Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-19

was $40. limitations. made abroad
could be Secured for as low as IS, blu
they could In no way compare witt
the genuine Deringer.
The fame of h Bowie knife Is a
wide as was that of the old time p
inch Roman sword.
Two states-TenneEsee and Mary
land-claim the birthplace Of the in
ventor. John Bowie. and the question
has never beer quite settled. But h'
gave h name to a weapon as deadll
as any that has ever been forged from
steel
When Louisiana became a state tn,
old Spanish and French records Great
ed a great deal Of trouble 1t FIRE.
quently happened that a planter whC
had taken up a large tract of land
and fairly opened II out as a planta-
ton, would learn hat It was claimed
by some one under an old colonial
grant. James Eowie was a very fire.
quent claimant under these old laws.
Several capitalists OF the time had
sent him 10 Havana, where the old
papers Of the Spanish colony OF
Louisiana We're kept and caused care
ful transcripts Of these 10 be made.
They appointed him as their agent to
put them into possession OF these
properties. In those early days II did
not take much p~roVocation TO bring
on "a personal encounter as a fight
to the death was euphoniousiy cnti-
tied. A man who had been to the
trouble OF opening up an estate only
to find II claimed by a lot of people
he did not know, was generally ready
% ftgnt tor IT.. whether "A fight would
settle the question or not.
The consequence of this state Of
things was that James Bowie n his
W brothers, stephen and Rein Bow
f., 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
We're flint locks, i~nconvenient to carry
and not very reliable. So the knife
had to be used when one wanted a
really trusty weapon. James Bowie
worked out with a pocket knife ana
single his idea Of a weapon that
the business he had in hand, and it
was made by the local blacksmith al
La. About 1880, however,
Bowie heard Of a New Orleans cutler,
Il Spaniard named Pedro, who was
making knives Of a wonderful kind
and temper. They could be driven
through a silver dollar without dam
ige 10 the pOlnt OF edge. Inns hiiiSl
made Bowie a knife winch was a mar
vel Of beauty and temper. The blade
was nine inches long The handle
six inches. This weapon
was used by Bowie in nineteen en-
counters. and il was the one found in
his stiffening hand when, with six
lead Mexieans about him, showing
he evidence Of his fatal skill, he was
'ound dead at the Alamo.
BOwie's method of using the knife
vas one peculiar To himself. He did
rot hold Il In his hand with the
point downward, but grasped the
handle as a swordsman would grasp
he hilt OF his sword. He always
truck at the neck of his man. In the
most famous of his battles, the n
ought on NatcheZ island. on the Mis-
river, he Killed two men with
lis knife. In this fight there were
even men engaged. one OF them was
Madison Wells. known
throughout the country as president
Il the Louisiana returning board OF
g76-77. Bowie vas very dangerous
v wounded, but managed to recover
Bowie weighed lao pounds when at
lis prime. He vas a quiet, so~tt-votc-
d man, who never drank nor dissi-
,ated in any way, He possessed enor-
nous physical strength for his size,
nd was as qoisk and 1.-THE as a Wild
It and as game. Bowie was the ter
or OF all the hard cases" from
.ouisvllle to Aew orleans.