Hickok is a playable character in the 2018 board game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games. In real life, Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) never met 'Doc' Holliday: she actually was in love and pursued 'Wild Bill' Hickock. Picks on rebels, especially Texans, to kill." 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." Martha (her name wasnt even Jane) had several husbands and a daughter, Jessie, who died in Los Angeles in 1960. He replaced Tom "Bear River" Smith, who had been killed while serving an arrest warrant on November 2, 1870. A former cavalryman, J.W. This, in turn, was destroyed by souvenir hunters and replaced in 1902 by a life-sized sandstone sculpture of Hickok. 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. [28] Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok", and Hickok killed him with a shot through the head. A legend during his life and considered one of the American west's premier gunfighters, James Butler ("Wild Bill") Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in Troy Grove, Illinois. Despite his reputation,[70] Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. Their quick-draw duel was recorded as the first of its kind. The two men faced each other sideways for a duel. Joseph J. (If said child had actually existed, he or she was said to . Jack McCall. Jesse James suffered from it. His exploits as a gunfighter, scout, and lawman were legendary and he became the topic of many fictionalized accounts. "George Ward Nichols and the Legend of Wild Bill Hickok. Brink, were tried for killing McCanles, but were found to have acted in self-defense. 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. She claims to have known James Hickok, known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, and she is thought to have traveled with him for several years. At Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. On July 21, 1865, frontier legend Wild Bill Hickok gunned down gambler Davis Tutt in what is often called the first "Wild West" showdown. In July, Hickok told a newspaper reporter that he had led several soldiers in pursuit of Indians who had killed four men near the fort on July 2. 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. In 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was suffering from glaucoma. Hickok's brother, Lorenzo Butler, traveled from Illinois to attend the retrial. He was involved in several notable shootouts during the course of his life. He told Clemmons (Hardin) to stay out of trouble in Abilene and asked him to hand over his guns, and Hardin complied. He was born James Butler Hickok on 27 May 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. 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? [citation needed], Buffalo Bill claimed that he encountered Hickok disguised as a Confederate officer in Missouri in 1864. [21][22] Hickok, Wellman, and another employee, J.W. Less than a month after Hickok's death, the trial was found to have no legal status because Deadwood was located in Indian Territory - McCall's acquittal was deemed invalid. [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. 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. Hickok waved his hand past Mulvey at some onlookers and yelled, "Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk." Hickok was of English ancestry. [citation needed] Although he was just 39, his marksmanship and health were apparently in decline, and he had been arrested several times for vagrancy,[53] despite earning a good income from gambling and displays of showmanship only a few years earlier. Zimmerman said that despite their closeness in age, he and Jessie didnt say much to each other. In December, the Rawlins Republican reported that Jane visited town with a little girl she had stolen. The child was no doubt Jessie, who was next seen with her mother in Ekalaka, Montana in 1894 by at least two people. BA1 1UA While Hickok claimed to have killed numerous named and unnamed gunmen in his lifetime, his career as a gunfighter only lasted from 1861 to 1871. The watch had great sentimental value to Hickok, so he asked Tutt not to wear it in public. [72] As of 2020, the flag is no longer flown. When Varnes could not be found, McCall then implicated Tim Brady in the plot. As a very young boy, Bill was born to father William Alonzo Hickok and mother Polly Butler. [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. Duck Bill and Shanghai Bill [citation needed], From 1871 until his death in 1876, Hickok had vision problems. 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. In 1899, Dorsett took Jessie to live with his mother in Lewiston. Both towns had become outposts for lawless men before Hickok arrived and turned things around. Hickok was assigned to bring the men to Topeka for trial, and he requested a military escort from Fort Hays. She said she was the daughter of Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, and was born in a cabin near Livingston, Montana in 1873. For the next several years, Hickok worked as a stagecoach driver. Fox met Jessie when she interviewed Jane for an article in Illustrated American magazine. Writing in 1911, he detailed his admiration for Hickok and included a paragraph on the shooting that differs considerably from the reported account: "Phil" Coe was from Texas, ran the "Bull's Head" a saloon and gambling den, sold whiskey and men's souls. Upon being sprung, Jane whisked into Castle City, picked up the girl, and went on her way. Keith Bell Manchester, United Kingdom Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok moved west in 1855 to farm and joined General James Lane's Free State. Bonhams auction company offered this pistol at auction on November 18, 2013, in San Francisco, California,[75] described as Hickok's Smith & Wesson No. [43], On April 15, 1871, Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas. The event haunted Hickok for the rest of his life. Dismounting, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, but the bullet ricocheted off its skull, infuriating it. After a brief visit from Hickok, who then rode off into the sunset, a sea captain named James ONeil happened to find her. A second son, named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in October of 1831 but died soon thereafter. 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. She said she was the daughter of Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, and was born in a cabin near Livingston, Montana in 1873. Paramount Pictures' Western silent film Wild Bill Hickok (released on November 18, 1923) was directed by Clifford Smith and stars William S. Hart as Hickok. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Neither claim was true. Omissions? I would have rather been somewhere else, but Bill stopped. Wild Bill Hickoks legend only grew further when other stories about his fighting prowess surfaced. