The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-04
SPURS or MANY KINDS.
Mexican Spurs With 1Is-Inch ROweIs
and Others in Contrast With Them.
From the New York sun.

From the New York sun.
] Riding spurs are made in various parts
! of the country A great many Of the
! oommoner kinds are now turned out in
the west, but taking all spurs together.
| the greatest number are made in New
ark, which has long been famous among
other things for its productions in sad
/ 6Iery hardware
/ The great Mexican spurs were origin
ally produced by Mexican workers in iron.
/ who forged them out by hand. They were
massive and heavy. and may of them
were inlaid with silver. They had enor-
nous rowels. From the ends of the heel
band chain ran under the ends Of the
shank of the wearers boot, and over the
/ top of the boot there was a strap. Many
/ of these spurs were curiously and artis-
| ucally wrought, and some Of them cost so
| or SlVO a pair.
| The first Mexican spurs made IN the
east came from Newark about 1910. The
! handsome Mexican spurs were so expen-
! sive that some yankee merchants engaged
| in business in California sent to New
| ark and had spurs made of malleable
| iron from Mexican patterns. These were
| sold at less than half the price of the
]
found their way along the Pacific coast.
/ and the trade in them increased largely.
Some Mexican spurs are still sold. OF
one style the rowel Is four and three-fourth
! inches in diameter, with six points; an
! other style has a roWel with ten points.
! The points are usually blunt and dull.
| Attached to the shank of the spur are two
| small dangling bits of iron called bells,
which strike against the rowel as the
wearer walks or rides and produce must
| cal sound. The bells are also useful; the
| wearer hooks the points Of a rowel into the
hair saddle girth of his horse, turns his
foot slightly, and the bells drop between
two of the points of the rowel; the rowel
turns until the bells between the spokes
bring up against the shank and stop the
wheel from turning; thus the rider is en-
abled to hold on with the points of the
rowel through the girth, as though it were
claw.
Some heavy iron spurs made for South
| American use have a rowel two and a half
inches in diameter and a place on the
back OF the heel band where the shank
springs from it, through which another
strap is put and carried over the foot to
hold up the spur at the back.
| There are many styles of spurs for park
and for various other uses, and there are
| many patents on spurs and various ways
| of fastening the spur to the boot. There
are spurs without heel bands, which screw
| INTO the boot. lNeIe IS one spur Win a
divided shank, the outer end. which holds
the rowel, turning and serving as crank
with which to turn the screw into the
boot heel, and also to force into the heel
a little pin to hold the heel plate firmly in
| position. When screw and pin are in place
a little collar is turned down upon the
| divided parts of the shank, making the
shank rigid.
Spurs are sometimes made out OF car
| penters' screws. The projecting side of
the head Of the screw is cut off all around
| flush with the smooth part of the screw
| Then the slot is sawed down deep enough
| to admit a rowel of the desired size.
There is spur with straps upon which
| the strap is first adjusted to about the
| right length, and then held firmly in
| place upon the boot by turning a little
! lever, clamping the spur on something
| after the same manner as the lever on
! modern skate. There is a spur called
! box spur, the shank of which fits into
| deep little metal box set in the boot heel.
! This little box has a door that closes
across the opening when the spur is not
| in use, to keep. the box clear. When the
spur is used this little door is pushed
| aside by the end of the shank, and the
! shank is held in place by a contrivance
| inside.
Spurs for women are made with safety
| points, so that they will not catch in
| skirts, The rowel has single point, which
| guard.
| outer end of the guard is held flush with
| the end Of the rowel by means of a spring
| inside. If this spur is pressed against IL
! yielding surface, as like the side of a
| horse, the guard is forced back, TO take
! its place again flush with the point when
| the pressure is removed. Safety spurs
are sometimes made for stage use with
rowels without teeth, and some stage
spurs have rowels of the regular style.
Spurs for race horses are sometimes
made with hardly any points to the row.
els, so as to avoid Furnishing or injuring
| the horse. Such spurs have been made
with small copper cents for roWes, with
the edge left smooth. In contrast with
the great rowels of the Mexican spurs
are some that are scarcely more than
quarter of an inch in diameter.
The bulk of spurs nowadays are made
of steel and iron. Spurs are also made of
brass, silver, and of German silver Many
spurs are nickel-plated. Spurs are some
times made of gold; usually for gifts. A
pair of good steel spurs costs about $3.50;
iron spurs can be bought as low as ten
or fifteen cents a pair. Malleable iron
Mexican spurs, such as have sold for $40
pair, can now be bought at $3.50 to 81
pair.
The majority of the spurs used are
still fastened to the foot with straps.
There are various styles of rowels, some
having elongated points and some being
like disks with saw teeth cut IN the edgei
there are some spurs with the rowels set
horizontally. Most spurs, however, have
the rowel set vertically. There is an Ara
bian spur which has straight shank
almost as a lead pencil; it has no rowel,
but the end of the shank is turned up in
a little hook with which the horseman
reaches under the horse and scratches,
instead of rowelling him in the side.
Paid His Fine in Pennies.
From the Philadelphia Record.