The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-03-31
OLD DAMASCUS BLADE.
GIVEN BY THE GEAR TO PREsI-
DENT JOHNSON.
10 Helped 10 build Kingdoms-Ths mt
Il Made Of Horn Ornamsnted with
Twisted. wirs-Ths seabbard Il Made
Of Wood.

P. Farmer. the county surveyor Of
Columblana county. Ohio. who resides
at Lisbon. has In his possession one OF
the rareat historical specimens In ex-
istence. II Ia an old Damascus blade.
which. II Is claimed. Is over two thou
sand years old. II Is OF crude design
and workmanship. and was made en-
tirely by hand, the lrregularity OF It's
lines proving more conclusiyely than
anything else It's antiquity. shortly
after the assassination % President
Lincoln an unsucCs ssful attempt was
made upon the life Of the Gar Of Rus
sia. A fleet OF American warshlps was
sent on a cruise across the ocean, and
incidentally carried q meaange Of con
graduation TO Russla's ruler from
President Johnson. Assistant Secre-
tary Of the Navy Fox accompanied the
squadron. on board the Miantonomah.
commanded by John ]. Cornwell. OF
Lisbon. Ohio. Secretary Fox was pre-
scented with the sword by the Car In
person, As token OF hts high esteem,
accompanied by the following speech
Il present TO you. sir. az the repre-
sentative OF one OF the foremost and
migailest OF modern nations. this
sabre. as a material appreciation Of
your nations high regard Tor my vel
fare and safety Through ages Il has
been treasured In the archives OF my
fathers as a femblance ~ The mighty
races that swayed the destinles of fu-
ture generations on the shores ~ the
Mediterranean. Il was carried through
scenes of carnage which marked the
upbuildlng OF the powerful sovereignty
Of Western Asia and has outliyed the
Kingdoms Il helped build" The an
Client treasure was accepted by the sec
rotary, with an appropriate response.
and as the feet steamed ont Of the Rus
sian port be presented the sword 20
Commander Cornwell While the feet
was on Toulon. France. Commander
Cornwell died suddenly % heart fail
ure. The vessels pulled in al the port
and a telegram was sent 20 Paris for
burial casket 4 squad Of marines
under command OF a lieutenant. was
sent on shore 10 receive the casket from
the train and convey h aboard the dead
commanders vessel The casket missed
connections. but the sailors. who were
unaware OF that fact. hustled a casket
which arrived on the train OF 20 the
ironclad. The fact that the box was
quite heavy dld not excite the suspl-
cion Of the sailors. and after Il had
been taken 10 the cabin the mate
opened The cover. CONSERVATION
Teigned on board when there was dis
closed the body OF a beautiful young
lady. buried In a wealth OF flowers.
The ia Of the casket was hurriedly re-
stored 10 It's place and preparations
were promptly made TO return the body
10 the depot In Toulon But the story
Of the alleged seizure had spread. ere
ailng Intense excitement IN the French
port, and city Official was preparing
20 board the American warship with a
RfaiAh NhilAHhs IApltuAiluNh were
made. but the mistake came near caus-
ing an International disruption. The
French newspapers characterized the
actions Of the american sailors IN the
most scathlng terms. assuming that
the taking OF the body OF the young
lady was prearranged plan. Com.
mandsr Cornwall was buried at Tou-
lon and the old sword was given into
hls widows keeping. and she In turn
presented Il 10 her brother-ln-law. Mr..
Farmer The blade Is twenty-five and
one-half inches long and one inch
vide. tapering 20 a point The hilt
Is made OF horn. ornamented with
twisted brass wire. and is a. hard as
adamant The cross pieces are OF
leather. tipped with sheet brass. The
scabbard IL a. Interesting as the blade.
being fashioned -om Wood. with a
sheet brass covering. II was orna-
mented In crude style by lndents OF a
pointed tool Near the hlli. on the
blade. are a number OF odd characters.
resembling ancient Hebrew lnscrlp.