The whole construction was finally
covered with a thick coating of mud. This primitive wooden construction
has probably been in use for a long time, although it was modified in
special cases so as to extend across the entire width of narrow rooms to
accommodate "piki" stones or other cumbersome cooking devices. It
embodies the principle of roof construction that must have been employed
in the primitive house from which the pueblo was developed, and
practically constitutes a miniature conical roof suspended over the
fireplace and depending upon the walls of the room for support. On
account of the careful and economical use of fuel by these people the
light and inflammable material of which the chimney is constructed does
not involve the danger of combustion that would be expected. The perfect
feasibility of such use of wood is well illustrated in some of the old
log-cabin chimneys in the Southern States, where, however, the
arrangement of the pieces is horizontal, not vertical. These latter
curiously exemplify also the use of a miniature section of house
construction to form a conduit for the smoke, placed at a sufficient
height to admit of access to the fire.
A further improvement in the chimney was the construction of a corner
hood support by means of two short poles instead of a single piece, thus
forming a rectangular smoke hood of enlarged capacity. This latter is
the most common form in use at the present time in both provinces, but
its arrangement in Tusayan, where it represents the highest achievement
of the natives in chimney construction, is much more varied than in
Cibola.
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