keep the strands apart, and their
maddening creaks which grow in length and discord the higher one
swings--but in a hammock woven by Carib Indians. An Indian hammock
selected at random will not suffice; it must be a Carib and none
other. For they, themselves, are part and parcel of the romance,
since they are not alone a quaint and poetic people, but the direct
descendants of those remote Americans who were the first to see the
caravels of Columbus. Indeed, he paid the initial tribute to their
skill, for in the diary of his first voyage he writes,--

"A great many Indians in canoes came to the ship to-day for the
purpose of bartering their cotton, and _hamacas_ or nets in which they
sleep."

It is supposed that this name owes its being to the hamack tree, from
the bark of which they were woven. However that may be, the modern
hammock of these tropical Red Men is so light and so delicate in
texture that during the day one may wear it as a sash, while at night
it forms an incomparable couch.

But one does not drop off to sleep in this before a just and proper
preparation. This presents complexities. First, the hammock must be
slung with just the right amount of tautness; then, the novice must
master the knack of winding himself in his blanket that he may slide
gently into his aerial bed and rest at right angles to the tied ends,
thus permitting the free side-meshes to curl up naturally over his
feet and head. This cannot be taught. It is an art; and any art is
one-tenth technique, and nine-tenths natural talent. However, it is
possible to acquire a certain virtuosity, which, after all is said, is
but pure mechanical skill as opposed to sheer genius. One might,
perhaps, get a hint by watching the living chrysalid of a potential
moon-moth wriggle back into its cocoon--but little is to be learned
from human teaching. However, if, night after night, one observes his
Indians, a certain instinctive knowledge will arise to aid and abet
him in his task. Then, after his patient apprenticeship, he may reap
as he has sowed. If it is to be disaster, it is as immediate as it is
ignominious; but if success is to be his portion, then he is destined
to rest, wholly relaxed, upon a couch encushioned and resilient beyond
belief. He finds himself exalted and supreme above all mundane
disturbances, with the treetops and the stars for his canopy, and the
earth a shadowy floor far beneath. This gentle aerial support is
distributed througho