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Integrated Strategies in Architecture introduces students aiming at careers in
the building design professions to the concepts and technologies underlying
the design process.Working towards developing a sound grasp of the purpose
of buildings, the technology available and the specialisms that contribute, the
book:
• presents a holistic view of the design process;
• bridges the gap between number-crunching and the assembly of buildings;
and
• places current design as part of an evolutionary process, referring to his-
toric as well as contemporary models.
Throughout, the text discusses the means by which client requirements, site
conditions, financial and legal considerations and other influences can be iden-
tified and how integrated techniques can be applied to obtain the optimum
solution in design.The chapters emphasise the importance of applying a spec-
trum of technologies to the production of successful buildings, covering:
• space planning;
• colour theory;
• communication;
• management;
• aesthetics;
• structures; and
• environment control.
This key text has a wide relevance to students of architecture and architectural
technology, through to students of cognate disciplines such as construction
management and building surveying, and to practitioners.
Joan Zunde is an architect who has taught design procedures and technology
to students on a variety of courses for many years and is the author of several
design books.
Hocine Bougdah is Principal Lecturer in Architecture, School of Architecture,
University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Kent.
Integrated Strategies in Architecture

Technologies of Architecture
Editor: Joan Zunde
Technologies of Architecture is an introductory textbook series providing
a coherent framework to the architectural design process in a practical
and applied way.This series forms an essential suite of books for stu-
dents of architectural technology, architecture, building surveying and
construction.
Integrated Strategies in Architecture is the first and introductory volume.
Advisory board
Michael Ashley
Mark Kennet
Stephen Pretlove
Peter Smith
Norman Wienand
Forthcoming titles
Volume 2: Environment,Technology and Sustainability
Stephen Sharples, Hocine Bougdah and Peter F. Smith
Volume 3: Materials, Specification and Detailing
Norman Wienand
Volume 4: Practice, Management and Responsibility
Volume 5: History, Performance and Conservation

Integrated Strategies
in Architecture
Joan Zunde and Hocine Bougdah
Illustrations by
Hocine Bougdah, Anya Sutton
Joan Zunde and Peter Zunde
Technologies of Architecture
V O L U M E 1

First published 2006 by Taylor & Francis
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis
270 Madison Ave, NewYork, NY 10016
Taylor & Francis is an imprint of theTaylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2006 Joan Zunde and Hocine Bougdah
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this book is
true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the publisher nor the
authors can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that
may be made. In the case of drug administration, any medical procedure or the use
of technical equipment mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to con-
sult the manufacturer’s guidelines.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Zunde, J.M. (Joan M.), 1928–
Integrated strategies in architecture / Joan Zunde and Hocine Bougdah. – 1st ed.
p. cm. – (Technologies of architecture)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-415-36083-8 (hb : alk. paper) – ISBN 0-415-36084-6 (pb : alk. paper) – ISBN
0-203-79942-9 (eb) 1. Architectural design. 2. Architectural practice. I. Bougdah,
Hocine. II.Title. III. Series.
NA2750.Z66 2006
720.68'4–dc22
2005028145
ISBN10 0-415-36083-8 (hbk) ISBN13 978-0-415-36083-8 (hbk)
ISBN10 0-415-36084-6 (pbk) ISBN13 978-0-415-36084-5 (pbk)
ISBN10 0-203-79942-9 (ebk) ISBN13 978-0-203-79942-0 (ebk)
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

The authors dedicate this book to the generations of students from
whom they have learned so much.

Acknowledgements
Appreciation is expressed to the following people and organisations
without whom the book could not have been written:
• David Cheetham, who had the idea;
• The Advisory Panel;
• The team at Taylor & Francis, especially Caroline Mallinder,
Georgina Johnson, AndrewWatts and Alex Lazarou, whose gener-
ous support has been invaluable; and
• Francesca Berriman and Elizabeth Brookfield at CIAT for their interest.
The following individuals and bodies who have permitted drawings of
their buildings or adaptations of their drawings to be reproduced:
• Fondation Le Corbusier, represented in GB by DACS;
• Foster and Partners;
• Gehry Partners;
• The Hayward Gallery;
• Father Stephen Hoy;
• Longmans, Publishers, for permission to reuse drawings originally
prepared by Peter Zunde and published in Design Procedures IV
and DesignTechnology V by J.M. Zunde;
• Cesar Pelli and Associates;
• Richard Rogers Partnership;
• El Fundaçio Mies Van der Rohe;
• The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; and
• Sheffield Hallam University andWill Delaney, Gemma Hickling and
Matthew Rowe.
The colleagues and friends who have been unfailingly patient and our
families, for their infinite tolerance and encouragement.
Hocine Bougdah
Joan Zunde
JUNE 2006

Foreword ix
Introduction 1
PART 1 THE PURPOSE OF BUILDINGS 5
Introduction 7
CHAPTER 1: Origins 9
CHAPTER 2: Moderation of the environment 19
CHAPTER 3: Use of available technology 25
CHAPTER 4: The demands of the community 33
Bibliography 43
PART 2 THE DESIGN TEAM 45
Introduction 47
CHAPTER 5: The specialists and how they work together 49
CHAPTER 6: The client’s role 59
CHAPTER 7: Communication 63
CHAPTER 8: Professional responsibility 75
Bibliography 81
PART 3 THE DESIGN PROCESS 83
Introduction 85
CHAPTER 9: Creative problem-solving 87
CHAPTER 10:The problem 93
CHAPTER 11:The process in action 107
CHAPTER 12: Aesthetics 119
CHAPTER 13: Evaluation 137
CHAPTER 14: Completion 143
Bibliography 147
Contents

PART 4 SPACE 149
Introduction 151
CHAPTER 15:Tailored versus loose-fit outcomes 153
CHAPTER 16: Functional requirements 161
CHAPTER 17: Anthropometrics and ergonomics 169
CHAPTER 18: Relationships between spaces 179
Bibliography 191
PART 5 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN 193
Introduction 195
CHAPTER 19: Principles of environmental design 197
CHAPTER 20: Design strategies 215
CHAPTER 21: Case studies 239
Bibliography 249
PART 6 STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS 251
Introduction 253
CHAPTER 22: Structural materials 255
CHAPTER 23: Structures for domestic buildings 267
CHAPTER 24: Design of structural elements 281
Bibliography 289
Glossary 291
Index 297
V I I I C O N T E N T S

As the President of CIAT I am delighted that the Chartered Institute of
ArchitecturalTechnologists is supporting this publication which is the
first in a series of publications for those who specialise in architectural
technology or wish to expand their horiz
ons into this exciting discipline
within the built environment.
At this time of continued growth within the built environment together
with the exciting and innovative flag ship proj
ects around the UK
and
internationally, there is a great demand for qualified professionals and
in particular qualified architectural technology professionals such as
the Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT) and Architectural
Technician (TCIAT).
W
orking with the publishers, the writers and Advisory Board, CIAT con-
siders that this book will become an essential read for students on
architectural technology degree programmes and associated courses.
Jim Kirwan, PCIAT
President CIAT
MAY 2006
president@
ciat.
org.
uk
www.
ciat.
org.
uk
Foreword

Building, architecture and technology
The categories of building, architecture and technology often, and in
many ways, overlap.They can properly be distinguished. A sensible
distinction is to understand architecture as a philosophical considera-
tion of the impact of buildings on peoples’ consciousness, while tech-
nology is concerned with the application of scientific methods to their
realisation. Building has more to do with the practicalities of creating
the actual structures.
The professions cannot exist in isolation, and Building Manager,
Technologist and Architect as well as all the other professions con-
cerned with the built environment, need a grounding in each other’s
concerns as well as empathy with one another’s points of view.
Buildings are among the most substantial indicators we have of cul-
tures other than our own.This is true whether we are considering vary-
ing geographical and climatic situations or taking an historical
perspective. When we visit distant countries or archaeological sites,
our understanding of the values and aspirations of the people who
made them is vividly enhanced by our experience of the buildings we
find there. They speak of the patterns of life that they were built to
accommodate, of the conditions under which they were created, and
also of the skills deployed by their designers and builders.
The buildings created today are similarly evocative. Whilst they serve
varied and complementary practical purposes, which are discussed in
some detail in Part 1 of this book, they are also markers for our sense of
cultural identity. Whether we use a particular building or not, it may be
a backdrop to our lives and a significant component of the environment
Introduction

in which we operate. It is an influential factor, whether consciously or
not, in our sense of cultural identity. We should also be aware of the
statement our buildings make to onlookers about our aspirations and
values.
Buildings are not only the concern of those who commission and pay for
them, nor of those who use them as places of work or as users of serv-
ices.They are important to us all. A great hospital holds a different place
in the consciousness of theTrust who owns it, the medical and admin-
istrative staff who run it, the patients who use it and of the passers-by to
whom it is just part of the urban scene.The same is true of the most elab-
orate governmental complex or of the simplest home or bus shelter.
Each of these buildings contributes to a total environment.
The village or the city is a whole formed from the constituent parts.The
coherence of the experience of people within depends not only on the
excellence of those individual components in themselves, seen from
the point of view of owners, users or of onlookers, but on the total
ambience they create.We are all, in this sense, consumers of the whole
built environment.
It is the profession and art of architecture to empathise with these
apprehensions of the significance of buildings, alongside ensuring
that the buildings created are beautiful and practical. Buildings which
are starkly functional without relationship to their age and their place
cannot be described as architecture. Equally, edifices which simply
crystallise an understanding of a culture, which stand only as features
in a townscape or are merely sculptural, are follies, though possibly
enjoyably decorative ones. Works of architecture serve practical pur-
poses and do so well. They must suit the purposes of their users,
must use resources wisely and must contribute positively to the
visual environment.These considerations are the concern of architec-
tural philosophy.
The technologies of architecture, as dealt with in this series, are the
developed professional skills and techniques by which the needs of the
consumers of buildings in all these senses can most efficiently be met
through the use of available resources. They are in every case built
upon an ability to assess need, including an appreciation of what is rea-
sonable in terms of economic, energy and time constraints.They never
assume that the most modern or high-tech solution is automatically to
be preferred, but always regard the low-tech and traditional as parts of
the available armoury. Such technologies include aesthetics as well as
acoustics, ergonomics as well as engineering, and understanding both
of communication and of construction.
They are, therefore, sophisticated tools which are necessary to the
proper use of resources to provide an appropriate environment for the
activities of society.
2 I N T R O D U C T I O N

The expected audience
Understanding of such technologies is, of course, an essential compo-
nent of the professional equipment of architects, surveyors and other
practitioners, including structural, mechanical and electrical engineers
as well as members of the newly emerged profession of architectural
technology.
Members of all these professions need to be clearly aware of their
interdependence, and need to work in an atmosphere of mutual
respect. In some cases, one or another specialist will lead the team
involved in developing a design, whilst on other occasions he or she
will be a contributing member of that team. In yet other instances, a
single professional may be involved. In order to fulfil any of these roles,
the practitioner needs a clear view of:
• the purpose of buildings;
• the technology available to fulfil those requirements;
• the specialisms that contribute to a satisfactory outcome;
• how teams work; and
• the constraints upon the design process.
It is expected that this suite of books will be appropriate to an audience
which includes students of architecture, and they may be considered
essential tools also for students of architectural technology, of sur-
veying and of estate management and construction management in
the UK, the Commonwealth and the USA.
Purpose
This introductory book, Integrated Strategies in Architecture, provides
a preliminary examination of the knowledge, understanding and skills
which the professional designer has to acquire.This text stands alone,
and is written for a student without prior technical knowledge.The the-
oretical topics covered are fundamental and basic, and are introduced
by way of material with which he or she may be expected to be famil-
iar. It has been assumed that:
• students already have a suitable equipment of the English lan-
guage, mathematics and study skills, either at entry or through
equalising courses;
• ConstructionTechnology and Surveying are studied in common
with students of cognate disciplines or, at any rate, separately
from this syllabus and do not need to be covered here;
• it is appropriate for the introductory text to cover those topics spe-
cific to the professions which it can be expected will be dealt with
in the early years of the degree course; and
• specialised and advanced subjects are covered in the supplemen-
tary texts.
I N T R O D U C T I O N 3

The programme
These specialised texts,Volumes 2–5 are, to some degree, time and cul-
ture specific, and will be regularly reviewed so that they can be revised
as necessary.They are:
Volume 2 Environment,Technology and Sustainability
Stephen Sharples, Hocine Bougdah and Peter F. Smith
Volume 3 Materials, Specification and Detailing
Norman Wienand
Volume 4 Practice, Management and Responsibility
Volume 5 History, Performance and Conservation
The whole suite of books is conceived as a set of course texts rather
than as reference materials, since the breadth of data that would be
necessary for such books is beyond the scope of student manuals.
It will be found that each section of each book is preceded by a brief
summary of its contents and followed by a useful list of references.
These references are those that the authors believe will be the most
valuable to students, but their inclusion cannot preclude the need for
individual library research. In the case of websites, the links to these
have been confirmed as the texts were submitted, but it is important to
be aware that websites and their addresses change frequently.
4 I N T R O D U C T I O N

