KEN is a name now almost obsolete but the bog ken is a house built on
stilts where the ground is marshy, damp, and unfit to sleep upon. As you
will see by the diagram (Fig. 66), the house is built upon a platform
similar to the one last described; in this instance, however, the shelter
itself is formed by a series of arches similar to the Iroquois (Fig. 41).
The uprights on the two sides have their ends bent over and lashed
together, forming arches for the roof. Over the arches are lashed
horizontal poles the same as those described in the construction of the
Iroquois lodge. Fig. 67 shows one way to prevent "varmints" of any kind
from scaling the supporting poles and creeping into your camp.
The protection consists of a tin pan with a hole in the bottom slid over
the supporting poles. Fig. 66 shows how to lash the thatching on to the
poles and Fig. 68 shows how to spring the sticks in place for a railing
around your front porch or balcony.
The floor to this bog ken is a little more elaborate than that of the last
described camp because the poles have all been halved before laying them
for the floor. These are supposed to be afterwards covered with browse,
hay, or rushes and the roof shingled with bark or thatched.