Note 34 — NICHOLAS GOGOL. (continued 4)

The arkan of the Cossacks is like the lasso of the Mexicans—a rope with a running slip-knot, which is thrown over the object of the Cossack's chase (a wild horse or an enemy). The Caucasian mountaineers make use of the same instrument, and, like the Cossacks of yore, often drag their prisoners at their horses' heels with the knot round their neck or their waist—the other end of the arkan being tied to the saddle. This practice involuntarily reminds one of Achilles dragging the body of Hector tied to his chariot.