INTRODUCTION, 7
Chapter 1 ORIGINS, 9
Houses, 9
The settlement, 10
Ritual sites, 11
Workplaces, 11
Communications between settlements, 12
Commerce and industry, 12
Urban design, 12
Defining space, 13
Unnecessary space, 13
Implicit limits, 14
Privacy, 15
Protection, 16
Chapter 2 MODERATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, 19
Water, 19
Temperature, 21
Air flow, 22
Sound, 22
Natural disaster, 24
Chapter 3 USE OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY, 25
Natural conditions, 26
Local materials, 27
Traditional technology, 28
Available skills, 30
Examples, 30
Conclusion, 32
Part 1
The purpose of
buildings

Chapter 4 THE DEMANDS OF THE COMMUNITY, 33
City and state, 33
Sustainable architecture, 36
Law, 38
Culture, 39
Risk assessment, 40
Tradition, 41
Conclusion, 42
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 43
6 T H E P U R P O S E O F B U I L D I N G S

Before attempting to understand the mechanisms and techniques
which are applied to the design of buildings, it is a prerequisite that the
purposes for which buildings are created should be properly under-
stood.These are not merely utilitarian, and are perceived differently by
different parties. As technology has gained greater sophistication, so
people have set higher targets in every area.
In Chapter 1 there is a brief survey of the development of buildings
from primitive structures to the present.
The important role of the building envelope in modifying the external
environment to produce acceptable internal conditions is discussed in
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3 considers the means available to achieve such aims at differ-
ent periods and today, and there is an overview of the materials and
skills traditionally available to provide suitable structures, with a note
of their relationship to climate and skill.
Finally, the cultural and legal requirements of the community are dis-
cussed, together with a note on sustainability and on risk assessment
in Chapter 4.
Part 1
Introduction

The most important part of a building is the space it defines.The other
parts exist to define that space and to modify the environment expe-
rienced within it.
Houses
The earliest buildings created in all cultures are dwellings, not so dis-
similar from the lairs or nests created by other animals, and intended
to serve somewhat similar purposes.These are initially threefold:
• shelter, in terms of moderation of the climate;
• protection from predators; and
• privacy.
The shelter was made in the simplest possible way by the people who
would occupy it, and the size of the home that could be created was
severely limited by the materials available in the immediate vicinity
and by the strength and skills of the people. It might well serve only
on a seasonal basis, either because of its innate perishability or
because the occupants were nomadic.These considerations apply to
homes in climates as varied as the plains of Africa and the North
American tundra.
Homes everywhere would be of somewhat similar size – just large
enough to accommodate a sleeping nuclear family – and they were
almost always circular because that is the easiest shape to build and
has the most economical relation between perimeter and area.
The significant variations between the houses arise from two impor-
tant factors:
Chapter 1
Origins
1.1

• the climate from which shelter was required, which might include
almost any combination of cold, wind, rain, snow or fog, or of heat,
glare and sand storm; and
• the materials available – stone, wood, skins, grasses, ice blocks and
so on.
So that the yurt, igloo, hut or tent were created from the most readily
available materials to meet specific environmental conditions. From
these very earliest beginnings, such considerations were intimately
connected, and could not be considered in isolation.
Whereas most animals continue generation after generation to create
similar shelters, humankind is adventurous, creative and ambitious.
Once the notion of making them rectangular was appreciated, houses
could become larger, and they were expandable. More than one cell
could be created under a single roof. Even later, when the beam was
invented, they could be broadened as well.
As skills developed, so did expectations, and homes have continued to
become more sophisticated and so create even greater aspirations
among potential owners.
A fourth purpose can, as a result, be added to the three mentioned
above: statement.That is to say, from quite early times it came to be
the case that dwellings told onlookers something about the people
who lived in them. If they could afford to employ skilled specialists on
the building, or to bring expensive materials from far away, this added
to the occupants’ prestige.
In its simplest form, this can be seen in the Chief’s home being larger
and more substantial than those of others because he could command
the resources of materials and labour as a result of his position.
The settlement
The small clusters of dwellings constructed by an extended family
evolved into permanent settlements, as a hunter-gatherer society
developed into a settled agricultural one. Such villages were carefully
sited where a good supply of clean water was available, as well as suit-
able land. From a very early stage, care was taken to draw water from
a higher point in its flow than the position where wastes were dis-
charged into it.
Although there was no land hunger, the dwellings were built close to
one another, largely for defensive reasons. In some regions they were
sited contiguously, so that access was across roofs and downwards
into individual dwellings.
1 0 T H E P U R P O S E O F B U I L D I N G S
1.2

Ritual sites
The second category of sites which appear to have been set apart for
specific purposes consists of those that archaeologists loosely classify
as ‘ritual sites’. Such constructions were of course fixed, and even in
a nomadic society would be objectives of pilgrimage.
In these cases that fourth purpose, the statement of function, seems to
have been paramount to those who made the spaces. Often, however,
there is still doubt about the precise purpose.These might be spaces
cleared and surrounded by defining structures, such as ditches or
banks, or henges marked by stone or wood circles; in which case it
seems most likely that they served for community meetings or for wor-
ship or the casting of oracles. It is reasonable to define them as mon-
uments.The circle was still the preferred plan form.
Focal sites were generally chosen, and the monuments are often found
on skylines or across valleys, where they can be readily seen from set-
tlements even when these are at some distance from them.
A subsection of this category is the cemetery.The disposal of the dead
seems always to have been treated with reverence by the great major-
ity of cultures, and tombs and burial places were generally carefully
designated.
All such spaces that are successful share a characteristic which is
known as ‘the numinous’ – they catch people’s imagination in a way
that is interpreted as sacred, and generally without resort to the use of
symbols.This can be considered to be a special category of the impor-
tance of ’statement’ in design.
Workplaces
Thirdly, while in the most primitive cultures the open air or the home
sufficed to accommodate the necessary chores of living, the need for
defined workplaces came with the specialisation of skills. Such accom-
modation might be in the form of special, additional parts of the
dwelling set aside for weaving or cooking, or of specially constructed
shelters with hearths for smelting or other specialised facilities.
Initially such buildings were, inherently, solely functional, but they
came to be regarded as prestigious gauges of the prosperity of set-
tlements, and treated with suitable respect.The smith and the potter
were people of position and power because of their seemingly
almost magical skills, and their workplaces were treated with due
dignity.
O R I G I N S 1 1

Communications between
settlements
The position of settlements near to water courses meant that there
were straightforward channels of communication between them, either
along the rivers or through their valleys. Once these were established,
trade between settlements became possible, and specialisation devel-
oped rapidly, encouraging skills to be further honed and promoting the
exploitation of locally occurring materials.
Commerce and industry
Eventually, commercial networks emerged, so that artefacts of far dis-
tant origin are found in the excavations of very ancient sites.The expan-
sion of regional industries led to high degrees of the concentration of
trade, and therefore to sophisticated business networks, initially based
on barter but soon demanding the introduction of currency.
Urban design
The development of these three strands of buildings – domestic, ritual,
and public and commercial – lies at the heart of the understanding of
urban design.
The city is sometimes believed to have developed as a marketing cen-
tre for a hinterland providing agricultural produce, perhaps to a mili-
tary presence. Another theory is that cities grew up where there was
a centre of industrial manufacture, requiring marketing outlets. In yet
other cases, it is believed to have come into being solely for the com-
mercial exploitation of a rare and valuable resource (such as obsidian
in Turkey). What is certain is that the concentration of population
housed in even the earliest cities:
• required to be fed from outside the city walls;
• had to have their urban environment carefully planned if they were
to work efficiently; and
• needed to be efficiently defended, and therefore the very highest
practicable density of development was required, so that the
perimeter defences were minimised.
Providing the necessary built environment became a specialised occu-
pation, in which it continued to be essential to give appropriate weight
to the considerations of spatial needs, of the available technology in
terms of materials and skills, and of the climatic conditions, as well
as to the architectural statement.
1.3
1.4

It is essential today, as it was in earlier periods, that such matters are
never considered in isolation, but that the application of the sophisti-
cated technologies now available is integrated into a holistic approach
to the design of buildings.
Defining space
Part 4 of this book deals with the design aspects of the arrangement
of physical spaces within buildings. Other aspects of the topic must
not, however, be overlooked.
As has been noted, humanity has the characteristic of competitiveness.
The outcome was, and is, that people aspire to what others have – and
the ‘chief’ sees a need to stay ahead. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ has
been a powerful force in driving the evolution of buildings, and per-
haps especially of homes.
Unnecessary space
One result is that the very small amount of space that is actually
required to house a family is no longer considered sufficient. One has
only to consider the size of a tent in which explorers can be accom-
modated, or the carefully planned holiday caravan, to appreciate this.
Of course, it is also true that the furniture and (particularly leisure)
activities that a home is expected to contain have multiplied through
the generations. However, people have also become more conscious
of the need for privacy, not only between families but within them.
There are physical reasons, concerned with the size of the body, of
the equipment and furniture used and what they are made of, which
govern minimum spaces, as considered in Part 4, but additional space
is often expected, for a variety of reasons:
• Personal space. People feel invaded if they are required to spend
time in too close proximity with others. It has recently appeared that
many passengers travelling alone on long distance coaches are
happy to pay for two seats, to avoid having to sit with a stranger.
They need a capsule of space that they feel they can call their
own.This is because each person likes to think that they control
the invisible space directly around them, while the size of this per-
sonal space varies with circumstances, and with the company
among which they find themselves. Among strangers it is much
larger than with friends, and can extend up to a metre forwards
and half a metre to the sides and behind.
For everyone, and in all circumstances, it seems that invasion of
that space causes psychological discomfort, and therefore in a work-
ing situation leads to inefficiency. For this reason it is necessary to
O R I G I N S 1 3

take this, often subconscious, need into account when working out
the sizes of accommodation to be provided.
• Prestige. Subtle signals are needed within organisations to clarify
hierarchical relationships, and space is often employed.The boss’s
office is usually bigger than her assistant’s, even though the assis-
tant may have more paperwork to accommodate.
Extensive foyers and long vistas serve to impress visitors with
the importance of an establishment, and to tune their mindset to
what is perceived to be a suitable deference.
The provision of redundant space is a palpable extravagance,
and so informs the observer that the enterprise is powerful
because it is rich.
• Authority. In other cases, the need to impress results from the
imperative of asserting authority. Spaces such as courtrooms,
churches and audience chambers are, in addition to being spa-
cious, often much higher than either acoustics or ventilation would
require, which serves to convey an impression of authority.This is
generally associated with the over-scaling of other features, such
as door heights.
An awareness of all these requirements, which may be classified as
wants rather than needs, and may well not be expressed, will augment
the designer’s assessment of stated functional necessity.
Implicit limits
Although most spaces will be entirely enclosed by structures, and will
be internal, it is perfectly possible to identify areas set aside for spe-
cific purposes by other means.These might include the following.
Internally
• Transparent screens of glass, trellis or indoor planting.
• Changes of floor level, a sunken area often being apparently more
intimate, while a raised one invites public scrutiny.
• Changes of ceiling level have similar effects, and are less haz-
ardous.They also often affect levels of lighting.
• Changes of lighting, finishes or simply colour range can identify
spaces set aside for specific purposes, and may help to make very
large open areas coherent.
Externally
• The placing of the building in relation to others in the urban scene,
creating places, vistas or street facades.
• The relationship to internal accommodation, as in the case of a
dining terrace near to a restaurant.

