BARRETT— POMO BUILDINGS 



THE DRUM 



One of the most important and characteristic features of the Porno 

 dance house was the large wooden drum which was played by stamp- 

 ing upon it with the bare feet. Plates ix-xi show five views of the drum 

 which was in the above-mentioned dance house at Sulphur Bank and 

 which was photographed in 1902. It is characteristic, in every respect, 

 of the old type of Porno drum. Fig. 2 of plate IX shows the drum 

 as it was found almost covered with debris. The other four figures 

 show the drum after it had been removed to the sun outside the 

 dance house for photographing. It was then returned to its former 

 position within the dance house. 



This drum was a section from an oak log and measured about six 

 feet in length by twenty-two inches in width. It had been cut from 

 a sufficiently large tree to produce a fairly flat section when finished, 

 as is shown in the end view in fig. 2 of plate XI. Its bark was removed, 

 and it was carefully hollowed out and reduced to the uniform thick- 

 ness of about two and a half inches. Its upper and lower surfaces are 

 shown in plate x, and plate xi, 1 . A trench, the width of the drum and 

 about eighteen inches in depth, was first dug, and near each end two 

 short, stout stakes were driven so that they came about even with the 

 surface of the floor. Heavy grape-vines were then twisted back and 

 forth between these stakes in such manner as to form a firm support 

 for the drum, which was placed upon them with its curved surface 

 uppermost. Plate IX, fig. 2, shows the front pair of these stakes and 

 the twisted grape-vine support on which the drum rests. This trench 

 formed an excellent resonance chamber, and a space about a foot in 

 length was left in front of the drum for the easy passage of the sound. 

 Such a drum produced a deep, booming tone as the drummer stamped 

 upon it. To steady himself, the drummer had a stake set firmly in 

 the ground near the front right-hand corner of the drum. Its position 

 is shown at 15 in text figure 2. 



Public Museum 

 Milwaukee. Wisconsin 



[17] 



