The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-17
THE DEADLIEST WEAPON.
A MACHETE THAT HAS KILLED
FIVE HUNDRED CUBANS.

Now I'm Private observation-disclosures
to Port by "a Cadet Who Got 1t az "a
Precious Souvenir From a Spanish
Onicer-NOtched on Cuban Skulls.
New York, Oct. 1.-THE deadliest wea-
pom in the world is in possession of an
innocent resident of New York city. H.
l.. V. Par6hurst, the well-known maya
zine and newspaper artist. who has a stu
do in sky-scraper on Nassau street.
was presented with it yesterday. and will
place il on private exhibition tomorrow.
Mr.. Parkhurst is peaceful young man,
whom you would scarcely expect to be in
possession Of such a deadly instrument,
but he is collector of old weapons. and
when he saw this one he knew that if
he could get it he would secure a prize.
1t is a Spanish machete, and it's record
is 500 lives. 1t first belonged to a Span
ish officer, who killed 100 men with it he
fore he fell 1t was then picked up bv a
private, who notched it on the skulls of
his adversaries, until fifty lay before it
Then its history became blurred. and
there is no record of 1t until it came into
the hands Of a Spanish soldier in one of
the battles of Santa Diago de Cuba.
Here it was put to such deadly use
twenty-five day falling down before If
that it got too notched to do its fine
work, and the soldier gave it away.
rms machete is the typical Spanish
weapon. 1t looks like a butcher knife
with blade nearly three feet long. It
has a handle of silver or bone. II is
sharpened on the blade and across the
point, and 1t is kept always as keen as a
razor. as o
Although the machete is an old instru
meht, mention of it having been made in
the old testament, it has never been used
to any extent by any other nation tban
the Spanish, Others have tried If and
cast aside as too bulky and hard TO learn.
ne spanish, however, inherit the love
Tor the machete and from boyhood they
nSnt their duels and battles alike with #
Ihere are three deadly blows to be given
with the machete. One is across the tenn
pies, from the top of the skull downward
in quick slant another is a cut under
the cnin upward; and the third is a head
SLASH which beheads a man at n blow A
blow thrust from the machete is almost
always fatal owing to the breadth of the
khlte' which necessarily makes cut half
a foot wide. 1t is such a heavy weanon
that one blow lays a man open. and such
a thing as a stab with a machete is I'M
known. If II cuts at all ii cuts clean open
This particular sword was brought TO
New York by cadet-James Edwards
who IS training TO be a captain upon the
Red d liner Philadelphia The shin runs
to the island of Curacuo and TO Porto
Cabello and La Guiare 1t takes In all the
ports of Venezuela and touches at Cuba
on a recent trip Mr. Edwards landed on
the island and made a journey inland
where he formed the acquaintance of
Spanish captain. And this ia the story he
writes about the instrument:
This machete was given to me bv a
captain in the Spanish army. He said II
had killed quite a number of "snowbaHs"
or Cubans-more than he wanted 10 own
up to-500 al least. And from all appear
ances he was right, for 1t was covered
with scars.
I'VE consider ANYTHING OF that kind