frame. There is no standard of length, as there is no standard of
size for the completed dwelling, but commonly piñon trees 8 to 10
inches in diameter and 10 to 12 feet long are selected. Three of the
five timbers must terminate in spreading forks, as shown in figure 230,
but this is not necessary for the other two, which are intended for the
doorway and are selected for their straightness.

When suitable trees have been found, and sometimes they are a
considerable distance from the site selected, they are cut down and
trimmed, stripped of bark, and roughly dressed. They are then carried or
dragged to the site of the hogán and there laid on the ground with their
forked ends together somewhat in the form of a T, extreme care being
taken to have the butt of one log point to the south, one to the west,
and one to the north. The two straight timbers are then laid down with
the small ends close to the forks of the north and south timbers and
with their butt ends pointing to the east. They must be spread apart
about the width of the doorway which they will form.

When all the timbers have been laid out on the ground, the position
of each one of the five butts is marked by a stone or in some other
convenient way, but great care must be exercised to have the doorway
timbers point exactly to the east. Sometimes measurements are made
without placing the timbers on the site, their positions and lengths
being determined by the use of a long sapling. The interior area being
thus approximated, all the timbers are removed, and, guided only by the
eye, a rough circle is laid out, well within the area previously marked.
The ground within this circle is then scraped and dug out until a fairly
level floor is obtained, leaving a low bench of earth entirely or partly
around the interior. This bench is sometimes as much as a foot and a
half high on the high side of a slightly sloping site, but ordinarily it