The diamond hitch is also much discussed. I have heard more arguments over it than over the Japanese war or original sin.
"That thing a diamond hitch!" shrieks a son of the foothills to a son of the alkali. "Go to! Looks more like a game of cat's cradle. Now this is the real way to throw a diamond."
Colorado Versus Arizona
Certain pacifically inclined individuals have attempted to quell the trouble by a differentiation of nomenclature. Thus one can throw a number of diamond hitches, provided one is catholically minded—such as the "Colorado diamond," the "Arizona diamond," and others. The attempt at peace has failed.
"Oh, yes," says the son of the alkali as he watches the attempts of the son of the foothills. "That's the Colorado diamond," as one would say that is a paste jewel.
The joke of it is that the results are about the same. Most of the variation consists in the manner of throwing. It is as though the discussion were whether the trigger should be pulled with the fore, middle, or both fingers. After all, the bullet would go anyway.
A downward journey
I describe here the single diamond, as thrown in the Sierra Nevadas, and the double diamond as used by government freight packers in many parts of the Rockies. The former is a handy one-man hitch. The latter can be used by one man, but is easier with two.
The Single Diamond