The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-28
SWORDS In ALL AGES
IN EARLY TIMES THEY WE'RE
MADE OF VERY HARD
WOOD
sAvAGEs. STILL USE THEM

Blades often Shattered in Combat
by Very Heavy BIOw-Weapons
Carried Were DOubIe-Edged-
Some Stories of SwOrdsmanship
Are of Doubtful Authenticity
Fencing Is Out of Date.
VI all the weapons used by man the
sword is the most universal. It's begin
nings are older than history, and it has
appeared in every part of the world
Some of its forms, however, are very diff
ferent from those with which we are ia
miliar-so much so that we should scarce
ly recognize the character of the weapon
at first glance, says the philadelphia
Times
1hoeed, the earliest swords were not
made OF any kind of metal but of hard
heaVy wood-a style which has persisted
among saVages in remote regions until
very recent times. Such swords are evil
IDENTIFY the result Of an attempt to i'm
prove upon the war club. They are more
or less paddle-shaped, and are brought
to keen edge, which Is fire-hardened
Aheir -cleaVlng power in the hands of
stalwart and skillful savage is far be-
You'd what might be expected and is in
creased by the frequent use Of a draw
ing cut Still. wood is easily blunted
ana all sorts of experiments have been
tried with view to getting a more re-
Lractory edge. One device was TO insert
rows or sharks teeth, firmly embedded
Dut this ugly fighting tool was more like
rlp-SaW than true sword A hettar
weapon was made by arming the edge
Win razor-like flakes of flint set in III.
WOOD. These gave an edge like broken
glass; and every boy knows how lrae,,
that may be. The best examn1a Of +.iz
styIe is the 'masquahuiIt." formerly used
~ Gel tam Mexican tribes, and with it. we
'oi0' lhey could sometimes sever
Ae1 arm at one stroke. 1t was the most
eHectlVe sword ever constructed out of
any material inferior to tempered metal
METAL SWORDS NOT LIKED
Inc hrst swords of metal were NOT ~
all satisfactory. AS iron was scaroa o,a
copper was altogether too soft bronze
was used, but this, If made hard anopgh
70 cut became brittle Such were tha
swords OF the early Greeks and the sto-
res OF the combats in which thew vraro
USED showed that they often -sha+ +araI
wnen heavy blow was struck against
snleId or helmet. Yet we are told that
"hen AJAX was defending his ships al
most slngle-handed by thrusting back
the Tfojans with a long lance. one bIov
OF the sword of Hector cleft the brayen
mead from the tough shaft-no EASY task
even Tor sword of steel It is not likely
tnat any such feat was ever performed
with blade of bronze, except in the he
role dreamland of the poets. The sword
was never Of much account among the
greeks, anyhow, their weapon of war was
the spear
The Romans, however, were real
swordsmen. They wanted no 6fteen-foct
pole between themselves and the enemy;
their chief desire was to come to close
quarters, with "a weapon bearing consider
able resemblance to the modern bowie
knife. They were accustomed to strike
with the point, which was broad and
keen, rather than to slash with the edge.
This, in general, is the most effective way
for men on foot. Experts have remarked
that thrust kills, while a slash merely
wounds; but there are notable exceptions
as we shall see. These Roman weapons
had we'll tempered blades, which gave
them a decided advantage over some of
their cnemies-as, for instance the GauIs
who often used iron so soft that the
blade bent in striking and had to be
Strengthened with the foot This, 1 sup
pose, means that the soldier had to draw
back, lay his sword on the ground and
step on it. After this operation had been
many times repeated the weapon must
have presented as wavy an outline as a
Malay creese.
TALES OF CHIVALRY
It is in the medieval period that we
find the most wonderful stories about the.
sword, which was in great favor with the
knights and plays all sorts Of incredible
pranks in the tales of chivalry. These IA
nous weapons had names and pedigrees,
and frequently were scarcely less re-
nowned than the warriors who welded
them.
The swords of these crusaders were for
the, most part two-edged, straight and
massive while the scimiter of the Sara
Gems were light, much curved and of
more than raZor's keenneSs and temper
The European sword was mostly used
for a straight chop downward, but for
the scinniter what is called a 'fsIicing CUT
was preferred. The characteristic differ
ence in the style and handling of the two
weapons is we'll shown in the familiar
story of the friendly contest between
SaIadin and King Richard The latter
laid heavy mace on a block and severed
the thick steel with one stroke of his
huge blade. The deft Saracen then drew
the upturned edge of his scimiter through
a gossamer veil floating through the air,
and with quick turn of his wrist divided
one of the pillows lying on the divan Nei-
Their tool could possibly have done the
work of the other.
In naval warfare today, as the thickness
of the steel plates which guard the vitals
of our battle-ships is increased, it be-
comes necessary to use stronger cannon
and heavier projectiles Just so, as the
weight of the armor worn by men was
gradually increased it was found neces-
sary to increase the weight of the
weapon used to cleave it. Hence, along
with the battle-aX and mace, huge two
handed swords came into vogue-and
these ponderous instruments, some of
which have been preserved, make us al
most ready to credit the fantastic tales
cited above. Only trained athlete could
possibly brandish them, and the blows
they dealt must have fallen like the
stroke of a triphammer
AT last, however, the Introduction of
gun-powder made an end of the wearing
Of armor and the bearing Of shields. Then