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. 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. "Wild Bill and the Timber Thieves. At Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett. To date, four children have been credited to the lady, although some of the claims have come from the children themselves. Then in 1996, a second daughter was revealed. He was one of the early heroes of the West popularized in the dime novels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work included identifying and counting the number of troops in uniform who were drinking while on duty, verifying hotel liquor licenses, and tracking down individuals who owed money to the cash-strapped Union Army. If James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok had an eye disease, present-day experts believe that, like many others of his time, he may have suffered from trachoma. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [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." The cemetery was moved in 1881, and when McCall's body was exhumed, the noose was found still around his neck.[69]. After his August 1876 murder, she further claimed that they had been married and that he was the father of her child. Jessie later said that the Deadwood Chief of Police wrote her about Janes death in 1903. There, the freight company had built a stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Fox met Jessie when she interviewed Jane for an article in Illustrated American magazine. Hickok has remained one of the most popular and iconic figures of the American Old West, and is still frequently depicted in popular culture, including literature, film, and television. 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. Corrections? While in Deadwood, South Dakota, Wild Bill Hickok became a regular poker player at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon. In the melee that followed, Hickok shot Woods, who, most historians agree, was then attacked and ultimately killed with a hoe by Mrs. Wellman. Hickok and Lanihan, however, remained sheriff and deputy, respectively. She claims to have known James Hickok, known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, and she is thought to have traveled with him for several years. The. "[49], Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had a dispute that resulted in a shootout. [73], Hickok's favorite guns were a pair of Colt 1851 Navy Model (.36 caliber) cap-and-ball revolvers. Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickok . ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1982). [3][4] James was the fourth of six children. [12], While in Nebraska, Hickok was derisively referred to by one man as "Duck Bill" for his long nose and protruding lips. "Wild Bill's Sweetheart: The Life of Mary Jane Owens. [61], Hickok died instantly. He later became a lawman before settling down in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death. Best Known For: Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman, army scout and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. Hickok was assigned to bring the men to Topeka for trial, and he requested a military escort from Fort Hays. If the deceased and defendant engaged in a fight or conflict willingly on the part of each, and the defendant killed the deceased, he is guilty of the offense charged, although the deceased may have fired the first shot. After the war Hickok continued his adventurous ways, at times just skirting the right side of the law. 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. Upon being sprung, Jane whisked into Castle City, picked up the girl, and went on her way. He was released on $2,000 bail and stood trial on August 3, 1865. He was found not guilty by a miners court after telling judges that Hickok killed his brother, though later accounts showed McCall had no brothers. Before being called Wild Bill Hickok, his original name was James Butler Hickok. Trachoma is often associated with poverty and poor hygiene that allows the bacteria to infect and re-infect eyes; if left untreated, it can cause blindness. Thus began the reputation that The way Wild Bill conducted himself in his later years was a direct correlation for what he did when he was a young boy. Jack McCall. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. The incident began when David McCanles, his brother William and several farmhands came to the station demanding payment for a property that had been bought from him. Jane had been hired to travel with Kohl & Middleton Dime Museums; as she purchased her ticket out of town she told railroad agent A.O. . ", 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. Wikimedia Commons Calamity Jane poses in front of Wild Bill Hickok's grave. [9][41], The second killed by Hickok was Samuel Strawhun, a cowboy, who was causing a disturbance in a saloon at 1:00 am on September 27, when Hickok and Lanihan went to the scene. Bill and Jane are buried next to each other in Deadwoods Mount Moriah Cemetery. It was here that he supposedly became romantically linked to Martha Jane Canary, also known as "Calamity Jane," but most historians discount any such amorous relationship between the two. 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. by Marshall Trimble | Nov 1, 2007 | Inside History. Following his Civil War service, Wild Bill Hickok moved to Kansas where he was appointed sheriff in Hays City and marshal of Abilene. "Wild Bill. B. Hickock [sic] killed by the assassin Jack McCall in Deadwood, Black Hills, August 2, 1876. A second son, named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in October of 1831 but died soon thereafter. At the time, shooting stray dogs within city limits was legal, and a 50-cent bounty was paid by the city for each one shot. He twice asked another man at the table, Charles Rich, to change seats with him, but Rich refused. i have been told that Wild Bill Hickok is my great great great (i don't know how many greats) uncle, and i haven' been able to find out if any of his brotherrs had kids. 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. He was the son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok (Fishwick). 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. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1977). [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. But Coe "reckoned without his host". In her book Calamity Janes Daughter: The Story of Maude Weir, Weirs own daughter, Ruth Shadley, said her family secretly knew that Maudes real mother was Calamity Jane. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. Hickok left home at age 17 and worked as a canal boat pilot in Utica, Illinois, before heading west in 1856 to Bleeding Kansas, which was embroiled in a violent conflict over whether slavery should be permitted there. [6], Hickok was a good shot from a young age, and was recognized locally as an outstanding marksman with a pistol. Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman, army scout and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. The story quickly became newspaper and magazine fodder. It was the last word on a true child of one of the wildest women of the west. Few could help her verify the truth, and Jean McCormick was of little help. [46]:pp.5456[47], In August 1871, Hickok sought to arrest Hardin for killing Charles Couger in an Abilene hotel "for snoring too loud". Hickok's brother, Lorenzo Butler, traveled from Illinois to attend the retrial. