"The duties assigned to him kept him on the road much of the time.
Whenever the opportunity came, I saw to it that he made the acquaintance
of interesting characters who lived in the Territory and in Oklahoma.
Among them were several United States deputy marshals who were known as
'killers,' and he afterwards told me that he had got from these men a
fairly complete account of the 'Apache Kid' and his numerous
gun-fights. I once sent Flynt to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to interview the
famous Apache, Geronimo, but the old chief was in a bad humor and would
not talk.
"During September horses were stolen from a car at Okmulgee, Indian
Territory, and Flynt and two United States marshals went with me in
pursuit of the thieves.
"The trail led us into the heavily timbered Arkansas bottoms, long the
home of the outlaws and 'cattle rustlers' of the Territory. At the end
of a continuous forty-mile ride we found some of the stock, and Flynt,
who was not accustomed to sitting a horse, then declared that he would
rather die on the prairie than ride that broncho any farther. He drove
back to Okmulgee with a rancher whom I employed to take the recovered
horses.
"Later, Flynt became more accustomed to a saddle, and rode to many
points of interest near Sapulpa. He once told me that he had made
several trips to the home of a half-breed negro who lived near a ledge
of rocks called 'Moccasin Tracks,' about five miles from Sapulpa. This
half-breed had a bad record. The United States marshals had him
'marked,' and planned to 'get him' at the first opportunity, but Flynt
said that he was a very interesting man to talk with.
"I left Sapulpa in October, and Flynt accompanied me to Chicago, where
he remained until March. He was very proud of the certificate which was
issued to him when he severed his connection with the Saint Louis and
San Francisco.
"These certificates are commonly called 'Letters of Identification.'
Flynt always referred to his as his 'Denty,' and he took much pleasure
in showing it to his friends. He gave it to me a few days before his
death and asked me to keep it for him."
From this "Denty" we get a rough description of Josiah Flynt as he was
in 1904. "Age, thirty-five years. Weight, one hundred and twenty-five
pounds. Height, five feet five inches. Complexion, light. Hair, light.
Eyes, brown." It also gives as his "Reasons for leaving the service":
"Resigned. Services and conduct entirely satisfactory."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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