The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-12-11
GAVE THEM HIS EYE.
A PrOspectOr Saved His Life from Indians
by His Remarkable Nerve.

PrOspector saved His Life from Indians
by His Remarkable Nerve.
During 1872 Mr.. Rowe resided in
the Black Range country, New Mexico,
and while there had about as close a
call from death at the hands of Apache
Indians as any man who ever entered
the domain of the savage and then came
forth with scalp intact
Like all others who went to that To-
cality while the mineral excitement
there was going on, Mr.. Rowe was
prospecting and made his headquarters
in the little gully leading up from Wild
Horse canyon. One bright morning in
June of 1882, he threw pick over one
shoulder and gun over the other and
left camp in search of the golden treas
ure, little suspecting that behind a cliff
of rocks almost directly in his path
lurked the Victoria Mana combination
of Apache cutthroats. With the eXcep-
ton of the late Geronimo, who is now
sojourning at Fort Marion, Fla, for
acts of deviltry committed while on the
warpath in Arizona and New Mexico,
Victoria and Mana were the most noted
sheep-herder or set prairie fire, and to
fall into their clutches was supposed to
be sure death
AS Rowe sauntered down the gully,
picking float rock as he went, the In
dams lay low, and before he was aware
of their presence he was right among
them. OF course he was astonished-
any one would be under the circum-
stances-yet he neither dropped dead
nor attempted to fight. He stood like
statue, and the Indians, with guns
leveled, moved up and disarmed him
without saying a word. There were
about twenty in the band, which, under
their existing conditions, was sufficient
to whip the whole United States gov
eminent and Mexico thrown in. Rowe
acted in such meek manner with
them and seemed to resign himself to
his fate in such an Indifferent way that
the red devils arrived az the conclusion
that it would be no fun to kill him OUT
right; that the cravings of their devil
ish nature would be better satisfied If
they tied him to tree and tortured
him.
With this amiable design Rowe was
tied mp with his face toward the Indi-
ans. For the purpose of giving him
chance to tear his hair, however, while
the torture was in progress, his arms
were not tied. When all was in readi-
ness to begin operations dispute arose
among the Savages as to which part of
the body would first be dissected, but at
the expiration of a ten-minute debate
the deadlock was broken by Chief Mana
remarking in his native tongue, which
Rowe understands quite WELL that one
eye should first be gouged out, then the
ears cut off, the nose split, and the teeth
knocked out one by one. Each Indian
was in turn TO perform some cruel part
but Chief Geronimo was to have the
pleasure of gougng out the first eye
Jerking long, uGly-loohing knife from
hic belt he advanced toward the cap
tive, but when within two feet of him
Rowe reached up with one hand and
yanked out one of his eyes and tossed
it to the chief with the remark: Don't
put yourself to so much trouble, old
man. Here is an eye for you, and when
you want the other just let me know. "
The action of Rowe in taking out the
eye was a paralyzer on the whole band,
and the chief, who had received the
token, dropped his knife and made a
critical examination of the optic, others
gathering about him in an eager en-
deavor to get a glimpse of the eye that
could be lifted out in such a manner. 1t
was passed from one to the other and
commented on, some of the remarks be-
ing funny in the extreme. Finally the
chief took the eye back to Rowe and
informed him that if he could put it
back again and make it see he would
not modest him further With this prop
osition Rowe gently lifted the eye in
plain sight of all and replaced it, where
upon he was liberated and told to go
his way, the Indians believing that he
was something more than human be-
ing. Yhe eye, however, was glass, and
is still being carried by Mr.. Rowe
Butte Miner