he added: "Thirteen is our lucky number. It always brings good
fortune. Besides, most canoes are made of thirteen pieces, and when we
kill big game, we always cut the carcasses into thirteen parts. My
son, when I have time I shall carve a different symbol upon each of the
thirteen poles of your lodge; they shall represent the thirteen moons
of the year, and thus they will enable you to keep track of the phase
of the season through which you are passing."

All the poles were of green pine or spruce. The thin ends of three of
the stoutest were lashed together; on being erected, they formed a
tripod against which the other poles were leant, while their butts,
placed in a circle, were spread an equal distance apart. Over that
framework the lodge covering was spread by inserting the end of a pole
into the pocket of each of the two windshields, and then hoisting the
covering into place. Next the lapping edges, brought together over the
doorway, were fastened securely together with wooden pins, while the
bottom edge was pegged down all round the lodge with wooden stakes. In
the centre of the floor-space six little cut logs were fastened down in
the form of a hexagon, and the earth scooped from within the hexagon
was banked against the logs to form a permanent and limited fireplace.
The surrounding floor space was covered with a layer of fir-brush, then
a layer of rushes, and finally, where the beds were to be laid, a heavy
mattress of balsam twigs laid, shingle-fashion, one upon another, with
their stems down. Thus a springy, comfortable bed was formed, and the
lodge perfumed with a delightful forest aroma. Above the fireplace was
hung a stage, or framework of light sticks, upon which to dry or smoke
the meat. Around the wall on the inner side was hung a canvas curtain
that overlapped the floor, and thus protected the lodgers from draught
while they were sitting about the fire. The doorway was two feet by
five, and was covered with a raw deerskin hung from the top. A stick
across the lower edge kept the skin taut. A log at the bottom of the
doorway answered for a doorstep and in winter kept out the snow. Now
the lodge was ready for occupation.

As there are six different ways of building campfires, it should be
explained that my friends built theirs according to the Ojibway custom;
that is, in the so-called "lodge fashion", by placing the sticks
upright, leaning them together, and crossing them over one another i