Hickok is on record as being fined, for participating in the altercation. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the re-interment. "Wild Bill and the Timber Thieves. By 1856 James was in Kansas territory with his brother Lorenzo. Brady, like Varnes, had disappeared from Deadwood and could not be found. Writing in 1911, he detailed his admiration for Hickok and included a paragraph on the shooting that differs considerably from the reported account: "Phil" Coe was from Texas, ran the "Bull's Head" a saloon and gambling den, sold whiskey and men's souls. Coe had been the business partner of known gunman Ben Thompson, with whom he co-owned the Bulls Head Saloon. For ever after this hand would be known as "The Dead Man's Hand". After looking the city over, Hickok decided to accept the position. On this fateful day Wild Bill violated one of his own cardinal rules and was sitting with his back to a door. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Hickok and his accomplices, the station manager Horace Wellman, his wife, and an employee, J.W. Fiction later typified this kind of gunfight, but Hickok's is, in fact, the first one on record that fits the portrayal. Wild west legend (1837-1876) Who's Who in American History. His romance with Martha Jane Burke, aka "Calamity Jane," similarly provided material for dime novelists. He was an assistant station tender for the Pony Express at the Rock Creek, Nebraska station. 10. After the incident Hickok was arrested, but later set free due to the courts decision the fight was fair and Hickok had acted in self-defense. In June 1865, Hickok was mustered out and spent his time in and around Springfield gambling. The young man was a Union sympathizer, and the crowd was Confederate. James Butler Hickbetter known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a figure in the American Old West. The 10th arrived at Fort Lyon, Colorado, in October and remained for the rest of 1868. Wild Bill emerged onto the street, immediately drew one of his .36 caliber SA Navy revolvers, and, at a 75-yard stand-off distance, fired a single shot into McCanles's chest, killing him instantly (ref. 2 revolver, the gun Hickok may have been carrying during his final poker game. [43], "As I write the closing lines of this brief sketch, word reaches me that the slayer of Wild Bill has been re-arrested by the United State authorities, and after trial has been sentenced to death for willful murder. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. According to Joseph G. Rosa, a Hickok biographer, the shot that felled the elder McCanles came from inside the house. He requested a military escort from Fort Hays and was assigned William F. Cody, a sergeant and five privates, with the group arriving in Topeka on 2 April. David McCanles "called out" Wild Bill from the Station House. [c] However, if they felt the threat of danger was real and imminent, he instructed they could apply the unwritten law of the "fair fight" and acquit. He was assigned Buffalo Bill Cody, a sergeant, and five privates. A highly fictional film account of Hickok's later years and death, titled Wild Bill (1995), stars Jeff Bridges as Hickok and David Arquette as Jack McCall, and was written and directed by Walter Hill. The identity of the fifth card (his "hole card") is also the subject of debate. This job came to an end when James threw his employer into the canal for mistreating his horse team. In September of 1867 Hickok was involved in one of his most famous shootouts. And the family remained in complete safety while the cow herd, and the cowboys, passed by the ranch. His nickname of Wild Bill has inspired similar nicknames for men named William (even though that was not Hickok's name) who were known for their daring in various fields. While a Jayhawker, he met 12-year-old William Cody (later known as "Buffalo Bill"), who, despite his youth, served as a scout just two years later for the U.S. Army during the Utah War. The most reasonable, and the one most often related is as follows. In the summer of 1868, while pursuing a horse thief, Hickok rode into Atchison KS. The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok was a 1950s TV series starring Guy Madison and Andy Devine. On April 15th 1871 he was sworn in as Marshal at a salary of $150 dollars a month. McCall was acquitted of the murder, resulting in the Black Hills Pioneer editorializing: "Should it ever be our misfortune to kill a man we would simply ask that our trial may take place in some of the mining camps of these hills". On several later occasions, Hickok was to confront and kill several men while fighting alone. the enaing it in civil visited the city of in of the Stale, road. . Fiction later typified this kind of gunfight, but Hickok's is in fact the first one on record that fits the portrayal. Secondly, Hickok knew of Hardin and his reputation. Hickok ran as an Independent; but lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan, who ran as a Democrat. Hickok is currently interred in a ten-foot (3 m) square plot at the Mount Moriah Cemetery, surrounded by a cast-iron fence with a U.S. flag flying nearby. While he was growing up, his father's farm was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad, and he learned his shooting skills protecting the farm with his father from slave catchers. