Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1915-09-21
NOT A BAD MAN.
Inventor of Deadly Knife Was
Peaceful.
Col. James Bowie Never Desperate
Though He Lived in Wild Region
Where Every Man Had to
Protect Himself.

The bowie knife is an invention
the average reader. for it is an in
strument for which he has but little
use, hut to the huntsman and to the
person who requires such a large
weapon, it is invaluable The shape
of this knife has an interesting his
tory connected with it.
In the early years of the republic
the use of large and effective knife
was an absolute necessity, especially
along the frontier. Ii was formed
from a suggestion made by James
Bowie, who was one of the most no
torious of the frontiersmen of the
Southwest early in the past century
In his young days Bowie lived in
Louisiana, where his time was spent
in numbering, fishing and hunting
Also in dealing in slaves. The wild
and uncultured location of that period
was frequently the scene of brawls.
in which James Bowie always took a
first hand 1t is said that Bowie in
vented the knife that bears his name
while confined to his bed as the re-
suit of wound received in some such
brawl
Being a man of considerable me.
chanical ingenuity, he whitfield from
piece of white pine the model OF
hunting knife, which he sent to two
brothers named Blackman, in the city
of Natchez, and told them to spare no
expense in making for him a duplicate
of the pattern in steel This was the
origin of the dreaded Bowie knife. Ii
was made from large sawmill file
and had a two-edged blade nine
inches long. of family curved outline
and thick enough at the back where
it joined the handle to serve for stur-
dy hammering. Bowie had a neat
spring sheath made to inclose the
knife. This he wore constantly at his
belt.
The inventor found himself con
stantly in need of his weapon. One
of his fiercest neighbors was a Span
lard, who repeatedly annoyed the
colonel with petty insults. At last
his conduct became so unbearable that
Bowie challenged him In accepting
the hidalgo named knives as the
weapons to be used and also stipu.
lated that the combatants were to be
seated face to face astride a trestle,
the four legs of the trestle to be bur
led about foot in the earth so that
it could not by any possible means be
overturned.
Each of the principals was permit
ted to use whatever kind Of knife he
might select. When the combatants
met Bowie's knife excited the ridi.
cule of his adversary. The result, how
ever, proved the superiority of the
bowie" over the long Spanish hunt
ing knife worn by his adversary The
men took their seats on a trestle, both
naked to the waist At signal the
Spaniard drew back his arm to make
a lunge. Bowie at once thrust his
knife straight forward into his adver-
sary's body and killed him instantly.
Bowie presented the knife used in this
duel TO Edwin Forrest, who always
wore II Wnen ne played MetamoTa.
The inventor had many other seri-
Gus encounters, until his name and his
knife were notorious. II sprang into
such immediate popularity that lock
smiths worked day and night forging
and shaping them.
Finally things became so warm in
Louisiana that Bowie emigrated to
Texas, where he married the daughter
Of an ex-governor of that state. When
Texas declared for independence
Bowie accepted a commission as
colonel in the insurgent army and
closed his career March 6, 1886, at the
bloody battle of the Alamo.
In spite Of the notoriety that Bowie
gained from his numerous deadly en-
counters. there lie no known instance
where James Bowie was the origina.