• Changes in paving schemes.
• Physical divisions created by planting or semi-enclosing banks
(which may be quite low) or ditches.
It will be seen that the perception of space is not a function only of
three-dimensional containment, but of subtle changes in the ambience.
Providing useful space is not, therefore, merely a simple process of
deciding on the structure of walls and roofs, but of deploying an
armoury of techniques to convey the required message to the owner,
the occupant, and the visitor and the passer-by.
Privacy
Privacy between dwellings
The intimacy of a family unit is closely connected to the sense of
identity of the members, and needs to be protected. A major factor in
preserving the relationships within the unit is its separation from
neighbouring groups.
The extent to which this is considered necessary varies between cul-
tures. In some, the tribe or the extended family is the dominant unit,
but in modern western society it is almost universally the nuclear fam-
ily that is focal.
For this group to feel a full sense of security in which it is possible to
relax, privacy from neighbours is required.This means screening from
being heard and seen by, and needing to hear or see, the members of
other groups.The layout of housing schemes is hugely influenced by
the understanding of this, including such considerations as:
• the situation in which it is possible to look straight through a liv-
ing room from window to window is invasive and best avoided;
• windows of different dwellings should not overlook one another,
requiring the installation of blinds;
• living spaces of adjacent dwellings should not be planned imme-
diately adjacent through party walls unless adequate sound insu-
lation is provided; and
• appropriate action needs to be taken to minimise sound penetra-
tion between floors of blocks of flats.
One point for debate may be the desirability of fencing the front gar-
dens of dwellings.The open effect of the unfenced residential close is
attractive, but if it is adopted it is essential that either living areas do
not overlook the street (so that they are not subject to peering neigh-
bours) or that some means is found to limit pedestrian access to the
immediate vicinity of buildings.
O R I G I N S 1 5

Privacy within the dwelling
The fact that individuals within a family need their own refuges is often
overlooked. It is certainly a requirement that has only grown up with
the proliferation of technologies and activities available to recent gen-
erations. Some sociologists might see this as a trend that should be
reversed. However, social engineering does not fall within the remit of
the designer, whose aim should be to provide the requirements as they
are perceived by the household.
It is therefore necessary to consider the competing use of different
styles of music with the need to study quietly, for example. Dwellings
have become increasingly open planned, and this trend has to be bal-
anced against the desire for seclusion.
Visual privacy may be easier to provide, especially where moveable
structures can be utilised.
Privacy in the workplace
In offices and workshops there can be a conflict between the need for
supervision and the privacy which encourages the most efficient
work. Possibly the most important point to be remembered is that
supervision should not be covert – staff accept proper management
and the reassurance that they will be supported, but are made uneasy
by perceived spying.
Business and commercial premises, however, frequently have to guard
valuable secret information, and the means needed to keep this secure
generally take priority over the free movement of personnel.
Protection
The primitive requirement for protection was principally defence
against hostile marauders or from animal predators. People protected
individual dwellings by building them with a single, defensible access
point, and often by building a fire immediately outside the opening.
Settlements were defended by surrounding them with ditches and ram-
parts, and again by limiting access.
In our very different society we can still identify a number of enemies
against which (or whom) defence is needed. While the installation of
smoke and gas detectors, or intruder alarms and safety locks, is well
advised and reduces insurance premiums, the psychological compo-
nent of defence also needs to be considered.
We are inundated with well-meant advice from many sources, and this
can produce a false sense of euphoria.The most effective defence is

always to be aware of potential danger. Protection is needed especially
against the following.
• Fire. Occupants should be encouraged to discover the most viable
escape routes and appliances available.They usually need to be
instructed to put personal safety before rescuing artefacts.
• Smoke. Smoke and other detectors are valueless unless regularly
tested.
• Electric shock. No one should use electrical appliances unless they
are aware of the risks, and never near water. Where there are chil-
dren or other vulnerable people, sockets should be kept shielded.
• Flood.Where properties are vulnerable to even very rare flooding,
a prepared course of defensive action should be developed and
known to all occupants.
• Predators. Even in the modern age, buildings are vulnerable to the
incursions of un-housetrained animals. Sometimes these can be
avoided with thought. Cats, other than the householders’ own, can
use cat flaps, birds and squirrels may invade roof space, and mice
and other vermin are crafty. It is good housekeeping to be alert
to invasions and take rapid action. Fungal and insect attack are
dealt with in Volume 5, History, Performance and Conservation.
• Enemies. Terrorist attack is always possible, but statistically
extremely rare. Many commentators suggest that, in aggregate,
the fear of attack is more damaging than attacks themselves.
Occupants even of vulnerable buildings should know the action to
take in case of attack but – though aware – should not be obsessed
by the possibility.
• Theft and burglary.The best defence is generally taken to be dis-
cretion in the display of valuable and portable property. What
thieves do not know of, they will not plan to steal.
In no case can buildings be constructed so as to be invulnerable,
though every possible precaution is taken. It is vital that the owners
and occupants of buildings are fully briefed, not only of the safety
features of buildings but also of the emergency action that may be
necessary, and designers have a duty (in association with the rele-
vant bodies, such as the police, fire service and insurance companies)
to provide that briefing.The relevant information should be included
in the owner’s manual, described in Part 3, Chapter 14.
O R I G I N S 1 7

In order to focus the discussion away from the wide ranging aspects
related to the function of buildings, it would be convenient to narrow
it down to the role of the building envelope. Just to illustrate how wide
the topic could be, we only have to consider the following statement:
Our concept of what a building is, therefore, is more than what
would be found in a dictionary definition of shelter. A building
is, functionally, what we expect it to be.
(Allen, 1980)
This chapter will attempt to focus the discussion on certain physical
aspects of the building envelope’s role in moderating the external envi-
ronment in which the building exists in order to create an internal envi-
ronment that provides comfort and promotes healthy and safe
conditions for human activities.
Water
Water is an essential element for life. Human settlements would only
exist where there is water. And yet water, when its presence is not
under control, can cause havoc and devastation. One only has to look
at floods and what they leave in their trail. On a smaller scale, the build-
ing envelope should be designed to exclude unwanted water from the
interior of the building. Keeping water out would depend on where the
water comes from (atmosphere, ground) or in what form it is (free run-
ning water, water vapour).
Chapter 2
Moderation of
the environment

Precipitation
The presence of uncontrolled water inside a building would adversely
affect the thermal performance of the building fabric and its durabil-
ity. It can also lead to the staining of internal finishes and mould
growth. Water is present around the building in various forms, such
as rain and snow. The presence of openings in the building fabric
would allow water to pass through them.These openings are some-
times by design, as in the case of expansion joints, and other times
due to bad workmanship.
In the case of roofs, when the pitch of the roof is less that 15o
, its abil-
ity to shed water is slow and, consequently, the risk of water penetra-
tion is high. Such roofs, which are usually covered with an impervious
membrane, can be prone to leaks.The presence of cracks due to ther-
mal movements would lead to water penetrating the roof deck. Pitched
roofs can have their own problems with water penetration.The use of
a water-impervious membrane under the roof coverings can help in
dealing with the problem. Areas of interface between building compo-
nents (window/wall) are other areas where water penetration can be
a problem, and a detail design needs to take that into effect.
Groundwater
Preventing groundwater from reaching the inside of the building can
be achieved by the use of waterproof membranes below the ground
floor.This solution is mainly used with solid ground floors which are in
contact with the ground. Where lightweight timber floors are used,
waterproofing the foundation walls is combined with the use of natu-
ral ventilation in the floor cavity.
Humidity
The presence of humidity in the air inside buildings can lead to con-
densation either on the internal surfaces or inside the building fabric
(interstitial condensation). Both types of condensation are detrimental
to the materials/finishes and to human health.The incidence of conden-
sation is an even bigger problem in modern buildings due to the con-
stant increase in the level of thermal insulation combined with
increased standards in air tightness.The level of water vapour inside
a building needs to be kept under control in order to avoid condensa-
tion.This can be done by means of ventilation, background heating and
extraction of water vapour where it is generated (kitchen/bathroom).
This topic is analysed further in Chapter 19.

Temperature
Temperature plays an important role in human thermal comfort. In cool
air the human body loses heat too quickly and feels cold. In hot condi-
tions, the heat loss is too slow. The comfort zone is somewhere in
between.The conditions inside the space enclosed by the building enve-
lope tend to be moderated compared to those outside, even before any
extra heating or cooling is provided. In moderate climates, the provi-
sion of comfortable temperatures inside the building can be achieved
by virtue of the building envelope. In colder or hotter climates, however,
the design of the building fabric is more challenging to achieve comfort
conditions with the minimum injection of heating or cooling.
Heating
In cold climates, the use of heating is greater, in order to achieve com-
fortable thermal conditions. The need for heating depends on how
good the building envelope is in retaining heat. In warmer climates, the
situation could be reversed as the heat from solar radiation outside
needs to be stored and dissipated before it affects the inside of the
building during the hot day. This is achieved by the use of thermal
mass.This is the ability of heavy materials to absorb and store heat
during the day and release it at night when it can be ventilated out into
the cool outside air.
Insulation
For the building envelope to be an effective moderator of cold condi-
tions outside, it needs to have high levels of thermal insulation. Old
buildings tend to have lower levels of insulation which make them
big consumers of energy in order to generate the heat required to
keep them thermally comfortable. The standards in thermal insula-
tion have been steadily increasing since the energy crisis of the early
seventies. The increase in environmental awareness has led to an
increase in insulation standards.The level of insulation capability of
a building element, such as a wall or a roof, is given by its U-value.
The lower the U-value, the better. A U-value calculation is among the
tasks that a designer or a technologist is required to undertake. In
order to undertake such calculations there is a need to obtain basic
thermal properties of the materials that make the elements for which
the U-value is required. Such data are available from design tables.
Further details on how these calculations can be performed will be
given in Chapter 19.
Different countries around the world have their own national standards
for thermal insulation. In the UK, the Building Regulations’ require-
ments for thermal insulation are a good guide, but should be taken as
M O D E R AT I O N O F T H E E N V I R O N M E N T 2 1

the minimum rather than the optimum. Lower U-values, such as those
used in the Scandinavian countries, can pay for themselves in energy
savings.
Air flow
The provision of shelter from the wind has always been one of the pri-
mary roles of a building. This goes as far back as the early human
caves that provided shelter from cold winds in European climates and
from hot winds in the African and Australian deserts. A building
erected in the path of the wind will change the pattern of the local air
flow around it. A good design is one that makes use of the natural
force of the wind without presenting too much resistance that may
cause the building fabric to be damaged. Designers have always
attempted to locate buildings on site in such a way as to optimise the
effect of the wind.The following two examples demonstrate this point.
In the west of Ireland, where exposure to Atlantic cold, strong winds
is high, the houses tend to be located on the leeward side of rocky out-
crops. Planting trees on top of the outcrop would improve the situa-
tion, by providing extra shelter that does not promote turbulence,
which solid barriers such as walls do. In warm climates, the exposure
to wind is encouraged for its cooling effect.You only have to look at
the positioning of houses in mountainous regions of southern Italy
and Spain to appreciate their point.
Wind, like all natural physical phenomena, is useful, but only in the
right amount.Too much wind, either in speed or duration, and physical
damage would occur to buildings and their surrounding environment.
Too little of it, particularly in warm weather, and the air is still and the
need for cooling is even greater.The air movement around a building
affects the pattern of air flow inside it.This is important in naturally ven-
tilated buildings. The design of the building should take this into
account. Window sizes and their positions in the outside wall, as well
as the depth of the room and its height, are all factors that need to be
considered. A successful design would take these into account and
would make good use of the wind in order to provide shelter from
strong winds and to promote natural ventilation from fresh air and to
cool the warm inside if needed. Further discussion of natural ventila-
tion and how the site characteristics, including wind, can affect the
design are presented in Chapters 19 and 20.
Sound
The need for protection from noise would have been less of an issue
for early ancestors as most of the noise around us is generated by
human activities rather than natural phenomena.

Modern societies are exposed to high levels of noise.The provision
of adequate conditions in and around buildings for humans to hear and
be heard must be a priority for designers.This can be, at times, difficult
to reconcile with other demands such as natural ventilation and views
onto the outside. A careful consideration of design constraints and pri-
orities at an early design stage can help solve some of the problem
cost-effectively. At this stage, it is worth noting that different require-
ments related to noise would require different approaches. For
instance, dealing with the control of sound between rooms requires a
totally different approach to that when the need is to keep the sound in
the room and use it to enhance the enjoyment of what is being listened
to, such as an opera or a musical.
Insulation
To be able to provide the right method of controlling the transfer of
noise from room to room, it is important to determine how the noise
would travel from where it is generated to where it is likely to cause the
nuisance.Two possible ways for it to travel can be identified: through
the air (airborne sound) and through the parts of the building that con-
nect two adjacent rooms (structure-borne sound).This latter one can
also be known as impact sound, if it is generated on the surface of a
structure, such as the sound of footsteps on an upper floor when heard
on the lower floor.To control airborne sound, the use of heavy mate-
rials, such as masonry, or isolated lightweight structures, such as dou-
ble stud partitions, is common. To provide noise insulation against
structure-borne sound, it is necessary to provide both isolation and
damping in the form of a resilient layer.
Acoustic control
This method is concerned with the control of sound inside enclosures
in order to provide good conditions for the enjoyment of what is being
listened to. Such a method is used for rooms for the performing arts,
music and speech.The method relies on a knowledge of the sounds
being generated and the physical characteristics of the room, such as
the floor area, ceiling height, shape, form and materials inside the
room.The control of the room’s acoustics is usually left to a specialist
acoustician. From the designer’s point of view, an awareness of the
issue from an early design stage can help arrive at satisfactory solu-
tions within budgets. The main two principles used to control the
behaviour of sound inside an enclosure are sound absorption and
sound reflection, which are properties of materials.The right combina-
tion of materials for surface finishes inside the room can lead to the
desired solution.
M O D E R AT I O N O F T H E E N V I R O N M E N T 2 3

Natural disaster
Buildings should provide the right conditions (shelter, comfort, protec-
tion etc.) to promote human activities without them being vulnerable to
natural disasters.The building envelope is normally designed to with-
stand natural elements such as wind, rain, snow and so on.With regard
to vulnerability to other natural disasters, other aspects of the design
come into play.The location of a building should be carefully selected
to minimise the effect of flooding. Although the occurrence of floods
is rare, their effects can be devastating.The effect of disasters such as
earthquakes can be minimised, to a point, by adopting rigorous engi-
neering solutions when designing the structure and foundations.
Other large-scale natural disasters, such as a tsunami, are difficult to
design for.The solution would be one of managing the urban and rural
planning process and using early warning systems that allow evacu-
ation to high grounds.

