wse, green or dry leaves, straw, hay, grass,
or rushes and put the sod over the top of this. If in place of making the
roof flat, as shown in Fig. 33, you slant it so as to shed the rain, this
sort of shack will do for almost any climate, but with a flat roof it is
only fitted for the arid country or for a shelter from the sun when it is
not expected to be used during the rain.

Navajo

The teepee-shaped hut used by the Navajo Indians _will_ shed the rain. To
build this shack interlock three forked sticks as shown in the diagram,
then lay other poles up against the forks of these sticks so that the
butts of the poles will form a circle on the ground (Fig. 34). Thatch this
with any material handy, after which you may cover it with dirt as the
Navajos do, in which case you had better build a hallway for entrance, as
shown in Fig. 35. This same teepee form is used by the California Indians
and thatched with wild hay (Fig. 341/2).

VII

BIRCH BARK OR TAR PAPER SHACK

A DESCRIPTION of the Pontiac was first published in my "Field and Forest
Handy Book," a book which contains several shelters similar to the ones
here given, most of which were originally made for Caspar Whitney while he
was editor of _Outing_.

The Pontiac

The Pontiac, as here given, is my own design and invention (Fig. 36). It
is supposed to be shingled with birch bark, but, as is the case with all
these camps, other bark may be substituted for the birch, and, if no bark
is within reach and you are near enough to civilization, tar paper makes
an excellent substitute. Fig. 37 shows the framework of a Pontiac with a
ridge-pole, but the ridge-pole is not necessary and the shack may be built
without it, as shown in Figs. 36 and 39, where the rafter poles rest upon
the two side-plates over which they project to form the apex of the roof.
In Fig. 39, although the side-plates are drawn, the rafter or roof poles
are not because the diagram is supposed to be a sort of X-ray affair to
show the internal construction. The opening for smoke need not be more
than half as large as it is in Fig. 39 and it may be covered up in
inclement weather with a piece of bark so as to keep out the rain.

Cutting Bark

Fig. 38 shows a tree felled in order to procure bark. You will note that
the bark is cut round at the bottom and at the top and a slit is made
connecting the two cuts as already described so that the bark may be
peeled off by running a blunt instru