Their winter huts, or _o´-chums_, as they termed them, were
invariably of a conical form, made with small poles, and covered
with the bark of the incense cedar (_Libocedrus decurrens_). A
few poles ten or twelve feet long were set in the ground around
an area of about twelve feet in diameter, with their tops
inclined together. The outside was then closely covered with long
strips of the cedar bark, making it perfectly water-tight. An
opening was left on the south side for an entrance, which could
be readily closed with a portable door. An opening was also left
at the top for the escape of the smoke, a fire being kindled in
the center inside.
[Illustration: _Drawing by Jorgensen_.
INDIAN O´-CHUM.
This style of house, made of cedar poles covered with bark, is
more easily heated than any other form of dwelling known.]
One of these huts would hold a family of a half-dozen persons,
with all their household property, dogs included; and there is
no other form of a single-room dwelling that can be kept warm
and comfortable in cold weather with so little fire, as this
Indian _o´-chum._
Their under-bedding usually consisted of the skins of bears,
deer, antelope or elk, and the top covering was a blanket or robe
made of the skins of small fur-bearing animals, such as rabbits,
hares, wildcats and foxes. The skins were cut in narrow strips,
which were loosely twisted so as to bring the fur entirely around
on the outside, and then woven into a warp of strong twine made
of the fine, tough, fibrous bark of a variety of milkweed
(_Asclepias speciosa_). These fur robes were very warm, and were
also used as wraps when traveling in cold weather.
During the warm summer season they generally lived outside in
brush arbors, and used their _o´-chums_ as storage places.