Effective design arises from a full consideration of all the influences
upon the solution, as they relate to one another. A holistic approach
implies that the relationships between the many relevant factors in any
particular case will be identified and prioritised, but will not be consid-
ered in isolation from one another.The simplest way to understand this
is perhaps to examine how traditional forms of building have come
into being.
In the sophisticated world we inhabit, there are few utopian buildings
that cannot be constructed, if the designers call on the whole armoury
of materials and engineering available to them, and have a sufficient
budget.This has by no means always been the case, and it can be a
useful discipline to examine the restrictions which were put on design-
ers of earlier generations by the limits of their technology.They were,
in general, constrained to make the most efficient use of a limited spec-
trum of materials and skills, and there are many instances in which
their modern successors will find that such disciplines have fruitful
benefits.
Among the advantages of working within such traditions will be greater
economy, pleasant and unforced conformity with the prevailing charac-
ter of the built environment in the area, and higher quality because well-
tried skills are called upon. Although there is certainly a case for
innovation where an unusual problem calls for a solution, providing
accommodation for straightforward needs will, in a majority of cases,
be best achieved by calling on the locally prevalent technology, whether
this is that of an advanced Western nation with a strong tradition of
engineering skill or that of a developing country dependent on a limited
but equally strong craft tradition.
Chapter 3
Use of available
technology

In many cases, even today, designers will practise within a limited
vocabulary of familiar societal and technological means, and will have
a natural response to these when operating locally, but it is necessary
that they should be aware of a much wider picture and be ready to
respond appropriately when called upon to do so. At a simple level,
someone who works in the Cotswolds, with its powerful stone build-
ing tradition, needs to be equally sensitive to local conditions if called
upon to design for the brick-built environment of East Anglia. Even
more, the high-tech solutions appropriate to a high-rise commercial
building in London will be unsuitable to the provision of emergency
housing after a natural disaster in the third world.
The designs of buildings and their modes of construction exist in the
context of a developed culture, and that culture has to be thoroughly
understood by designers. It is often easier to understand this relation-
ship by reference to historical models or exotic environments.
It is, therefore, helpful for designers to understand the technologies
which have developed in response to the local conditions in a wide
variety of societies, as this can lead to a discernment of the influences
behind one’s own local tradition in the present day world. It is possible
to distinguish three aspects of ‘available technology’ which form the
context of design and which can be examined separately.These are the
site, local materials and the technology developed in response to
these.
Natural conditions
Using the site
The buildings with which the construction industry is concerned are set
in natural landscapes or townscapes – even if they are part of high-rise
developments or are earth sheltered. Every building, inescapably, has
a relationship to its site, and the examination of traditional models will
show that success has often been achieved by exploiting the natural
conditions.Thus, sites are chosen for their orientation, for the shel-
ter afforded by the contours, or for the defensive advantages of far-
ranging visibility and raised situations. Natural slopes are exploited
to provide efficient drainage or distant views, while the ease of com-
munication and water supply afforded by river valleys leads to the siting
of towns and smaller settlements.
The ground conditions, too, have a pervading influence on the kinds of
building which become endemic. Where there is a solid rock founda-
tion, very different styles naturally develop from that which may be
usual where poor ground demands that loads are spread.

Responding to the climate
Traditional forms of building world-wide have developed in response
to the local environmental conditions, since an important purpose of
providing buildings is to modify the external conditions so as to pro-
vide acceptable internal ones. It is possible to see important principles
in action, when the practices of, for example, the builders of the Far
East in their orientation and screening of dwellings to maximise air
flow while minimising direct sunlight are observed.
Similarly, the means adopted by the people of regions with heavy
precipitation to drain the water rapidly, and to prevent its entry into
buildings, can be an informative study. The courtyard houses com-
mon around the Mediterranean offer privacy in settlements devel-
oped to high densities because the distribution of services needs to
be compact.
Such responses lead to strong local character in buildings, entirely
appropriate in situ but which seem exotic and inappropriate when aped
under different conditions.
Local materials
Natural materials
Whatever such climatic imperatives may be, humankind has generally
had to develop ways of coping with them while being able to use only the
materials which occurred locally. In a world where transport is easily
come by, it can be difficult to appreciate that at one time a family build-
ing a house had little choice but to use the stone found within a few miles,
or the bricks made from local clay. In other areas, only timber was avail-
able, while in some others skins provided the most useful means of shel-
ter, and so on. In every case, a clear local tradition of building developed,
as the characteristics of those materials were properly understood, so
that they could be fully exploited.
It was, perhaps instinctively, well understood that masonry could with-
stand only compressive stresses, even if these were not named, and
the workable relationship between the height and thickness of struc-
tures became known.The ability of timber to perform well in bending,
because it could take tensile stress, was also grasped.
In the British Isles, because craftspeople came to understand such
materials intimately, a degree of specialisation encouraged the devel-
opment of highly sophisticated ways of using them. Brickwork was
twisted intoTudor chimneys, stone was shaped and carved to empha-
sise its structural forms, and the timbers of hammer beam roofs, as
well as being fixed with elaborate and effective joints, were enhanced
with carving. Similar evolution can also be observed elsewhere, in the
U S E O F A V A I L A B L E T E C H N O L O G Y 2 7

Moorish dome or the Japanese house, based on a post and beam
structure organised on modular lines.
Manufactured materials
In developed countries, the advantages of factory fabrication of build-
ing components have long been understood. Production under con-
trolled conditions, in a covered environment and to rigorous quality
standards, has become a norm for all those building elements, such
as windows or flooring, that are repetitive and in widespread use. It is
also economic to produce many one-off items on the factory floor, since
roof trusses, for example, may be specially created for a specific build-
ing but will share characteristics with those for use elsewhere.
Because of this, buildings become, to an extent, homogenised and
local decorative tricks are sometimes used to enhance them.When this
is done without reference to the underlying construction the effect is
superficial, and the urge to add ‘local character’ in this way is proba-
bly, in most cases, best resisted.
Traditional technology
The common pool
As discussed above, in any community there exists a pool, usually
called the ‘vernacular’, of practised methods which are known to be
effective in harnessing locally available materials to address locally
experienced conditions. Such practices may be found to have depth
but little breadth. At a primitive level, they are usually felt by the indige-
nous population to be ‘the only proper way to build’ and they must cer-
tainly never be discounted – but they lack breadth and their
applicability beyond the immediate sphere is limited.
Much of this is not only true of deeply traditional styles (pargeting in
Essex, raft foundations in the Fens, dry stone walling in the Dales) but
has a wider application. Study of the construction of houses variously
considered ‘traditional’ in England, Scandinavia and North America
reveals surprising differences, which can be traced to the varying cli-
matic conditions and the available physical resources.
The beam, the lintel and the truss
In Britain, the use of posts and beams rapidly developed beyond the
simple placing of a freestanding beam over supports, through the
introduction of girders to the development of well-considered joints,
so that a frame was created.This frame was found to have enhanced
strength if it was three dimensional, as in the case of a framed roof or
a half-timbered house.
3.1

Such a house is a telling example: the frame is created from members
of smaller cross-sectional area than might be expected to be required
because the members act together to resist the loads.The small inter-
stices can be filled by a variety of materials, depending on local sup-
ply, and creative ingenuity is devoted to providing decorative change
which enhances rather than distracts from the structural statement.
The arch, the dome and the vault
The invention of the arch was arguably the most important single step
in the evolution of construction technology.Those cultures where the
arch was unknown, such as the Inca, could cover only those spaces
which their stone or unframed timber beams could span, so that their
buildings were crowded with columns and dark.
The discovery that a series of small wedge-shaped stones could
become self-supporting immediately freed-up planning, allowing for a
series of rectangular spaces to be opened up to one another.
Study of the development of the vault, from the simple lengthened
arch of the Roman barrel vault to the intricate balance of a Gothic
cathedral, can be revealing. A further technological step is seen to be
the invention of the pointed arch, which allows the vault over a rectan-
gular space to have level ridges in both directions.
What seems to have happened is that the barrel vault was developed
into a cross vault in order to provide better wall surfaces for windows,
and better headroom.When two half-circular vaults intersect, the diag-
onal arches across the space are of a depressed circular shape, and
could not be simply constructed, so the two vaults have to be centred
and built separately. When builders began to limit the amount of cen-
tering they required by building semicircular arches across the diago-
nals as a first step, they discovered that pointed arches over the vaults
were a convenient solution. Arising from that, it became clear that the
two vaults did not have to have the same span, provided the pointed
arches reached the same height; and, to great advantage, level ridges
could be constructed, so that minimal support was needed during
building. From this, the elaboration of the Gothic vault developed.The
pointed arch is not a decorative trick, it is an elegant engineering
device.
Similarly, consideration of the way in which domes have been used,
from the earliest corbelled ceiling of a beehive tomb to the elegance of
Sancta Sophia in Istanbul (see Figure 12.3 on page 123), enhances
one’s understanding of, and respect for, the work of past technologists.
These three considerations, therefore, provide the context for effective
design.
3.2

Available skills
Training the craftspeople
The traditional method of acquiring the necessary skills to build suc-
cessfully was, for centuries, simply being around and watching the
skilled masons or carpenters, bricklayers, thatchers or plasterers while
performing supporting tasks, until eventually the skills were learned
almost by osmosis. In many cultures this system still applies.
In the West, such a system developed through the craft Guilds into a
carefully controlled and staged progression to fully skilled status, and
from this the apprenticeship system emerged.This is nowadays sup-
ported by formal study in college. Formalisation in this way has some-
times been thought to limit the pool of potential craftspeople that was
available, since literacy and numeracy are essential to formal study
though they are not always necessary for delicate and skilled work with
tools.
The United Kingdom now educates a large tranche of well-prepared
managers for the industry, but has struggled to provide a sufficient sup-
ply of craftspeople to maintain traditional skills.Those people with the
skills can, rightly, command a high price. It will be agreed that the best
design can only be implemented if the necessary practical skills are
available – and it is evident that design decisions sometimes have to be
limited by the skills known to be obtainable within the cost limits.
The semi-skilled workforce
The growth of factory production, mentioned above, has led to much
on-site building work being a matter of the careful assembly of pre-
pared parts.The skilled eye of the craftsperson is still needed alongside
the judgement of the manager, but in addition a body of semi-skilled
assembly workers may be deployed. It is arguable that these do not
need to be trained through the rigorous craft apprentice system.
What are not required today in western societies, though still greatly
needed in the third world, are the large numbers of unskilled manual
workers once necesssary, whose role has largely been superseded by
the use of plant.
Examples
Readers will be aware, from their own study and experience, of a vari-
ety of primitive building types.The examples offered here are men-
tioned because they are among the less well studied kinds of building
that may be encountered.

