MATERIA! I I l-ii RE 37 



place. Then the edges of the cover were staked down 

 and the poles supporting the "ear-" put in place. 

 The "ears" are wings, or Hies, to keep the wind out of 

 the smoke hole at the top; they were moved about by 



the outside poles. The fire was built near the center 

 and the beds spread upon the ground around the sides. 

 The head of the family usually sat near the rear, or 

 facing the door. 



While in essential features the tipis of all Plains 

 tribes were the same, there were nevertheless some 

 important differences. Thus, when setting up a tipi, 

 the Blackfoot, Crow, Sarsi, Hidatsa, Omaha, and 

 Comanche first tie four poles as a support to the other-; 

 while the Teton-Dakota, Assiniboin, Cheyenne, Grps 

 Ventre, Arapaho, Kiowa, Plains-Cree, Mandan, and 

 Pawnee use three, or a tripod foundation. For the 

 remaining tribes, we lack data, but it seems safe to 

 a— ume that they follow one or the other of these 

 methods. The three-pole foundation gives the pro- 

 jecting tops of the poles a spiral appearance while the 

 four-pole beginning tends to group them on the sides. 

 Thus, to a practised eye, the difference is plain. The 

 covers, ears, doors, etc., are quite similar throughout. 

 The shapes of tipis, however, show some differences. 

 Thus, the Cheyenne prefer a wide base in proportion 

 to the height while the Arapaho prefer a narrow base. 

 Again, the Crow use very long poles, the ends pro- 

 jecting out above like a great funnel. 



It is important to note that the use of the tipi is not 

 confined to the plains. The Ojibway along the Lakes 

 used it, but covered it with birchbark as did also many 



