The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-04-02
THE CITY OF J0SHVILLE.
all Fools Day Brings About a Change
Of MiSSOuIa'S Name.
LIVELY CHASE TO A FIRE
Following an Honored Custom
Jokers Spend the Day in Awak-
ening a New Spirit Among
Their Friends.

MIssoULA, April This city to-day
maintained its reputation as the grand
center of practical joking and tonight
proudly refuses to divide honors even
with Helena, as the home of the great
American joshers, who have moro time to
devote TO the enticing and elevating Occur
patton of deluding their fellow men than
they spend at their own business. Mis-
soula has been honored with numerous
sobriquets which have all been moro or
less applicable. She first posed as the
Gate City, but that was too suggestive of
the ominous name of the canyon above
the town, and people persisted in calling
it the He'll Gate City, SO another was
chosen, and for several years Missoula
was known as the Garden City. an honor
able appellatIon, significant of the Won
derful agricultural resources of the tribu-
tary country. Then factional strife arose
and the promise of a brilliant future for
the town were blightgd and Missoula be-
came the Stub Toe City. Nobody liked
this name. either, and the location of the
state university here afforded an excel
lent opportunity for a change, and the
town shone forth to all the world as the
University City.
But now that has changed. Proud as
was the title and honored as were the
people, it had to yield to existing condi-
tons and circumstances and now in Mis-
soula, the Gate City, the Garden City. the
Stub Toe City, the University City, has
been metamorphosed into Joshvilie. No
body will dispute its claim to this title
and Joshville bids fair to stand for long
time as the nickname of this home of
practical jokers.
There have been some croakers who
have from time to time asserted that
Missoula's name is Pants, but no true
friend of the city believes that. 1t is true
that, for few weeks in February and
March, the city's name was Mud, but the
warm spring sunshine and wind have
changed that state of affairs and have
at the same time thawed out the jokers,
who have arisen in their might to give
Missoula claim to the name of Joshville
and Joshville goes. 1t may not sound as
we'll as some of the other cognomens, but
it expresses a whole lot and deserves to
live longer than some of the previous
names under which the city has sailed.
Write it Joshville on your map.
Every first of April for the past few
years has witnessed some new freaks
which has emanated from the fertile
brains of Missoula's jokers and each year
the allege joked has been little more COM
plicated than that of the year before.
Two years ago a dummy was hung from
the Bitter Root bridge. Last year an inn
mense throng assembled in the opera
house to hear an A. p. A. lecture that
hasn't come off yet; this year the jokers
worked both ends of the day and got
plenty of satisfaction both times. Soon
after u o'clock this morning, the clang-
| ing of the city hall bell and the prolonged
| e. Itrl,
works startled everybody who had not
been put on" and the fire department
had lively run to the rear of the North
ern Pacific round house to see n pile of
barrels and boxes burn. Several hundred
| citizens rushed to the fire in various
stages of dishabille and all were wrath.
| There we're two or three scraps and some
| badly bruised faces as a result of the
hoax, but the perpetrators escaped with
| out injury.
1t would seem that the experience of a
| year ago would have taught the people
something, but that it did not was demon
strated tonight by the audience which
| turned out to see the free show adver-
tised to be given by patent medicine
company. The company is not within a
thousand miles of Missoula and the show
was advertised by the jokers to see if the
local suckers would bite twice at the same
| bait. They will.
These were Joshville's grand hoaxes for
to-day. There were private sells without
number. but the general public escaped
with two. Some people have lived here
long enough to take these hoaXes in good
part, but there are a few residents who
will never learn to smile over q joke of
which they are the victims. These latter
people were angry this morning, have
been angry all day and, contrary to scrip
tural injunction, have allowed the sun to
60 down upon their wrath tonight. But
the reputation of the town must be sus-
| tanned, even If it be at the expense of
somebody's feelings, and it has been done
| in good shape to-day. For another year
the name is Joshville. Paste it in your
| hat-Joshville.
TIE TOWN IN BRIEF.