Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-11-13
JOE, THE WOLF.
A Tragic Episode Of the Sage Brush.
r4RY MARINER 7. KENT.


tween my eyes, and I smell like wolf!
The speaker, a large, magnihcently pro
porti0ned rufian, supplemented the pc
culiar description of himself with, "Pards
come an drink2" With the exception @
, myself, every man in the room gathered
around the bar, addressing the powerful
stander OF treats as Joe. The glasse
were filled and tipped, when he turned
and noticed me. saw the quick, wick
ed fash OF anger in his eyes. After
momentary survey, he broke silence, ant
this tcrse dialogue followed:
eyer from tho city, amt yere'
81 am.'
"Yer don't know me, do yer?'
vi don't"
"Take drink an git acquainted, them
"Don't drink"
"Smoke, then"
"Dont smoke
"Do yer shoot?''
"Not worth continental"
My years OF assurance acquired as &
cores pondent, ana my knowledge of ag
gressivc characters did not prevent me
Of feeling some uneasiness as I observed
my interrogater's dextrous fingers slide
to his belt and grasp the hilt ofhis whis
tier. An unpleasant termination of the
conversation was avoided by the appear
ance of a woman, who stepped from the
overland train, just then arrived, and di.
rected her steps toward the saloon. She
was rather comely looking female OF
thirty-eight or more, and evidently ill
and suffering from the effects of an ex.
tended debauch. Joe stared at her, as
one Looks at the arisen dead for moment
and tbcn walked quickly to the door
threw himself into the saddle, and rode
away. As he passed the woman, she lift.
ed her hands imploringly toward him
and fell to the earth unconscious. She
was borne to the hotel, and the kind wo-
men Of the village did what they could
for her. She spoke no word when re-
covered from her swoon, but lay quietly
unmindful of Ter life fast ebbing away.
During the day inquired of Broken.
nosed Charley, who knew everything and
everybody about the farm. regarding the
man Joe. Charley said that little was
known Of him except that he mined some
gambled some, drank like mad and was
altogether bad lot. He had killed two
or three men, and had been shot and cut
himself several times. He invariably
preceded IN invitation to imbibe, or tkt
shooting OF man, by the expression, Its
fourteen inches between my eyes, and
smell like a wolf" From this idiosyn
crazy and his blood-thirsty disposition
he was known and dreaded as "Tht
Wolf" Prudent people however, address
cd him as Joe.
The Wolf returned to town the mex
day, and, on entering the saloon frou
which he had made his hurried exit, qui
city asked:
HAS that ar woman gomez"
lie was told that she was sick anc
could live but a very short time. A grea
change came over his face; the hard fur
rows of dissipation and crime were trans
formed to tie pitiable lines OF sorrow
| Not noticing the dram proffered by tn,
bar-keeper, he fastened to tho hotel ant
made his way to the bedside of the dying
woman. Abruptly he questioned:
"Was yer followering him?"
| "No, Joe; was hunting him"
! "Sure?"
so help me God"
i The poor white face, SCARED and deep
scanned by excuses and sin, grew radlan
with gladRcss as Joe kneeled down ant
kissed her. With seal of forgiveness
} with the pressure Of his lips but half re
TUNED, she sank back dead.
J Through the service at the simpl'
burial the following day Joe stood witt
uncovered head, but hif bronzed and i'm
movable features betrayed no emotion
nor vouchsafed any clue to the myster,
that enshrouded the confined outcas
and himself.
The evening of the funeral the VOL
called on me at my rooms. Seating him
self, without preface he said:
GAS man of sense an no coward, ye
kin look at brave mans agony in tn
right way. The past I've hidden TO
twenty years, fur I amt the kind to car
r. my heart on my sleeve fur davis t
peck at. But thar's a feeling as though
I'd choke if I didn't talk to some one
The woman buried to-day war my wife
} Here's some letters the wimin folks fount
on her an give to me. Yer look then
over while chin fur I'm slow on tn
read. We war married in the States
when she war sixteen an just come 0
age. A bit after I got the gold fever an
went to Californy. In couple of year
I made quite pile, an went home fa
her. She war changed, and it warn
} long before I heard the stories an fount
! the truth, tibet she had gone wrong. HI
war fine-haired chap who had come int,
town while I war away. l. war.
likely young Teller then, but the blow
turned me into devil. went fur him
but he heard of it, and slid out fur Cali
orny. follcred, an fur twenty year
: I've bin hunting him all over this coast
killed men, that the taste of blood nigh
keep fierce my hope of revenge. "
never found HIM. During these year
I've heard about her once IN a while, an
; how she was drinking and going to tn
dogs. I'd allus meant to see her whel
I'd settled with him. His name wa
Bill Armstrong"
The letters taken from the dead WON
: an, which I had been looking over, wer
mostly answers to inquiries regarding tn
; whereabouts of her husband. An untin
J ished letter of her own to some friend il
} the East, and dated few days p1eviou
to her death, showed that to this poo
lost creature, with the grasp of dealt
upon her, there had come back to he
the glory of her first and only pur
love, and the unconquerablc desire
, die at his feet, freed from the burden Q
his curse. Strangely enough, anothe
letter gave information of Bill Armstrong
/ and stated that he lived near Boise City
, in Idaho. These two read to the DIES
3 peratc man who sat befers me, his burn
ing eyes cleaning with pain and his lip
! mute with anguish. When / ceased, b
, grasped my hand with, "Thank yel
stranger" and left the room. I watches
him mount his horse and ride out Int
!, the black night. The Wolf was again o
: the trail. II & i a. j.
! The circumstances / have related wei
9 fvividly recalled to my mind during N
q present visit to Battle Mountain by cast
! ally overhearing an account Of . fat.
l shooting affair between Bill Armstrong,
{ mining Spectator, and Joe the Vol, .
y Boise City, m 1878. Tho details Of ii
/ give ia the words Of the ma
RIIator,vh Mas an siitness:
q Joe met Almstrcn On The street. IN
and with the single exclalnation Fl
81 Asis's huaban7 pulled md flrei