2, serial number 29963, a .32 rimfire with a six-inch barrel, blued finish, and varnished rosewood grips. 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. After the Rock Creek incident Hickok went to Leavenworth Kansas and enlisted in the Union Army. When he got a shave he kept a shotgun in hand and his eyes open. Hickok returned fire and killed Coe. Two troopers, Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kile (Kyle), set upon Hickok in a saloon. The town of Deadwood, South Dakota, re-enacts Hickok's murder and McCall's capture every summer evening. Eventually, Hickok's "Aces and eights" became widely accepted as the "Dead Man's Hand. Reporter Leander Richardson interviewed Hickok shortly before his death and helped bury him. Immigrants from Missouri, supporting slavery, were settling in the hundreds. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Hickok, with his good friend Mike Williams, heard the shot. There the familys small farm served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. He was holding two pairs: black aces and black eights (although there is some dispute as to the suit of one of the aces, diamond vs. spade) as his "up cards", which has since become widely known as the "dead man's hand". Shull said that McCanles was a "horse thief stealing horses for the Confederacy. The original wooden grave marker was moved to the new site, but by 1891, it had been destroyed by souvenir hunters whittling pieces from it, and it was replaced with a statue. [10][pageneeded][11] In an 1867 article about his shootout with Davis Tutt, his surname was misspelled as Hitchcock. Play Audio. He developed habits, of personal safety, to protect himself. Military records after 1865 list him as Hickok, but note that he was also known as Haycock. But Coe "reckoned without his host." Richardson wrote of the encounter for the April 1877 issue of Scribner's Monthly, in which he mentions McCall's second trial. The war continued and during the year 1863 a lot of Hickok's duties involved "spying" for the Union army. No one was allowed to get too near. In 1859 he joined the Russell, Waddell, and Majors freight company as a driver. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. and that Deft. The family home even had a hidden cellar which they would use to hide the escapees. He wanted me to go with him, and as we started on our way, imagine my surprise and uncomfortable feeling when he announced his intention of stopping at the McCanles home. At the resulting two-hour trial by a miners jury (an ad hoc local group of assembled miners and businessmen), McCall claimed that he was avenging Hickok's earlier slaying of his brother, which may have been true. Hickok's favorite guns were a pair of cap-and-ball Colt 1851 .36 Navy Model pistols, which he wore until his death. After the war he became deputy United States Marshal at Fort Riley (1866), Marshal of Hays, Kansas (1869), and Marshal of Abilene (1871). Jesse James suffered from it. In 1861, because of a "sweeping nose and protruding upper lip" Hickok received the nickname . [9], In 1865, Hickok recruited six Native Americans and three cowboys to accompany him to Niagara Falls, where he put on an outdoor demonstration called The Daring Buffalo Chasers of the Plains. Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, SD Spouse: Agnes LAKE b. 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. Of course, this information never got the circulation the false claim had received. Hickoks growing reputation for fairness and courage earned him, in 1858, a position as a constable in Monticello, Kansas. McCanles was the first man Hickok was reputed to have killed in a fight. Handgunner). First, the Cunard line never had a ship named the "Madagascar". While acting in this capacity Sherman's command stopped in a small Kansas town. The result of that attack is that one, possibly two, of the troopers were killed by Hickok. Hickok's father, William Alonzo Hickok, came from Vermont. [45], Hickok later said he did not know that "Wesley Clemmons" was Hardin's alias, and that he was a wanted outlaw. [32] There is another account of the Coe shootout. Bryant, William C (1794-1878) -( PBryant, .., FCooke1) - American poet and long time editor of New York Evening Post, abolitionist supporter of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). But also he was a man of gentleness and tender caring for the weak and helpless. Pard, we will meet again in the happy hunting ground to part no more. Mayor McCoy said of him, "He was the squarest (most honest) man I ever saw". Hickok though continued to focus his attention on Coe. August 18, 1876, image 3", "Jack McCall Cowardly Killer of Wild Bill Hickok", "American Wonder Wild Bill Hickok Shot and Killed from Behind on This Day in History", Bozeman Avant Courier, December 22, 1876, image 1, testimony of George M. Shingle, "Riverboat captain 'carried' bullet