According to the story, Hickok placed himself between the crowd and their intended victim. [45], Hickok later said he did not know that "Wesley Clemmons" was Hardin's alias, and that he was a wanted outlaw. Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, SD Spouse: Agnes LAKE b. It won the Best Song Oscar for "Secret Love", by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster . For confirmation that Hickok was employed as a U.S. Army scout fighting Indians in Kansas in the summer of 1867, see Ames, George Augustus, Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, List of cultural depictions of Wild Bill Hickok, "How many men did Wild Bill Hickok actually kill? McCanles may have been the first man Hickok killed. Funeral services will be held at Charlie Utter's Camp, on Thursday afternoon, August 3, 1876, at 3 o'clock P. M. All are respectfully invited to attend.". At the time of the so-called McCanles Massacre, Hickok was known as Duck Bill because of his sweeping nose and protruding upper lip (covered with a mustache later in life). Hickok, with his good friend Mike Williams, heard the shot. "[49], Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had a dispute that resulted in a shootout. It was at this time that Hickok came across a bear blocking a road, an encounter that would become part of the lore surrounding him: Hickok shot the bear, which only angered it, and a struggle ensued, during which Hickok used a knife to slit the bears throat, but not before he was nearly crushed to death. He didn't do well living in the East either. Jingles described Hickok as "the bravest, strongest, fightingest U.S. James Butler Hickok, a.k.a. The motive for the killing is still debated. She said, "Oh, I tell you, I tell you, he was a grand man was Marshal Hickok, a grand man!" At the conclusion of the incident a woman's voice was heard to shout, "good for you Wild Bill"! Advertisement. That woman was "Sarah Shull". At the trial it was proved that the murderer was hired to do his work by gamblers[44] 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. [2], Because of his "sweeping nose and protruding upper lip," Hickok was nicknamed "Duck Bill. B. Hickock (sic) (Wild Bill) formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. His exploits in the West were published in an . As a result, calcium carbonate from the surrounding soil had replaced the flesh, leading to petrifaction. A friend of Hickok's, Charles Gross, recalled that Hickok didn't even trust the women he consorted with from time to time. [6][7], In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65 ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas (in what is now Lenexa). Outlaw John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive in early 1871. Hickok moved to Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory, where he joined Jim Lane's Free State Army (also known as the Jayhawkers), an antislavery vigilante group active in the new territory during the Bleeding Kansas era. Together they joined a traveling circus show, and eventually Agnes had a child. The letters describe the adventures of the Hickok children (including Wild Bill) in California, Kansas, Missouri and elsewhere, and their parents and family in Troy Grove, Illinois. [citation needed], Buffalo Bill claimed that he encountered Hickok disguised as a Confederate officer in Missouri in 1864. And the family remained in complete safety while the cow herd, and the cowboys, passed by the ranch. Wild Bill Hickok, is one of the most famous figures of the wild west. I Killed Wild Bill Hickok (1956) WESTERN part 1/2. [31], Several weeks later, an interview Hickok gave to Colonel George Ward Nichols, a journalist who subsequently became known as the creator of the Hickok legend,[32] was published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine. There is no doubt that Hickok was a fearless and deadly fighting man, equally at home with a rifle, revolver, or knife. Calamity Jane is reputed to have led a mob that threatened McCall with lynching, but at the time of Hickok's death, Jane was actually being held by military authorities. Hickok was reported to be an inveterate hater of Indians, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. While he was growing up, his father's farm was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad and Bill learned his hunting and shooting skills protecting the farm with his father from anti-abolitionists (hence his joining the Union Army). [72] As of 2020, the flag is no longer flown. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. He ended up in Deadwood South Dakota where gold had been discovered. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. When Hickok was born Troy Grove was known as "Homer". Wild west legend (1837-1876) Who's Who in American History. 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). First, Hickok was an experienced gunfighter and the trick was old and well known at the time. 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. No unfair advantage taken by either party. [44] In his 1895 autobiography, published after his death, Hardin claimed to have been befriended by Hickok, the newly elected town marshal, after he had disarmed the marshal using the road agent's spin, but Hardin was known to exaggerate. Citizens warned Mulvey to behave, because Hickok was sheriff. Marjorie "Betty Crocker" Child, "Wild Bill" Hickok, John Bartlett, Johnny Carson, George Mortimer . Hickok left his new bride a few months later, joining Charlie Utter's wagon train to seek his fortune in the gold fields of South Dakota. This time McCall was found guilty and hanged. Reported claims of her having had a relationship with Him would have produced laughter, if spoken during his lifetime, or in front of family or friends. This angered the buffalo and panicked audience members, causing the animals to break free of their wire fencing and chase audience members, some of whom were trampled. News of an arriving cattle herd was met with conflicting emotions in old Abilene. Hardin was an extremely accomplished gunfighter and was known to have killed over 40 men in his lifetime; he in turn idealized Hickok and identified with Wild Bill. Not exactly the image some "historians" have given us concerning this fearsome gunfighter, but true none the less. "Good morning boys and young ladies", he said to the group of young children. The goal, which was successful, was to