THE CONTRIBUTOR.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 12

THE CONTRIBUTOR.

HABITATIONS IN OTHER LANDS. (By L. A. MacDonald, F.R.G.S.) In the earliest ages man made his habitation in rocks and caverns, and even now, after many thousands of years, there are still in certain parte of Europe, principally in Spain, dwellings hewn out of the rocks very much in the same manner. These are inhabited by gipsies; and in several parts of Britain, there may yet- be seen some extraordin- . ary rock-dwellings in which families have lived contentedly for ages. They left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, and cast not one longing, lingering - look behind. These caves are mostly confined to the Severn district, and have existed from time immemorial. The inhabitants are all dead, and the ancient caves have become more like tombs than disused dwelling-places. - Truly ..Timers effacing hand has not been idle! Lake, dwellings, supported on piles or reeds standing in the water, were also once well-known in Europe. They now scarcely exist, save in the form of remains, studied by diligent antiquaries, in ancient lake beds. But this peculiar style of dwelling exists in many lands to-day." These houses are inhabited by fishermen, and their occupation is carried on by the simple process of dropping a line through the iioor of the family apartment. Each house has its own rustic ladder placed against the platform and doorway. They are all substantially built, and the effect of the whole is decidedly picturesque.. The small canoes float upon the water, or fire grounded between the piles when the tide is out. The canoes are made from trunks of trees, and are ten to twenty feet in length, "■ with the inside clipped and hollowed out. They are, however, so well balanced that they never upset, no matter how crowded. Somewhat similar houses may be seen on the delta of the river Orinoco. This district is every year flooded by the overflowing of the river, and for some months ■in the year the natives have to live in huts built in trees, or on wooden piles, well above the level of the water. Sailing up the river by night, the traveller will be surprised to see trees rearing their heads high above the surface and forming water groves. Dp among the branches fires are burning, and dusky forms reclining in range of their warmth, or moving about with perfect freedom. It is a village of the air—the home of the palm dwellers.

During the season the palm dweller cuts down some of the smaller trees, and prepares his timber. Four trees forming a quadrangle are selected for the site, and near the top of each he cuts a deep notch, into which the ends of the four beams which serves as a foundation for the structure are inserted. These beams are hoisted up by means of ropes and placed in position. The trunk of the tree, with niche 3 cut in it for the toes of the climber, is used as a ladder during the building operations, and afterwards as a staircase to his abode. The main beams being in their places, cross ' beams are laid and secured Sy ropes. A layer of palm leaves, covered with a thick coating of mud, forms a floor, upon which a-* fire may be kindled without fear of extended conflagration. As there is no very cold weather to he provided against, walls are considered unnecessary. A second platform of lighter materials, covered with woven mats and palm leaves, provides a shelter from rain and sun.

The trees among- which he dwells provides for all his wants. They are all of one hind,, the fan palm, and supply him with hood, clothes, fuel, utensils, ropes, mats, bread and liquor. Bread is proem ?d by splitting open the trunk of a tree, and taking from the interior a pith, which, burned, grated, and then placed in water, forms a sediment, from which cakes of a nutritive quality are made. Pish caught in the vicinity of this dwelling help to relieve . the monotony of a vegetarian diet. The tent was one of the first forms of the dwelling-house. It was constructed of the skins of wild animals, and was of a conical or sugar-loaf shape—a form which has been retained in most countries where the tent still serves the purposes of a house. The Turcoman, who seldom lingers ’Ion 0 ' in one spot, carries his house about with him, which, with its furniture and effects; forms a comfortable load for one Camel. .The frame is constructed from? laths of light wood, crossing one another diagonally, but at right angles, and about a foot asunder. These are tied at each crossing with thongs of hide,, so that the whole affair may be closed into small compass, or expanded to the dimensions of a commodious circular. apartment about twenty feet in diameter; Prom the upper portion of the framework similar laths slope upwards and meet over the centre, where they are tied together, and form the skeleton of a‘roof.' Both walls aiid roof are covered i ‘with, black mud, and outside of this material another frame is founo, made from? canes or reeds placed perpendicularly and bound together with cords. j._ A iMongolian villa is constructed on somewhat similar lines, but as a rule it only. ‘ one apartment, wneieas the interior: of the Turcoman is sometimes divided into two apartments, by means of -a wall of split reeds, uiiile the richer Turcoman who wants a private room lias a. separate tent erected. In/;Africa /the huts of most tribes, are thatched- with reeds, and plastered within with, clay or mud, the palace of a king being little better, except in size, than the hut of his subject. The Bechuanas are considered the most skilful house-builders of all South African

is the women and not the men who do the work, the occupation of the men bqing limited to the simple task of giving instructions to their wives. A cave or hole sufficiently large to contain his body, however, satisfies the African bushman’s aspirations for houseowning. Failing to obtain a ready-made residence, he is forced to build one. With this purpose in view, he chooses a clump of two or three bushes, draws and ties the branches together, spreads a few handfuls of grass over the top, and the outside work is complete. By scraping a hole inside, and filling it with grass, a bed place is made, wherein he and his family form at night a complicated mass of sleepers.

In some parts of Alaska the natives dwell in houses, or rather huts, made of spruce bush, over the top of which is occasionally a piece of well-worn cloth or the skin of an animal. These squalid brush houses are built so low that one can scarcely stand upright in them. A few years ago the largest village on the "Silicon River only consisted of about twenty of these miserable huts huddled together near the banks of the river. Now large flourishing towns have sprung up at different points, and in the place of' primitive liuts may be seen splendid buildings, fit to grace the streets of our cities.

The winter residence of the Eskimo ?s one of the simplest dwellings in the world. Ice and snow, which he finds plentifully distributed around furnish him with all that is necessary in the construction of a house, and a couple of men in a few hours can raise a warm and comfortable edifice which will last till the summer sun melts the xo-of from over his head.

One man occupies himself in cutting bricks of snow, about a couple of feet long by six inches in thickness, which be carefully pares smooth with a long knife. The other lays them skilfully together, the construction of the arched roof being performed in a manner calculated to satisfy the artistic instinct of any modern architect. A hole two or three feet high permits the family to creep in or out of the abode, and a window of ice illuminates the interior^ But perhaps the most curious of houses in existence are the tree houses of New Guinea. The hut is erected in the uppermost boughs of a tall tree, and is only reached by means of a roughly-made ladder, which can be readily drawn up into the hut if necessary, so as to protect the occupants from any intrusion or attack.