The Indian family almost always carry with them the necessary equipment
for making camp, but hunters and solitary travelers must improvise
something from the material at hand. The permanent village is composed
of fairly substantial and rain-proof dwellings, called "teepees,"
"wigwams," and as many names as there are Indian languages. Slighter
shelters are quickly put up in an emergency. You will enjoy copying some
of these for your temporary or regular camp.
A substantial wigwam is built of poles and bark in either six-sided or
octagonal form. In my day, we used six poles cut off at a fork about ten
feet high. These are set two feet deep in the ground, eight to twelve
feet apart, and joined by other poles resting on the forked ends. This
forms the framework or hexagon. There are four more poles in the center,
forming a square, and also connected at the top, and in the middle of
this little court a shallow hole is dug for a fireplace and lined with
flat stones.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
The outer wall of the bark house is of split poles driven into the
ground quite close together and neatly overlaid with the bark of the
birch, elm, or basswood, in strips eight feet long by four to six feet
wide. The trees should be peeled if possible when the sap flows in
spring, and the strips spread one upon another on the ground and
weighted with stones, so as to dry smooth and flat. Between every two
inner posts is an outside post to support the crosspieces, light
saplings which hold the bark in position. You can also tie these
crosspieces to the split poles with strips of tough cedar bark.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
The roof is made in the same way of split poles covered with bark, the
latter overlapping like shingles, so that it is water-proof. Over the
fireplace is left an adjustable opening, to let out the smoke and let in
light and air. The doorway is an opening in the middle of the south
side, three feet by six, closed by a movable door of bark or rawhide. A
double row of posts with forked ends, about four feet long and the same
distance apart, are driven two feet deep into the ground around three
sides of the shack on the inside, connected with lighter poles and
crosspieces, then covered with smooth bark firmly tied in place. Here
are spread robes and blankets for beds by night and a lounging-place by
day. There should be sufficient space to move about between the bunks
and the fireplace.
This kind of shack may be thatched with coarse meadow grass, instead of
bark, if it is more convenient to do so. Some tribes make them partly
underground for warmth in winter, and when completely covered with sods
or earth the hexagon becomes a "round house."
The greater number of Indians, however, built conical wigwams. If made
of the materials I have described, it was customary to transport the
rolls of bark from place to place; the poles were cut at each new camp
or left in place at the old ones. Sometimes grass and rushes were
braided into mats and used as coverings and carpets. The Plains Indians
used buffalo hides, nicely tanned and sewed together in semicircular
shape.
The skeleton of the conical teepee is made by tying three poles together
near the top, and, when raised, separating them to form a tripod.
Against this place in a circle as many poles as you think necessary to
support your outer covering of cloth or thatch, usually twelve to
fifteen. If of canvas, the covering is tied to a pole and then raised
and wrapped about the framework and secured with wooden pins to within
about three feet of the ground. This space is left for the entrance and
covered by a movable door, which may be merely a small blanket. If you
have nothing better, a quantity of dry grass will make you a warm bed.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
Suppose an Indian brave starts out alone, or with one companion, to lay
in a supply of meat or to trap for furs. All the outfit he really needs
is his knife and hatchet, bow and arrows, with perhaps a canoe,
according to the country he has to traverse. He proceeds on foot to a
good camping-place, and there builds his shelter of whatever material is
most abundant. If in the woods, he would probably make it a "lean-to,"
which is constructed thus:
In a dry and protected spot, find two trees the right distance apart and
connect them by poles laid upon the forks of each at a height of about
eight feet. This forms the support of your lean-to. Against this
horizontal bar place small poles close together, driving their ends in
the ground, and forming an angle with about the slant of an ordinary
roof. You can close in both sides, or not, as you choose. If you leave
one open, build your fire opposite the entrance, thus making a cheerful
and airy "open-face camp." Thatch from the ground up with overlapping
rows of flat and thick evergreen boughs, and spread several layers of
the same for a springy and fragrant bed. You can make a similar shelter
of grass or rushes, but in this case you must have the poles closer
together.
The dome-shaped wigwam or "wicki-up" is made in a few minutes almost
anywhere by sticking into the ground in a circle a sufficient number of
limber poles, such as willow wands, to make it the size you need. Each
pair of opposites is bent forward until they meet, and the ends
interlocked and tied firmly. Use any convenient material for the
covering; an extra blanket will do.
You can make any of these tent shelters with no tool save your hatchet
or strong knife. The object is to protect yourself and your possessions
from cold, wind, rain, and the encroachment of animals. As to the last,
however, they are not likely to trouble you unless very hungry, and a
fire is the best protection. He is the natural and true man who utilizes
everything that comes in his way; a cave, a great hollow tree, even an
overhanging rock serves for his temporary home, or he cheerfully spreads
his bed under the starry night sky.