that killed Hickok", "Jack McCall and the Murder of Wild Bill Hickok", "Wild Bill Hickok: Pistoleer, Peace Officer and Folk Hero", Photograph of Wild Bill Hickok's Colt Model 1851 Navys, "Wild Bill Hickok's Smith & Wesson No. The bullet emerged through Wild Bills right cheek striking Captain Massie in the left wrist. [25][26] He later failed to win reelection. Hickok was not a 20th century lawman. This was claimed after he was killed during a poker game on Aug. 2, 1876. Includes citations for all sources. One account of him, written in the late 1860s, described Hickok as six feet tall, lithe, active, sinewy, [a] daring rider, [a] dead shot with pistol and rifle, [with] long locks, fine features and mustache, buckskin leggings, red shirt, broad-brim hat, twin pistols in belt, rifle in hand. Despite his rough-and-ready ways, Hickok was also said to have been genteel and courteous and to have enjoyed dressing with panache in the latest styles of the day. Seldom did he have to repeat himself. [19] According to Hickok's account, he found the road blocked by a cinnamon bear and its two cubs. The rowdy cowboys and criminals of Abilene would soon learn, however, that Marshal Hickok was a very different person from Tom Smith. [4] Despite all Hickok photographs indicating he had dark hair, all contemporary descriptions confirm he was in fact golden blonde. [21], In his first month as sheriff in Hays, he killed two men in gunfights. Each taking an equal chance of living or dying. "[49], Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had a dispute that resulted in a shootout. They refused, so Hickok altered it himself. It remains unknown who actually fired it. 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. Bonhams . When I was a young boy, I heard that we were distantly related to Wild Bill through my mother's side. Strange, because never in the twenty-seven years she outlived Hickok did she ever voice such a desire. Guess they weren't fans of The Simpsons. 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. Summary: A collection of 32 letters written by relatives of "Wild Bill" (James Butler) Hickok. "Dead man's hand"Owing to the number of poker players who died during disputes, Dead man's hand was already established poker idiom for a number of a different hands long before Hickok died. Owing to the number of poker players who died during disputes, Dead man's hand was already established poker idiom for a number of a different hands long before Hickok died. The killing of Wild Bill and the capture of Jack McCall is reenacted every evening (in summer) in Deadwood.[45]. Most likely McCall became enraged over what he perceived as a condescending offer from Hickok to let him have enough money for breakfast after he had lost all his money playing poker the previous day. 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. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation. He kicked in doors of all the saloons, ordered everyone out, and shut them down. Hickok, whose eyesight was poor by that time in his life due to the early stages of glaucoma, caught the glimpse of movement of someone running toward him. One of the escaped slaves, identified as "Hannah", liked the Hickok family so much she stayed with them for many years. Deadwood however, has gone through many more changes than Troy Grove. Wild Bill Hickok next set his sights on Abilene, Kansas, where he served as the town's . By 1864, however, he seems to be more concerned with police work. Bonhams auction company offered this pistol at auction on November 18, 2013, in San Francisco, California,[75] described as Hickok's Smith & Wesson No. To this family the lines between right and wrong were not as blurred as they are today. Famous descendants for Mayflower pilgrim Francis Cooke (1583-1663). Utter.". Di Certo is the author of ten books and composer of three albums of children's songs. [20], On July 12, 1861, David McCanles went to the Rock Creek Station office to demand an overdue property payment from Horace Wellman, the station manager. She recalled how Hickok loved little children, and especially how tenderly he treated her. I have been to the cemetery, in Troy Grove, and the family still rests side-by-side in the quiet, and very peaceful older section of the town's cemetery. In a letter to his brother Hickok admitted that this was the first time, under fire, that he was scared. He then asked them some questions concerning the man he was tracking. In through the back door walked a cowardly little man named "Jack McCall". Whether or not Coe had actually made the statement, and Hickok answered as reported, is disputable but it certainly personified the reputation Wild Bill accrued. Jean McCormick was the daughter of Jane Calamity Jane Cannary and James Butler Wild Bill Hickok. It was during this time that Wild Bill got his nickname. 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