Bowie-Armed Burglar in New York City

This story about a New York City burglar armed with a bowie knife was published in the New York Times, August 7, 1860:

Police Reports.
ARREST OF AN ALLEGED BURGLAR--DEADLY ASSAULTS.
On the night of the 28th of February last, the dwelling house and liquor-shop of Frank Hughes, No. 103 Cherry street, was burglariously entered by means of false keys, and robbed of  $350 in bank bills and gold coin. The burglar, who is alleged to be Pat Conway, was seen in the act of breaking into the premises by a woman named Mary Johnson, but before she could sound the alarm and get help, Conway had escaped with the treasure. Search was made for the fellow, but he was not seen again till the 30th ult., when James Donovan, of No. 33 Cherry street, met Conway. They had a few words together concerning the burglary, whereupon Conway drew a bowie knife of immense size, with which he struck Donovan across the arm, inflicting a very severe wound. The assailant then escaped, and kept out of the way till Sunday night, when he was arrested by Officer Creighton of the Fourth Ward. The moment he was seized, Conway showed fight, and struck at the officer with the same bowie knife with which he attempted the life of Donovan, but fortunately without doing any damage. He was secured after a severe struggle, and subsequently taken before the magistrate at the Tombs, and committed for a hearing on two charges of assault and battery, and likewise for burglary.

New York Merchant Carried "Huge" Bowie Knife

The next few posts are going to feature accounts of bowie-knife use in the New York City area, just to underscore the fact that it was not exclusively a weapon of the South. The following report is from the Brooklyn Eagle of May 10, 1893:

HE CARRIED A BOWIE KNIFE
William R. Hennig, a diamond importer of 101 West Fourteenth street, New York, was fined $25 by Justice Kavanagh in the Long Island City police court today on a charge of disorderly conduct. Hennig had a dispute with Officer Fitzgerald while going over the Hunter's Point ferry in a carriage Monday night. The officer swore that Hennig tried to strike him with his whip. At the station house a huge bowie knife in a sheath was found concealed on Hennig. The prisoner said he always carried the knife, as he usually had a considerable amount of amount with him.

Here, as in the previous post, we see a bowie knife described as huge. But does the reporter mean huge compared to a small pocket knife, or huge compared to a typical bowie knife, which is understood to be large? If you were referring to a professional basketball player who is six-foot-four, would it make sense to call him "an incredibly tall professional basketball player"? Tall, yes, but not particularly tall within his ranks.

Let's face it: then as now, reporters do not hesitate to sling adjectives around in order to lend drama to an otherwise mundane story. The most common adjectives associated with the bowie are "huge," "foot-long," "razor-sharp," "glittering," "wicked," and "murderous-looking," but I have occasionally read articles that describe a man as being armed with "a small bowie knife." That's an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp."