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[Rsmyth]

Hello Gene, prior to the raid John Brown had almost 1,000 "pikes" (long handled with a bowie knife blade on the end) made for distribution to the expected slaves that would join his raid. Each one was numbered. These relics were sought after as souvenirs of the historic event. Virginia fire-eater and slave holder Edmund Ruffin sent one to each governor of southern states with a note saying this is what you can expect from the abolitionists. I wondered how many survived and where they were. Turns out quite a few and some have great stories behind them.