Page 167 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

A History of Life Support Knots 157

these devices were mainly the loops already discussed, together with standard
hitches such as the Clove Hitch (#53,[3]) or Girth Hitch (#56,[3]).

Fig. 9. Bowline on Fig. 10. Overhand Loop Fig. 11.. Figure Eight Loop
a Bight on a Bight on a Bight
The first mention of the Bowline on a Bight (Fig. 9) that I have found
in the mountaineering literature was in a book by Dent in 1900 [7], who rec-
ommended its use as a chair knot when rescuing an injured climber from a
crevasse. Its use as an end loop, providing two turns round the waist, was
mentioned by Wright and Magowan [34], but dismissed because they found
the knot weaker than many. However, several manuals right up to the present
date continue to recommend its use as a mid or end loop [12, p. 75] [32], or as a
sit sling or improvised shoulder harness [14, p. 15]. The common method for
tying this knot (Fig. 9) has been adopted for two other knots, both uncommon
in general knotting. The Overhand Loop on a Bight (Fig. 10) was recorded
in 1920 [28] and is still in use [28, p. 30]. The corresponding Figure Eight
Loop on a Bight (Fig. 11) appears to have been developed more recently [14,
p. 16],[15], [29, p. 37].
Those three knots have never attained widespread use in climbing, but
two papers were written in this period that have had a major influence on
the knots used by climbers and cavers. Wright and Magowan [34] developed
the Alpine Butterfly Loop and the Bowline and Coil, amongst several other
novel knots that never became popular, and Prusik [25] developed his Hitch;
according to Prohaska [24], this paper influenced climbers' rope techniques
probably more than any other single event before or since.
Wright and Magowan
In 1928 Wright and Magowan [34] published a two-part paper in the Alpine
Journal, discussing in critical detail the kinds of knots needed by climbers