Albuquerque morning journal., 1907-09-19

was $40. limitations, made abroad,
could be secured for as low as SIS, but
they could In no way compare with
the genuine Deringer.
The fame OF the Bowie knife is as
wide as was that of the old time 22-
inch Roman sword.
Two states-Tennessee and Mary
land--ciaim the birthplace of the in
ventor. John Bowie. and the question
has never been quite settled. But he
gave the name to a weapon as deadly
as any that has ever beeh forged from
steel
When Louisiana became state the
old Spanish and French records Great
ed great deal Of trouble. 1t fire.
quently happened that a planter VINO
had taken up large tract of land
and fairly opened it out as a planta-
tion, would learn that it was claimed
by some one under an old colonial
grant James Bowie was a very fire.
quent claimant under these old laws.
Several capitalists of the time had
sent him to Havana, where the old
papers of the Spanish colony of
Louisiana were kept and caused care
full transcripts of these to be made.
They appointed him as their agent to
put them into possession of these
properties. In those early days 1t did
not take much provocation 10 bring
on "a personal encounter" as fight
to the death was euphoniousiy enti-
tied A man who had been to the
trouble Of opening up an estate only
to find II claimed by lot of people
he did not know, was generally ready
TO fight Tor it. whether fight would
settle the question or not.
The consequence of this state or
things was that James Bowie and his
two brothers, stephen and Rein Pow
lie. had on hand almost constantly
some sort of difficulty that had to
be fought out with deadly weapons
This was before the days when the
percussion cap was in general use
and the smaller pistols Of the period
were flint locks, inconvenient to carry
and not very reliable. SO the knife
had to be used when one wanted
really trusty weapon. James Bowie
worked out with pocket knife and
shingle his idea of a weapon that
would be about the proper thing for
the business he had in hand, and It
was made by the local blacksmith at
shreveport, La. About 1880, however,
Bowie heard of q New Orleans cutler.
Spaniard named Pedro, who was
making knives of wonderful Kind
and temper. They could be driven
through a silver dollar without dam
age to the point or edge. This artist
made Bowie a knife winch was mar
vel of beauty and temper. The blade
was nine inches long. The handle
measured six inches This weapon
was used by Bowie in nineteen en-
counters, and it was the one found in
his stlffening hand when, with six
dead Mexicans about him, showing
the evidence of his fatal skill, he was
found dead at the Alamo.
Bowie's method Of using the knife
was one peculiar to himself. He did
not hold it in his hand with the
point downward, but grasped the
handle as a swordsman would grasp
the hiit of his sword. He always
struck at the neck of his man. In the
most famous of his battles, the one
fought on Natchez island, on the Mis-
.issipp river. he killed two men with
his knife. In this fight there We're
seven men engaged. One of them was
James Madison Wells, known
throughout the country as president
Of the Louisiana returning board OF
I876-77 Bowie was very dangerous
ly wounded, but managed to recover.
Bowie weighed lao pounds when at
his prime. He was quiet. soft-voic-
ed man, who never drank nor dissi-
pated in any way. He possessed enor-
nous physical strength for his size,
nd was as quick and 1.-THE as a Wild
Il and as game. Bowie was the ter
ror Of all the "hard cases" from
Louisville to New Orleans