The trullo
Trulli are buildings, put up as single-cell circular constructions of dry
stone, heavily rendered and whitewashed, which are grouped to form
houses or to stand singly as barns or stores in Puglia in southern Italy.
Where several are linked into a dwelling the internal openings lack
doors, usually being shielded by curtains.Windows are small and few.
The conical roof of each trullo, also of stone, is corbelled and com-
pleted by a decorative finial, which is informative of the occupation
or other characteristic of the occupants and which will be the only
enhancement.They are simply built from the found stones of the coun-
tryside. Upper stories are rare, but rafters are frequently inserted at
what would be ceiling level, to provide storage racks.
The local legend is that trulli originate from a need to demolish and
rebuild at regular intervals (to avoid tax). If they are intended to be tem-
porary, they share many characteristics of other simple circular build-
ings, such as tents and igloos.
It is noticeable, however, that the plan of linked circles demonstrated
by the trulli is similar to the earliest megara of the Aegean, from which
the familiar classical temple form is said to have evolved.
Troglodyte buildings
In Capadocia inTurkey, as in Ethiopia as well as other places where the
rock is comparatively soft, it is possible to see dwellings and other
buildings hollowed out of the rock. These are not specifically cave
dwellings, which are merely the colonisation of existing spaces, since
these homes have been deliberately created for occupation.
While attempts are made to equate the accommodation provided to that
which would be found in a built house, it can be informative to see
where the priorities lie. Generally a generous family living room/kitchen
is the main accommodation, with minimal private sleeping spaces.
Windows are barely sufficient to provide daylight.
Turkey is believed to have between 30 and 40 underground cities.The
one at Derinkuyu is extensive, and not fully explored, but is probably
on 18 to 20 floors, and could have accommodated around 20,000 peo-
ple. It was apparently built for defensive reasons. It has not been in use
for more than 100 years, but elsewhere around the Mediterranean and
in Africa (and until recently inYorkshire), such dwellings are still in use.
The necessary skills of carving out spaces, instead of surrounding them
with constructed enclosures, may have been taken to the extreme in
the rock cutTreasury and tombs of Petra in Jordan. Similar skills were
employed to construct the rock-carved churches at Lalibela in Ethiopia,
which are believed to date from the twelfth century.These skills, though
3.3
3.4

concerned with working on rock with tools, are of course quite differ-
ent from those of traditional masons.
The study in depth of the topics mentioned in this chapter is unfortu-
nately beyond the scope of this book, though students should make
every attempt to become familiar with such subjects, as an understand-
ing of them will enrich their approach to modern and local techniques.
The study of scaffolding, both indigenous and exotic (for example the
use of bamboo in the Orient), can also be revealing.
There is one caveat. Present generations have the advantage of accu-
rate calculation methods, so that innovation can be safely attempted.
Earlier societies had to learn by experience, by trial and error. They
undoubtedly wished to cover the greatest possible space with the least
expenditure of material and effort, and to produce buildings which
modified the internal environment as simply as possible, and the build-
ings that have remained to us are supremely successful in that regard.
We do not, it should be borne in mind, see the many experiments that
failed along the way.
Conclusion
In a properly integrated approach to design, the geography and geol-
ogy of the site, the nature of the materials available and the ways in
which these can be used, will form a context to the problem and its
solution. In modern terms, difficulties with the subsoil or the contours
of a site or the climate of a region will appear as challenges to be over-
come.The whole spectrum of natural and synthetic materials will be
known to be available, and highly developed skills can be called upon.
Nonetheless, part of the success of the outcome will always be the judi-
cious use of these resources within sensible economic limits. It will be
seen, therefore, that alongside their developing understanding of the most
sophisticated design, engineering and construction methods, designers
should acquire sound understanding of the way in which these means
have evolved, locally and generally, so that their work grows out of that of
their forebears rather than constantly attempting to overturn it.
Useful material will be found in Volume 5, History, Performance and
Conservation, but this should complement an observant attitude and
a mind alert to the traditional methods of the area in which the student
(or practitioner) lives, and an inquisitive wish to understand the differ-
ent modes of building encountered elsewhere.
It is also essential to be aware that the study of historic models can-
not provide answers to modern problems, which need to be analysed
in depth and solved within the whole context of modern technology.

City and state
One of the first distinguishing marks of a community is that the
members co-operate in establishing guidelines for their activities, so
as to balance the rights and responsibilities of individuals with those
of the community as a whole. The balance that is arrived at may
depend initially on the relative power and wealth of the parties,
resulting in the emergence of any one of a variety of political sys-
tems. In any of these, whether tyrannical or as democratic as it is
possible to devise, personal interests inevitably have to be subli-
mated to the common good. Among the primary concerns of any
state which are likely to have an impact on the buildings permitted,
will be the following:
Defence
The layout of a settlement has often been determined by defensive
considerations – in particular by the need for a surrounding protective
structure, or by a convoluted street layout which is easier to defend
than to attack.
In a modern context, some states have required the construction of
fall-out shelters, while others specify water storage to allow for the
disruption of mains services. Fire is a principal danger, and the pre-
vention and fighting of fire, with escape from it, lie at the root of much
building legislation.
Chapter 4
The demands
of the community

Health and welfare of the citizens
It is usual for the design of mains services to be centrally planned, and
for there to be stringent rules controlling the standard of domestic
services which may be supplied by them. Similar considerations apply
to the design of sewerage. Additionally, the provision of adequate nat-
ural ventilation and of daylighting to properties may be controlled by
rules about relative heights and spacing. Access for emergency serv-
ices may also be subject to control.
Safety
Building codes generally protect the safety of those constructing build-
ings as well as those who will use them. It is normal for high margins
of safety to be required, to allow for human error, for accident and for
occasional overload, so that buildings are generally required to be sev-
eral times more resistant to external forces than theory alone would
indicate to be necessary.
Contracts
The state has an interest in maintaining a fair and well-understood
framework under which obligations are undertaken, and no written
document is generally required for most private purposes. It is impor-
tant to understand the circumstances under which an enforceable con-
tract exists: generally when an exchange of goods and consideration
has been agreed. In the case of buildings, contracts are fulfilled over
time, and written forms are therefore usually desirable.The legal sys-
tem is helpful in codifying commonly used contractual forms. It is at
least arguable that such forms generally operate to limit rather than to
extend liability.
The use and conservation of resources
At different times and in different locations, the resources which were
scarce have been different, though with globalisation this is ceasing to
be so much the case. However, as transport itself becomes a diminish-
ing resource, this situation may be seen to change, and pressure to use
the materials and sources of power nearest to hand is becoming evident.
As some once valuable resources (for example flint) cease to be of
importance, others previously neglected (such as iron ore) may be
found essential. This is well understood in a historical context, but
needs to be considered in a modern one as well.The community has
an interest in ensuring that every resource is used responsibly.

T H E D E M A N D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y 3 5
Resources and reserves
The distinction between resources and reserves is important, and failure to understand it leads to consid-
erable confusion. Consideration of the example which follows may help.
Over the last half-century there have been regular warnings that fossil fuels were going to run out by a
frighteningly close date. This date would pass, and there would still apparently be plenty of oil and gas, but
another doomsday would be identified. This scenario could arise because, though the total amount of oil or
gas in the global system had not increased, continual exploration had identified new deposits, increasing
skill at extraction had made hitherto inaccessible stocks accessible, and/or the increasing price that could
be demanded for a diminishing resource made more expensive methods of extraction economic.
It is important in this context to differentiate between renewable and finite resources. In the case of the for-
mer, wise management results in a viable and sustainable system. It is with the depletion of the latter that
concerns are properly raised.
A resource is the total amount of a material, or of a good, which exists, whilst a reserve is the (much small-
er) amount of that material or good that has been located and can be economically exploited. We can clas-
sify the known existence of a finite material as certain, likely, assumed and undiscovered, and the viability,
or ease of extraction, as extractable, accessible and inaccessible.
On each of these scales of certainty and viability, the boundaries are continually moving in the direction of
greater known availability and wider accessibility.
Certain Likely Assumed Undiscovered
Extractable
Accessible
Inaccessible
RESOURCE
RESERVE
continued overleaf
4.1

Sustainable architecture
The Sustainable Building movement is part of a more general attempt
to make maximum use of global resources without exploitation of
producer populations or extravagantly wasteful use by richer commu-
nities. It is a response to the recognition of corporate responsibility for
the management of the widest range of resources within the context
of a safe and defended community. The generally expressed aim
where the built environment is concerned is, as in other contexts, to
eliminate pollution and other forms of wastage and to achieve parity
of distribution.
It is for this reason that we seem to have weathered a number of expected fail points for fossil fuels with-
out actually running out. The danger is that this experience might lull people into false security. This is per-
ilous, as however much more of such an item we identify that we are able to use, the source is still finite.
We still have a duty (and a self-interest) to conserve fossil fuel, by low energy uses and by the exploitation
of renewable resources. No resource is infinite in extent, unless it is renewable in the short term, and
demand makes a resource more expensive because of the difficulty in finding and exploiting it as well as
the intrinsic tendency of business to put as high a price as possible on scarce goods. In any case, though
technology makes the greatest efforts to find replacements for diminishing fuels and other essentials, we
cannot assume that these will be immediately successful – or have total assurance of eventual success. It is
likely that lifestyles will have to be seriously modified before planetary resources become accessible, for
example.
The forward looking design of the built environment is an essential prerequisite of this evolution. It must,
however, be recognised that there is debate about the acceptability of wind generators, for example, which
is often based on nimby (not in my backyard) lines, based on prejudice rather than information, but in which
people’s strongly held views about their visual environment may be derided.
The energy model may be the best known, but it is not only in the field of energy that resources need to be
used with caution. Our countryside is a diminishing resource, too.
Such a model does not only refer to earth-borne deposits. One could seek to estimate the availability of elec-
tricians. The certain reserve would consist of those already trained and qualified, the ‘likely’ would include
those in training (some of whom might change their career path), the ‘assumed’ all those soon to leave school
who had studied appropriate subjects, and the ‘undiscovered’, those who might immigrate, or give up other
careers to retrain. On viability, the easiest to use would be those already at work, the ‘marginal’ would include
those near the end of their careers and those not thought very competent, and the (currently) ‘inaccessible’
those who were doing better paid jobs in other spheres.
It might be found that it was desirable to use electricians wisely, where their knowledge and skills are really
needed (and perhaps pay them better), else we may find ourselves reduced to the self-dependence of prim-
itive societies.

Sustainability in this context must not be imagined to equate only with
self-sufficiency in energy use.While attention to energy efficiency may
be an important, indeed an essential, component of sustainable
design, many further social and fiscal considerations are involved.
The movement has had a number of manifestations, among which are
the following:
• The low-tech model. This pattern assumes that traditional meth-
ods will always be preferable, largely based on the reasonable
assumption that methods which have developed over centuries in
a particular geographical area are likely to be the best adapted to
the conditions which will be prevalent.
One aspect of this approach is to emphasise the benefits of
technologies that have fallen into disuse, but which can be
adapted to modern needs, such as the use of adobe or straw bales.
This has the very useful function of opening the minds of tradition-
ally trained practitioners to materials and methods they might oth-
erwise overlook, but can result in some cases in the adoption of
obsolescent methods for their own sake, in a ‘politically correct’
spirit, and to no demonstrable practical advantage.
• The global model. In this case, the intention is to exploit the grow-
ing ease of inter-continental communications to allow for
resources to be shared across and between communities.
A main feature of this strategy is that resource-rich communi-
ties (such as those with extensive oil reserves) must put interna-
tional interests ahead of national and commercial ones. Thus,
while there may be extensive public will to achieve parity of sup-
ply, current structures militate against success.The energy and
other costs of distribution have to be factored into the calculation.
• The explore and exploit model. Here, the intention is to expedite
the discovery and exploitation of resources in advance of demand,
so that such multiplying demands can be met as they arise. Such
an approach demands significant international investment ahead
of any assurance of suitable return on capital, and this depends on
stability. It also encourages a demand which may become insa-
tiable if the perception that all demands will always be met
becomes imprinted.
• The mixed model. This is exemplified by the work of the Centre for
AlternativeTechnology, where a high standard of technological
sophistication, including electrical and electronic domestic and
office machines, exists within an environment 100%
self-sufficient
for energy.
A balance needs to be struck within all such models between the drive
to sustain a twenty-first century western lifestyle and the imperative of
conserving valuable resources for the twenty-second century. A pow-
erful educational programme is therefore required, so that expecta-
tions are suitably modified.

Whichever model/s, or modifications of them, are adopted, lifestyle
and the political system, as well as the natural environment, are impor-
tant factors in decision making. So is economics, though it seems
unlikely that that can continue to occupy the priority hitherto enjoyed.
The movement towards self-build has been related to the sustainability
movement. There are negative as well as positive aspects to this
endeavour. While owner-builders may be expected to go to extreme
lengths to achieve the quality they desire, and may be prepared to
expend time and effort beyond the economic resources of commercial
firms, their limited skills and experience have sometimes been found to
restrict both the result they expect and the outcome they can achieve.
Sustainability must essentially be considered as a holistic approach to
the design of the built environment, and in general demands a new and
integrated understanding of the technologies and sociology of buildings
for its success. The subject is extensively surveyed in Volume 2,
Environment, Technology and Sustainability, as well as in Volume 5,
History, Performance and Conservation.
Law
The areas mentioned above all have an impact on the kinds of building
which governments determine can be permitted. The state has two
major means of control:
• Economic and fiscal policy, controlling relative costs, and so mak-
ing it in the interest of developers and building owners to conform
to acceptable practice. Both taxation and exchange rates may be
employed.
• Legislation, imposing sanctions on those who fail to conform.
Such sanctions will normally vary with the severity of the harm
done, actually or potentially, to the community or members of it.
In the United Kingdom, building legislation is regularly updated in
keeping with the latest research and experience in practice, and the
most important areas are the following:
• Planning control. Some areas of control had long existed on what
could and should be built in which situations, though this had
often been a matter of viability and of agreed consent. After the
Second World War, with the need for the rebuilding of bomb-dam-
aged cities, a great interest in their proper design grew up, and
with it planning legislation, especially the Town and Country
Planning Act 1947, to ensure that long-term plans were made into
which individual building proposals should fit. In particular, there
was to be regulation of the zoning of areas, to segregate industry,
commerce and housing, as well as national and regional determi-
nation of the transport infrastructure.

