1920] on String Figures 79 



as one knows the moves, adds finish to the working and is worth 

 cultivating. 



The movements by. which Lightning is produced are easy— a boy 

 of eight or nine will iearn them in three or four minutes — but as is 

 the case with all these figures it is difficult to describe them concisely. 

 To illustrate these statements let me express as shortly as I can 

 exactly what I did. First : I put the string in the form of a figure 

 of eight, one oval (preferably small) lying away from me, and the 

 other towards me, and the strings crossing in the middle of the 

 figure ; I then put my index-fingers down into the far oval, and my 

 thumbs down into the near oval ; next I separated the hands and 

 then turned them up into their normal position with the thumbs and 

 fingers well spread out, thus causing the strings of the loops on the 

 thumbs and index-fingers to cross one another. Second : I bent each 

 thumb away from me over two strings, and with its back picked up 

 from below the next string (i.e. in the language expounded later the 

 ulnar index string), and, as usually follows and is assumed to be the 

 case unless the contrary is stated, returned the thumbs to their former 

 positions. Third: I bent each mid-finger towards me over one 

 string, and with its back picked up from below the next string. 

 Fourth : I bent each ring-finger towards me over one string, and 

 with its back picked up from below the next string. Fifth: I bent 

 each little-finger towards me over one string, and with its back 

 picked up from below the next string. Sixth : I moved my thumbs 

 away from me, and placed their tips in the spaces by the little- fingers, 

 their fronts resting on the near little-finger string ; this released the 

 thumb loops. Finally : I threw the loops thus released over the 

 other strings, and at the same time with the thumbs either pressed 

 up the far little-finger string or pressed down the near little-finger 

 string, and the figure flashed out. The movements are really simple, 

 though the description is lengthy, but in my opinion it is not desir- 

 able to labour at making this extremely concise. 



The next diagram is of a design, known as a Tent-Flap or Door, 

 due to the Apache Red Indians. [The figure as shown by the 

 Lecturer was made by successive movements, as set out in the next 

 paragraph.] The Apaches are now almost extinct, but the figure is 

 familiar to the Mexican Indians, who are said to have learnt it from 

 Apaches living on the Reservation Lands maintained by the United 

 States Government. This also is a figure in Class a. 



\_The Apache Tent-Flap. — The successive movements which pro- 

 duced the result shown in the Lecture may be put in the form of 

 the following rules : — First : Take up the string in the form of 

 Opening A.'" Second : Lift the loops off the index-fingers, pass them 

 over their corresponding hands on to the wrists, thus making them 

 dorsal strings. Third : Bend each thumb away from you over one 



* This term is explained below, on page 93. 



