The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-02-09
a CURIOUS KNIFE.
History OF q Blade That Has Killed TWEEN
ty-two People.

ty-two People.
One of the detectives attached to the
Twenty-ninth precinct has in his pos
session 4 Stiletto which is said to have
been used in twenty-five murders. and
which was the ruin of one of the oldest
and wealthiest families in Italy. The
weapon is kept by the detective in a
small iron box at his home. and >
telegram reporter is the only one who
has handled it since it came into his
care, five years ago.
When asked to tell the story Of how
1t came into his possession, the detect
i've said: Il was an officer on patrol
duty at the time, and, as my beat was
III that district known as Little italy,
got to know number ot Italians
there. Among them was Il ,aIl. fine
looking fellow named Guiseppi Gray
emo. and he and / were greaa friends.
lie seemed to be better educated than
the others of his kind. and would stand
and talk to me by the hour of his once
magnificent home in Southern Isaly,
but which owed its ruin to knife.
The knife, he said, had been picked
up by one of his ancestors in Egypt
over two hundred years ago, ard had
descended in his family from father to
son. and in that time twenty-five people
had been killed With | used to think
lie had been drinking when he would
describe the murders. and more espe-
cially when he would tell me. rs he
would often do, that no one could
handle the knife without cutting some
one with it.
Zone night he came up to me on post
and handed me something wrapped
in Z piece of cloth which he en-
planned was the mysterious and fatal
knife. He was afraid, he said, to keep
it for fear he might be tempted to use
il, and wanted me to either destroy it
or pat it some place where no one
could handle it. took the knife and
put it in my pocket and forgot all
about it until | was ut home. took it
out. unrolled the cloth and pulled the
blade out of its sheath. The blade was
about five inches long and curved in
and out in Y curious manner. giving it
q look like u tongue OF flame. The
handle was covered with dark-colored
leather, and took it up in nv hand
to look at it more closely. I didn't
know what come over me, but sudden
" falt :, ouoar caDSafion oil ,,-o;. NM
body. Ny fingers closed over the han
die, and the qucer-shaped blade seemed
to culver with life. I felt IN uncon-
querable desire to stick it in to some
one, and would probably have done so
had my hand not struck the hot CHM
ney of 4 lamp, and the pain caused me
to drop it.
81 managed to get the blade into the
sheath again and wrap it up as it was
given to me and put it into that iron
chest. where it has been ever since"
The reporter asked to see the knife,
and after considerable pleading got the
detective to open the box and lay the
knife on the table. The sheath WAS s.
plain, heavy leather one, and the knife
looked SO like hundreds of others he
had seen that the reporter smiled at
the supposed ghost story. The blade
was withdrawn, and. as the detective
had said. was curved in 2 curious man
ner. Near the handle were a number
of hieroglyphic5. and. like the detect
i've. the reporter to examine them
lifted the knife from the table. His
hand had hardly closed on the shaft
when curious thrill passed over him.
but Just then the detective forced the
knife ont of his hand. and with sigh
of relief he saw it locked in the iron
chest, from which it will shortly he
taken and destroyed.
Ancient historians tell OF Damascus
blades which had similar power. and
the stiletto may have been fashioned
BY the hands that fashioned them.-N
7. Telegram.