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized. The ship and the captain supposedly were in the "Cunard" steamship line. Ed McGivern's book "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting" states the Willoth family in Deadwood possessed one of Wild Bill's Smith & Wesson Model No.2 pistols, serial number 29963. [32] There is another account of the Coe shootout. It also meant fear and alarm to the common citizen, who had to deal with the drunken dangerous cowboys. The first was Bill Mulvey, who was rampaging through town, drunk, shooting out mirrors and whisky bottles behind bars. Wild Bill Hickok was born James Butler Hickok in Troy, Ill., on May 27, 1837. It is said he met the famous frontiersman Kit Carson while so employed. McCall was eventually tried and convicted of Hickok's murder, and was hanged. He was a stagecoach driver on the Santa Fe and Oregon trails, a spy and scout for the Union Army, marshal of two cities, and traveled with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. This time McCall was found guilty. He earned a reputation as a skilled scout. Citizens of the town complained to Hickok, who requested that Thompson and Coe remove the image. [9], At the time of his death, Hickok was wearing a Smith & Wesson Model No. This was necessary because the cowboys would sometimes kill the farmers, whom they didn't like anyway, on their way into town. She seems to have had a passion for male clothing, and frequently dressed as a man. His life was an interesting one. Arrested as Haycock in 1865, he then resumed his real name of James Hickok. The told them that the June ordinance concerning firearms was still in effect, and that they should give up their guns and leave town. [65][66], McCall was summoned before an informal "miners' jury" (an ad hoc local group of miners and businessmen). Howard Hickok had another version of the incident that resulted in Hickok's being called Wild Bill. Advertisement. Tutt grabbed Hickok's pocket watch, supposedly as payment for a debt Hickok disputed. Wild Bill Hickok was an American folk hero. However, four of the men on the self-appointed committee who planned Calamity's funeral (Albert Malter, Frank Ankeney, Jim Carson, and Anson Higby) later stated that since Bill had absolutely no use for Jane in this life, they decided to play a posthumous joke on Hickok by laying her to rest for eternity by his side. Hickok's deputies did little to assist him, there was no need. 1 Father: William Alonzo Hickok Mother: Polly Butler Birth Date: 27 May 1837 Birth Location: Homer (now Troy Grove), LaSalle, Illinois Christening Date: Christening Location: Death Date: 2 Aug 1876 Death Location: Deadwood, Lawrence, South Dakota Burial Date: Burial Location: Mt. The pattern of his life was hardening into the life long habit of interposing himself between the oppressed, and the oppressor. He is now at Yankton, D.T. This, of course, incensed the mob. Lonergan pinned Hickok to the ground while Kile put his gun to Hickok's ear; however, it misfired, allowing Hickok to reach his own guns. Hickok was a favourite of Custer and his wife, Libbie, who described him as a delight to look upon. Hickoks physical appearance was by many accounts arresting. He noted that the sound was similar to tapping a brick wall and believed the remains weighed more than 400lb (180kg). Hickok and Brinks were charged with murder but found not guilty. [citation needed], From 1871 until his death in 1876, Hickok had vision problems. The above "gunfight" is the first recorded of a classical type of western shootout. Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, Lawrence, South Dakota Notes: [11], Hickok first met former Confederate Army soldier Davis Tutt in early 1865, while both were gambling in Springfield, Missouri. At the end of the incident three men were dead, McCanles and his two friends. Wild Bill Hickok was born James Butler Hickok in Homer, Illinois on May 27, 1837. The reason he left town in a hurry was because he knew Hickok would be coming to arrest him. Over the years, his gunfighting and gambling prowess became the stuff of "wild west" lore, exaggerated, embellished and celebrated in contemporary pulp fiction. This made it difficult for the men to carry the remains to the new site. Tutt walked off with the watch, but nothing further occurred at this time. The first, on 24 was Bill Mulvey, who "got the drop" on Hickok. [72] As of 2020, the flag is no longer flown. 