be put close to exclude the rain, or, in fair
weather, to be separated, to let in the light and carry out the
smoke. They are, however, upon the whole, miserable dwellings, and
constructed with little care or ingenuity. For, though the side-planks
be made to fit pretty closely in some places, in others they are
quite open, and there are no regular doors into them, the only way
of entrance being either by a hole, where the unequal length of the
planks has accidentally left an opening, or, in some cases, the planks
are made to pass a little beyond each other, or overlap, about two
feet asunder, and the entrance is in this space. There are also holes,
or windows, in the sides of the houses to look out at; but without any
regularity of shape or disposition; and these have bits of mat hung
before them, to prevent the rain getting in.

[Footnote 1: The habitations of the natives, more to the north upon
this coast, where Behring's people landed in 1741, seem to resemble
those of Nootka. Muller describes them thus: "Ces cabanes etoient de
bois revetu de planches bien unies, et meme enchainees en quelques
endroits."--Muller, _Decouvertes_, p. 255.--D.]

On the inside, one may frequently see from one end to the other of
these ranges of building without interruption. For though, in general,
there be the rudiments, or rather vestiges, of separations on each
side, for the accommodation of different families, they are such as do
not intercept the sight; and often consist of no more than pieces of
plank, running from the side toward the middle of the house; so that,
if they were complete, the whole might be compared to a long stable,
with a double range of stalls, and a broad passage in the middle.
Close to the sides, in each of these parts, is a little bench of
boards, raised five or six inches higher than the rest of the floor,
and covered with mats on which the family sit and sleep. These benches
are commonly seven or eight feet long, and four or five broad. In
the middle of the floor, between them, is the fire-place, which has
neither hearth nor chimney. In one house, which was in the end of a
middle range, almost quite separated from the rest by a high close
partition, and the most regular, as to design, of any that I saw,
there were four of these benches, each of which held a single family,
at a corner, but without any separation by boards, and the middle part
of the house appeared common to them all.

Their furniture consis