3. (American thieves’.)—A weapon used by desperadoes, and also by the
police when apprehending violence or dangerous resistance on the part
of the former when pursued. The construction of a billy varies, but
usually it is composed of a piece of untanned cowhide, as hard as horn
itself, some six inches in length, twisted or braided into a sort of
handle, and covered from end to end with woollen cloth. One extremity
is loaded with three quarters of a pound of lead; to the other is
firmly attached a loop, large enough to admit a man’s hand, formed of
strong linen cord, and intended to allow the billy to hang loose from
the wrist, and at the same time prevent it being lost or wrenched from
the grasp of its owner. At close quarters, it proves a very savage and
formidable arm of defence, resembling, but being much more dangerous
than the ordinary slung-shot in use by policemen and others. Twelve
ounces of solid lead and raw-hide, dashed against the thickest skull by
a strong armed ruffian, would as effectually silence a man as an ounce
of the same metal discharged from the bore of a Springfield rifle. It
may be remarked that billy in English slang is a policeman’s staff, a
very different weapon.
1888. Daily Inter-Ocean, Ap. 4. The condition of the man reported
as having been shot twice in the head on Thursday afternoon, is not
at all alarming. It transpires that his wounds are not of the
gun-shot sort, but were inflicted with a billy in the hands of a
Pinkerton man.