3:52. . During the Civil War, he was a Union spy in Missouri. Of course there was not a shred of evidence or documentation to verify this outlandish claim. Still, there . Not having the courage to do it himself, he one day filled about 200 cowboys with whiskey intending to get them into trouble with Wild Bill, hoping that they would get to shooting and in the melee shoot the marshal. [4]. At this time a regiment was being formed. [18] On March 22, 1858, he was elected one of the first four constables of Monticello Township. He enlisted as a civilian scout. Hickok invented the practice of "posting" men out of town. Hickok was originally buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. In quick succession, Hickok was said to have then killed five members of McCanless gang and knocked out another before three more gang members threw him down on a bed, only to be bested in hand-to-hand combat by the knife-wielding Hickok. Because a knife would not have been worn unsheathed, it is likely a photographer's prop. Those who complied fared well. Immigrants from Missouri, supporting slavery, were settling in the hundreds. [14] He then instructed them that they could apply the unwritten law of the "fair fight" and acquit. He didn't do well living in the East either. When he did go on patrol he would walk down the center of the street, rarely using the sidewalks. Agnes fell deeply in love with Hickok on sight. Only station employees were allowed to testify at the trial (testimony by McCanless son was barred), and the verdict was that the men had acted in self-defense. When he saw Hickok, he leveled his cocked rifle at him. The authorities did not consider this to be double jeopardy because at the time Deadwood was not recognized by the U.S. as a legitimately incorporated town (due to federal laws that made it illegal to settle on Indian land; many people did anyway). Mistakenly thinking he had killed Hudson, Hickok fled and joined General Jim Lane's vigilante Free State Army ("The Red Legs") where he met 12-year-old William Cody, later to be known as "Buffalo Bill," who at that time was a scout for Johnston's Army. The watch had great sentimental value to Hickok, so he asked Tutt not to wear it in public. Just as he pulled the trigger, one of the policemen rushed around the corner between Coe and the pistols and both balls entered his body, killing him instantly. Hickok chased and wounded the fleeing Gordon, who was then fatally shot by someone else (according to some by Doc Brinks, another Pony Express employee). McCanles formed the habit of calling Hickok "Duck Bill", due to some perceived facial characteristics. By 1854 Hickok's father had died and he was bored with both farming and life in Troy Grove. awaiting execution. On July 21, 1865, in the town square of Springfield, Missouri, Hickok killed Davis Tutt, Jr. in a "quick draw" duel. As a result, calcium carbonate from the surrounding soil had replaced the flesh leading to petrifaction. Almost the entire town attended the funeral, and Utter had Hickok buried with a wooden grave marker reading: Wild Bill, J. This "cousin" she claimed was her father. Red objects generally appear black in early photographs, as the photographic processes were insensitive to red light. Picks on rebels, especially Texans, to kill." Witnesses confirm that the story was true to the extent the party had set out to find whoever had killed the four men,[e] but the group returned to the fort "without nary a dead Indian, [never] even seeing a live one". Mistakenly thinking he had killed Hudson, Hickok fled and joined General Jim Lane's vigilante "Free State Army" (The Red Legs) where he met 12-year-old William Cody, later to be known as "Buffalo Bill," who at that time was a scout for Johnston's Army. Pard, we will meet again in the happy hunting ground to part no more. He was famously photographed with a pair of ivory handled Colt 1851 Navy revolvers and a large Bowie knife tucked into his belt c. 1869. Hickok later would return to the east for another attempt at show business. The graveyard filled quickly and was in an area that could be better used for the constant influx of settlers to live on, so all the bodies there were moved up the hill to the Mount Moriah Cemetery in the 1880s. That rifle shot, supposedly downhill on a windy day and reportedly at over 750 yards, helped cement Hickok's legend as a master of weapons. It is interesting to note, during this time period, that young Hickok had some concerns about what his mother thought of his behavior. On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. Seldom did he have to repeat himself. [36] It is believed that the two met for the first time after Jane was released from the guardhouse in Fort Laramie and joined the wagon train that Hickok was traveling with. After fighting in the Union army during the American Civil War, he became a legendary army scout, and later, lawman and gunfighter. They continued to correspond,however, and letters still exist to prove their mutual love and respect. The plan was to see if a full grown buffalo could be roped and captured from horseback. Aug 2 1876 - Deadwood, Dakotah Territory - Mann's Saloon No. They arrived in Topeka on April 2. 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