Seldom did he have to repeat himself. James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. She died on August 3, 1655 in Farmington. Hickok's fight with Tutt set the mold for the classic, although rare in reality, western gunfight and gunfighter image. 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, as it was in Indian Country and the jury was irregular. At this time McCanles was the leader of a local "gang" that considered themselves "desperadoes". Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. After fighting in the Union army during the American Civil War, he became a legendary army scout, and later, lawman and gunfighter. These were silver-plated with ivory handles, and were engraved: "J.B. Hickock-1869". In 1859 he joined the Russell, Waddell, and Majors freight company as a driver. On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. [25][26]:136 Hickok had not been paid for some time, and was hired as a scout by General John B. Sanborn by early 1865. It is well known that Hickok got on very well with children. Charlie Utter, Hickok's friend and companion, claimed Hickok's body and placed a notice in the local newspaper, the Black Hills Pioneer, which read: Died in Deadwood, Black Hills, August 2, 1876, from the effects of a pistol shot, J. The told them that the June ordinance concerning firearms was still in effect, and that they should give up their guns and leave town. Hickok continued his duties hunting horse thieves and illegal woodcutters, for the Army. On 28 March 1868, he was again in Hays as a deputy U.S. Marshall, picking up 11 Union deserters charged with stealing government property to be transferred to Topeka for trial. In 1864 Hickok and the other detectives had not been paid for some time, and Hickok either resigned or was reassigned as he was hired as a scout by General John B. Sanborn at five dollars a day plus a horse and equipment. That woman was "Sarah Shull". But also he was a man of gentleness and tender caring for the weak and helpless. [28] Tutt's shot missed, but Hickok's struck Tutt through the heart from about 75 yards (69m) away. In December 1867, newspapers reported Hickok's arrival in Hays, Kansas. At the coroner's inquest into Strawhun's death, despite "very contradictory" evidence from witnesses, the jury found the shooting justifiable. [9], Hickok used his late father's name, William Hickok, from 1858, and the name William Haycock during the American Civil War. Hickok was offered the position of Marshal after the previous one,Tom Smith, was killed in the line of duty. This time with the group of actors recruited by the famous Buffalo Bill. Take that!" In 1936 an old woman was interviewed about her recollections of old Abilene, and Hickok, during this time period. He took part in the battle of "Wilson Creek" in Missouri. 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. On March 5, 1876, Hickok married Agnes Thatcher Lake, a 50-year-old circus proprietor in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. [11], Hickok first met former Confederate Army soldier Davis Tutt in early 1865, while both were gambling in Springfield, Missouri. [57] The two possibly met for the first time after Jane was released from the guardhouse in Fort Laramie and joined the wagon train in which Hickok was traveling. He would walk down the center of the street, eyes darting back and forth. In short, Abilene was in for a very rude awakening. It is likely that Hickok was already acting sheriff when elected as a newspaper reported him arresting offenders on 18 August and the commander of Fort Hays praised Hickok for his work in apprehending deserters in a letter he wrote to the Assistant Adjutant General on 21 August. When Hickok was born Troy Grove was known as "Homer". [61], Hickok died instantly. In the plot beside him lies the remains of another Wild West legend, Calamity Jane, whose dying wish supposedly was to be buried next to Wild Bill. [5], For unknown reasons, Hickok used the name William Hickok from 1858 and then William Haycock during the Civil War. 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 old cemetery was in an area that was better suited for the constant influx of new settlers to live on, so the remaining bodies there were eventually also moved up the hill to the Mount Moriah Cemetery (in the 1880s). Jean McCormick was the daughter of Jane Calamity Jane Cannary and James Butler Wild Bill Hickok. Tilghman would later become a famous western Marshal himself. Eventually, Hickok's "Aces and eights" became widely accepted as the "Dead Man's Hand. Marshal. In the early 1870's a man named John Hunton saw Calamity Jane and gives us a description of her,while on a visit to Fort Laramie in Wyoming. Abilene's town gun laws did not allow this type of activity. . The next child, also named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in November of 1832. [6][7], In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65 ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas (in what is now Lenexa). Using the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock" (sic), the article recounted the hundreds of men whom Hickok supposedly personally killed and other exaggerated exploits. He then drew his revolvers, fired over the heads of the mob, and stated he would shoot the first man to move. I think not. Who Was Buffalo Bill Cody? Hickok was a good shot from a very young age. Hickok was on a winning streak and Tutt, frustrated, requested that he repay a $40 loan, which Hickok did. On 4 September, Hickok was wounded in the foot while rescuing several cattlemen in the Bijou Creek Basin who were surrounded by Indians. Yes, if it was necessary. [68], As I write the closing lines of this brief sketch, word reaches me that the slayer of Wild Bill has been rearrested by the United State [sic?] After honeymooning back east, Hickok returned to the West. On 9 December, Hickok and Lanihan both served legal papers on Macintosh and local newspapers acknowledged that Hickok had guardianship of Hays City. Hickok ordered him to be arrested for firing a pistol within the city limits. The motive for the killing is still debated. [22][2] The second was cowboy Samuel Strawhun after Hickok and Deputy Sheriff Lanihan had been called to a saloon where Strawhun was causing a disturbance at 1am on 27 September. At the [second] trial it was suggested that [McCall] was hired to do his work by gamblers who feared the time when better citizens should appoint Bill the champion of law and order a post which he formerly sustained in Kansas border life, with credit to his manhood and his courage. How or why the confrontation occurred, and the exact sequence of events are in not known. Together, they would produce their first child, Oliver Hickok, who was born in May 1830. Hickok refused, as he had an "a memorandum" proving it to be for $25. At this time a regiment was being formed. 