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wild-Bill-Hickok, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Wild Bill Hickok, Wild Bill Hickok - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Despite his reputation,[70] Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. Jane claimed that James Butler Hickok was the father of her child Jean . and that Deft. Hickok remained in Hays through August 1868, when he brought 200 Cheyenne Indians to Hays to be viewed by "excursionists". He was famous on the Deadliest Catch for his hard work, knowledge of fishing, and quick-witted humor. In 1941, Jean Hickok McCormick appeared in Billings, Montana. When Jane arrived in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1895, she told others that she needed money to enrol Jessie in a convent school at Sturgis. Hickok lost a gold watch to Tutt in a poker game. McCall was found guilty and sentenced to death. 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." 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,.css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}contact us! He told Mrs. McCanles he was sorry he had to kill her man then took out $35 [$1,056 in 2021 dollars] and gave it to her saying: "This is all I have, sorry I do not have more to give you." Most newspapers referred to him as William Haycock until 1869. Later that year he became a teamster with the great freighting enterprise Russell, Majors and Waddell, creators of the Pony Express, for which he was too tall and heavy to be a rider. As a result, calcium carbonate from the surrounding soil had replaced the flesh, leading to petrifaction. This was the last time Hickok was ever involved in a gunfight; the accidental death of Deputy Williams was an event that haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life. From there the ONeils took the pair to the family home in Richmond, Virginia, and ultimately raised the Jean in Liverpool, England. Deadwood was overrun with miners, gunmen, and gamblers when Hickok became a peace officer there in July 1876, relying as much on his reputation as on his diminishing gun skills, which were compromised by failing eyesight. Calamity Jane! Jessie withdrew from the Academy a short time later, but in January of 1896, Jane was finally able to take her to St. Martins Academy in Sturgis. Both towns had become outposts for lawless men before Hickok arrived and turned things around. Calamity Jane (1852-1903) was a well-known American frontierswoman and entertainment who was well-known for her marksmanship and acquaintance with Wild Bill Hickok. James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 - August 2, 1876), also known as "Wild Bill" Hickok was a legendary figure in the old west. By Tyler MacDonald / May 18, 2021 9:31 am EST. When did cowboys begin wearing these shirts? 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. What happened to Wild Bill Hickok's pistols? This made it difficult for the men to carry the remains to the new site. A month or so later, he left their honeymoon in Cincinnati for the goldfields of the Black Hills in the Dakota Territory, where he hoped to make enough money to send for her. Her friends held a fundraiser for her and the benefit proved a howling successuntil Jane began treating her generous friends to drinks. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [36][37], In December 1867, newspapers reported that Hickok had come to stay in Hays City, Kansas. They had ivory grips and nickel plating, and were ornately engraved with "J.B. Hickok1869" on the backstrap. [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. He then joined General James Henry Lane's Kansas Brigade, and while serving with the brigade, saw his friend Buffalo Bill Cody, who was serving as a scout. The town of Deadwood, South Dakota, re-enacts Hickok's murder and McCall's capture every summer evening. What do you know about Pete Spence, a member of the Cowboys of Tombstone? Hickok saved Cody from getting beaten by another man and the two became longtime pals. Standing some 50 yards away from his subject, Hickok "without sighting his pistol and with his eye" rang off six shots, each of them hitting the direct center of the letter. His reputation as a gunfighter gave rise to legends and tales about his life. [citation needed], Henry M. Stanley, of the Weekly Missouri Democrat, reported Hickok to be "an inveterate hater of Indian People", perhaps to enhance his reputation as a scout and American fighter, but separating fact from fiction is difficult considering his recruitment of Indians to cross the nation to appear in his own Wild West show. In 1855, at the age of 18, he left to become a part of thegrowing American West. "[27], While in Springfield, Hickok and a local gambler named Davis Tutt had several disagreements over unpaid gambling debts and their common affection for the same women. No other woman in the American west possesses a more enigmatic legacy than Martha Calamity Jane Canary. [12] The article was controversial wherever Hickok was known, and several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals. McCall was brought to trial the next day. She was born in Missouri and spent most of her life on the country's western border. [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! 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. Coe claimed that he was shooting at a stray dog,[g] and then suddenly turned his gun on Hickok, who fired first and killed Coe. The son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok, he was by all accounts a master marksman from an early age. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Not wasting a second, he quietly drew his revolver and shot Hickok in the back of the head, instantly killing him. This was during the Indian Wars, in which Hickok sometimes served as a scout for General George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry. Outlaw John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive in early 1871. [52], In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. They even did a stint abroad, performing for one season in Germany in 1862. Hickok then tried acting in Wild West shows, which were growing in popularity. While at Castle City Jane went to Gilt Edge, some two hundred miles away, where she was jailed for being drunk. [54], Charles Snyder, the Lucien Howe Librarian of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, said "Granular conjunctivitis, ophtalmia, trachomacall it what you willwas common on the Western Frontier. Hickok encouraged McCall to quit the game until he could cover his losses and offered to give him money for breakfast. 22nd August 2017 [citation needed], From 1871 until his death in 1876, Hickok had vision problems. Both parents were reputed to be unsavory, involved in petty crimes and often financially destitute. [58] Jane confirmed this account in an 1896 newspaper interview, although she claimed she had been hospitalized with illness rather than in the guardhouse. Calamity Jane was reported to have been buried next to Hickok according to her dying wish. [f], The regular county election was held on November 2, 1869. Military records after 1865 list him as Hickok, but note that he was also known as Haycock. 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Attacked, crushing Hickok with its body town of Deadwood, South where... American frontiersman, army scout and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier.. Fishwick ) petty crimes and often financially destitute was born in October of 1831 but soon!

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