NOW that we know how to wield the axe we can begin on more ambitious
structures than those preceding. We may now build camps in which we use
logs instead of poles. Most of these camps are intended to be covered with
sod or earth and are nearly related to the old prairie dugout. The sod
house is used in the arctic regions because it is warm inside, and it is
used in the arid regions because it is cool inside. You will note that the
principle on which the Stefansson is constructed (Fig. 135) is practically
the same as that of the Pontiac (Fig. 36); the Stefansson frame, however,
is made of larger timbers than the Pontiac because it not only must
support a roof and side of logs and sod but must also be able to sustain
any quantity of snow.
First erect two forked upright sticks (Fig. 132), and then steady them by
two braces. Next lay four more logs or sticks for the side-plates with
their butt ends on the ridge-pole and their small ends on the ground as in
Fig. 133. Support these logs by a number of small uprights--as many as may
be necessary for the purpose. The uprights may have forks at the top or
have the top ends cut wedge-shaped to fit in notches made for that purpose
in the side-plates as shown by Fig. 133 _A_. The shortest uprights at the
end of the roof should be forked so that the projecting fork will tend to
keep the roof logs from sliding down. The roof is made by a number of
straight rafters placed one with the butt in front, next with the butt in
the rear alternately, so that they will fit snugly together until the
whole roof is covered. The sides are made by setting a number of sticks in
a trench and slanting them against the roof; both sides, front, and rear
of the building should project six inches above the roof in order to hold
the sod and dirt and keep it from sliding off.
Fig. 132. Fig. 133. Fig. 133A Fig. 134. Fig. 135.
[Illustration: Details of the Stefansson sod shack.]
Up in the north country one must not expect to find green, closely cropped
lawns or even green fields of wild sod in all places. Although in some
parts the grass grows taller than a man's head, in other places the sod is
only called so by courtesy; it really consists of scraggy grass thinly
distributed on gravelly and sandy, loose soil, and consequently we must
secure the sod by having the walls project a little above the rafters all
around the building. Of course, in summer weather this roof will leak, but
then one may live in a tent; but when cold weather comes and the sod is
frozen hard and banked up with snow the Stefansson makes a good, warm
dwelling.
The same style of a camp can be made in the temperate zone of smaller
trees and shingled with browse, or in the South of cane or bamboo and
shingled with palmetto leaves, or in the Southwest of cottonwood where it
may be covered with adobe or mud. Fig. 134 shows a Stefansson shack roofed
with sod. The front is left uncovered to show its construction and also to
show how the doorway is made by simply leaving an opening like that in a
tent. In winter this may have a hallway built like the one described in
the Navajo earth lodge (Fig. 35) or in the Pawnee hogan (Figs. 42 and 43),
and in milder weather the doorway may be protected with a skin. An opening
is left in the roof over the fireplace, which answers the purpose of a
chimney.
The author aims to take hints from all the primitive dwellings which may
be of service to outdoor people; the last one described was arbitrarily
named the Stefansson because that explorer built himself such shelters in
the far North, but he did not invent them. He borrowed the general plan
from the natives of the northern country and adapted it to his use,
thereby placing the official stamp on this shack as a useful building for
outdoor people and, consequently, as deserving a place in this book.