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N0KFQ > TODAY 19.09.14 16:05l 37 Lines 1612 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36232_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Sep 19
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<OK0NBR<PY1AYH<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DB0ANF<CX2SA<VE9MPF<
N0KFQ
Sent: 140919/1355Z 36232@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Sep 19, 1827:
Jim Bowie stabs a Louisiana banker with his famous knife
After a duel turns into an all-out brawl on this day in 1827, Jim
Bowie disembowels a banker in Alexandria, Louisiana, with an
early version of his famous Bowie knife. The actual inventor of
the Bowie knife, however, was probably not Jim Bowie, but rather
his equally belligerent brother, Rezin Bowie, who reportedly came
up with the design after nearly being killed in a vicious knife
fight.
The Bowie brothers engaged in more fights than the typical
frontiersman of the day, but such violent duels were not uncommon
events on the untamed margins of American civilization. In the
early nineteenth century, most frontiersmen preferred knives to
guns for fighting, and the Bowie knife quickly became one of the
favorites. Rezin Bowie had invented such a nasty looking weapon
that the mere sight of it probably discouraged many would-be
robbers and attackers. Designs varied somewhat, but the typical
Bowie knife sported a 9- to 15- inch blade sharpened only on one
side for much of its length, though the curved tip was sharpened
to a point on both sides. The double-edged tip made the knife an
effective stabbing weapon, while the dull-edge combined with a
brass hand guard allowed the user to slide a hand down over the
blade as needed. The perfect knife for close-quarter fighting,
the Bowie knife became the weapon of choice for many westerners
before the reliable rapid-fire revolver took its place in the
post-Civil War period.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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