Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1879-12-31
JOE, THE WOLF.
A Tragic Episode Of the Sage Brssh.

| 'TavV SP'sVVo " He SAVo oTuUu-
From the San Francisco Argonaut.l
Battle Mountain, nearly the cen.
tire Of the desert State OF Nevada,
is not particularly attractive vii.
lage. A railroad office and a freight
depot, n row of business houses and
saloons. and a cluster of unpreten.
tions dwellings comprise its extent.
AT the time of which | write, some
five years ago, it WAS q lively burg,
however. and rough one. A small
army of transfers aud miners, and
4 cOterie of three card monte men
who made it their headquarters,
kept the otherwise peaceful village
in terment OF wild excitement.
The course Of these reckless deni-
zens was marked with periodical
shooting scrapes, frequent fistic ell.
counters and continuous drunken
bouts.
HalfdOzing one day in a saloon,
| was aroused by the remark most
emphatically delivered: ats four.
teen inches between my eyes, and |
smell like wolff" The speaker, q
large, magnticently propOrtioned
-uffian, supplemented the peculiar
description OF himself with: "Pards,
come and drink With the excep-
ton of myself every man in the
room gathered around the bar, ad.
dressing the powerful stander of
threats ~ Joe. The glasses were
filed and tipped when he turned
and noticed me. saw the quick,
wicke, flash of anger in his eyes.
After momentary survey he broke
the silence, and this terse dialogue
followed:
eyer from the city, amt yeri"
81 am
"Yer don't know me, do yerr
g" don't
Take drink and get acquaint-
ed, them
"DOn't drink
"Snoke, them
"Don't smoke
"Do yer shOptf'
"Not worth u cOutineutal.o
My Years of assurance, acquired
as correspondent, and my kuowi.
edge ot aggressive characters, did
not prevent me iinm feeling some
uneasi,rss M I observed my inter.
rogator's dexterous fingers slide to
his belt and grab the hilt of his
"whisrlrr." An unpleasant termin.
alton ot the conversation was
avoided hl the strange appearance
OF Womau, who stepped from the
overland train, just then arrived,
and directed her steps toward the
saloon. She WAS rather Il cOmely.
looking female Of thirty eight or
more, and evidently i'll and suffer.
ing from the effects Of an extended
debanch. Joe stared at her as one
looks at the arisen dead for q mo-
nent, and then walked quietly to
the door, threw himself into the
saddle and rode away. As he
passed the women she lifted her
hands imploringly towards him and
fell 10 the earth unconscious. She
was borne " the hotel, and the kind
women of the village did what they
could for her. She spoke no word
when she recovered from her swoOn,
but lay quietly, unmiDdful Of her
life fast ebbing away.
During day ! inquired Of Broken.
nosed Charley, who knew every
body and everything about the
farm, regarding the man Joe.
Charley said that little was known
of him. except that he mined some,
gambled rome, drank like mad,
and altogether VITA had lot. He
had killed two or three men, and
had been shot and cnt himself sew.
eral times. He invariahly preceded
an invitation to imbibe, OF the
shooting Of a msr, by the expires
sion: alta fourteen inches between
my eyes, aud l smell like . WOLF"
From this Mioayncraay and his
blood .thirsty disposition, he was
known aud dreaded q ''The Wolf"
Prudent people, however, addressed
him as Joe. ............
The Wolf returned to town the
next day, and on entering the -
loon from which he had made bis