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Day 181, Totem Bight, Part 2

As you enter the clearing…

…there are two Totem Poles guarding the trail.

Then down the trail to the clan house.

Most of the details about the clan house are here;

Click to enlarge, BACK to return!

The beams are remarkable, considering the native peoples used stone and bone adzes and axes!  While I am sure these beams were cut with power tools, the house looks like a pretty major project anyway.

They used one man for a measure.  If it called for something his height, then his height was used uniformly, or the length of an arm or a foot.  He was the consistency for that house.

Inside there was a common fire pit, shared by all, and then each of the several families would have their own section of space.  Belongings were kept under the floorboards.

(Three photos stitched together with MS ICE)

The big door you see is for tourists.  The short door by the steps was what was really used.  It allowed only one at a time to enter, so if the were off somewhere the women could bop one intruder on the head, drag him out of the way, and call for the next in line!

Here is the door in use, from the outside.

This a the front of the clan house.  It would normally not have quite so ornate of posts.

~Curtis in /\/\onTana! {!-{>

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