Albuquerque morning journal., 1907-09-19
The Deringer and the
Bowie Knife.

Two of the most deadly weapons
ever invented are the Deringer and
the Bowie knife. Once they were the
most popular arms in the southern
states, and from 1870 to 1855 the
Deringer was a part of every south
ern gentleman's personal equipment
Usually he had pair of them and
they were called bone breakers"
They were intended for close quar-
ters. and at twenty PAGES their bull
let's would smash an arm or leg into
splinters. Hardly more than three
inches In the barrel, and carrying
about sixty bullets to the pound by
reason of the peculiarity in the man
ner of boring and the arrangement Of
the powder chamber, no other small
pistol ever drove a ball with such
terrible power and deadly effect
The wonderful little Deringer be.
came world renowned. In every sec
ton Of the continent and every coun-
try of Europe the Deringer became a
household symbol of safety. which has
given the name a place In history. II
has been the unerring arbiter i'm duels
and encounters the most fatal Meme
sis I'm the hands of retribution, the
most pitiless harbinger of revenge
and hate, the most unfaltering ally of
justice or of crime the world has ever
seen. II was a bullet from one of
these deadly weapons that crashed
through the brain of President Lin
coin and plunged a nation into grief
Booth selected the Deringer as the
surest messenger of death, and after
he had fired the fatal shot the pistol
was dropped to the floor in the box
Of the theater. Ii was used against
the conspirators as evidence and IS
now in the possession of the war de
partment.
Wherever the Deringer has been
the messenger of fate to man records
bear witness to the irresistible power
which turks In these light and delhi
cate servants of purple death. Ju't
behind the line which separates the
District of Columbia from Maryla ID.
near the town of Badensburg, Is "A
Sc, luded spot, embowered with trees
and known as Blood Run" whlcl
has witnessed many tragic scenes In
which the Deringer has figured.
About 1880 there lived in Phladel-
phia a gunsmith named Deringer
who was noted for. the exquisite fine
ness of his work on firearms and It's
general excellence. especially In pis-
tolls The flintlock was then used.
lock work had to be done with a great
deal of care. In 1888 the contract
was LET by the government for the
pistols with which 10 arm the First
regiment of Dragons. just created by
act of congress. Two thousand hOl-
ster pistols. carrying thirty bullets 20
the pound. were wanted. Deringer
got the contract, and also a contract
for thlrty-six pair of officers pistols
of a finer quality. From that time
until 1860 he was the first small arms
maker In the Unlted States in the
matter of pistols. General John Ma.
gruder, a famous officer of the artil-
lery In the old army and a Confeder-
ate major general. owned the finest
and most elaborate pair Of pistols
that Deringer ever turned out They
had two sets OF barrels fitted TO each
stock. One set was four inches and
the other six inches in length. Each
carried sixty bullets TO the pound.
The pistols were gold-mounted. with
beautiful Inlaid work, wherever II
could be placed, In silver and gold.
The locks were made by Brazler. the
foremost maker of gunlocks In Eng
land. and they cost $50 alone. Cap
tain Magruder said that these Derln-
gers had saved his life three times
with them he could cut the spots out
OF the four Of spades at twelve PAGES.
The cost Of these pistols could not
have been less than 1875. They were
presented to the captain when he
went to Mexico to take command OF
his battery Of the First artillery.
Another costly PER OF Derlngers
was presented to General Beaure-
gard late In 1860 by q creole gentle
man OF New Orleans. They were
equally as pretty as those OF Captain
Magruder In those days these pls-
tols--now known az the Deringer--
were not sold singly. but only IN pairs.
and The cost OF the cheapest make