The habitations of the Indians receive much less attention than the attire, or at least embellishment of their persons. Our countrymen, by common consent, give to them no better appellation than “cabins.” The bark of trees is the chief material both for the houses and boats; they peel it off with considerable skill, sometimes stripping a whole tree in one piece. This coating, spread, not unskilfully, over a framework of poles, and fastened to them by strips of tough rind, forms their dwellings. The shape, according to the owner’s fancy, resembles a tub, a cone, or a cart-shed, the mixture of which gives to the village a confused and chaotic appearance. Light and heat are admitted only by an aperture at the top, through which also the smoke escapes, after filling all the upper part of the mansion. Little inconvenience is felt from this by the natives, who, within doors, never think of any position except sitting or lying; but to Europeans, who must occasionally stand or walk, the abode is thereby rendered almost intolerable; and matters become much worse when rain or snow makes it necessary to close the roof. These structures are sometimes upwards of a hundred feet long; four of them occasionally compose a quadrangle, each open on the inside, and having a common fire in the centre. Formerly, the Iroquois had houses somewhat superior, adorned even with some rude carving; but these were burnt down by the French in successive expeditions, and have never been rebuilt in the same style. The Canadians in this respect seem to be surpassed by the Choktaws, Chickasaws, and other tribes in the south, and even by Sauks in the west, whose mansions Carver describes as constructed of well-hewn planks, neatly jointed, and each capable of containing several families.
In their expeditions, whether for war or hunting, which often lead them through desolate forests, several miles from home, the Indians have the art of rearing, with great expedition, temporary abodes. On arriving at their evening station, a few poles, meeting at top in form of a cone, are in half an hour covered with bark; and having spread a few pine branches within, by way of mattress, they sleep as on beds of down. Like the Esquimaux, they also understand how to convert snow into a material for building; and find it, in the depth of winter, the warmest and most comfortable. A few twigs, plaited together, secure the roof. Europeans in their Indian campaigns, have, in cases of necessity, used with advantage this species of bivouac.
A Forest Scene.
Canoe-building at Papper’s Island.
The furniture in these native huts is exceedingly simple. The chief articles are two or three pots or kettles for boiling their food, with a few wooden plates or spoons. The former, in the absence of metal, with which the inhabitants were unacquainted, were made of coarse earthenware that resisted the fire, and sometimes of a species of soft stone, which could be excavated with their rude hatchets. Nay, in some cases, their kitchen utensils were of wood, and the water made to boil by throwing in heated stones. Since their acquaintance with Europeans, the superiority of iron vessels has been found so decided, that they are now universally preferred. The great kettle or cauldron, employed only on high festivals associated with religion, war, or hunting, attracts even a kind of veneration, and potent chiefs have assumed its name as a title of honour.
Canoes, another fabric which the Indians construct very rudely, are yet adapted with considerable skill to their purpose. These are usually framed of the bark of a single tree, strengthened at the centre with ribs of tough wood. The ends are of bark only; but being curved upwards, are always above water, and thus remain perfectly tight. Our sailors can scarcely believe such nut-shells safe even on the smoothest waters, and see with surprise the natives guiding them amid stormy waves, when their very lightness and buoyancy preserve them from sinking. They have another quality of great advantage in the devious pursuits of the owners; being so extremely light, that they can be easily conveyed on the shoulder from one river or branch of a lake to another. One man, it is said, can carry on his back a canoe in which twelve persons can navigate with safety.