In the visitor
building at the archeology site, you enter the lodge near a life-sized poster of an
outdoor Mandan Lodge. The entry is not finished so you can see how the cottonwood logs and
branches are woven before the mud is plastered on.
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This is the doorway to the
lodge. Come on in and have a look around.
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As you walk into the
darkness, you see the glow of the fire pit near the center of the lodge. The lodge
has no windows. The only light at night is from the fire. In the day a little
light comes through the smoke hole.
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The cache is in a
corner of the lodge. The cache was used for food storage. After mice and
insects damaged the food, the cache was used as a garbage pit and a new cache was
dug.
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Now see the comfort of
the beds. A framework is made from poles--usually cottonwood trees. Then poles
are placed on the frame. Comfortable? Not yet. Prairie grass is heaped
over the logs. Finally, buffalo hides are put on top for a cozy bed.
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The fire pit was used for cooking, for
warmth, and for light.
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Above the fire pit is a hole in the
roof, called the smoke hole. This lets the smoke escape. This view shows the
tree branch construction of the ceiling and roof.
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