10 
The palisade, no doubt, as did many Iroquois stockades, consisted of 
long, 1 pointed posts set upright in the ground; the dimensions of the posts 
being probably greater than the diameter of most of the post holes 
discovered, 2 It is probable that the palisade was reinforced on the inside 
with large pieces of bark, as among the Hurons, 3 because the posts them- 
selves, which were mostly far apart, would not have afforded much 
protection against the arrows of enemies; perhaps, also, the posts were 
interlaced with branches of trees. 4 Cartier describes the palisades of 
Hochelaga as follows: “ The village is . . . completely enclosed by a wooden 
palisade in three tiers, like a pyramid. The top one is built crosswise, the 
middle one perpendicular, and the lowest one of strips of wood placed 
lengthwise. The whole is well joined and lashed after their manner” 
(pages 155-156). It is quite certain that the Roebuck palisade was not 
built the same as that of Hochelaga, because, judging from Cartier’s 
narrative, the outer rows of timbers necessarily had to be set slanting 
against the middle row to be “ like a pyramid.” All the post holes found 
at the site, at least in what must have been the palisade, were vertical; a 
few holes in a small group in deposit 4 only were found to be slanting, but 
these were too isolated to have had any connexion with the palisade. 
The gate of the palisade was probably located somewhere along the 
semicircular embankment across the narrow part of the site, perhaps at one 
of the openings mentioned by Guest, this being the only approach to the 
village owing to the other sides being surrounded by swamp. The stockade 
at Hochelaga also had only one gateway (Cartier, page 155). 
Perhaps here, as at Hochelaga, there were galleries behind the palisade 
surrounding the village, which were “ provided with rocks and stones for 
the defence and protection of the place” (Cartier, page 155). 
There seems to be no apparent connexion between some of the rows 
of post holes forming the palisade and the lines of circumvallation shown 
in Guest’s map, reproduced in our Figure 1. Although his outline of the 
site is tolerably accurate the positions of the various features he mentions 
may be more diagrammatic than correct. His double lines of circumvalla- 
tion on the north side could scarcely be connected with the palisade on 
that side of the field. 
HABITATIONS 
The houses of these people may have been such as to leave no very 
marked depressions or signs other than the great abundance of village 
refuse in certain places, although, judging from Guest’s words, “ within 
which are to be seen the regular streets and lines of a village ” (page 273), 
some evidence of their location may have been present in 1854. Locations 
of houses and other structures seem to be indicated by some of the post 
holes that do not appear to be part of the palisade; for instance, the con- 
fused maze of post holes in deposit 13, extending to the northern edge of 
•According to Cartier (p. 188) the posts of the palisade at Hochelaga were “two lances high”: the stockade of 
the Huron village of Oarhagouha, Champlain pays (I, p. 128), was 3a feet high, and that of the Iroquois village 
attacked by him in lfil5, 30 feet fill, p 131). 
Wan Curler (Wilson, p 90), referring to some of the posts in the stockade of the Mohawk town of Tenotoee, snvs 
they "wore so thick that it was quite a wonder that savages should he able to do that.” Champlain (I, p 132) 
says i ho Mohawk fort “was made of the trunks of tre.es as large as could be conveniently transported.” 
*Pagard (1:113). describing the palisades of the Hurons, says in part: "Redoublez par dedans de grandcs and 
grosses escorres, & la hauteur de huict & neuf pied* 
♦Champlain (III, p 131) says the palisade posts of the Mohawk fort were “interlaced with each other, with an 
opening not more than half a foot between two.” 
