Mystery Solved: Why There Are So Few Palouse Goats

Two men were walking in the Scablands east of Lamont when they came across a strange hole nestled between several basalt pillars. The men carefully edged up to the hole and peered inside – unable to see the bottom. One man called into the hole and never heard an echo. Puzzled, the second man grabbed a large rock and threw it into the opening. As the seconds ticked by and no sound came back – the men looked at each other in stunned amazement. Finally, one of the men glanced around the area and saw an old railroad tie and lugged it to the hole and threw it in. Seconds later a lone goat came trotting along and dived right into the hole without even a pause. Needless to say, both men were stunned and amazed. A few moments later a farmer came along – and the men recounted the story of the amazing hole and the goat – and the flabbergasted men asked the farmer if that was his goat that just dived headlong into the hole. The farmer assured the puzzled men that it could not be his goat – because he kept his goat securely tethered to a railroad tie where it could browse and not get into trouble. The two men, eyes cast to the ground as if their shoelaces had suddenly become fascinating, quickly shuffled off without another word – having inadvertently replaced one puzzling mystery with another one. (Note: This was an example of pastoral humor. No goats were actually harmed in any way)