The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-07
OLD MAD. pUTs ON HIS WAR PAINT.

tor Of his youth, Jim Bowie. and as
sumed an attitude before the Congress
sional Committee which Is much more
natural and o2ngenlai to his tastes and
habits than that Of mere Witness in
great judicial investigation. Az Presl-
dent Of the Returning Board. aiming
to perpetrate the most audaeious politi-
cal and official outrage ever attempted
In this or any other country, he achieved
quite brilliant success. But when he
was brought up before u committee OF
sharp lawyers and politicians. sitting o
thousand miles from his native soil and
cline, to be subjected TO rigorous
GROSS examination. especially when
the examiner was David Dudley
Field, 1t was justly apprehended
that old Mad. would lose his bal
an % and abate considerably that
cool audacity and dauntless de-
iiance with which he treated oil the at
tempts made here to expose and cor
rect the frauds which his Returning
Board was engaged whole month In
connecting. How these apprebensions
have been more than realized, the
tclegra ms Of yesterday gave us painful
proofs in their description Of the
awful wrathfulness and belligerency
manifested by the old warrior. when
subjected tea brisk fire from the Dem.
oeratio lawyers. and OF the complete
state Of his armament which tho search
Of his person by tho Sergeant-at-Arms
OF the House exposed. The Sergeant
found the old fellow we'll "heeled' for
tho combat to which he seemed to in
vito the too ineuisitive and searching
lawyers and bystanders. There were
found stored away In bis hip
pockets two revolvers, with six
loaded chambers each, and attached
to his suspender button was one
OF those deadly instruments with which
more homioides have been committed
Ia this city than with any other weapon,
to-wit D gimlet-knife.
Thus appareled in full #rmor, old
Mad was ready for the id lawyers,
or any other parties who might want to
try his mettle. He would greatly pre-
fer o trough scrimmage In this state OF
armament TO O cross examination under
the embarrassing circumstances OF his
position 40 q witness. Like the Arkan.
sas bully who had lost all the money on
the table at poker, he proposes to blow
out the candle, kick over tho table, and
fight 1t out In the dark. This was the
familiar strategy of MAIDS old tutor,
Jim Bowie, who used TO be vexed by
many law suits. and who, when he
found the lawyers were beginning to
crowd him too closely, quickly
brought them UP with Il short
turn by suggesting an appeal to a
| little practice with the immortal
weapon which still bears his name.
This special pleading got Jim Bowie
out of many law scrape. The Bowie
demurrer thus obtained wide reputa.
| ton in the Southwest. Old Mad. had u
good training in hts youth ia this sort
of practice. Indeed. when quite u young
| man, he was present ut the first SUCCESS
full exemplitication Of It's effectiveness
ia tho memorable fight in 1897 on the
island opposite Natchez. It Is remark
able coincidence that in that famous
scrimmage Mud. Wells and his brother
jeff. were participants aud lockers on,
and that their brother, Sam. Wells, was
one Of the principals. and DR.. Maddox.
Of RapideB, the uncle Of JOS. H. Mad
dox. the other principal in the duel
which had given OCCASION to this meet
ing. It WAS on this occasion, after the
duel between the principals had been
adjusted, that their respective friends
thought tbs affair was about 10 go off
too tumoly and got up Il free fight be-
tween themselves. Ia which several
were killed and wounded. it was
in this fight that Jim Bowie.
who was friend of the Wells party.
first proved the reliableness OF his fam
Gus knife. Engaged 10 u hand to hand
fight with Major Wright, Of the Maddox
party, Bowie had been OF sbbed and
shot down, when, raising himself up.
he caught Major Wright by the collar
with his left hand, and with his right,
drawing his knife, disemboweled his ad-
versary. This was the commencement
of the use and of the celebrity Of the
Bowie knife. which, for many years
afterwards, became the fAvorite weapon
OF frontier fgh' ers. It IL related, in q
somewhat apochryphal manner, how
ever, that many years afterwards. when
Jim Bowie WAS one of the garrison at
tho celebrated stormipg OF the Alamo,
bis body was found, after the capture Of
the fort and the killing Of oil its defend
ers, with his bowie knife grasped la his
right hand, blooded to the hilt, and tho
cory corpses OF some halfa dozen Mex
lean soldiers lying around him, with
such CHASTITY wounds as only the bowie
Il l. t,Sr x,F