That Good Ol' Tipi Living

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OUR OWN CONICAL COMMENTS

However, I can't resist telling you some of what my co-worker and I learned—and experienced—during our half-year in a mountain top tipi.

We made our liner (out of six-foot muslin sections) and cut our own pine poles (12 for the fame of the 16-foot dwelling, and two to control the smoke flaps ... but—I confess—we bought our tipi cover. The $200 "wrapper" was made of 12-ounce duck canvas (lighter, 8-ounce duck will do) and weighed about 45 pounds.

My partner and I had little trouble backpacking the cover and liner up to " goat country". But erecting the tipi once we go there was another matter entirely! I had been told that it only takes about half an hour to pitch one of these shelters ... if the "builders" know what they're doing! However, we soon found that a few trial runs were necessary to get the knack of assembling the dwelling correctly. When my assistant and I were ready to set up our initial base camp, we followed the instructions in The Indian Tipi right down to the letter ... but—even so—I was sure glad it didn't rain that first night out.

The basics of tipi construction are as follows: First join the tops of three stout poles (in a two-together, one-alone pattern) with a 45-foot length of half-inch rope. Then stand the legs up, and twist one of the two coupled poles wound to unlock the supporting tripod. Next, lay all the ohm fame poles (except one) compactly in the notches of the three main beams. Wrap these poles with the rope and anchor the tipi-securing line to a wooden peg in the center of the shelter.

After the stake fixed in the ground, drape the tipi cover around the one "extra" support and lay this "lifting pole" in place against the others. Unfurl the canvas ovw the wooden skeleton and fasten the ends of the cover together in front with "lacing pins" (sticks or dowel rods). With that out of the way, all you have to do is use two long posts to set your smoke flap% hang your liner on the tipi's inside ... and move in.

THE SMOKEHOUSE

Actually, we soon got pretty handy at pitching a tipi (if I do say so myself) and at just about every other aspect of the conical living" as well! My assistant and I encountered one major—and aggravating—problem, however: our fire. The Laubins were able to keep toasty at -23°F with just a small blaze . . . and to rekindle the dames each morning (still snug in their sleeping bags) by throwing a handful of shavings and kindling on the still-glowing coals. But those folks burned hardwood! We, on the other hand, were stuck with a choice of pine, fir, or larch ... and the smoky, quick-burning—and poorheating—softwoods gave us a lot of trouble.

We dealt with our smoke problem by employing a modern Indian trick ... we buried a tin-can pipeline from the mouth of the fireplace to the outside of the tipi. That air intake made the blaze draw more strongly and helped clear out the haze. But, in order to really get some heat in our home when the freezing weather came on, we had to resort to white men's methods ... and pack in an old sheet-metal stove. We also ran a small vertical stack up toward the smoke hole, but still had to keep the tipi flaps wide open to get rid of the heater s exhaust". And let me tell you, during one three-foot November snowfall, the gaping smoke hole became a real disadvantage!

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