It is said that very long ago the people made houses of mud, sticks, and stones.  It is not known what was their size or shape, and no traces of them are known to have been found.  For a very long time, the lodge seems to have been their only dwelling.  In ancient times, before they had knives of metal, stones were used to hold down the edges of the lodge, to keep it from being blown away.  These varied in size from six inches to a foot or more in diameter.  Everywhere on the prairie, one may now see circles of these stones, and, within these circles, the smaller ones, which surrounded the fireplace.  Some of them have lain so long that only the tops now project above the turf, and undoubtedly many of them are buried out of sight.

Lodges were always made of tanned cowskin, nicely cut and sewn together, so as to form an almost perfect cone.  At the top were two large flaps, called ears, which were kept extended or closed, according to the direction and strength of the wind, to create a draft and keep the lodge free from smoke.  The lodge covering was supported by light, straight pine or spruce poles, about eighteen of which were required.  Twelve cowskins made a lodge about fourteen feet in diameter at the base, and ten feet high.  I have heard of a modern one which contained forty skins.  It was over thirty feet in diameter, and was so heavy that the skins were sewn in two pieces which buttoned together.

An average-sized dwelling of this kind contained eighteen skins and was about sixteen feet in diameter.  The lower edge of the lodge proper was fastened, by wooden pegs, to within an inch or two of the ground.  Inside, a lining, made of brightly painted cowskin, reached from the ground to a height of five or six feet.  An air space of the thickness of the lodge poles—­two or three inches—­was thus left between the lining and the lodge covering, and the cold air, rushing up through it from the outside, made a draft, which aided the ears in freeing the lodge of smoke.  The door was three or four feet high and was covered by a flap of skin, which hung down on the outside.  Thus made, with plenty of buffalo robes for seats and bedding, and a good stock of firewood, a lodge was very comfortable, even in the coldest weather.

It was not uncommon to decorate the outside of the lodge with buffalo tails and brightly painted pictures of animals.  Inside, the space around was partitioned off into couches, or seats, each about six feet in length.  At the foot and head of every couch, a mat, made of straight, peeled willow twigs, fastened side by side, was suspended on a tripod at an angle of forty-five degrees, so that between the couches spaces were left like an inverted V, making convenient places to store articles which were not in use.  The owner of the lodge always occupied the seat or couch at the back of the lodge, directly opposite the door-way, the places on his right being occupied by his wives and daughters; though sometimes a Blackfoot had so many wives that they occupied the whole lodge.  The places on his left were reserved for his sons and visitors.  When a visitor entered a lodge, he was assigned a seat according to his rank,—­the nearer to the host, the greater the honor.