Local authorities (LAs) were required to prepare proposals, sub-
ject to public scrutiny and the agreement of central government,
and no development of any size could be done until it had been
carefully evaluated against the criteria established in those plans.
The designation of buildings and areas of historical and archi-
tectural interest, so that they were properly protected, also
became important.
• Building regulations. Whilst local building edicts had been prom-
ulgated for centuries, these had often been sidestepped, and in
1619 a commission was set up to ensure that they were properly
enforced.This is considered to be the origin of modern building
legislation. This area of control received an important impetus
from regulations imposed on the rebuilding of the City of London
after the Great Fire in 1666 (the Act for the Rebuilding of the City
of London 1667). For many years control continued to be locally
based, different LAs devising separate codes of byelaws which
were intended to reflect local conditions and concerns. Eventually,
a model code was introduced (under the Public Health Act 1936)
from which it was still possible for LAs to vary with permission,
although building in London continued to be controlled by a
succession of London Building Acts. The Building Byelaw sys-
tem was finally abolished by the introduction of the 1966
Building Regulations in which the national pattern of standards
was established.
Whilst the byelaws had generally described patterns of con-
struction which must be adhered to, a revision under the 1984
Building Act made it a distinguishing feature of the Regulations
that they describe standards to be achieved, and that while accept-
able solutions were referred to, it became possible to propose
alternatives.This was intended to stimulate innovation with min-
imum risk, in an environment of rapidly evolving technology.
The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2004 made important
alterations to meet modern concerns, and it is to be expected that
such evolution will continue.
Even law-abiding property owners often find it difficult to accept that
the community can properly have any interest or control of what they
do within their own building, and care may be needed to avoid a series
of appeals against perfectly legal rulings which clash with the owner’s
wishes.
Culture
There is a surprisingly large number of factors which are, to a greater
or lesser extent, culturally determined, and which affect the perceptions
of which buildings are acceptable in different contexts. Whilst working
within one’s familiar community, these are largely taken for granted, but

Other documents randomly have
different content

undertaking, as he well knew. He finally consented to send three
men with four yoke of oxen to make the attempt, upon the payment
of forty dollars, to which terms we cheerfully agreed. The oxen were
sent for and yoked in the darkness, and soon were in the river on
the way to the rescue. The men stated on their return that after a
time their course was directed by the Deacon's voice, which was
finally heard in the distance and approximately indicated his location.
After a long period of comparative silence the approach of the
rescuing party to the shore was announced by cheers from the
drivers. The Deacon when pulled up to the shore was the calmest
and most comfortable man in the party, although he had been fully
aware of his critical situation. He was moreover the only dry object
in the wagon.
The bacon in our mess wagon was not seriously injured by its
baptism, and at 9 p. m., we regaled our empty stomachs with such of
it as could be readily found. My own trunk, containing garments and
papers, had suffered little. Like Homer's horses, we had to await the
throned dawn before drying ourselves. In the early morning the
caravan moved onward five miles to where sage brush was found for
fuel and some grass for the horses, there being practically none near
the place of crossing. There we took an inventory of our effects, and
all were unloaded that we might dry them out. We had received on
our arrival at Nebraska City a box of ginger snaps and some other
delicacies, also some dried fruit, sent by friends at home. These had
been carefully retained for use in an emergency, perhaps in case of
illness, when some change of diet from rough camp fare might be
welcome. The box was now for the first time re-opened, as the hour
had come to test it, but all those dainty tributes of good-will were
blended into a common mass, of the consistency of thin pudding,
and no one article could be separated from another. The box had
been filled with sand and water for nearly twenty-four hours, and in
the meantime had been thoroughly shaken up. It was gratifying,
however, to find that a bag of dried apples, also reserved for some
state occasion, had about doubled its bulk since leaving Nebraska
City. In this case the high water might seem to have been a blessing,

in disguise, but the disguise was perfect, for when we again dried
them out in the hot sun and gave them a little time to re-adjust
themselves to the environment, they gradually resumed their original
modest proportions. The pudding left as the residue of the cookies
was re-cooked, but for dietary purposes it was hardly satisfactory, as
it yielded only a gritty, earthy-tasting food.
The final consensus of opinion was that we would never again
ford the Platte during high water.

A
CHAPTER XII
The Phantom Liar of Grease Wood Desert
portion of the compound constituting the waters of the
Platte, with which many of our effects were saturated,
passed into the air by evaporation in the sun, but a
residuum of clay and sand long remained as a reminder
of the day spent in the muddy flood of that river. We
were happy to find that our ammunition was uninjured. We waited
three days for the arrival of Phillip's mule train, which was at
Julesburg and with which we expected to proceed, but finally
learned that it would not hazard an attempt to ford a river that had
proved so disastrous to others. In the meantime we hunted sage
hens and jack rabbits, which were numerous in that sage brush
country.
It has often been said of Yankee mechanics that they are "Jacks
of all trades and masters of none." Necessity has made them self-
reliant. Such were we, and the delay afforded us an opportunity to
put everything in good order. Although there were no harness
makers, blacksmiths, or carpenters, to repair harness or wagons, no
horseshoers to shoe the horses, and no shoemakers or tailors to
mend boots or garments, nearly every member of our company
showed himself fully qualified to do very satisfactory work and with
few tools in each of these lines of industry. The valuable
miscellaneous training in the primitive days in our country, when the
trades were not specialized as they are now, fitted the young men of
that time for such emergencies.

Deciding that our present situation justified a violation of army
regulations, we moved forward alone to the crossing of Lodge Pole
Creek, a milky-colored stream about fifteen feet in width. They told
us at Julesburg that the Indians were accustomed to obtain lodge
poles from a place near the distant sources of this stream, a fact to
which it owed its euphonious name.
We had camped some distance from the trail, and having taken
our horses over the ridge into another ravine, had picketed them on
the best grass that could be found. It was my duty to stand guard
and watch the horses until midnight. The night was clear and still,
and although it was bright starlight, it seemed to be very dark in the
ravine. I took a position slightly up the hillside and reclined with ear
near the ground. About midnight there came seemingly from some
very distant source, a low, deep, rumbling roar. For a time it was
impossible even to surmise the cause. It seemed to be subterranean
and yet it was not an earthquake, for the sound was continuous and
gradually increased in depth and power. In a few minutes I became
convinced that it was caused by the hoofs of a great number of
running horses approaching through the ravine. As a measure of
precaution I thought it best to move a little out of the valley to a
position behind a growth of sage brush near-by, and there await
developments. An Indian raid at midnight was hardly to be
suspected, nor had we heard of any large body of cavalry in those
parts. The sound increased in power like the roar of an approaching
tornado, and an onrushing mass finally swept round the nearest
curve in the ravine. Our horses, frightened by the approaching herd,
suddenly started in advance, as could be inferred from their snorting
and the rattle of the iron picket pins, some of which were pulled
from the ground. All were soon in flight. Those which failed at once
to escape were carried along the next moment with a solid,
resistless tide of oncoming mules which leaped one upon another. As
the drove swept by I caught glimpses here and there of the moving
forms, which showed that the mules were riderless; being
stampeded, their fright was communicated to one another—those in
the rear crowding upon those in front; and some of them, I believe,

stumbled and were run over by the compact mass that followed. In
a moment all had passed; but for a long time in the direction of a
range of hills to the west, could be heard the roar of hundreds of
hoofs and the ring of the picket pins as they were dragged over the
stony ground. The sound did not die away entirely in its slow
diminuendo until the mules had passed the range six miles to the
west. On visiting the spot where our horses had been picketed, we
found that every one of them had been carried away in the mad
rush, and unless we could recover them the inconveniences would
be most serious. The natural conclusion then was that the large herd
had been stampeded by mounted Indians, who would soon follow.
When about to return to camp to report the situation to our
party, I became conscious of the approach of mounted men from the
same direction as that from which the stampede came.
I soon heard their voices. They proved to be four men on
horseback, who (I then suspected) might have caused the rush.
Myself a party to the loss of stock, and believing it to be my duty
quickly to summon our party, I fired my rifle in advance of the riders.
Wishing to make myself appear as numerous as possible, I repeated
the challenge with two or three additional shots in rapid succession,
and with as firm a voice as I could command called to the riders to
halt. To my surprise they did halt. One of the men gruffly asked,
"Who are you?" Another shouted what seemed rather an incoherent
declaration, the tenor of which as I caught it, was in effect that I
was shooting at the United States Government. Perhaps it was the
darkness and the fact that I was out of their reach that inspired me
with sufficient confidence to order them not to proceed further until
we could ascertain who they were. The pronoun "we" was used not
only to emphasize the authority of the speaker and thereby
command respect, but also on the theory that the more numerous I
could make myself appear the safer I was likely to be until our boys
should arrive in response to the rifle call. As was expected, our men
rounded up very quickly, for our campers were not compelled to
dress and make an elaborate toilet on receiving a call. A mutual

investigation followed, through which we learned that a Government
train of which we had no previous knowledge had camped three
miles northwest of our trail, and their stock, about 240 in number,
had been stampeded through the carelessness or folly of one their
own drivers; and the animals were away before their men were
prepared to start in pursuit. They had been able to find a few saddle
horses which had been picketed and had not escaped in the panic.
On being informed very definitely concerning the direction which the
flying herd had taken, the riders, after giving the assurance that all
of our horses would in time doubtless be returned, started on their
hunt. After daybreak they encountered no difficulty in following their
course, which was well marked by hoof tracks; and in the forenoon
all of our horses were once more at our command, but none the
better for their escapade.
This Lodge Pole Creek ford became of some interest to overland
travelers by reason of the fact that some years later the old Oregon
trail, which we were still pursuing, was here crossed by the Union
Pacific Railroad, which up to this point along much of its course was
built exactly upon the trail marked by the first Mormon emigrants in
1847, following many of its windings. This fact suggests a striking
comparison between the early and the later modes of travel. Our
party, moving as steadily as possible, had consumed twenty-five
days in reaching this point from the Missouri River. Ben Holliday's
stages, when they followed the route that we were taking, reached
Lodge Pole on the fifth day, being driven continuously night and day
with relays of horses every ten or fifteen miles. It is now reached in
twelve hours by express trains.
Our next day's journey after leaving Pole Creek was over a series
of ridges along an excellent roadway the great part of the distance.
The highest points disclosed fine views of the rocky cliffs along the
North Platte. There is a marked change in the general features of
the country as compared with those seen along the Platte valley east
of Julesburg. The road showed that it had been traveled but little.
We were able to make a drive of twenty-eight miles, reaching Mud

Spring in the evening. Why this tiny fountain should be so
denominated is unknown and unknowable; it was the first clear,
living water that we had seen west of the Missouri River, except in a
few wells at stage stations. In February of the preceding year this
spot was the scene of some sharp fights with the Indians.
And now there lay immediately before us the longest and most
difficult drive of the trip, concerning which we had secured much
information. It would conduct us across a wide stretch of sandy
desert in which there was no pasturage; and forty long miles must
be laid behind in order to reach a camp ground where there was any
grazing whatever for horses. The preceding day had been intensely
hot, and there were no indications of any immediate change in the
temperature. To secure the benefit of the cooler early hours we were
off at exactly three o'clock in the morning. Near where we entered
the dreary waste of sand we parallelled for a short distance a small
stream, concerning which we had been advised that it was the only
desirable place for lunch. We had prepared some cold boiled beans,
bacon and coffee, which we pulled from the mess box, and as the
rays of the sun had now become very oppressive, we prepared to
drop down upon the hot sand in the shade of a wagon. The Deacon
protected himself somewhat from the sands by sitting upon a rolled-
up blanket. Others remained standing or dropped upon their knees,
but Pete remarked that as the tallest and largest man in the party he
was fairly entitled to a certain high mound of sand of convenient
shape, which he found well in the shade. These piles were formed
by some little clumps of grease wood, or similar growth, which the
sand had drifted round and in many cases entirely covered, as a little
obstruction will sometimes collect a small snow drift.
Pete, who was a tall, powerful, but rather slow-moving
individual, dropped wearily and heavily upon the sand heap which he
proposed to occupy by right of squatter sovereignty. Although it was
a long distance from the seat of Pete's "pants" to the seat of his
intelligence, yet the information was quickly transmitted to his brain
that something was under him that was not all sand. With a sudden

yell, as if stung by a serpent, he leaped into the air with agility and
enthusiasm of which he had hitherto been deemed altogether
incapable. Peter swore. He then inspected the sand pile, while we
watched him with dismay, being ignorant of the cause of his frenzy.
Reaching out at arm's length, he cautiously poked the mound with
his whip stock and found, not a rattlesnake, but only an oval-shaped
cactus slightly concealed beneath the sand. Its long spines as sharp
as needles and almost uncountable in number, under the weight of
Pete's body had penetrated his flesh no one yet knows how far. As
the punctured parts could not easily be examined by the sufferer, his
companion, Noah, performed the operation of removing such of the
needles as were visible. Many without doubt remained, for during
the next two or three days Peter walked with short steps, staccato,
and rarely indulged in a sitting posture.
JAIL ROCK AND COURT HOUSE ROCK
The stream near which we had halted afforded the last
opportunity to obtain water until we should complete the long drive
across the sands. Our horses were fed with fine wheat flour, the only
nourishment which we could secure to stay them through the day.

