The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-29
oLp-TIME WEAPONS.
The Deringer and Bowie Knife Once
Populer with Ante-bellum Duel
lists.

The Deringer and Bowie Knife Once
Populer with Ante-bellum Duel
lists.
From the Washington Post.
History of a brave peoples weapons is
always interesting. 1t illustrates their
character. "The nation which shortens
it's weapons lengthens its boundaries, -
said great author. Though every one
has heard of Bowie knife, little is known
of its origin or history. Yet its fame is
as wide as that of the old-time
22-inch Roman sword.
Two states claim the birthplace of
James Bowie-TenneSsee and Maryland
and the question has never been quite
definitely settled. But he gave the name
to weapon as deadly as any that has
ever been forged.
When Louisiana became a state of the
Union, it was admitted under some
peculiar conditions. The one bearing
upon this article was that all Spanish
and French grants of lands should be
recognized by the United States as valid
wherever they could be established by
the old colonial records of Spain and
France. This peculiar feature created
the Bowie knife and gave its originator a
national renown.
Shortly after Louisiana became a state
the old Spanish and French records
created a great deal of trouble. 1t fire.
quently happened that planter who had
takenup large tract of land and fairly
opened it out as plantation, would learn
that it was claimed by some one under an
old colonial grant. James Bowie was a
very frequent claimant under these old
laws. Several capitalists of the time had
sent him to Havana, where the old papers
of the Spanish colony of Louisiana were
kept, and caused careful transcripts of
them to be made. They appointed as
their agent to put them in possession of
these properties James Bowie. In these
early days it did not at any time take
much proyocation to bring on "a personal
encounter as a fight to the death was
euphOniously entitled. A man who had
been to the trouble of opening up an es-
tate only to find it claimed by a lot of
people he did not know was generally
pretty ready 10 fight for it, whether
fight would settle the question or not.
The consequence of this state of things
was that Mr.. James Bowie and his two
brothers, Stephen and Rein Bowie, had
on hand almost constantly some sort of
difficulty" that had To be fought out
with deadly weapons. This was before
the days when the percussion cap was in
general USE and the smaller pistols of the
period were flint locks, inc0nvenient TO
carry and not very reliable. So the knife
had 10 be used when one wanted a really
trusty weapon. Mr.. Bowie worked out
with a pocket knife and shingle his idea
of a weapon that would be about the
proper thing for the business he had in
hand, and it was made by the local black
smith at Shreveport, La, after this
model, which he carried for several years.
About 1880, however. he heard of New
Orleans cutler, a Spaniard named Pedro,
who was making some knives of a won
dorful kind and temper They could be
driven through a silver dollar without
damage to point or edge. Mr.. Bowie at
once availed himself of the professional
services of this artist, who made him a
knife which was a marvel of temper and
beauty. The blade was nine inches long,
aud blade and handle together measured
fifteen inches.
This weapon was used by him in nine
teen encounters, and il was the one that
was in his stihening hand when, with six
dead Mexicans about him. showing the
evidence of his fatal skill, he was found
dead at the Alamo.
Bowie's method Of using the knife was
one peculiar 10 himself. He did not hold
il in his hand with the long point down
ward. but grasped the handle as a swords
man would grasp the HIT o. his sword.
He always struck 40 the ne OF his man,
ana aimed for the lugula,, and seldom
missed his coup. In the most famous