The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-27

"nOAh were AnOWn as BaO ChaH-
acters-Extraordi Displays
of Reckless BravadO-HistOry of
Dark and Bloody Deeds Closed mt
Danville Recently.
DANVILLE, KY, Feb. 26.-The pass
ing Of John ROwsey, who died at his
home, five miles from Danville, one
night last week, closed the final chap
ter in a remarkable family history Of
dark and bloody deeds. John Rowsey
was one Of the seven boys Of old Jor-
don Rowsey, and was the only one Of
the seven who did not die with his
boots on" The careers Of the other
six were filled with daring deeds Of
outlawry and some extraordinary dis
plays of reckless bravado. running
from the hating Of a freight train by
q single horseman to the barring Of a
breast to the carbine of an unfair foe
The six bad" Rowsey boys were
Jasper, Thomas, Smith. Arch, Cam"
and Gage. Their father, Jordon Row
sey was not a dangerous man, general
ly speaking, but an unpleasant adver-
sary when, aroused He was small in
stature and wiry, and was never known
occasion demanded. upon his hitting
and biting qualities. He had many
quarrels and fist and skull encount-
ers, but SO far as known never "killed
his man.
Jasper was the first of the boys to
gain nOtOriety. He became a terror to
his neighborhood when quite a youth
He Would get drunk, shoot into houses
and, now and then, just for amuse-
mAnf. fire nnOn D6rSOnQ travelling
through the community, secreting him.
self in the hills overlooking the roads.
The family lived in the KNOBS" sew
eral miles back Of Milledgeville, viii
lage about twelve miles south Of Dan
Vile. One day Jasper shot and hit
Squire John Hughes, highly respect
ed citizen Of the community, but the
bullet struck a silver dollar in the
squire's pocket and he escaped injury.
Rowsey said that he was shooting at
another man. Later, in one of his
pranks, he shot and wounded a man
named Oldham. This occurred before
the civil war. Jasper progressed in
his desperate doings, and was finally
arrested and taken to the Stanford Jail
few nights after this mob visited
the prison, took Jasper from the not
unwilling jailer, and swung his body
from neighboring limb, just on &C
count Of general cuSSedneSS."
PASSING OF THOMAS ROWSEY.
The second to die was Thomas, and
his death was tragic. He fell before
the carbine Of Tom Akin. Akin was
Federal soldier, returning home before
the close of the war. Tom Rowsey ono
day went to Milledgeville, loaded up
on mean whisky. bullied Akin, and ran
him out Of town at the point of g. rifle.
dow ~
10 o'clock that morning Tom RoWsey,
then sober, was standing upon the
porch OF a store, in the second story
OF which Sabbath school was in ses-
sion. While standing there Tom Akin
walked UP with a carbine in his hand
and exclaimed:
who says I've got to leave town."
Rowsey saw what Akin was up to,
and said to him:
You've got the drop on me. If you've
got anything against me, Shoot
With this he reached up and pulled
open his shirt, so that his breast made
a target. Akin took deliberate aim
with his carbine and fired. Rowsey
dropped in his tracks, shot through
the heart So great was the feeling
against the Rowseys that Akin was
not arrested for his deed.
This cold blooded act by Akin and
the apparent sanction of it by the peo-
pie of the community enraged the re-
naming members of the Rowsey fam
lily and their friends, and they began
a reign of terror which for years kept
the good people Of West Lincoln ooun-
ty in a constant state of fear and eX-
element. They took special delight
in harassing the Akin family and Their
sympathizers, shooting into their
houses, firing into them from ambush,
etc, until it was dangerous for any
body to venture upon the highway af-
ter dark. This state of affairs finally
eliminated in one of the most terrific
encounters in the history of the fam
lily.
One Saturday morning in the sum-
mer of 1866 Smith Rowsey secreted
himself in barn near the Akin home.
In a short time Tom Akin and his
father came from the front door of
their house and took seats side by side
upon the Stoop. While they We're sit
ting there Smith Rowsey fired upon
them from his hiding place, making a
most singular shot. The bullet first
struck Tom Akin in the neck near the
base of the brain, penetrating the flesh
and-~barely grazing the vertebrae
Passing on, it went through old man
Atkins neck also, and then entered the
door post. Both men recovered, but
decided that such a shot could not be
escaped often, and they moved to
Louisville.
BATTLE AT Russell HOUSE.
That same morning the Rowseys
shot into the house of Martin Russell.
The bullet narrowly missed a sick
daughter. A general attack was ex-
pected. and Russell summoned some
fifteen of his friends to his aid. They
went to his house and remained all
night. The Rowseys looked upon tn 9
as challenge, and they, too, prepared
for war. Blood flowed freely the next
morning, which was Sunday About
Z o'clock, while several of the Russell
party were on the back porch wash
ing their faces, they were fired upon
from an old blacksmith shop some dis
lance away. They hastily re-entered
the house and the battle began in
earnest. The women were put into
the cellar and the men shot at their
foes from the windows.
There We're two crowds of the Row.
seys, one occupying the blacksmith
shop and the other stationed in the sec
ond story of an old mill, the Russell
house between them. Bullets from the
ROWsey guns penetrated the thin walls
of the Russell home, and many narrow
escapes were made. When the ammu-
milton was exhausted and the fighting
ceased it was found that four of the
Rowseys following had received death
wounds, and several others were more
or less injured. The Russell party
escaped fatal hurts. None of the Row
sey boys was killed in the enga cement,
although Cam was shot through and
through. A silk handkerchief was run
through his body to permit the escape
of the poisonous blood. and he lived
to become bad man later in life.
1t was not long after this until Smith
RoWSeY fell. He was an expert rifle