Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15
The Sword May Well Be Called the
Universal Weapon.
EARLY STYLES WERE MADE OF WOOD
Have Figured in Conflicts in All
Parts of the World.
DUR RING THE CRUSADES
From the Philadelphia Times.

peared in every part OF the world. Some
OF its forms. however. are very different
from those with which we are familiar-so
much so that We should scarcely recognize
| the true character of the weapon at first
! glance.
Indeed. 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 evidently
the result or an attempt to improve upon
/ the war club. They are more or less pad
die shaped. and are brought TO a keen
edge, which is fre-hardened. Their cleav-
ing power in the hands of a stalwart and
| skillful savage is far beyond what -,t.h,
De expected, and is increased by the fire.
| quent use of drawing cut" Sttu wood
Is easily blunted, and all sorts of exner5-
| ments have been tried with q view f., oct
| 1iiiS more refractory edge. One deytca
| Nds 20 insert rows of sharks teeth firmly
,ll,e SiS but this ugly lighting tool was
| ,ii'te IKE rlp-saW than a true sword A
| better weapon was made nv aruing ~
| edge with razor-like flakes of fint 3, in
lne wood. These gave an edge like broken
mat may be. The best example OF his
| style is the masouahuilt" formerly usad
| py certain Mexican tribes: and with a. NO
are told, they could sometimes sever a
4
| effective sword ever constructed ont OF am
maternal inferior to tempered metal
Among the EARLY Greeks.
Inc first swords of metal were not at
| all satisfactory. AS iron was scarce and
| copper was altogether too soft bronze was
used out this, Ii made hard enough to
cut became brittle. Such were the swords
| OF the early Greeks, and the stories of the
| combats in which they were used show
| mat they often shattered when a heavy
| dow was struck against shield or helmet
Yet We are told that when Ajax was do
iehuins ms ships, almost single-handed
py thrustlng back the Trojans with a long
| lance, one blow of the sword Of 9ac,or
cIeIt the brazen head from the tough shan
mo easy task even for a sword of steel
II Is NOT hkely that any such feat was
ever performed with a blade of bronza
| except IN the heroic dreamland of the poets
Inc sword was never of much account
among the Greeks anyhow; their weapon
| OF war was the spear
The Romans however wera ra,l s-,.,-s
men They wanted no fifteen-foot mole he
| tween themselves and the enemy: their
euIel ueslre was 10 come to close quarters
WITH weapon bearing considerable re-
semblance to the modern bowie knife Tbay
were accustomed to strike with the noinf
which was broad and keen rather than 70
s sd WIN the edge. This, in general, is
the most effective way for men on foot
experts nave remarked that thrust kills
"hlIe slash merely wounds; but there
are notable exceptions, as we shall see
t tnese roman weapons had well tempered
niades, which gave them a decided adyan-
tage over some of their enemies-as for
instance the Gauls, who often used iron 50
SoII that the blade bent in striking and
had TO be Strengthened with the foot This
L suppose means that the soldier had 10
draw back, lay his sword on the ground
ana step on ii. After this operation had
peen many times repeated the weapon must
Malay creese. 80
1t is in the medieval period that we find
the most wonderful stories about the sword
which was in great favor with the kniehts
and plays all sorts Of incredible nranks in
ohe tales of chivalry. These famous
weapons had names and pedierees and
~ eqoeuty were scarcely less renowned
'ldh the warriors who yielded them
Swords of the Crusader.
The swords of these crusaders were for
'iie most part two-edged, straight and mas
slve, while the scimeter of the Saracens
was light, much curved and of more than
razor's keenness and temper The Euro
pean sword was chiefly used for a straight
chop downward. but for the scimeter
what is called 'slicing cut" was prefer
red. The characteristic difference in the
style and handling of the two weapons il
Wen shown in the familiar story of the
friendly contest between Saladin and King
hlchard The latter laid a heavy mace
on block and severed the thick steel shat
with one sweep of his huge blade The
oeft Saracen then drew the up-turned edge
OF MS sclmeter through gossamer veil
noating through the air and with a oliicl
turn of the wrist divided one of the nil
lows lying on the divan. Neither tool could
possibly have done the work OF the other
In naval warfare today, as the thickness
OF the steel plates which guard the yitals
OF our battle ships is increased it becomes
necessary to use stronger cannon and
ne = Affa TRss.
OF the armor worn by men was gradually
increased, it was found necessary TO in
crease the weight of the weapons used TO
cleaVe It, Hence, along with the battle-ax
and mace, huge two-handed swords came
into vogue-and these ponderous imnIa
ments. some Of which have been preserved.
taSuc tales cited above Only a trained ath
lete could possibly brandish them and the
blows they dealt must have fallen like the
stroke OF triphammer.
The Art of Fencing.
AT last however, the introduction of gum
powder made an end of the wearing of ar
NOR and the bearing of shields Then new
style of weapon became fashionable-the
ouellng sword. used only for thrusting-
and with 1t came what was called 1.-THE new
poklng light OF the rapier and dagger" The
dagger, held in the left hand, was at first
used for parrying, but was soon discarded.
the needle-pointed blade of the rainier he
coming both sword and shield In the CRASH
OF an expert. This art of fencing seems 10
have originated in Spain, but italy soon
took the lead. with France as a close rival
Still, the saber, with its slashtng edge
was by no means wholly superseded; il held
It's own for many purposes, and especiaIiv
Tor use In cavalry charges. 1t was with a
blade of this kind that sturdy old Miles
Standish is said to have struck off the head
OF an lndlan, who treacherously attacked
MIN during a conference.
Wonderful Experfnes..
Some of the most wonderful swordsmeu
In the world are found in the orient, and
notably among these are the wiry little
Gurkas of India The sword they use is
quite unlike anything to be seen elsewhere.
The "kukri'-for that is the name they
give it's short, heavy and much bent,
with the cutting edge on the inner side Of
the curve, like a sickle. Its blow is usually
delivered from below upward, with the
drawing cut"
These brave and clever dwarfs are now
stanch allies of the English but formerly
gave them much trouble. They would
charge In irregular squads hard to repel by
musketry, dive under the bayonets, -ip.up-
ward with the kukri and then dart away
leaving their victim almost split in HAYES