The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-12-30

Montana's oldest man is Joe
Wells. anegr0, who lives In Mis-.
soula. Ho rode tho winning horse
In the Kentucky derby in 1918,
decade after Lewis and Clark
had made the transcontinental trip
which helped to win much Of the
west for the United States. He was
born In slavery days, and came to
Montana when gold was discovered
In Alder gulch. He arrived here
In time to locate q claim, found
the pay streak, and flung his preci.
Gus gold dust aay with lavish
hand I'm gambling, hell and saloon.
He was born I'm 1907 and is there.
fore ia years old. He is an I'm.
mate Of tho Missoula county poor
house.
Rheumatis crippled him up a bit
recently. but he is able to get around
q little now. although he doesn't leave
the house yet. There is nothing in
Uncle Joe" Wells appearance to in
dictate that he is much past IS, al
though he is more than double that
age. His voice is strong and steady,
and his eyes have all the sparkle of
youth when he launches out into tales
Of slavery days.
"Oh Lawd, yes!" he said, in answer
to question of his knowledge of
slavery. II reckon I orto! came
from around Loeuyville, Kentucky.
or Joe Shaughn-Marse Joe, I calls
him-had 80 workin' slaves. Chillun
didn't count, they was JUS like flies.
And plantation? Say, he owned f'r
miles an miles each way"
"Louisville-did they race horses
in those days?"
did they? Whoopee! I say so!
or John Frye-Marse John, I calls
him-had the tastes boss ever brung
from over de water. He trained me
JUS. to ride that boss. nothin' else.
II was 'leben yeahs OIL when we
run de big race at Loueyville-derby,
dey calls it. or John, he won thutty
thousan' dollahs in that race"
What horse was it?''
''The Frye colt. that's all the name
I knowed. An she was a colt right.
won dat race cause done JUS what
grandma said. She never tor nothin'
at werent's so. An she cd tell any
thin goin' to happen tomorrow an
mex day, so on, so on. She never toll
no lies, either.
"She says to my OIL uncle, Don,
let him eat nothin' TO- two days befo'
de race she say. An he shet me up
wild de boss TO- two days, JUS like
she say. An beg TO- some nourish-
ment. Uncle Joe, KANT I have some
thin to eat?' I tell him, my STUN
mick is JUS hollow He say, NO, you
jes' do what gran'ma says, an you'll
win dat race Well, KANT smell
it?' No, boy, you KANT
THE day come, an we all lined
up at de pole. member what gram
ma say: Jus lay right down on him,
whup him on the lef' sholler an de
right flank, an den on de right
sholler an lef' flank The big drum
go 'BOOM!' an de HOSES jump. That
Frye colt jump de longes' folks ever
knowed. They measured it.
I'VE run 500 yards, an mos of it
was JUS like dat, neck an neck-de
clostes' race I ever rode. We won by
JUS three feet"
Joe has been thinking lot about
MS grandma lately, ne says. She had
an uncanny knowledge of the future,
and planters from all over the south
used to come to her for advice, and
bring her money. When she died she
had more than $25, 900 she had saved
from the gifts of her benefactors.
"An' Shaughn he come over and
tuck 1t away, ev-very dollah of it,"
said Uncle Joe. 81 was that clost
coulda touched it,"
Zone time afore that he come to
gran'ma an say he goin' buy up a
thousand black folks an ship 'em
down south-jaw bone, course,
cause he couldn't pay fer al dem. He
axed gran'ma about it, an she say,
'Marse Joe, dom do 1t. I amt never
tell you nothin' at ANTI so. II you
buys dem black folks. thew goin' Law