[23][b], After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Hickok became a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. In 1876 in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Hickok married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a former circus performer. [24], In late 1863, Hickok worked for the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police. [60] McCall then entered the saloon, walked up behind Hickok, drew his Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army .45-caliber revolver, and shouted, "Damn you! [10][pageneeded][11] In an 1867 article about his shootout with Davis Tutt, his surname was misspelled as Hitchcock. Hickok waved his hand past Mulvey at some onlookers and yelled, "Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk." Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill Hickok. [69] In 1979, Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. 3. [15] He grew a moustache following the McCanles incident, and in 1861 began calling himself "Wild Bill".[16][17]. ", Judge Boyd said, "That when danger is threatened and impending a man is not compelled to stand with his arms folded until it is too late to offer successful resistance, and if the jury believe from the evidence that Tutt was a fighting character and a dangerous man and that [Defendant] was aware such was his character and that Tutt at the time he was shot by the Deft. According to the Harpers account, Hickok, while guiding a detachment of Union cavalry through southern Nebraska, decided to stop and visit an old friend, Wellmans wife, at Rock Creek Station. There are many versions of the shootout that occurred at Rock Creek on July 12, 1861, shortly after the start of the Civil War, and all, in one way or another, contributed to Hickoks legend. After his release, McCall had lingered in Deadwood for a short while before heading to Wyoming. He was bedridden for four months before being sent to Rock Creek Station in the Nebraska Territory to work as a stable hand while he recovered. "[citation needed]. McCall tried to . It was the last word on a true child of one of the wildest women of the west. Did Nick McGlashan have a family? In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas, near present-day Lenexa. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1979). Wild Bill Hickok was an American folk hero. Outlaw John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive in early 1871. He was arrested while using the name Haycock in 1865. Famous Cowgirls. Although McCall accepted the money, he was apparently insulted. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. At the coroner's inquest into Strawhun's death, despite "very contradictory" evidence from witnesses, the jury found the shooting justifiable. Red objects generally appear black in early photographs, as the photographic processes were insensitive to red light. Hickok ran as an Independent; but lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan, who ran as a Democrat. His own show, The Daring Buffalo Chase of the Plains, did not fare well, but in 1873 he joined Buffalo Bill Codys The Scouts of the Prairie, which was based in Rochester, New York. Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman, army scout and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. Still, feeling he had escaped punishment, McCall began to brag to anyone that would listen that he had killed Wild Bill Hickok. Several times he was arrested for vagrancy. In an instant, he pulled the triggers again sending two bullets into Coe's abdomen (Coe lived a day or two) and whirling with his two guns drawn on the drunken crowd of cowboys, "and now do any of you fellows want the rest of these bullets?" But the U.S. marshals were on his trail and McCall was arrested on August 29, 1876 in Laramie, where he was held before he was extradited to Yankton, South Dakota. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter. In more recent times, however, Calamity Jane biographer James McLaird disproved McCormicks claim by researching when and how her fantastic autobiography unfolded. On December 9, Hickok and Lanihan both served legal papers on Macintosh, and local newspapers acknowledged that Hickok had guardianship of Hays City. At Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett. During the Civil War, he served as a wagon master, scout, detective, courier, and spy. Upon Hickoks arrival, she told him that a Confederate gang led by McCanles was pursuing him, and almost immediately they were set upon by the Confederates. According to their account, the shootout took place not inside the Wellmans cabin but inside the Rock Creek station itself, and Hickoks defense was far from single-handed. Di Certo is the author of ten books and composer of three albums of children's songs. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. What do you know about Pete Spence, a member of the Cowboys of Tombstone? [d] The jury voted to clear Hickok, resulting in public backlash and criticism of the verdict. In the melee, Hickok caught a glimpse of someone moving towards him and responded with two shots killing his deputy Mike Williams. A young drifter named Jack McCall walked in and approached Hickok from behind. Later, after bragging of his murder of Hickok, McCall was retried in Laramie, Wyoming Territory, found guilty, and hanged on March 1, 1877. Why were some shotguns called Greeners by cowboys in the Old West. Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill . ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1982). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On July 21, 1865, in a shootout in Springfield, Missouri, he killed David Tutt, a skillful gunfighter who had been flaunting the watch he won from Hickok in a poker game. One story claimed he killed a bear with his bare hands and a bowie knife. BA1 1UA The watch had great sentimental value to Hickok, so he asked Tutt not to wear it in public. Jan MacKell Collins is the author of numerous books about the Old West, the latest isLost Ghost Towns of Teller County. [34]:34 The show featured six buffalo, a bear, and a monkey, and one show ended in disaster when a buffalo refused to act, prompting Hickok to fire a bullet into the sky. Several sources, including Jessie, verify the child was born on October 28. There the familys small farm served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, Wild Bill Hickok served in the Union Army as a civilian scout and later a provost marshal. Wild Bill Hickok begins to establish his reputation as a gunfighter after he shoots three men during a shootout in Nebraska. B. Hickock [sic] (Wild Bill) formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Later historians, however, have presented a radically different portrayal of the events at Rock Creek. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the reinterment. The cards he was holding at the time a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights became known as "the dead man's hand.". Michelle Renes novel, Hour Glass, is a moving, revealing picture of the legendary Calamity Jane., A bar in Hays City, Kansas, on July 17, 1870. Hickok was born and raised on a farm in northern Illinois at a time when lawlessness and vigilante activity were rampant because of the influence of the "Banditti of the Prairie". [66] McCall was acquitted of the murder, which prompted editorializing in the Black Hills Pioneer: "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." When they returned from overseas, Agnes and Bill Lake decided to start their own circus. Classmate Mary Connolly remembered Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground. But mother and daughter eventually left town again. She appears to have finally learned the truth by the time she died in 1980, for her death certificate correctly lists her mothers maiden name as Canary. Quay House, The Ambury, Both towns had become outposts for lawless men before Hickok arrived and turned things around. (Not Really) Roughing It on the Mark Twain Trail, A Song of Praise for a Forgotten Folklore Collector, John Waynes Silver Screen Shootin Irons. Just weeks later, on her deathbed in Terry, South Dakota, Jane confessed that she and Jessie were now estranged and declined to say where her daughter was living. August marks of the deaths of two of the Wild West's most famous figures: Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Hickok was of English ancestry. [82], At the time of this affair I was at a station farther west and reached this station just as Wild Bill was getting ready to go to Beatrice for his trial. 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. At 4:15 in the afternoon, a young gunslinger named Jack McCall walked into the saloon, approached Hickok from behind, and shot him in the back of the head. ), 18721886. McCanles reportedly threatened Wellman, and either Wellman or Hickok, who was hiding behind a curtain, killed McCanles. [6][35] Witnesses confirm that while working as a scout at Fort Harker, Kansas, on May 11, 1867, Hickok was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after he shot and killed two. James Butler Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in Homer, Illinois, (present-day Troy Grove, Illinois) to William Alonzo Hickok, a farmer and abolitionist, and his wife, Polly Butler. Most newspapers referred to him as William Haycock until 1869. He usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but the only seat available when he joined the game was a chair facing away from the door. He is chiefly portrayed as a protagonist, although historical accounts of his actions are often controversial, and much of his career is known to have been exaggerated both by himself and by contemporary mythmakers. McCormick had a lot of written proof too, which was largely believed by those who met her. McCanles also acted as the stations manager before the company replaced him with Horace Wellman, and McCanles had reputedly ridiculed Hickok during his convalescence from his injuries. [51], Hickok was relieved of his duties as marshal less than two months after the accidental shooting, this incident being only one of a series of questionable shootings and claims of misconduct during his career. The identity of the fifth card (his "hole card") is also the subject of debate. Hickok, just a stable-hand at the time, killed the three men, despite being severely injured. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. subscribe to All About History for as little as 26. 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. Doc Holliday did have a bad cough, as suggested in this episode, from his tuberculosis. He is now at Yankton, D.T. McCall was tried and acquitted of murder as a result of his dubious claim that the killing was in revenge for Hickoks murder of his brother in Abilene. 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. Hickok and Brinks were charged with murder but found not guilty. "Wild Bill. "[49], Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had a dispute that resulted in a shootout. Did such wagons actually exist? Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Thus began the reputation that Under the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock" [sic], the article recounted the "hundreds" of men whom Hickok had personally killed and other exaggerated exploits. . During the Civil War he found employment as a teamster and spy for the Union Army. He was assigned Buffalo Bill Cody, a sergeant, and five privates. Despite his reputation,[70] Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. The Harper's piece also told the story of how Hickok had pointed to a letter "O" that was "no bigger than a man's heart." Wild Bill Hickok's proficiency with a pistol is well known, but there remains some confusion concerning how he used his weapons and which ones he actually used. Hickok managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear's paw. 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". Jessie later said that the Deadwood Chief of Police wrote her about Janes death in 1903. This, in turn, was destroyed by souvenir hunters and replaced in 1902 by a life-sized sandstone sculpture of Hickok. 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. In 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was suffering from glaucoma. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wild-Bill-Hickok, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Wild Bill Hickok, Wild Bill Hickok - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). 10 Black Pioneers in Aviation Who Broke Barriers, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Wild Bill Hickok, Birth Year: 1837, Birth date: May 27, 1837, Birth State: Illinois, Birth City: Troy Grove, Birth Country: United States. The story continued that McCanles invaded the Wellmans cabin and prepared to shoot Hickok, who acted faster and shot McCanles in the chest. He traveled west to Deadwood, South Dakota, in a wagon train that included Martha Jane Cannary (Calamity Jane), who later claimed she had secretly married him. In real life, Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) never met 'Doc' Holliday: she actually was in love and pursued 'Wild Bill' Hickock. The gun did not sell because the highest bid of $220,000 was less than the reserve set by the gun's owners.[76]. before shooting Hickok in the back of the head at point-blank range. In 1899, Dorsett took Jessie to live with his mother in Lewiston. No other woman in the American west possesses a more enigmatic legacy than Martha Calamity Jane Canary. As the scene unfolded, McCanles entered the station, and, from behind the curtain that divided it in two, either Hickok or Wellman shot McCanles. "George Ward Nichols and the Legend of Wild Bill Hickok. "Wild Bill's Sweetheart: The Life of Mary Jane Owens. She was Maude Weir, born in 1881. The couple had five children besides James Butler , three boys and two girls. Circa 1890. Hickok was arrested for murder, tried, and acquitted. Around this time, young James Hickok began using his father's name of William - the 'Wild' part came later - and he also met Buffalo Bill Cody, then just a messenger boy on a wagon train. They even did a stint abroad, performing for one season in Germany in 1862. She claims to have known James Hickok, known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, and she is thought to have traveled with him for several years. Did Wild Bill Hickok have a child? . He replaced Tom "Bear River" Smith, who had been killed while serving an arrest warrant on November 2, 1870. There, again, he killed several men, including his deputy marshal, whose deaththe result of an accidental shootingled to Hickoks dismissal. [h], McCall's motive for killing Hickok is the subject of speculation, largely concerning McCall's anger at Hickok's having given him money for breakfast the day before, after McCall had lost heavily. Playing cards with his back to the door, Hickok had no clue that he was about to be murdered. Omissions? [50] The two entrepreneurs had painted a picture of a bull with a large erect penis on the side of their establishment as an advertisement. He later became a lawman before settling down in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death. Before and during Hickok's lifetime (1837-1876), the most readily available firearms were cap-and-ball, or percussion. [29][30], Two days later, Hickok was arrested for murder. Last, there is Jessiethe most credible of Calamity Janes daughters. The trial began on December 4 and it only took two days for the jury to find McCall guilty. # x27 ; s lifetime ( 1837-1876 ), the Ambury, Both Towns had become for... Word on a true child of one of the fifth card ( his `` hole card '' is!, South Dakota where he would did wild bill hickok have children meet his death the chest subscription! 70 ] Hickok was arrested for murder, tried, and acquitted assigned Buffalo Cody! Montana, Jane did wild bill hickok have children in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett anyone that would listen that he escaped! 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Women of the page across from the article title Hickok was buried in the melee, Hickok inducted... Hickock [ sic ] ( Wild Bill Hickok were charged with murder but found not guilty a bowie knife a! Story claimed he killed several men, despite being severely injured backlash criticism., including Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground Bill Cody a! Criticism of the workers, Joseph G. ( 1979 ) Rock Creek a gunfighter after he shoots three,...

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