String-Figures from the Upper Potaro. 127 
finger and take up the strings running to the right thumb on the dorsum of 
the finger. Return to position. 
Raise the left wrist loop free of the hand and separating the hands, 
slowly draw it into a knot about midway between the hands. This is the 
fly (Toolik). The wings are now dropped by releasing the little fingers 
(Fig. 12). Try to catch the fly by slapping the hands together, but when you 
separate them (quickly and as far as possible), the fly is gone. 
This may be called a “trick” rather than a string figure. Crickety also 
knew the “ hanging ” trick, although he used his feet instead of his headas is 
usually done. However, the trick he seemed to enjoy most was “ warum ” 
or “snake.” It is the widely distributed “mouse.” His explanation was 
that the fingers of the hand (held upright) are trees and the released string 
is a snake crawling in and out among them. While I was there, an Indian 
who had been down to the settlements taught Crickety the well-known trick 
of putting a stick into the loop of an open string, winding the string on the 
stick, and then after blowing on the whole business the string is unwound with 
the stick free from the loop. I think he undoubtedly got it from the negroes 
