144 _ INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 
on the treeless plains nothing was so desirable as an 
easily portable dwelling of skins or canvas. 
All of the Apache west of the Rio Grande made 
houses which had frames of poles, covered with a thatch 
of weeds or grass. The prevailing type among the 
San Carlos Apache is dome-shaped. When the house 
is small, the frame is made by setting poles a few inches 
San Carlos Apache Women Building a House. 
in the ground in a circle, bending their tops over, and 
lashing them together. These poles are held in the 
proper curves by horizontal ones lashed to them. 
When a larger house is needed, poles are first placed 
forming a series of arches which overlap each other 
and together complete a circle except for the doorway. 
These arches support the main ribs running from the 
ground to the apex. The thatch, which is usually 
