Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-03-11

entirely Of dirt. The floors Of these dwell
ings are of earth, but so hardened by use
and swept so clean and tracked by bare
and moccasined feet that they have almost
a polish and would scarcely soil the whit
est linen. The Mandans sleep on bed
steads similar in form to ours, but gen.
orally not quite so high; made Of round
poles rudely dashed together with thongs"
The Earth Lodges
To most readers, a dirt house would
signify dirt in every significance and mean
ing Of the word. Such a dwelling would
hardly bespeak of order or substantially
but let us read what Henry has to say of
the Mandan lodge. Henry was familiar
with the Mandan villages In the days OF
Lewis and Clark, and he has written the
most complete early description of the
huts In which these peculiar people lived.
Henry says:
"A Mandan's circular hut is spacious.
measured the one / lodged in and found 1t
30 feet from the door to the opposite side.
The whole space is first dug out about
one and one-half feet below the surface of
the earth. In the center is the square fire.
place, about five feet on each side, dug out
about two feet below the surface OF the
ground fiat. The lower part Of the hut is
constructed by erecting strong posts about
six feet out from the ground at equal dis
tances from each other, according to the
proposed size Of the hut as they are not
all of the same dimensions. Upon these
are laid logs as large as the posts, reach
ing from post to post to form the circle.
On the outer side are placed split wood
pieces, seven feet long, in a s~lanting direc-
ton; one end resting on the ground and
the other leaning against the cross-logs or
beams. Upon these beams rest rafters
about the size of a mans leg and II to IL
feet long, ~slanting enough to drain off the
rain, and laid so close to each other as to
touch. The upper ends of the ~rafters are
supported upon stout pieces of squared
timber, which last are supported by four
thick posts about five feet in circumfer-
ence, 10 feet out of the ground and Is feet
asunder, forming a square. Over these
squared timbers others of equal size are
laid, crossing them at right angles. leaving
an opening about four feet square. This
serves for chimney and windows. as there
are no other openings to admit light, and
when 1t rains this opening is covered. The
whole roof is well matched with willows,
laid on to a thickness of six inches or
more, fastened together in a very compact
manner and well secured to the ~rafters.
Over the whole is spread about one foot Of
EARTH
DR.. Washington Matthews, who lived
among these Indians on the Fort Berthold
reservation in North Dakota from 1866 to
1872, and who through exhaustive %investi-
cations, is an authority on the subject,
states that the earth lodge, in similar
forms, has been found from North Dakota
to Kansas, In the Missouri valley, and
that, at a very early date, they undoubt-
edly existed in the Mississippi river valley
as far south as Louisiana. and as far east
as Tennessee. The only ones In existence
20 years ago were those found on the Fort
Berthold reservation.
The Sacred Lodge
Near the enter of the village was an
open space some 200 to 400 feet across,
where dances and various ceremonies were
held. In the center of this space was a
round enclosure of cedar planks, called the
Minaki-the center of all religious cere-
monies. The doors of the lodges surround
ing the open space all face In toward the
Minaki. One of these lodges had a curious
fattened front, and before It stood two
high poles, to the tops Of which were fas-