the dogs are not wanted around, or also 

 to indicate the absence of the family. 

 The kitchen hearth is built at the corner 

 least exposed to the prevailing" wind, and 

 consists of a square frame filled with 

 clay, with a few loose stones on which 

 to set the pots. Such a house has an 

 ideal ventilation and afifords at the same 

 time a good shelter against rain and the 

 excessive dampness of the soil. 



At night the floor, which is kept scru- 

 pulously clean, is turned into a family 

 bed. Long sticks are inserted between 

 the slats and made to reach the s:round 



below, and on these mosquito bars are 

 hung. Bark mats form the bedding. 

 The largest space is the parental nook, 

 occupied also by the babies, while the 

 elder girls and boys each have their own 

 sleeping corner. 



The Chocoes are very industrious. 

 During the dry spells their life, of 

 course, is an out-of-door one, planting 

 and watching their crops, hunting, fish- 

 ing, and canoeing. But when the heavy 

 rains come they stay at home, weaving 

 baskets of all kinds — a work in which 

 the women are proficient — making ropes 

 and hammocks, carving dishes, mortars, 

 stools, and other objects out of tree 

 trunks. 



And right,. behind the house is the 

 great forest, never ■ yet violated by the 

 civilized man's ax. There the giant 

 monkey-pot tree _ raises its crown 1 50 

 feet above the ground, extending its 

 protecting branches over many other 

 portly trees unknown today, but which 

 may sooner or later find their way to 

 the mills and shops of civilized nations. 

 Under their shadowy tops high palms 

 with elegant stems, ariza-trees whose 

 trunks are hidden under hundreds of 

 scarlet flowers, vines whose enlacing 

 stems extend from branch to branch, 

 and epiphytic plants that fill every avail- 

 able nook, all compete in luxuriance and 

 beauty. 



THE FIGHT AGAINST FOREST FIRES 



By Henry S. Graves 



Chief op^ U. S. Forest Service ' 



TH^E first step necessary in estab- 

 lishing the practice of forestry is 

 the prevention of forest fires. 

 Lentil recently there was no organized 

 effort in the United States to prevent 

 forest fires. In many sections they were 

 regarded as a matter of course, and al- 

 most no consideration was given to their 

 consequence:.. 



Forest fires are by no means confined 

 to recent periods, although the greatest 

 damage has taken place since the de- 

 velopment of the country began. There 



are relatively few forest regions of the 

 country where some traces of forest fires 

 cannot be found. Scars at the base of 

 trees, the presence of charred wood, pe- 

 culiarities in the character, composition, 

 and form of the forest indicate to the 

 forester that there has been fire of greater 

 or less severity. 



It is probable that nearly the entire 

 forest area of the country has been 

 burned over by fire at some time or 

 other, although in many places the fires 

 may have merely burned over the ground 



