The Dickinson press., 1904-09-10
THE BOWIE KNIFE.
TRUE STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THIS
FAMOUS WEAPON.

~ "A0 nAuuo O~"G8 0AnCAl -
Warrington Blacksmith, who Had
= Great Reputation as . Knife
maker.
Here is the true story Of the bowie
knife and its inventor, James Black.
The narrative was written by Dan w.
Jones, former governor of Arkansas
and scion of one Of the oldest and
most respected families Of Arkansas.
It was written originally as a chapter
for the novel of southwestern pioneer
life, aaron Clark" written by the late
Colonel ]. N. Smithee, veteran jour-
nalist of Little Rock, who, weary Of
life and its ills, sent bullet crashing
through his brain while his fellow
townsmen were celebrating the nations
natal day, 1902. Here Is Ex-Governor
Jones' story Of the origin of the bowie
knife:
James Black was born in village
in the state of New Jersey May /, 1900.
His mother having died when he was
quite young, his father married wom-
an with whom James could not agree
At the early age Of eight years he ran
away from home and went to Philadel-
phia, where he was apprenticed to
manufacturer of silver plated ware
named Henderson, an act subsequently
approved by James father. At the
time of being apprenticed James did
not know his age, and judging from his
size he was placed in the indenture at
eleven years. Some years afterward,
upon a visit to his old home after his
fathers death, he discovered his true
age In the family Bible, but did not
disclose the fact to his master. Conse-
Quently his apprenticeship expired in
1919, when he was only eighteen in
stead of twenty-one years old. ="
On returning to Washington he open
cd blacksmith shop and soon had all
the work he could do At that time
Washington was frontier settlement,
and nearly all the men went armed,
the weapon most relied upon being the
knife. All kinds Of characters went
there, the most desperate Of despera-
does as we'll as men Of gentle mold,
but all understood that each man must
look out for himself. Finding the de-
mand for the knives being so great,
Black applied himself largely to manu-
featuring them, and especially to tenn
pering the steel of which they were
made. It soon became known that his
knives were the best that could be OBJ
tained, and his reputation spread far
and wide. The shape Of the knife was
according to the taste Of the person
ordering it, It being the custom for
each man to furnish the pattern, made
of wood or pasteboard, Of the exact
size and shape Of the knife wanted.
Blacks experience as a silver platter
during his apprenticeship enabled him
to plate his knives, either with silver
or gold, when required by the pur-
chaser, which gave them an additional
charm and higher price. 1t was his
rule, after tempering and shaping a
knife and before polishing 1t, to cut
very hard wood with it, generally an
old hickory AK handle which had been
used for long time and had become
quite tough and hard. This he would
do for half hour, and then If the
knife would not easily shave the hair
| from his arm he would throw it away.
His knives ranged in price from S. to
! $50 each, the price varying according
to the quantity Of gold or silver used
in plating, the five dollar knife having
no plating at all; but the temper Of
each was the same, each being SUBJ
mitted to the severe test above men
toned.
About 1888 or 1884, perhaps little
earlier, James Bowie went to Washing
ton and gave Black an order for a
knife, furnishing a pattern and desir.
ing it to be made within the following
sixty or ninety days, when he would
call for it. Black made the knife ac-
cording to Bowie's pattern. He knew
Bowie we'll and had a high estimation
Of him as a man Of good taste as well
as unf1inching courage. He had never
made knife which suited his own
taste in point of shape and concluded
this to be good opportunity to do So.
Consequently after completing the
knife ordered by Bowie he made anoth-
or and when Bowie returned showed
them both to him and explained the
difference between them, at the same
+imo giving him his choice at the same