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. Hickok was relieved of his duties as marshal less than two months after having accidentally killed deputy Mike Williams, allegedly owing to this incident's being only one of a series of questionable shootings and claims of misconduct. In September of 1867 Hickok was involved in one of his most famous shootouts. She claimed to be the daughter of Calamity Jane. The first major description of the incident appeared in Harpers New Monthly Magazine in February 1867, six years after the fact, written by Col. George Ward Nichols, who claimed to have been told the story by Hickok in 1865. "[46] Hoping to intimidate Hickok, Coe allegedly stated that he could "kill a crow on the wing". Some were ex-Union soldiers, some were ex-Confederate. They initially agreed not to fight over the watch, but when Hickok saw Tutt wearing it, he warned him to stay away. Family tree of Wild Bill HICKOK Adventurer Born James Butler HICKOK Folk hero of the American Old West Born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois, USA , United States Died on August 02, 1876 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, USA Born on May 27 44 Deceased on August 02 33 Adventurer 49 Family tree Report an error Hickok Aaron 1742 - 1814 Kent Deborah Between his law-enforcement duties and gambling, which easily overlapped, Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts, and was ultimately killed while playing poker in a Dakota Territory saloon. The man's name was H.C. Lindsay, and he and Hickok knew each other from old Indian campaign days. He died in 1917 at the age of 70 in Denver, Colorado. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. The first was Bill Mulvey, who was rampaging through town, drunk, shooting out mirrors and whisky bottles behind bars. Horace Hickok was born in October of 1834. He had sons named Samuel Hickox (1643-1695) and Joseph (1645-1687). Thank you Steve and Gary! This was cut open by relic hunters in the 1950s and the statue removed.[46]. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the re-interment. There's no more iconic scene in Western movies than the good old-fashioned pistol duel, where the lawman and the outlaw meet at high noon to see who's faster on the draw. B. Hickock (sic) (Wild Bill) formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Hickok gave a newspaper interview where the world learned about "Wild Bill" Hickok. After looking the city over, Hickok decided to accept the position. William Austin, the cemetery caretaker, estimated 500 lb (227 kg) which made it difficult for the men to carry them to the new site. It is known that the Hickok home even had a hidden cellar, which was used to hide the escaping slaves. [7], In 1873, Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro invited Hickok to join their troupe after their earlier success. Subsequently, McCormick admitted that she had not even been born until 1880, four years after Hickok's death. Potato Creek Johnny, a local Deadwood Celebrity from the late 1800s and early 1900s is also buried next to Wild Bill. Hickok hailed from Illinois and had traveled to Missouri and Kansas as a young man looking for adventure. According to the premier biographer of Hickok, Mr. Joseph G. Rosa, some odd things then began to happen. And finally, Hardin never made such a statement while Hickok was alive. Utter.". He was also a notorious bully. Almost the entire town attended the funeral, and Utter had Hickok buried with a wooden grave marker reading: Wild Bill, J. Mayor McCoy said of him, "He was the squarest (most honest) man I ever saw". On July 21, 1865, in the town square of Springfield, Missouri, Hickok killed Davis K. Tutt, Jr. in a "quick draw" duel. Inevitably nicknamed" Wild Bill" for the folk hero of the American Old West, and also known as "Hickey," he starred at Yale University in track as well as football and was eventually inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In truth, most of the stories were at the very least greatly exaggerated and in many cases complete fabrication. Hickok's deputies did little to assist him, there was no need. In my opinion, these would be the "cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat", in the "arena" of life, spoken of by Theodore Roosevelt. Coe supposedly stated that he could "kill a crow on the wing," and Hickok's retort is one of the West's most famous sayings (though possibly apocryphal): "Did the crow have a pistol? At the conclusion of the incident a woman's voice was heard to shout, "good for you Wild Bill"! Deadwood however, has gone through many more changes than Troy Grove. Theophilus Little, mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumberyard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook that was recently given to the Abilene Historical Society. [64], Hickok was playing five-card stud or five-card draw when he was shot. It is interesting to note, during this time period, that young Hickok had some concerns about what his mother thought of his behavior. That derisive nickname may have been given to him by David McCanles, who had sold the buildings that became the Pony Expresss Rock Creek station, on credit, to Russell, Majors and Waddell. ", Nichols, George Ward (1867). 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). Wild Bill had learned of the scheme and cornered Coe, had his two pistols drawn on Coe. The cards Hickok had been holding when he was shot and killeda pair of black aces and a pair of black eights plus an unknown fifth cardbecame known as the Dead Mans Hand.. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. As vile a character as I ever met for some cause Wild Bill incurred Coe's hatred and he vowed to secure the death of the marshal. He was released from the group after a few months. "George Ward Nichols and the Legend of Wild Bill Hickok. Since he was actually shot in the back of the head, that plot element is a complete artifice of the episode writers. The mold for the Army refused, as he had sons named Samuel Hickox ( 1643-1695 ) and Joseph 1645-1687. 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