Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the MississippiBushnell, David I. (David Ives)
History
Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi
Bushnell, David I. (David Ives)
Algonquian Indians; Caddoan Indians; Indians of North America -- Dwellings; Siouan Indians
the spaces between the posts of the framework. These were provided with
skins and pillows, and served as seats by day and as beds by night. In
the building of an earth lodge the cutting and putting on of the sods
was always done by women, and as this part of the task had to be
accomplished rapidly to prevent the drying out of the sods, which must
hold well together, kindred helped one another. The erection of this
class of dwelling required considerable labor, hence only the
industrious and thrifty possessed these lodges." (Fletcher and La
Flesche, (1), pp. 97-98.)
Although the earth-covered lodge, as just described, was used in the
permanent villages, nevertheless in the same villages were to have been
seen many of the conical skin tipis. Both types of habitation were
standing at the Omaha village in 1871 when the photograph, now
reproduced in plate 27, was made by W. H. Jackson.
Near each earth lodge, "generally to the left of the entrance, the cache
was built. This consisted of a hole in the ground about 8 feet deep,
rounded at the bottom and sides, provided with a neck just large enough
to admit the body of a person. The whole was lined with split posts, to
which was tied an inner lining of bunches of dried grass. The opening
was protected by grass, over which sod was placed. In these caches the
winter supply of food was stored; the shelled corn was put into skin
bags, long strings of corn on the cob were made by braiding the outer
husks, while the jerked meat was packed in parfleche cases. Pelts,
regalia, and extra clothing were generally kept in the cache; but these
were laid in ornamented parfleche cases, never used but for this
purpose." (Op. cit., p. 98.)
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 28
[Illustration: _a._ Page of Kurz's Sketchbook showing Omaha village, May
20, 1851]
[Illustration: _b._ Page of Kurz's Sketchbook showing interior of an
Omaha lodge, May 16, 1851]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 29
[Illustration: "PUNKA INDIANS ENCAMPED ON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI"
Karl Bodmer, 1833]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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