Bark Cabin and Home Coohcooche and Spencer, Pontiac Park, Defiance Ohio

 


   

    To those who have never seen the dwelling of Indian priestess, A description of the bark cabin of Coohcoocheeh be worth telling. Covering an area of 14 by 28 feet, its frame was constructed of small poles, of which some, some planted upright in the ground, served as post or suds, supporting the ridge poles and eve poles. While others firmly tied to these by thongs of hickory bark formed girders, braces, laths and rafters. This frame was covered with large pieces of elm 7 or 8 feet long and 3 feet or 4ft wide; which being pressed flat and well dried to prevent their curling fastened to the poles by thongs of bark, formed the weather board of the cabin. At its western end was a narrow doorway about 6ft. high, closed when necessary by a single piece of bark placed beside it, and fastened by a brace, set either within or on the outside as occasion required. Within separated by a bark partition were two apartments, of which the inner one, seldom enter but by Coohcoocheeh, was occupied as a pantry, a spare bed room and at times as a sanctuary, where she performed her incantations; her other, having on each side a low frame covered with bark and over spread with deer skins serving both for seats and bed stead was in common used by the family, both as a lodging, sitting, cooking and eating room. On the ground in the center of the apartment was placed the fire; and over it, suspended from the ridge pole in the middle of the apartment an opening left for the passage of the smoke, a wooden trammel for the convenience of cooking. The site of this cabin was truly pleasant. It stood a few rods from the northern bank of the Maumee river with it side fronting the river,
    Both banks of the Maumee above the Auglaize were steep and high; that on which Coohcoocheeh cabin stood was covered with willows, while the opposite bank down to the point, being swept by the current, here slightly curving northward with the waters of it tributary stream was entirely bare.