"Gunfighters of the Real West: Wild Bill Hickok. Di Certo is the author of ten books and composer of three albums of children's songs. 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. 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. "Wild Bill's Sweetheart: The Life of Mary Jane Owens. Hickoks father moved his family from Vermont to Maine to Homer (now Troy Grove), Illinois. ", Nichols, George Ward (1867). [24], In late 1863, Hickok worked for the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police. Hickok's retort is one of the West's most famous sayings (though possibly apocryphal): "Did the crow have a pistol? On October 5, 1871, Hickok was standing off a crowd during a street brawl when Coe fired two shots. Nicholss version of the shootout in Harpers grabbed the publics attention, making Hickok an instant legend whose gunfighting prowess became fodder for dime novels. Hickok saved Cody from getting beaten by another man and the two became longtime pals. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. When he saw Hickok, he leveled his cocked rifle at him. His exploits as a gunfighter, scout, and lawman were legendary and he became the topic of many fictionalized accounts. The son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok, he was by all accounts a master marksman from an early age. Hickok waved his hand past Mulvey at some onlookers and yelled, "Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk." Jane was well-known for her abilities as a sharpshooter . But Coe "reckoned without his host". She was Maude Weir, born in 1881. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. August marks of the deaths of two of the Wild West's most famous figures: Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Hickok died immediately. Hickok moved west in 1855 to farm and joined General James Lane's Free State (antislavery) forces in Kansas. In fact, William Hickok (senior) was so opposed to slavery that it's been reported that the Hickok house was a station for the Underground Railroad, where black slaves stopped for refuge on their journey north to freedom. It is a loose adaptation of Hickok's life, ending with his famous aces-and-eights card hand. McLintock used a cane to tap the body, face, and head, finding no soft tissue anywhere. [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. Corrections? This, in turn, was destroyed by souvenir hunters and replaced in 1902 by a life-sized sandstone sculpture of Hickok. Hickok ran as an Independent; but lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan, who ran as a Democrat. The couple had a daughter, who also became an accomplished performer and horseback rider. [9], Hickok used his late father's name, William Hickok, from 1858, and the name William Haycock during the American Civil War. [26]:329 Hickok did not enjoy acting, and often hid behind scenery. He was born James Butler Hickok on 27 May 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. 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. James Butler Hickok arrived in Springfield, Missouri . Following his Civil War service, Wild Bill Hickok moved to Kansas where he was appointed sheriff in Hays City and marshal of Abilene. This was his sixth murder. Hickok lost his re-election bid to his deputy. He is said to have wrestled a bear ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1979). What was the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane? The event haunted Hickok for the rest of his life. The family did some moving around during this time period and the next child, James Butler Hickok, was born in May of 1837. By the end of 1861, he was a wagon master, but in September 1862, he was discharged for unknown reasons. Area newspapers reported that Jane named the boy Little Calamity. A freighter named Evans recalled watching Jane smother the baby with kisses, calling him Muzzies yittle snoozey [sic] darling. Jane later told others that Little Calamity died. 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. 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. The gun did not sell because the highest bid of $220,000 was less than the reserve set by the gun's owners.[76]. Her friends held a fundraiser for her and the benefit proved a howling successuntil Jane began treating her generous friends to drinks. "The Custer-Hickok Shootout in Hays City. Not wasting a second, he quietly drew his revolver and shot Hickok in the back of the head, instantly killing him. Their quick-draw duel was recorded as the first of its kind. One story claimed he killed a bear with his bare hands and a bowie knife. In the early 1990s ABC television series Young Riders, a fictional account of Pony Express riders, Hickok is portrayed by Josh Brolin.[80]. In 1869 Hickok became sheriff of Hays City, Kansas, where he killed several men in shootouts. Hickok said he had "tried to restore order". In another account of the Coe shootout: Theophilus Little, the mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumber yard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook, which was ultimately given to the Abilene Historical Society. Joseph J. [i][68], Jack McCall was hanged on March 1, 1877, and buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery. No other woman in the American west possesses a more enigmatic legacy than Martha Calamity Jane Canary. In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas, near present-day Lenexa. [73], Hickok's favorite guns were a pair of Colt 1851 Navy Model (.36 caliber) cap-and-ball revolvers. [citation needed], From 1871 until his death in 1876, Hickok had vision problems. By Tyler MacDonald / May 18, 2021 9:31 am EST. His father was said to have used the family house, now demolished, as a station on the Underground Railroad. ", This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 18:12. 