"Handy-Billy?" Topic

I was reading a 1908 newspaper article involving one of my distant cousins, who lived in Stowe Township, PA, in what is now McKees Rocks.

He was mugged on his way home:

One of the men kicked him in the side while his companion is said to have struck him on the head with a handy-billy.

(Second time he was mugged at the same two guys!)

What's a handy-billy? I was thinking billy club, but that doesn't seem to be it. A handy-billy is also a naval pump, but that seems an odd choice of weapon. Any ideas?

A handy billy is also a name for a block and tackle type set up. Maybe he hit him with a block. I did think a billy (can) but that doesn't sound right.

Perhaps they are talking about a "billy club"? Being hit by something similar to a police night stick would make sense. Merriam Webster notes a use of the term "billy" to describe a policeman's baton, "police officers carry a billy while patrolling on foot." A "handy billy" could simply be any club-like implement that was close at hand.

My first thought is that it is something concealable like a sap. A small club or leaded weight that could easily be pulled out of a pocket and used to knock someone in the head.

Who knew?

RecoilWeb – Slapjacks and Saps

Appear to deliver a hefty whack – without breaking bones.

>>"But "billy" is an old name given to an old wooden police tool, while the collapsible metal baton is a modern police invention. What the instrument or weapon that is commonly known as a "billy" looks like is not at all clear at this point in history, as both the term and the tool have gone out of style."<<
PDF link

My guess is a small weighted or wooden baton easily used by hand.

Stoppage +1

"Why no, officer, this isn't a billy club. Doesn't everybody carry soap-on-a-rope?"

;-)

In WWII, a handy-billy is a 250-lb gasoline-powered portable water pump, used for damage control on USN ships. Getting hit on the head with one of those would not be a happy thing.