Hello. The knotting world is full of mysteries, myths, or outright nonsense,
and one mystery is the (or an) origin of the Constrictor knot--a binding knot.
The earliest reference to this knot currently known is a verbal description
given in "Tom Bowling's" [pseudonym] _A Book of Knots_, wherein he **names**
a knot "Gunner's" and says:

The Gunner's knot (of which we do not give a diagram) only differs from the builder's knot,
by the ends of the cords being simply knotted before being brought from under the loop which
crosses them.

The Builder's Knot is a Clove Hitch, and by "simply knotted" he means tying as
on does at the first step of tying shoes--a simple crossing of strands.

The speculation arises that Bowling's given name points to a use of the knot
by gunners (of course), and some people muse that this might have been in
the securing of cartridge bags.

Can someone familiar with such things as this comment on this?

Thanks,
--dl*
====