Note 691 — Chapter X · THE SWORD IN BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA AND PERSIA, AND ANCIENT INDIA.

The South American lasso has been pitted, of course on horseback, against the Sword. Many a murder has been committed with it in the Argentine Republic, the victim being ‘thugged’ unawares and dragged to death. Needless to say, the lasso was well known in Egypt (Wilk. i. 4), where it was used to catch the gazelle and even the wild ox. The Pasha or Indian lasso was ten cubits long, with a noose one hand in circumference. It was composed of very small scales, ornamented with leaden balls; and was not regarded as a ‘noble weapon.’ The Roman gladiators, called ‘Laqueatores,’ derived their name from the lasso: they must not be confounded with the ‘Retiarii.’