Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1898-11-19
MONEY IN BAYONETS.
How It Was Made by a Wash
ington Blacksmith.
lie worked the weapons of War
Into the Implements OF Peace,
and Received Good Pay
for His Labor.

anu AAtcchNcu Noou Aof
for His Labor.
81 wish could pick up the bayonets
that have been thrown away around |
Santiago" said a blacksmith in one |
Of Washngton's down town shops.
"What earthly good would they do
your" asked a bystander.
81 could make a small fortune out
Of them" replied the blacks NTH, Just
as did once before with the bayonets
that were picked up at Antletam and
Harper's Ferry"
"How's that?"
"Well, l dontknow as It did me any
good-leastway it doesn't now that
l have lost IL ALL Perhaps thatiis the
reason that l think l would like TO
try II again. / was a young man when
the war was over and was living up
at little out-of-the-way place In the
mountains OF Maryland. had learned
my trade of my father. who fell at
Gettysburg, and the world was before
me. I settled down to shoeing farm
horses and mules, repairing reapers
and mowers, and doing odd jobs OF
all kinds. Prices were better then
than they are now, and the country
had some cash in IT. l did well and
laid by little capital.
zone day an old fellow living way
up the mountain came into my shop
with a bayonet in his hand. On the
other arm was little basket Of nice
white eggs.
"'Cap,' he said, as he laid the bayo-
net on the anvil, my unyin patch Is
all gormed up with weeds and filth.
an eff yo' could on'y jest make me
leetle narrer hoe outen this baynet
fer this yere mess O. eggs, l reckon
I'd hev a right good chance of UNI
yins.'"
81 took the bayouet and hit II tap
against the anvil and Il rang like
bell. There wns the best of steel In
It and knew / could make a first
class hoe out of 1t. had seen any
number of bayonets, army muslkets
and swords kicking around in that
country, but 1 had never thought OF
using them for anything before. /
stuck the bayonet into the fire and
in n few minutes l made a very pref
ty little onion hoe for the old man.
cut off about two-thirds Of the steel.
then bent the rest around nearly
square with the ferrule and flattened
; il out into a nice sharp blade an inch
wide. The ferrule left untouched SO
that the hoe handle could be put into
II. There happened to be an old ham
I die standing in the corner Of the shop.
and put It In for the old man. II
-trr1,k Il l.a ffaa
garden weapon you ever saw. The old
fellow was delighted. A few hours
later he came in again and told me
= how the hoe worked. lie said il was
= so light, so thin and so sharp and
8 strong that it was play to hoe onions
something that had always heard be-
fore this was the hardest kind Of
work.
what he said set me to thinking
If a bayouet made such a good onion
S hoe why was there not a field for max
q Ing them on a large scale? The bayo-
: nets were to be had in quantity and
there were people enough raising on
ions. In a few days a neighbor of the
old man came into the shop with a
? bayonet and said he wanted a hoe
g made out Of H. Several others fol
4 lowed his example in the next month
r or so and bayonet hoes came TO be
q known and generally used in that re
!, gion. put up notice in several pos
Offices around there that I would pay
9 five cents apiece for bayonets. They
y came in by hundreds. In spare tins
II I made them up into hoes, which
is finished off as nicely as knew how
"a Then / put little advertisement In thu
; country paper and finally another II
:. an agricultural paper, and the order
= began to pour in on me. l charged
% 35 cents apiece for the hoes, and as /
n. did not take over five minutes to max
j. one, when / was making them II
Ye quantity. / estimated that there wa
n at least % cents profit on each hoe
N | had no discount to make to the trade
- 1 sold every hoe myself and got al
the profit myself. The trade increase
ID until bayonets began to get scarce an
x I had TO offer seven, eight and finall
ten cents for bayonets and they wer
slow to come in at that figure. Blu
for a year or two l sold the hoes b
hundreds and I got very we'll flxe
financially. In my advertisement G
Isl course I alluded to the Biblical MOTTO
IN OF beating swords into plowshares an
& shears into pruning hooks. This wa
elk very fetching with all sorts Of goo
~ people. and a good many, l supposi
= bought my hoes not only because the
g" were a frst-class article. but as relic
Of the war. Some of those bayonei
nd had no doubt pierced some poor fe
n.y. lows vitals. and let his life blood OF
ay upon the greensward on the battl
81 fields Of the south. 1t is good to thin
p. that the use put them to was MOI
ns peaceful and useful to mankind
-. Washington Star.
re MIckey's Victory.