The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-13
A GOLD HUNTERS CLOSE GALL.
His Liberty Secured by the skilllul
Use OF Glass Eye

CBe Oh Il GlaSS rye.
From the Butte Miner.
During 1S9l-'92 Mr.. Rowe resided in the
Black range country, New Mexico, and
while there had about as close call from
death at the hands of Apache Indians as
any man who ever entered che domain Of
the savage and then came forth with scalp
intact.
Like all others who went TO that locality
while the mineral excitement there was GO
ing 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 aud a gun
over the other and left camp In search Of
the golden treasure, little suspecting that
behind cliff of rocks, almost directly In
his path, lurked the Victoria-Nana combi~
nation Of Apache cut-throats.
With the exception Of the late Geronimo,
who Is now so1ourninR 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 Apache hiefs that ever murdered a
sheep herder or set prairie fire, and to fall
into their clutches was supposed to be sure
death.
AS Rowe sauntered down the gully, pick
ing float rocks as he went, the Indians lay
low, and before he was aware Of their pres
ence he was right among them. OF course,
he was astonished-any one would DO under
the circumstances-ye he neither dropped
dead nor attempted to fight. He stood like
q statue, and the Indians, with guns levsled
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
government and Mexico thrown In.
Rowe acted in such a meek manner with
them and seemed to resign himself to his
fate in such an indifferent way that the red
devils arrived at the conclusion that it
would be no fun to kill him outright that
the cravings of their devilish nature would
be better satisfied il they had tied him TO a
tree and tortured him.
With this amiable design Rowe was tied
up, with his face toward the Indians. For
the purpose of giving him a chance to tear
his hair, however, while the torture was in
progress his arms were not tied.
When all was I'm readiness to begin opera
tons dispute arose among the savages as
to which part of the body would first be
dissected, but at the expiration of q 10
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 tech
knocked out one by one. Each Indian
was in turn to'perform some cruel part, but
Chief Geronimo was to have the pleasure of
gouging out the first eve.
SssJeIking a long, ugly looking knife from
his belt he advanced toward the captive, 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 caisf, with the re-
mark; "Doa'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 paralyzer on the whole band, aud 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 endeavor TO get glimpse of the eye
tn 1T could be lifted out IN such manner.
IL was passed from one TO the other and
commented on, some of the remarks being
funny In the extreme. Finally the CHIEF
took the eye back to Rowe and informed
him that he could put it back again and
make 1t see he would not modest him fur.
Their
With this proposition, Rowe gently lifted
the eye in plain sight of all and replaced it
whereupon be was liberated and told TO &c
his way, the Indians believing that be wa:
something more than a human being. The
eye, however. was glass and is still being
carried by Mr.. Rowe.