BOLAS (plural of Span, _bola_, ball), a South American Indian weapon of war and the chase, consisting of balls of stone attached to the ends of a rope of twisted or braided hide or hemp. Charles Darwin thus describes them in his _Voyage of the Beagle_: "The _bolas_, or balls, are of two kinds: the simplest, which is used chiefly for catching ostriches, consists of two round stones, covered with leather, and united by a thin, plaited thong, about 8 ft. long. The other kind differs only in having three balls united by thongs to a common centre. The Gaucho (native of Spanish descent) holds the smallest of the three in his hand, and whirls the other two around his head; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot revolving through the air. The balls no sooner strike any object, than, winding round it, they cross each other and become firmly hitched." Bolas have been used for centuries in the South American pampas and even the forest regions of the Rio Grande. F. Ratzel (_History of Mankind_) supposes them to be a form of lasso. The Eskimos use a somewhat similar weapon to kill birds. _Bolas perdidas_ (i.e. lost) are stones attached to a very short thong, or, in some cases, having none at all. BOLBEC, a town of northern France, in the department of Seine-Inferieure, on the Bolbec, 19 m. E.N.E. of Havre by rail. Pop. (1906) 10,959. Bolbec is important for its cotton spinning and weaving, and carries on the dyeing and printing of the fabric, and the manufacture of sugar. There are a chamber of commerce and a board of trade-arbitration. The town was enthusiastic in the cause of the Reformed Religion in the 16th century, and still contains many Protestants. It was burned almost to the ground in 1765.