The houses, as I have observed, are above twenty in number, built nearly in a line. These are of different sizes, according to the rank or quality of the _Tyee_, or chief, who lives in them, each having one, of which he is considered as the lord. They vary not much in width, being usually from thirty-six to forty feet wide, but are of very different lengths, that of the king, which is much the longest, being about one hundred and fifty feet, while the smallest, which contain only two families, do not exceed forty feet in length; the house of the king is also distinguished from the others by being higher. Their method of building is as follows: they erect in the ground two very large posts, at such a distance apart as is intended for the length of the house. On these, which are of equal height, and hollowed out at the upper end, they lay a large spar for the ridge-pole of the building, or, if the length of the house requires it, two or more, supporting their ends by similar upright posts; these spars are sometimes of an almost incredible size, having myself measured one in Maquina's house, which I found to be one hundred feet long and eight feet four inches in circumference. At equal distances from these two posts, two others are placed on each side, to form the width of the building; these are rather shorter than the first, and on them are laid in like manner spars, but of a smaller size, having the upper part hewed flat, with a narrow ridge on the outer side to support the ends of the planks.