Wyoming History: The Courier Who Carried First Dispatch From Custer’s Last Stand

John “Josh” Deane was 16 years old when he left his home in Pennsylvania for the Wild West in 1872, lured by the adventures he had read about in 10-cent novels. Instead of excitement, the teenager found life a struggle just to survive. By 1876, Deane was 20 and landed a job as a government dispatch carrier at $125 a month. In 1928, Deane told his story to a biographer about the one especially important dispatch he carried.

Deane arrived at Fort Brown in mid-June 1876 and was told by Col. Julius Mason to remain a few days. Mason had just arrived from Fort Riley, Kansas, and was concerned by rumors of a fight with Indians in the Rosebud country. “A little later, he decided to send me to the camp of Custer and Reno and told me to select an Indian to accompany me,” Deane said. “I picked Niogen Doget, a Shoshone, and we started out on the morning of June 24, with our saddle horses and one pack horse.”