394 ARTS AND CRAFTS OF GUIANA INDIANS (PTH, ANN. 38 
had an extensive range—from Cayenne to Demerara—and was much 
sought after by the early colonists. It seems to me fairly conclusive 
that in these hammocks (a) the warp string was run vertically over 
two cross beams; () both front and back set of warp strands were 
interwoven together; (c) originally, one separate warp strand was 
picked up at a time; (d@) their method of weaving survives to the 
present day. The reasons I have for holding this opinion are based 
partly on positive and partly on negative evidence. As to the latter, 
it seems very noteworthy that there is complete absence of any men- 
tion of special apparatus, e. g., raiser, separator, and their compli- 
cated mechanism, which even the most unobservant of travelers could 
hardly fail to have noticed and recorded. As to the former, this is 
mainly contained in the following excerpts, given in their chrono- 
logical order, from Grillet and Bechamel (1698), Bancroft (1769), 
Stedman (1796), St. Clair (1834), and Penard (1907). The cot- 
ton hammocks of the Galibi (Carib stock) of Cayenne were woven 
on similar looms and on identical lines, as well in Brazil as in 
Guiana. ... They have a kind of shuttle which they put through 
the threads (of the warp) to weave it after the manner of our 
cloth. But because they put their shuttle through, thread by thread, 
one above and the other below (each successive strand of warp), 
this work is extremely tedious and has need of no less patience 
than theirs (GB, 54-57). Their (Carib) manner of weaving (ham- 
mocks) is by winding the cotton, when spun, around two small 
wooden sticks of sufficient length, placed at above 7 feet distance 
from each other, disposing the threads singly parallel, and contiguous 
to each other, till they extend a sufficient width, which is usually 6 or 7 
feet. The threads thus disposed serve as the warp. They then wind 
a quantity of cotton on a small pointed piece of wood, and begin 
their weaving at one end by lifting up every other thread of the 
warp and passing the pointed stick with the woof under it. This 
they do until they have gone through the whole width of the warp, 
and then return in the same manner, taking up those threads which 
they missed before, and pressing the threads close together (BA, 255). 
In other words, this description of Bancroft’s exactly covers the pro- 
cedure followed on the miniature loom used by the present-day 
Pomeroon district Arawak, Carib, and Warrau with which to weave 
certain of their cotton anklets (pl. 12), where the presser or beater, 
in the shape of a paddle, is used for “ pressing the threads close to- 
gether.” Their hammocks are woven . . . being done thread after 
thread, traversing the warp in a manner that a hole is darned in a 
stocking (St, 1, 397). Undoubtedly, as time went on, experience 
would have taught the Indian that to pass the single weft strand be- 
hind a whole row of warp threads simultaneously was more expedi- 
