Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-11-04
TWISTED IN THE FLESH.
BLADES LIKED BY MEN WHO
FIGHT WITH KNIVES.
me Work o. Artful Men a. the Forse-
Types o. the Edged weaPons Carried
~ Those Who Pan Their PATH 10 the
Bowie IassSad Of the Pistol

practice almost. until il was revived
- The hos-headed men OF the SoaEn
and the Southern frontier. such Is
Colonel Bowie. whose proves with a
peculiarly modelled blade gave his
name to that sort Of a knife, says the
san Francisco Examiner. The knixes
with which Colonel Bowie vas wo.t
70 refresh himself by removing ezus
and other appendages o. such Tex
ans As seemed 70 him TO Fave 10 PAR
ticllar need for them were made by
William Allison. ami the success q
Colonel Bowie IN his encounters.
many Of which tested The
strength and temper u the Allisoa
blades, made that maker famous
among all who carried such weapons
II is said that the first knife prepared
for Colonel Bowie By Ailiso1 EAs
hurriedly forged from 3 heavy Eat
file, and that with il the reio1btabie
colonel al one sweep dissolved the
continuity between the Body az a
1exzn ranger ard the head 81 that
citizen Whether that b. true or
not, the latter knives, forged aud
tempered and mounted by Allison.
we're a nearly perfect a. could BE-
They we're expensive. none being
cold for less than s59. and for those
highly orpane1ted extraordinary
sums we're paid; sometimes as much
Is 500 The popular impression
that Z bowie knife was a monstrous
thing. eighteen inches or more ia
length. is erroneous The knives
Used BY Bowie himself we-e nsavy.
kat rather short. the Rades being
I've and one-half inches long. bread.
straight backed aaa able with
single slash 20 leave cheating
gambler hagerlass 81 a [usllter 81
sOuen minus = half dozen ribs
Captain L W. Lees ~ ths san Fran
cisco detective force has for many
years. nearly forty cherished among
the memorabilia gathered ia hi
vide experience trae bowie knife
made b. allison for Casey. the poll
tician, who killed james King or
William ard vas lTnched Uy the yiy-
lance committee Of san Francisco.
The knife vas carried for . long time
b. Casey ard shows considerable
wear about the fastening which con.
fined il To the arInho.a or his vest.
CASEY was notably ready with
weapons, and the knife served a pur-
pose in more than one .aloon brawl
and political scrimmage. until at last
Casey introduced il with violence be-
tween the ribs Of Robert Cushing. a
political opponent Of the early sos.
Although Casey turned the blade ia
the wound, and in 50 doing cut
cleanly through a rib harder than
the cervical vertebrse mentioned bv
kO-ko, the edge Of the knife was not
turned. Captain Lees insists that
with the Casey knife he can chop
silver dollars into halves without in
juriug the edge 20 fine j. the temper
and 20 perfectly proportional the
blade.
Allison died long ago. Knife fight
ers are few, but among those left the
knives OF the old man. together with
those o. Michael Price. the pioneer
cutler Of this city. who followed ALI
son few years ago. and Fred Wat
son OF Colusa. almost equally famous
with the great cutters mentioned.
will always be valued. Watson Il
still forging all kinds Of knives. and,
to show his skill. Is fond Of making
such singular forms as the MALAY
kriss. a wavy blade, sharp and keen.
which for case Of entrance as q stab.
bing implement has no equal. One
Of the serpentine knives sent out b.
Watson can be plunged to the hilt in
flesh, unless the point engages on
bone Of large size. aud when that oc-
ours the silver steel holds its edge
without turning or breaking.
The Price knives, OF which scores
we're made, had character peculiar
in several respects. They were, as a
rule, dOuble-edged, and the maker.
who was himself very skillful in the
use Of the knife. added little inyen-
tions which materially improved the
output OF his forge. 4 favorite pat
tern was one in which the guard.
very often made solid. was made in
rings, one on either side Of the blade.
in the position usually occupied bv
the guard. In personal encounter
the fingers would be hooked in one
Of the rings, the handle firmly grip
ped by the other fingers and oppos-
ing thumb, and the knife held against
all efforts TO tear IL from the grasp
Price usually put ivory handles on
his knives. Allison finished his with
horn handles, heavily bound wish
silver and studded with silver nails.
Watson turns out handles much more
elaborate than either OF the others.
The most delicate Mosaic work in
horn and mother of pearl, surround
ed by heavy mounts Of silver, is most
affected by him. All Of the makers
mentioned have plenty Of admirers,
but there seems to be little difference
in the quality Of their productions.
each Of them being a skilled work.
man and proud Of his art.
Wanted the Law on His Side.
"Well, said the lawyer to the rural