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). While at Castle City Jane went to Gilt Edge, some two hundred miles away, where she was jailed for being drunk. Both towns had become outposts for lawless men before Hickok arrived and turned things around. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Several times he was arrested for vagrancy. Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 - August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. At Castle City, Montana in 1893, when Jane was running a restaurant, she had with her the daughter of one of her soldier friends in Texas who probably was Jessie. [64], Hickok was playing five-card stud or five-card draw when he was shot. 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. Omissions? [5] William Hickok died in 1852, when James was 15. Nick McGlashan loved his family, friends and fans. 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. The. Jessie later said that the Deadwood Chief of Police wrote her about Janes death in 1903. 22nd August 2017 2, serial number 29963, a .32 rimfire with a six-inch barrel, blued finish, and varnished rosewood grips. Wild Bill Hickok was an American folk hero. Astrological Sign: Gemini, Death Year: 1876, Death date: August 2, 1876, Death State: South Dakota, Death City: Deadwood, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Wild Bill Hickok Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/personality/wild-bill-hickok, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: July 28, 2020, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. Classmate Mary Connolly remembered Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground. But mother and daughter eventually left town again. He was famous on the Deadliest Catch for his hard work, knowledge of fishing, and quick-witted humor. 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. Many people knew that Jane had a "crush" on Hickok but few, if any, knew that they were married. 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. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the reinterment. What happened to Wild Bill Hickok's pistols? Before being called Wild Bill Hickok, his original name was James Butler Hickok. McCall alleged that John Varnes, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him to murder Wild Bill. From there the ONeils took the pair to the family home in Richmond, Virginia, and ultimately raised the Jean in Liverpool, England. 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. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1982). In 1876 in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Hickok married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a former circus performer. This was claimed after he was killed during a poker game on Aug. 2, 1876. Under the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock" [sic], the article recounted the "hundreds" of men whom Hickok had personally killed and other exaggerated exploits. The story continued that McCanles invaded the Wellmans cabin and prepared to shoot Hickok, who acted faster and shot McCanles in the chest. Lancaster, California. When Varnes could not be found, McCall then implicated Tim Brady in the plot. Only station employees were allowed to testify at the trial (testimony by McCanless son was barred), and the verdict was that the men had acted in self-defense. Future Publishing Limited They arrived in Topeka on April 2. On July 21, 1865, the two men faced off in Springfield's town square, standing sideways before drawing and firing their weapons. [13][14] He was also known before 1861 among Jayhawkers as "Shanghai Bill" because of his height and slim build. 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. Hickok remained in Hays through August 1868, when he brought 200 Cheyenne Indians to Hays to be viewed by "excursionists". ", 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. 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. [6] Since the event was outdoors, he could not compel people to pay, and the venture was a financial failure. There, the freight company had built a stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles. The two men faced each other sideways for a duel. Also in 1995, he's depicted as a character in an episode of Legend (TV series) by William Russ, possibly most famous for his role in Wiseguy (TV series). During Wild Bill Hickok 's life he was many things such as, an actor, gambler, lawman, and a marksman specialists. After his August 1876 murder, she further claimed that they had been married and that he was the father of her child. [23][b], After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Hickok became a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. They performed together until Bill was tragically murdered in 1869. Most newspapers referred to him as William Haycock until 1869. 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 of English ancestry. 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. awaiting execution. [28] Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok", and Hickok killed him with a shot through the head. During this period Hickok prevented a man from beating an 11-year-old boy, who grew up to become Buffalo Bill Cody, Hickoks longtime friend. Former circus performer Evans recalled watching Jane smother the baby with kisses, calling him yittle. 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