Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-10-30
JosEPHUs SAVED OUR scALPS.
A wild West Goat on the waIpath- Some
of His Franks.

OF Ills l7taiihHs
"J0scphus" was a character Now,
although 1oSephus was "A character,
the innocence of his expression and
t5' subduod manner m which lac
walled about among the ta!ltS and
cabins ui lard Pan Bottom c0nt!n
ually got hm into trouble ,s we'll rs
those temporarily associated ~lih him.
Hard Pan Bottom was a rough mining
salHy ia i,,n Black Hills, ard the com
paui0US OF J0scphus were for the most
part u reflex Of the landscape, hard
looking aud "rOchy." How JosCphuS
received his name 10 ono in camp
knew: il was said 10 have come
uaI'r!l." " lie had a long grayish
beard. exceedingly prominent ears
end grcst curved horns. In fact, Jo-
sapau, was a well developed Rocky
Mountain goat.
The boys all liked Joaaplns, that
IS, after they had made his acgua!ut-
3ncc and introduced their friends.
This latter operation was always pro
ductivc Oi much mirtA TO the mutual
friend. and consisted in cuticing some
new conner 10 meet The Judge.
The meeting usually took place in
trout of Buckeye" Smiths ''pizen"
shop. JOscphus entered into the spirit
of the affair with great guslo, and
never failed to make a hit with the
public. Tie operation consisted in cs,
cOrliug the victim 10 Buckeyes
thanty aud engaging him in conyer>
sation, while the Judge" rs lac was
nicknamCd, was sent FOR During the
conversation process a piece oI red
flannel was pinned to the waistband
OF the new boy.
One or two shrill whistles generally
brought Joscphuson the double quick
and il WAS without in the least slack.
cning his pace that he made bee line
for the red rag, and the consequence
was that the new acquaintance iiva.
riably measured his length on the
ground. and rs hc scrambled upon his
hands and knees, was again laid low;
and so it continued until the rag was
removed or jOSephus asked TO have a
drink. During the ceremony of in
PRODUCTION, cries of Here's the judge!
Mr.. Jones, Mr. Joscphus" shake
hands with him, pard" BE respect.
ful. stranger!' aud similar remarks,
accompanied by shouts Of laughter,
were banded about by the delighted
spectators, while the yells and pistol
shots helped TO bring the surprised
stranger 10 n demoralizcd condition OF
abicct fear He then stood treat TO the
crowd.
The beard Of Josephus was "A contin
ual source Of annoyance TO him. as the
miners enjoyed pulling it to provoke
lis owner % light.
During the early morning, before
daylight. in tie tent Of yellow
Nike the boys first realized the value
of JoScphuS \ party had all the nignl
been dCvutln" their energies to the
noble game Of poker and 20 discus
sing the Indian outbreak, when sud.
denly. Just outside, there was a dull
thud. a blood curdling yell, another
thud. another shrek and through tht
side Of the tent. in all the htdC0usncSs
OF his war PAINT, tuIubleda fall ledged
Indian brave. while Close behind came
Joscphus. AL hands spTng 10 theil
feet. r1vOlycrs were drawn, the Indian
was killed and the camp aroused. just
in time, for already were the wal
whoops sounding and rifles cracking,
Ii was only after three hours Of hGrI
lighting that the attack was rcpulsed,
when the surprise having failed the
savages drew of As for ,loscphus, lac
received the rank of colonel, although
more often spoken Of as "ihe spy
Killer. But JOscphus did not lonG
i've to enjoy his hunors. Unlimited
red eye whisky was too much .fol
his constitution and hn died lighting
imaginary IGdials. Tho entire camC
attended Ito funeral, which was pro
nOunced 10 be the most high toned on
record in the county. New YorA
| Tribune,