ship gamblers, prostitutes, and other needed commodities to the new boomtown of Deadwood, South Dakota. After shooting Coe, Hickok caught a glimpse of someone running toward him and quickly fired two more shots in reaction, accidentally shooting and killing Abilene Special Deputy Marshal Mike Williams, who was coming to his aid. The told them that the June ordinance concerning firearms was still in effect, and that they should give up their guns and leave town. James Butler Hickbetter known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a figure in the American Old West. The truth is no one knows for sure. When he did go on patrol he would walk down the center of the street, rarely using the sidewalks. The new trial was held in U.S. territory, in Yankton, South Dakota. According to Joseph G. Rosa, a Hickok biographer, the shot that felled the elder McCanles came from inside the house. B. Hickok (Wild Bill) formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Wild Bill Hickok - Single Episodes | Old Time Radio Show | Audio. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wild-Bill-Hickok, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Wild Bill Hickok, Wild Bill Hickok - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He was an assistant station tender for the Pony Express at the Rock Creek, Nebraska station. I think not. [19], In July 1869, Hickok was back in Hays and was elected sheriff and city marshal of Ellis County, Kansas, in a special election, on August 23, 1869.[20]. 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. Legend has it that Hickok had lost his stake and had just borrowed $50 from the house to continue playing. In truth, he seems to have been afflicted with trachoma, a common vision disorder of the time. After fighting in the Union army during the American Civil War, he became a legendary army scout, and later, lawman and gunfighter. Personal account of the foreman of the Overland Stage Company stations, as given to, Judge Boyd told the jury, "The defendant cannot set up justification that he acted in self-defense if he was willing to engage in a fight with the deceased. The hand of cards which he supposedly held at the time of his death has become known as the dead man's hand: two pairs; black aces and eights. 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. [77][78] A print of the film is maintained in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.[79]. This is the first known time he was referred to as "William". One day, while swimming with some friends in a stream that ran through the property, a local bully started picking on one of his friends. 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. 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 may have been acting sheriff before he was elected; a newspaper reported that he arrested offenders on August 18, and the commander of Fort Hays wrote a letter to the assistant adjutant general on August 21 in which he praised Hickok for his work in apprehending deserters. This particular regiment was destined to become immortal. According to Hardin's biography Hickok came to disarm Hardin one day, for violation of the gun carry laws enacted in Abilene. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, May 27 1837 - Troy Grove, Comt De Lasalle, Illinois, tats-Unis, Aug 2 1876 - Comt De Lawrence, Dakota Du Sud, tats-Unis, May 27 1837 - Homer, La Salle, Illinois, United States, Aug 2 1876 - Spearfish, Comt De Lawrence, Dakota Du Sud, tats-Unis, Agnes MERSMAN, Calamity Jane Aka Martha Jane CANARY, Horace Dewey HICKOK, Lorenzo Butler HICKOK, Lydia HICKOK, Celinda HICKOK, Oliver Otis HICKOK, May 27 1837 - Homer, Troy Grove, La Salle, Il, Usa, Celinda Dewey SMITH, Lydia BARNES, Lorenzo Butler HICKOK, Oliver H HICKOK, Horace Dewey HICKOK, Mount Morian Cemetery, Deadwood, Lawrence, South Dakota, United States, Cause of death: Firearm, Murder - Aug 2 1876 - Deadwood, Aug 2 1876 - Deadwood, United States, Nuttal & Mann's, United States, Aug 2 1876 - Deadwood, Lawrence, South Dakota, Usa, Celinda Dewey HICKOK, Lorenzo B HICKOK, Horace D HICKOK, Lydia HICKOK, May 27 1837 - Troy Grove, Lasalle Co., Illinois. 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. Good bye, Colorado Charlie, C. H. 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 gravesite is also in Deadwood. [3]. The story continued that McCanles invaded the Wellmans cabin and prepared to shoot Hickok, who acted faster and shot McCanles in the chest. The new trial was held in Yankton, the capital of the Dakota Territory. A request for any/all information on either the ship or the indicated captain, from the Cunard line, was submitted by Mr. Rosa in 1957. Hickok was still, or again, in Hays in August 1868 when he brought 200 Cheyenne to Hays to viewed by excursionists. This, of course, incensed the mob. Her father cried out "Children we're safe, it's Marshal Hickok they'll not harm us now!" "[3] In 1861, after growing a mustache following the McCanles incident, he began calling himself Wild Bill. He wrote, "Agnes darling, if such should be we never meet again, while firing my last shot, I will gently breathe the name of my wife, Agnes, and with wishes even for my enemies I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other shore." While wandering around the town of Independence Missouri, Hickok noticed a large crowd gathered outside a saloon. Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. Hickok had put two bullets into Coe's abdomen,but seeing someone else running into the gunfight, with a drawn gun, Hickok fired again not recognizing his friend. shot Tutt to prevent the threatened impending injury [then] the jury will acquit.". He thought nothing of running a man out of town, rather than locking him up in jail. Mulvey wheeled his horse around to face those who might shoot him from behind, and before he realized he had been fooled, Hickok shot him through the temple. She claimed to be the daughter of Calamity Jane. Hickok rode Buckshot while 300-pound Jingles rode Joker. At this time two very different factions were forming in the Kansas territory. Brady, like Varnes, had disappeared from Deadwood and could not be found. Two more Hickok children were eventually born, Celinda Hickok in September of 1839, and Lydia Hickok in October of 1842. He was born James Butler Hickok on 27 May 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. 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