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [1][2], 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. Not having the courage to do it himself, he one day filled about 200 cowboys with whiskey intending to get them into trouble with Wild Bill, hoping that they would get to shooting and in the melee shoot the marshal. After his release, McCall had lingered in Deadwood for a short while before heading to Wyoming. They had ivory grips and nickel plating, and were ornately engraved with "J.B. Hickok1869" on the backstrap. Hickok never fought in another gun battle. [26]:329 Hickok did not enjoy acting, and often hid behind scenery. [10][pageneeded][11] In an 1867 article about his shootout with Davis Tutt, his surname was misspelled as Hitchcock. In 1866 Hickok helped guide Gen. William T. Shermans tour of the West, and in 186768 he scouted for Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock and Lieut. Jan MacKell Collins is the author of numerous books about the Old West, the latest isLost Ghost Towns of Teller County. The. 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. 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. What happened to Wild Bill Hickok's pistols? Jessie and Jane were back together when they arrived in Billings, Montana in 1898. The son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok, he was by all accounts a master marksman from an early age. Hickoks growing reputation for fairness and courage earned him, in 1858, a position as a constable in Monticello, Kansas. He twice asked another man at the table, Charles Rich, to change seats with him, but Rich refused. ", DeMattos, Jack (1980). Wild Bill Hickok certainly was: The man born in 1837 to William Alonso and Polly Butler Hickok found his superpower, expert marksmanship, at a young age, and went on to have all sorts of adventures. . The first was Bill Mulvey, who was rampaging through town, drunk, shooting out mirrors and whisky bottles behind bars. [69] In 1979, Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. On August 2, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok died a sudden, violent death while gambling in a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. [74] He wore his revolvers butt-forward in a belt or sash (when wearing city clothes or buckskins, respectively), and seldom used holsters; he drew the pistols using a "reverse", "twist", or cavalry draw, as would a cavalryman. Did Old West houses have outhouses, and were public facilities available? Unsurprisingly, the two gunslingers found much to relate to in . Hickok encouraged McCall to quit the game until he could cover his losses and offered to give him money for breakfast. "[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. [9], Shortly before his death, Hickock wrote a letter to his new wife, which read in part, "Agnes Darling, if such should be we never meet again, while firing my last shot, I will gently breathe the name of my wifeAgnesand with wishes even for my enemies I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other shore. William Austin, the cemetery caretaker, estimated 500lb (230kg). 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. Infuriated, Thompson tried to incite John Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok by exclaiming to Hardin that "He's a damn Yankee. Hardin left Kansas before Hickok could arrest him. It is believed that McCanles arrived at the station with his son, Monroe; his cousin, James Woods; and James Gordon, a man in his service. I will be. She was Maude Weir, born in 1881. Playing cards with his back to the door, Hickok had no clue that he was about to be murdered. [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. To be entitled to acquittal on the ground of self-defense, he must have been anxious to avoid a conflict, and must have used all reasonable means to avoid it. On March 5, 1876, he married Agnes Thatcher Lake, an owner of a circus in Cheyenne, Wyoming territory. Corrections? From William Alonzo and Polly Butler's marriage, they welcomed six children in total, and HIckon is the fourth among them all. There, the freight company had built a stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles. 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. Many people knew that Jane had a "crush" on Hickok but few, if any, knew that they were married. The couple had five children besides James Butler, three boys and two girls. This, too, was badly defaced, and was then enclosed in a cage for protection. "J.B. Hickok, Deputy U.S. Hickok is known to have fatally shot six men and is suspected of having killed a seventh (McCanles). Classmate Mary Connolly remembered Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground. But mother and daughter eventually left town again. 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). The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. 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). 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. 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. McCormick claimed that ONeil offered to adopt her, taking she and her mother to meet his wife in Omaha. What was the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane? [81], Hickok's birthplace is now the Wild Bill Hickok Memorial and is a listed historic site under the supervision of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Lonergan pinned Hickok to the ground, and Kyle put his gun to Hickok's ear. Wikimedia Commons Advertisement 11. Hickoks father moved his family from Vermont to Maine to Homer (now Troy Grove), Illinois. He died in 1887. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1979). authorities, and after trial has been sentenced to death for willful murder. [12] The article was controversial wherever Hickok was known, and several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals. 2 Army revolver, a five-shot, single-action, .32-caliber weapon, innovative as one of the first metallic cartridge firearms and favored by many Union officers during the Civil War. His parents were William Alonzo Hickok and Polly Butler. Jane was well-known for her abilities as a sharpshooter . One story claimed he killed a bear with his bare hands and a bowie knife. Were Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane married, and did they have a daughter? 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. Did Wild Bill Hickok have children? Hickok remains a popular figure of frontier history. Calamity Jane. 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). It was the last word on a true child of one of the wildest women of the west. [52], In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. In the 2018 board game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games McCall had lingered in Deadwood for a while! Went on her way was then enclosed in a cage for protection and often behind., Joseph G. ( 1979 ) story claimed he killed a bear with his bare hands and a?. 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