The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-07-08
THE BOWIE XIII
TRUE STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF This
FAMOUS WEAPON.
It Was Mad by James Black, "a
Warrington Blacksmith, who Had
q Great Reputation as a Knife
maker.

Warrington Blacksmith, who Had
. Great Reputation as a Knife
Here is the true story of the bowie
knife and it's inventor, James Black.
The narrative was written by Dan w.
Jones, former governor Of Arkansas
and a scion of one Of the Oldest and
most respected families Of Arkansas.
1t was written originally as a chapter
for the novel Of southwestern pioneer
life, Aaron Clark" written by the late
Colonel j. N. Smithee, a veteran jour-
nalist of Little Rock, who, weary Of
life and it's ills, sent a 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 a village
IN the state of New Jersey May /, 1900.
His mother having died when he was
quite young, his father married a 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 a
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
ed a blacksmith shop and % had all
the work he could do. At that time
Washington was a frontier settlement.
and nearly all the men went armed,
the weapon most relied upon being the
knife. AL kinds of characters went
there, the most desperate of despera-
does as well 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 20 manu-
featuring them, and especially to tenn
pering the steel of which they were
made. 1t soon became known that his
knives were the best that could be OBJ
tanned, and his reputation spread far
and wide. The shape of tho 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 eXac
size and shape of the knife wanted.
Blacks experience as q 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 a higher price. 1T was his
rule, after tempering and shaping a
) knife and before polishing it. to cut
very hard wood with it, generally an
old hickory AK handle which had been
used for a long time and had become
quite tough and hard. This he would
do for a half hour, and then if the
{ knife would not easily shave the halr
from his arm he would throw it away.
2 His knives ranged in price from 50 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 SUB
mitted to the severe test above men
toned.
About 1883 or 1884. perhaps a little
I oo.I;or J,r,aS pnwin wont tn WaShlnU-
ton and gave Black an order for a
: : knife. furnishing a pattern and deslr-
. ing it to be made within the following
sixty or ninety days, when he would
call for it. Black made the knife &C,
cording to Bowie's pattern. He knew
e Bowie well and had a high estimation
Of him asa man OF good taste as wei
I as %unfiinching courage. He had never
! made a knife which suited his own
: taste in point Of shape and concluded
this to be a good opportunity to do so
: Consequently after completing the
4 knife ordered by Bowie he made anoth'
er and when Bowie returned showed
q them both to him and explained the
difference between them, at the same
+ time giving him his choice at the same
price. Bowie promptly selected Blacks
pattern. Shortly after this Bowie be
! came involved in a difficulty with three
!. desperadoes. who assaulted him will
5 knives. He killed them all with the
. knife Black had made. After this
z when any one ordered a knife from
Black. instead Of furnishing a pattern
h as formerly, he would order it to bt
made like Bowie's. which was finally
d. shortened into make me a bowie
knife" Thus this famous weapon &C
9 Quired it's name. Bowie himself wa!
not a mechanic of any kind. He was
killed in the Alamo with Davy Crock
EFT, surrounded by dead Mexicans
whom he had killed with that sam
knife.
Other men made knives in those days
and they are still being made. but NJ