After having filled the water kegs and canteens from the stream, the
difficult march was continued. The day was so intensely hot that
nearly all members of the party walked to relieve the perspiring
horses. The country we were traversing was an area of loose, dry
sand. Its surface was marked by small mounds and ridges of sand,
the ridges all trending in one direction and evidently drifted with the
prevailing wind behind a clump of stunted grease wood, a small
shrub which grows on alkaline soils and, like other desert growths, is
stiff and stubby,—possibly a provision of nature to preserve its scant
foliage from being browsed; shrubs so protected remained, a
survival of the fittest. Some such provision is certainly necessary to
protect the plant life of the desert in its struggle for existence. The
surface of the sand was slightly hardened by a thin scale, possibly
due to solidification in drying, after a passing shower had moistened
the salts in the sand. The scale in many places prevented the wheels
from sinking deeply. The wagons were, therefore, scattered along
side by side, because a track once followed was deeply cut in the
ruts. Numerous lizards (swifts) glided along the parched surface of
the Sahara and were the only specimens of animal life that I
observed there with any interest.
An experience on this grease wood desert may have prompted
the inquiry ascribed to one of our statesmen, who is alleged to have
asked in 1843 concerning this western territory, "What do we want
with the vast worthless area, this region of savages and wild beasts,
of deserts of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and
prairie dogs?"
In spite of the oppressive heat of the day and the long tramp
still before us, Ben, who was tough and untiring, proposed a little
side tramp by way of diversion. For many miles we had observed the
majestic outlines of the conspicuous landmark well known as Court
House Rock. As our course finally approached within two miles of its
cliffs, Ben and I determined to secure a view from its summit. That
remarkable monument stands in solitary grandeur upon the barren
plain; it has, however, a worthy associate not far away, another

prominence known as the Jail; these high bluffs are appropriately
named. From a distance Court House Rock has the appearance of
some vast, ancient ruin. The grandeur and beauty of its outlines and
the majesty of its proportions have made it a notable landmark for
all travelers who pass that way. We found its ascent comparatively
easy, but the descent was somewhat difficult because of the
projecting terraces which, though of hard material, were cracked,
leaving projections that could not be depended upon for support.
Although we might well have saved our energies for the hot tramp
through the sands which lay before us, we obtained views of the
"bad lands" to the west, which were very impressive.
It seemed as if in the Creation there had been a vast amount of
crude material left over, which had been dumped into that waste,
but the essential elements of life were wholly absent. As far as could
be seen through the clear, hot, and quivering air of noonday
everything was silent and dead. On reaching the trail Ben and I
followed the track of our wagons in the white sand, which glowed
like a furnace, and finally overtook our party, which was slowly
dragging along with occasional pauses for rest.
We had seen no person during the day except members of our
own party. Beyond the border of the sandy waste I dropped back
again, but this time with Noah, who was also wearily trudging along
now over a more hilly and broken country toward the north Platte.
We were surprised to see approaching us from the north, as if about
to cross our course, a long-haired individual, rather tough in
appearance, with whom we exchanged a few commonplace words,
with the usual question as to what he was "driving at" in that
country, but obtained no definite information. Having been informed
that there were numerous rattlesnakes in the hilly country, I aimed a
question concerning snakes at the presence that stood before us.
Something in his appearance led me to believe that he, if anyone,
would be informed on the subject. "Yes," he replied, "there's right
smart of rattlesnakes around here." Simply to continue the
conversation, we asked if he had killed many. Before making any

reply he slowly hauled from deep down in his "pants" pocket a plug
of tobacco, and inserting it between his big teeth chewed off a
section that proved to be large enough to interfere somewhat with
his articulation. He then stood silent for a moment, while he
transferred the tobacco from one cheek to another. The cynical
expression upon his face impressed us with the idea that he had all
the qualities required to make a first class stranger. He then related
an alleged experience with a rattlesnake. Although not inclined to
accept it as exactly true in all particulars, we offer it here not quite
in ipsissimis verbis but substantially as given, simply for what it may
be worth as a problematic contribution to natural history. His thesis
at the outset was, that if one gains the affection of a rattlesnake
through some special act of kindness the serpent may on some
occasions afterward express its profound gratitude.
He said that his "pardner" Jim, once upon a time, discovered a
six-foot rattler lying fastened under a rock which had rolled upon it
while it was lying torpid in the sun. Instead of taking advantage of
the reptile while it was in this helpless condition, he carefully
released it, and thereafter the snake on many occasions manifested
indications of its gratitude, and became a veritable pet, following the
man wherever it was permitted to go, and guarding him faithfully.
Jim, therefore, called it Annie, because he came from Indiana.
On being awakened one night, Jim, observing that Annie was
missing from her usual place near his bed, hastily arose to discover
the cause of her absence. Lighting a candle, he opened an outside
door of the ranch house and soon heard Annie rattling her tail. He
then discovered that the snake had run a skulking Indian into the
other room, and was holding him there a prisoner, while her tail,
which was sticking out of the window, was rattling like a dinner bell,
calling Jim to come in and help kill the "cuss."
We asked the red-headed, pink-eyed, big-mustached rancher if
this was really a true story, and if his own personal reputation would
give credit to his statements. He replied that he had lived in those

parts for seven years and had never yet been lynched. This was
surely to be accepted in that elementary waste as an evidence of
good moral character. He admitted that he had a few horses off in
the hills which he could part with in case a prospective buyer was
anxious to get some fresh ones, but we did not ask him to produce
any evidence of his title to the animals. The conclusion of this
instructive and interesting incident afforded the narrator a much
needed opportunity to discharge from his mouth a large quantity of
tobacco juice, which for a considerable time had interfered with his
enunciation.
His reference to the Indian led us to ask if many Sioux were now
in that country. In reply to this question he hesitated a few
moments, while with a hand in each of his pockets he turned his
eyes in various directions as if the subjects of which he was to speak
might be concealed in some of the gullies near-by. He finally said
there were right smart of 'em along the North Platte here a while
ago, "but I guess most of them have gone up to Laramie. They don't
bother me very much, but the other day my pardner was out and I
was all alone in the shanty and my horse was hitched in front. I
went out the door for something and there were six Indians a-
coming up in a hurry. When they saw me three of 'em shot at me
but didn't fetch me. I ain't no sucker with a gun, but I only had one
six-shooter in my belt and knowed it was no time for fooling."
Accompanying his words with action showing how he did it, he
added, "I jerked out my gun jest so, and give it to 'em, and there
was jest enough cartridges in it to go around, but they went
around."
"Do you mean to say that you didn't miss a shot?" asked Noah.
"Oh, I'm all right with a gun; them Injuns won't bother me any
more." Astounded at the man's coolness and bravery, I asked if the
Indians had guns. He replied that they had bows, but they started in
at pretty long range for bows and arrows.

At that moment we heard three or four rifle shots which
attracted our attention toward the direction which our train had
taken. The train was now out of our sight. We both concluded that
some of the boys had discovered game. Turning again toward the
spot where a minute before had stood the daring hero of Grease
Wood Desert, we discovered that he had vanished and no sign or
trace of him was visible. The only possible avenue by which he could
disappear and still remain in the flesh was by a narrow, crooked
ravine near the ill-defined trail. We hastened to its margin, but no
sight or sound that came to our senses gave us the slightest clue to
the manner of his transformation or disappearance. His abiding place
may have been either in Avernus or down the ravine, for, although
possibly not dark enough, the latter was certainly hot enough that
day for the former in climate.
Noah and I had been so much delayed that we hastened on our
course walking side by side, overtaking our wagons before they
reached the valley of the North Platte near Brown's ranch, where we
camped. We were there informed that our teams, which were much
fagged, had traveled forty miles during the day. The rifle shots that
we heard had been directed at jack rabbits.
On our side trip I suffered not so much from fatigue as from an
acute headache, which developed toward the close of the day as a
result of the intense heat and of the miserable food we had eaten.
Fred had brought with him a few simple drugs from a store in which
he was interested at home. Among them was tincture of camphor.
He administered a dose of the stuff, which immediately caused all
the mechanism of my stomach to assert its rights in the most
vehement manner. It expelled everything except the camphor,
which, being no longer held in solution, solidified into a chunk. At
times it rose into my throat for an instant and then gradually settled
down again to resume its activities. The stomach being unable to
expel the camphor gum then endeavored to expel itself in its
entirety, but as the organ was fastened down in some mysterious
fashion, it could only turn itself wrong side out and twist itself in the

most unsatisfactory manner. The remainder of the drug supply was
then placed at my disposal, but I declined longer to permit my
stomach to be used as a chemical laboratory in which to test drugs
of unknown qualities. Not until the solidified gum had been expelled
was there any domestic peace.
SCOTT'S BLUFF, SHOWING DOME ROCK IN THE DISTANCE
Near the course that we had followed to this camp is the battle
field where in 1855 General William S. Harney slaughtered the Brule
Sioux Indians in a terrific fight in which 500 savages are said to have
perished at what is known as Ash Hollow. Harney had served in the
Black Hawk war and also in our war with Mexico.
On the following day we passed Chimney Rock, visible for a
great distance and a striking feature of the landscape. It is about
260 feet in height. Captain Howard Stansbury, an early traveler
wrote of it: "This singular formation has been undoubtedly at one
time a projecting shoulder of the main chain of bluffs bounding the
valley of the Platte and has been separated from it by the action of
water. That the shaft has been very much higher than at present is

evident from the corresponding formation of the bluff, as well as
from the testimony of all our voyagers, for whom it was for years a
beacon visible for forty or fifty miles both up and down the river."
It was the opinion of Mr. James Bridger that this eminence had
been reduced to its present height by lightning or some other energy
of nature, from the change he observed in it on his return from one
of his trips to St. Louis, for when he had passed it on his way down,
it was uninjured.
After still another long day's drive up the valley of the swift
flowing North Platte, through patches of stunted sage brush and
grease wood, we paused for the night. The terraced height of Scott's
Bluffs loomed in the distance. Almost behind them, the glowing sun
sank beneath the sharply defined horizon, and the shadows of night
brought welcome relief after another day of intense heat.

A
CHAPTER XIII
The Mystery of Scott's Bluffs
S is well known, a wonderful story may be enfolded in the mute
testimony of the hills and rocks, and far more enduring
than ever written by human hands. Some of these
interesting records, open to any observer, are as plainly
written in the exposed cliffs of Scott's Bluffs as in any
spot that I have known. Their location was noted upon the old maps
partly perhaps because they had received a name in memory of the
tragic death from starvation of a man who was deserted by his
companions on Laramie Fork. Scott was too ill to continue his
journey, and the entire party was destitute of provisions. He lived,
however, to make his way alone to these Bluffs, where his remains
were eventually found. The altitude of the Bluffs as given in the
Government survey is 4,662 feet above sea level, a fact in no way
remarkable except as fixing the highest elevation attained in
Nebraska.
The isolated position of this vast pile makes it a conspicuous
object when viewed from no matter what direction. It rises abruptly
from a comparatively level plain upon which it was once believed no
vegetable life could ever grow, for the surface of the surrounding
country was as barren and bare as a brick pavement. The rock at
once arouses interest by virtue of its beautifully terraced formation,
and picturesque outlines embellished with towers and castles, the
handiwork of Nature. There it stands, in majestic solitude, guarding
its silent chambers, innumerable records of a remote antiquity,—an

ancient ruin compared with which the storied monuments in the
valley of the Nile are modern and insignificant.
It was not, however, because of its hoary age and unfathomable
mystery, but because of its beauty as it appealed to the eye, and
because of the promise of a wide outlook from its summit, that I
determined to make the ascent. When our train had reached the
point at which our pathway approached nearest the bluff, I relieved
myself of all impedimenta except a revolver and a field glass, and
started alone for the climb.
From a distance along some of the channels that scarred the
sides of the bluffs, could be seen a line of small cedars and a few
shrubs that had fastened themselves in some way in the fissures of
that inhospitable heap of indurated clay. Discovering on the north
side of the southern bluff what appeared to be a continuous ravine
intersecting the numerous level terraces, I concluded that the ascent
along that course would not be difficult. To that ravine my steps
were directed.
The ascent was indeed not difficult as that term would be used
of mountain climbing. Terrace after terrace was passed, each capped
or protected by a stratum slightly harder than the main body of the
bluff, which is the true formation of the Bad Lands and is now known
by geologists as Brule clay. These thin, hard layers yielding more
slowly to the action of the elements than does the intervening hard
clay, there results the formation of terraces with level tops and
perpendicular sides, as the general face of the bluffs disintegrates.
The summit, being reached, was found to be comparatively level,
with a number of prominences upon it a few feet in height, but each
also with a level surface, the remains of a still higher terrace. Upon
one of these I observed a thin, hard stratum in which numerous
shells were tightly imbedded. Ascending one of those small level
areas upon the highest summit, from which the best view of the
country toward the south could be obtained, I enjoyed through the
field glasses a superb panorama of the surrounding landscape. Far in

the distance towards the south, other bluffs of similar formation, and
separated one from another by many miles of lowland, rise to nearly
the same level. Among them is Dome Rock, not far away. I was not
then aware of the fact that among the prominences visible far away
in the distance were Court House Rock, which we had climbed
several days previous and Castle Rock, a striking elevation of the
same type, far to the east.
It was my immediate conclusion, and one that would be
promptly formed by any other superficial observer, that this shell-
bearing stratum had some time been the bed of a prehistoric body
of water, which existed there previous to the upheaval of all that
territory, covering all of what is now known as the Bad Lands. I
observed also that the level strata in the distant bluffs were each a
duplicate of the strata in all the others. It suggested at once the age
when they were continuous, and the fact that I was now standing,
not on a mountain summit, but on what was once the common level
of that country. Surely the continuous action of the elements,
beginning perhaps with the wearing out of the gullies near the river,
had worn back into the high plain and gradually widened out in all
directions until nothing remained of the original level, except these
few high elevations. Scott's Bluff, Chimney Rock, Castle Rock, and
other notable peaks alone remain to tell their tale of the ages that
have passed since this work of erosion began. This, however, is but
part of the story discovered in the descent.
The perpendicular faces of the bluff present three or four
varieties of clay formation, slight differences in color and texture
being noticeable. One series of strata, called Mortar beds in Darton's
geological reports, is called the Ogalalla formation, the strata being
merged into a light colored, sandy clay. Beneath this is a formation
sufficiently lithyfied to be fairly classed as soft sandstone, and
beneath it all, as late examination shows, the Pierre clay, now
supposed to be at least 2,000 feet in thickness at this point.

