SwANTON] mtDIANS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 399 



In the center of this space (on which the village was built) is the cook- 

 house, in which a fire is constantly burning. It is kept up in a curious way. 

 Large cypress logs are cut and laid under the cook-house, radiating from a 

 common center like the spokes of a wheel. At the "hub" the fire is lighted, 

 and as the wood burns it is constantly shoved inward and hence never needs 

 to be cut into lengths. At this fire, the only one in the camp, the women cook 

 for the entire village. . . . 



One of the houses of the village (usually the largest one) is reserved for 

 eating, and here food, generally sofki, venison, biscuits of cornbread and cof- 

 fee, is always ready for the hungry. Twice a day, in the morning and eve- 

 ning, the Seminole have regular meals, but eating between times is a constant 

 practice. 



At meal-time the men and boys enter this common lodge. Under the pent 

 roof of thatch are arranged several platforms, raised a few feet from the 

 floor by means of stakes driven in the ground, and entirely independent of 

 the supporting beams of the house. The largest of these scaffolds is the din- 

 ing table, and on it squat the Indians about the sofki bowl. . . . 



Every eating-house is also a guest house. Strangers or visitors arriving at a 

 camp go directly to this lodge, and food is brought them at once by the women. 

 When they have eaten, or while they are doing so, the men come over and ques- 

 tion them, if they are strangers, as to their purpose in coming to the camp. If 

 they appear to be friendly, they are allowed to remain in the eating-house as long 

 as they stay in camp. (Skinner, 1913, pp. 70-71.) 



The house covered with cypress bark which Speck's Yuchi inform- 

 ants remembered to have been used at an earlier period was, I think, 

 the hot house rather than a house of Algonquian type, as he supposed. 

 The later Yuchi house was similar to that of the Creeks generally and 

 to that of many of the poor whites. Speck's description of the sum- 

 mer camps, and those put up around the ceremonial ground during 

 the busk is exceptionally good and applies equally to the Creeks. 

 These were open-sided structures and he says of them : 



With some families this open-sided structure is merely a shade arbor, and 

 no care seems to be given to its appearance. But with others it serves as the 

 dwelling upon occasions and is fitted out and furnished with some semblance of 

 permanent occupancy. During the annual tribal ceremony of the corn harvest, 

 when the assemblage of families is largest, these structures may be best seen. 

 The following descriptions of these temporary dwellings, in which are preserved 

 earlier forms of architecture, are based upon observations made at such times. 



To begin with, the camp shelters, as they are commonly called, are scattered 

 irregularly about, in no wise forming a camp circle such as is found on the 

 Plains or a camp square like that of the Chickasaw. They are left standing 

 after they have served once, and are reoccupied by the owners when they return 

 to the place where the ceremonial gatherings are held. 



The ground space covered by a lodge of this sort varies somewhat, but may 

 be said to be in general about sixteen feet by eighteen. The floor is simply the 

 earth. Branches of oak with the leaves compose the roof. Eight feet above 

 the ground is a common height for this dense screen of leaves. The branches 

 themselves are supported by cross poles resting on stout horizontal end pieces 

 or beams. In the support of these beams, lodge builders employ different 

 devices. One of these, and perhaps the commonest, is the simple formed 

 or crotched post. When trees happen to be handy, however, a modification has 



