Gopher John

Brooke was furious. He sent a runner after John Horse and had the boy hauled before a kangaroo court. Why, the Colonel demanded, had John Horse repeatedly sold him the same two animals? Struggling for words, John Horse finally told the officer, simply, that he had not wanted to disappoint him. Somehow, this response deflated the tension and gave everyone a good laugh. The Colonel was good-natured, demanding only that John Horse provide all tortoises paid for. Brooke then christened the boy "Gopher John," a name that stuck throughout his life.