Here also is seen at a glance one of the great sources of the
enormous volume of sediment continually borne along in the waters
of the Platte and down the great Missouri River, which have
transported many cubic miles of earth and have deposited it to form
the alluvial lands now forming the great states along the waters of
the lower Mississippi. The suggestion seems overpowering, but true
it is, that by these slow processes extending through ages,
immeasurable even by the most learned geologist, the surface of
this part of our continent has been transformed without limit.
I had carefully inspected the surfaces of the bluffs and the
interesting panorama that surrounded them; the next problem was
to descend. This would have been simple enough if I had been
content to retrace my steps and return by the ravine I had followed
in ascending, but I had crossed to the southern rim of the summit,
and I desired to explore that side of the eminence. On the southwest
corner, however, there appeared to be a dry run which from my
point of observation seemed to afford a safe and comparatively
unbroken descent to the foot of the cliffs on that side. Although the
view looking down this newly discovered ravine was not so
comprehensive in all its details as would have been obtained below
at a distance, I nevertheless determined to risk it.
Following it down for a hundred feet or more I encountered a
terrace with the usual perpendicular face, but not intersected by the
ravine along which I was descending. As the footing seemed to be
good further along, I dropped myself over the edge of the terrace
and comfortably alighted upon the level gallery that was next
beneath. These narrow and level galleries surmounted each of the
many upright-faced terraces, the latter varying somewhat in height.
This mode of descent seemed fairly easy, and was indeed
exhilarating. The process was repeated three or four times as other
terraces were encountered, until I found myself upon a level gallery
twelve to eighteen feet in width and possibly a hundred feet long.

Walking the length of this gallery back and forth, I found no
point where below it there was not a sheer, perpendicular precipice
of more than a hundred feet in height. At each of its ends the gallery
narrowed to a point against the cliff which extended far down
beneath. Nature had here failed to carry out the general
architectural plan of the bluff's structure. I felt earnestly that the
terraces should have been constructed with more rigid uniformity.
The discovery was now made that the branch ravine which my eyes
had been following bore off in its upward course round this cliff and
was lower than I had supposed.
To return was impossible, for the smooth cliffs down which I had
dropped, being absolutely vertical, afforded no better footing than
would the side of a perpendicular brick wall. I was on the opposite
side of the bluffs from the road which our train had followed, and
miles from it. The last glimpse of our wagons showed them moving
far away in the distance to the westward. A shot from my revolver
would not be heard a tenth of the distance. Even though I should be
searched for, it would be practically impossible for friends to follow
my tortuous course down those cliffs over which probably no idiot
before had dropt himself, and I should not be hunted until missed at
night, for we often left the train for long side trips. The bluffs had
already been named from one starving unfortunate, but I had no
desire to add my own name to its history. As I walked back and forth
along that gallery, looking upward and downward for some line of
escape, the prospect was not cheerful. I suddenly became both
hungry and thirsty.
A long, dry, cedar log lay upon the hard floor of the gallery, and
I wearily sat upon it for a brief period of silent meditation. The broad
landscape to the south stood out clear and beautiful in the sunlight,
and far beneath, at the foot of the cliffs, the dark cedars in the
shade were in mild contrast with the dull gray of the steep, clayey
cliffs to which they clung on either side; but the landscape seemed
at that time to have lost much of its interest, although it produced a
lasting impression. The cedar log was a straight, slender, tapering

shaft possibly fifty feet in length. It was hardly more than eight
inches in diameter at its butt. Being without bark, it had doubtless
rested there for many years, and was thoroughly dried out as was
nearly everything else in that climate, which was arid the greater
part of the year. Taking hold of one end of the log, and without any
definite idea why I did it, I was surprised to discover how light it had
become through seasoning. Either end of it could be lifted without
great effort.
At the western end of the gallery upon which I stood, and far
below it, was the ravine, which from that point seemed to be
continuous, and made a rapid descent to the foot of the mountain. It
was comparatively narrow, and two or three tall cedars on its
opposite side sprang out from a little ledge in the cliff. Some limbs in
one of the cedars were hardly more than thirty or thirty-five feet
distant from the wall of the rock upon which I stood, and on a lower
level. A practical thought finally came into my mind. Carefully
breaking from the log the stubs of limbs and twigs which remained
upon it all of which were found to be very brittle, I planned to slide
this log over the edge of the gallery, so that the smaller end, which
happened to be in the right direction, would find a lodgement
somewhere in the limbs of the live cedars across the ravine, leaving
the larger end supported on the gallery, thereby constructing a
bridge.
I spent considerable time in calculating this problem, for I
certainly believed that my life depended upon the success of the
plan. I slowly moved the log along so that it projected beyond the
gallery, and then carefully considered the proper direction for
pushing it further. Laying aside revolver and field glass, I prepared
for the one supreme effort. All the strength at my command was put
behind the log as I balanced and then vigorously pushed it onward
beyond the brink. Surveying the result, I was gratified after the first
effort to discover that it had not fallen into the depths below and
that the end had caught upon a small limb, which proved strong
enough temporarily to support it. Another push and a careful turn of

the log left its end apparently secure near the junction of a small
limb and the main trunk of the tree near its top.
The bridge, such as it was, being completed, I again strapped on
my revolver, and taking the field glasses, sat astride the log and
carefully crept along it to avoid any unnecessary jarring, my only
doubt in accomplishing the task being in the strength of the old log
and of the small limb which supported it. The distance beneath me
had no more terrors than forty feet would naturally have, but when I
laid my hands upon the slender trunk of the live cedar I breathed a
sigh of relief. "Shinning" down a tree was a simple matter, with
which any youth would be familiar. After reaching the base of the
tree I found other trees and shrubs that aided in the further descent,
although there were a few other terraces or perpendicular cliffs
twelve or fifteen feet in height over which I dropped with ease and
safety.
This course led me into a ravine, which, like nearly all such
erosions in that country, had abrupt sides, averaging thirty or forty
feet in depth, which I discovered later led to the Platte River,
gradually increasing in width and depth as it descended. Some miles
distant it was crossed by a bridge over which the traffic by that trail
passed. Following the bottom of this ravine, or dry run, until I
reached a point slightly outside the higher walls of the bluffs, I there
came upon a huge pile of fossil bones. Skeletons, half exposed,
projected from the steep sides of the deep run in great numbers.
Many lay strewn upon the bottom of the ravines where they had
been left stranded since the last rains in quantities enough to load
many wagons. My knowledge of osteology was very limited, but it
was sufficiently definite to enable me to determine that none of
them were the bones of creatures like any with which I was then
acquainted. It was a strange, weird sight.
Being somewhat weary I dropped down in the shady side of the
ravine to rest and gazed up and down at the mute records of the
past which were scattered around me. It seemed as if the monsters

whose bones lay there were suddenly reincarnated. A group of
Titanotheria seemed to be assembled in a vast body; the
Rhinoceros, Oreodon, and diminutive horse such as lived in those
parts, were gathered around, each apparently ready to tell its tale of
events which no man ever had heard before. A Titanotherium
Robustum, smacking its huge jaws, turned its dull eyes upward to
the summit of the great bluff 700 feet above where I was resting,
and then turning its gaze toward me, said, "What are you? You are
the first specimen of your genus that has ever passed this way. How
old are you?" "A score or two of years," I replied. There was a roar
of grunts doubtless intended for laughter which echoed up and down
the ravine, and the pachyderm looked at the oreodon and smiled.
Continuing, the Titanotherium said, "Do you see the top of that lofty
bluff?" I nodded yes. "Well, that is young, and it is not more than
three or four decillion years since this country was pushed up and
has been washing down the river. Before that, it was under water for
nearly as long a period, because it was mighty slow work filling in all
that 1,500 perpendicular feet of clay out of which all the layers of
these bluffs are made."
The Rhinoceros then grunted out his reminiscences, to the effect
that all that occurred long after his day, because he was doing
business before the beginning of that vast cycle when the country
was so deep under water, and before these deposits were made.
Continuing, he added, "Away back in those times a very bad spell of
wet weather and floods occurred, when we all were caught and
stuck in this swamp which finally dried up on all this great crowd of
companions of a bygone age. Since we were washed out by the last
winter and spring rains which swept down this gully we have seen
nothing, and you are the first two-legged creature we ever saw,
except a few dinosaurs, and but very few of them lived in these
parts."
After this dreamy colloquy I woke up from my little rest, and the
shadows of the prehistoric pachyderms vanished, but the thousands
of bones were still protruding from the walls of the deep ravine.

"The waters stood upon the mountains;
At Thy rebuke they fled;
He uncovereth deep things out of darkness,
And bringeth out to light the shadow of death."
I picked up a massive femur, and put it upon my shoulder to
show to the boys as a trophy, but it soon became too heavy, and I
dropped it behind me, perhaps to be moved along a little further
toward the Platte River by the next spring flood. In time it doubtless
found another resting place in those soft river sands, possibly to be
exhumed in some future geological period, to lead the finder into
some wild chain of reasoning concerning its history. I reached the
train, which was camped six miles west, and told my story to the
boys, and after supper fell asleep.
The year after the discovery of the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado, it was my pleasure personally to furnish Professor Powell
with a careful description of the location of these remarkable
deposits of fossils in Scott's Bluffs, which he and others investigated
later. At that time I believe no investigation of those fossil beds had
been made by scholars qualified to classify them.
Amid all the intricacies of the ravines that run down the bluff
sides, it would be difficult to indicate any locations there with
exactness, but certain landmarks make this one to which I now refer
comparatively easy to describe. A professor and students from one
of our universities made later investigations of this particular deposit
on information given as to its nature. The recent marvelous
agricultural development of this country as the result of an irrigating
ditch cut near these bluffs is a revelation to those who first saw it as
a barren area, a part of what was well named the Bad Lands. These
once barren clay lands near the foot of Scott's Bluffs are now,
strange to relate, highly productive. If any one of the young
ranchers now engaged in the development of that country would
care to follow the ravine crossed by the bridge over the old trail and
with a ladder would ascend a few cliffs that will be encountered as

he proceeds along the ravine, and then climb up until he reaches the
high precipice, he will find the old cedar log still lying across the
chasm and resting on the tree top, for no one would have made the
effort to remove it, and nothing decays in that pure air.

L
CHAPTER XIV
The Peace Pipe at Laramie
eaving the fossil beds, a six-mile tramp was made to a point
beyond Fort Mitchell, where the train was reached. The
course lay across a dry clay land which, though in
appearance hopelessly sterile, was dotted with small
clumps of sage brush, that ubiquitous bush which grows
almost everywhere in those western alkaline soils both on the plains
and on the mountain slopes. Useless as that gnarly, stubby, stunted
shrub may seem to be, it has been the salvation of thousands of
travelers for whom it furnished the exclusive fuel along hundreds of
miles of their pilgrimage. The scant foliage of this species of
Artemisia has a color, taste, and odor similar to that of the ordinary
sage, and all of these qualities especially the flavor, were imparted in
some degree to the sage hens, which fed in numbers upon the
plant.
At Fort Mitchell there was stationed a company of soldiers to
impress upon the Indians the idea that the strong military arm of the
U. S. Government extended over the West. As we learned later,
three score soldiers were but a feeble menace to the thousands of
dissatisfied warriors, who were then roaming over the plains,
awaiting some assurance from our authorities that the last of their
ancient hunting grounds would not be invaded and traversed by the
whites.
Eight miles further on we camped for the night on the banks of
the North Platte River, where, finding clear water and good forage

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