Hickok then tried acting in Wild West shows, which were growing in popularity. Nick McGlashan loved his family, friends and fans. One account of him, written in the late 1860s, described Hickok as six feet tall, lithe, active, sinewy, [a] daring rider, [a] dead shot with pistol and rifle, [with] long locks, fine features and mustache, buckskin leggings, red shirt, broad-brim hat, twin pistols in belt, rifle in hand. Despite his rough-and-ready ways, Hickok was also said to have been genteel and courteous and to have enjoyed dressing with panache in the latest styles of the day. In one show, he shot the spotlight when it focused on him. Despite his reputation,[70] Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. [21][22] Hickok, Wellman, and another employee, J.W. ), 18721886. McCall was brought to trial the next day. 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. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He was one of the early heroes of the West popularized in the dime novels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [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. 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. 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. Later, after bragging of his murder of Hickok, McCall was retried in Laramie, Wyoming Territory, found guilty, and hanged on March 1, 1877. Entdecke Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Real West - Hardcover - GOOD in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! [24], In late 1863, Hickok worked for the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police. 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. 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. At Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett. . [64], Hickok was playing five-card stud or five-card draw when he was shot. 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. In 1859, he joined the Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, the parent company of the Pony Express. James Butler Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois, on May 27, 1837, to William Alonzo Hickok and Polly Butler Hickok. He was arrested while using the name Haycock in 1865. McCormick had a lot of written proof too, which was largely believed by those who met her. Famous Cowgirls. Did Nick McGlashan have a family? By 1942 Jessie had changed her story, perhaps at McCormicks urging. Under the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock" [sic], the article recounted the "hundreds" of men whom Hickok had personally killed and other exaggerated exploits. [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. [40]:192, On July 17, 1870, Hickok was attacked by two troopers from the 7th U.S. Cavalry, Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kyle (sometimes spelled Kile),[42] in a saloon. All rights reserved. In July, 1865, in Springfield, Missouri's town square, Hickok killed Davis Tutt, an old friend who after personal grudges escalated became an enemy. His exploits as a gunfighter, scout, and lawman were legendary and he became the topic of many fictionalized accounts. After the war Hickok continued his adventurous ways, at times just skirting the right side of the law. He drove freight wagons and coaches. ", Nichols, George Ward (1867). While in Deadwood, South Dakota, Wild Bill Hickok became a regular poker player at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon. 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. August marks of the deaths of two of the Wild West's most famous figures: Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. There, the freight company had built a stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles. 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. Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 - August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. setTimeout(function(){var t=document.createElement("script");t.setAttribute("src","https://sample.dragonforms.com/getEmbeddedClientScript.do?embeddedsite=TW_dispatch_nl"),t.setAttribute("type","text/javascript"),document.body.appendChild(t)},5); Become a subscriber today and youll recieve a new issue every month plus unlimited access to our full archive of backlogged issues. The town of Deadwood, South Dakota, re-enacts Hickok's murder and McCall's capture every summer evening. 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. Hickok is currently interred in a 10ft (3m) square plot at the Mount Moriah Cemetery, surrounded by a cast-iron fence, with a U.S. flag flying nearby. McCall alleged that John Varnes, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him to murder Wild Bill. 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. Hickok was of English ancestry. Hickok moved west in 1855 to farm and joined General James Lane's Free State (antislavery) forces in Kansas. Classmate Mary Connolly remembered Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground. But mother and daughter eventually left town again. [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. After his August 1876 murder, she further claimed that they had been married and that he was the father of her child. Hickok was arrested for murder, tried, and acquitted. 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. 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. "Wild Bill and the Timber Thieves. [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. 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. He was involved in several notable shootouts during the course of his life. 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. For the next several years, various witnesses saw Jane, who towed Jessie around with her as she drank her way across the west. During the Civil War, he served as a wagon master, scout, detective, courier, and spy. "Wild Bill's Sweetheart: The Life of Mary Jane Owens. [62][63] Hickok may have told his friend Charlie Utter and others who were traveling with them that he thought he would be killed while in Deadwood. Many historic sites and monuments commemorate his life, and he has been depicted numerous times in literature, film, and television. In 1876 in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Hickok married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a former circus performer. Drawn to this ruffian lifestyle, he headed west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, working as a stagecoach driver and later as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. When did cowboys begin wearing these shirts? He was released on $2,000 bail and stood trial on August 3, 1865. I will be. Hickok may have picked up the nickname Wild Bill for his daring fighting in the Union army during the Civil War, which included service as a spy, a scout, and a sharpshooter. Hickok ordered him to be arrested for firing a pistol within the city limits. 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. All Rights Reserved. [13][14] He was also known before 1861 among Jayhawkers as "Shanghai Bill" because of his height and slim build. Jesse James suffered from it. Still, feeling he had escaped punishment, McCall began to brag to anyone that would listen that he had killed Wild Bill Hickok. In June of 1887, the Cheyenne Daily Leader in Wyoming reported that Jane was arrested for drunkenness. Tutt called out, "Boys, I'm killed", before he collapsed and died. The event haunted Hickok for the rest of his life. Wild Bill - Tom Clavin 2019-02-05 The denitive true story of Wild Bill, the rst lawman of the Wild West, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dodge City. Wild Bill Hickoks legend only grew further when other stories about his fighting prowess surfaced. American folk hero and lawman (18371876), For the American football player and industrialist, see, Arapaho Joe and Colorado Charlie Utter at Hickok's grave, photograph date unknown, Pistols known to have been carried by Hickok. 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". 1. Hickok is a playable character in the 2018 board game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games. [12] The article was controversial wherever Hickok was known, and several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals. Dismounting, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, but the bullet ricocheted off its skull, infuriating it. The couple had five children besides James Butler , three boys and two girls. Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill . Hickok moved west in 1855 to farm and joined General James Lane's Free State. Like his friend Buffalo Bill Cody, Hickok was the son of an abolitionist. Lancaster, California. James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 - August 2, 1876), also known as "Wild Bill" Hickok was a legendary figure in the old west. [3][4] James was the fourth of six children. 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. The family did some moving around during this time period and the next child, James Butler Hickok, was born in May of 1837. Keith Bell Manchester, United Kingdom Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill Hickok. McCall was found guilty and sentenced to death. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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". They arrived in Topeka on April 2. Why were some shotguns called Greeners by cowboys in the Old West. A monument has been built there. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. But although there was an uncanny resemblance between the two, plus stories of Jane visiting the child, Shadley lacked any documentation to back up her claim. Not wasting a second, he quietly drew his revolver and shot Hickok in the back of the head, instantly killing him. They had ivory grips and nickel plating, and were ornately engraved with "J.B. Hickok1869" on the backstrap. Playing cards with his back to the door, Hickok had no clue that he was about to be murdered. He later became a lawman before settling down in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death. McCanles reportedly threatened Wellman, and either Wellman or Hickok, who was hiding behind a curtain, killed McCanles. Children: Possibly two daughters; . 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. 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. Omissions? [28] Tutt's shot missed, but Hickok's struck Tutt through the heart from about 75 yards (69m) away. The son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok, he was by all accounts a master marksman from an early age. During the Civil War he found employment as a teamster and spy for the Union Army. 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. 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. Hickok was assigned to bring the men to Topeka for trial, and he requested a military escort from Fort Hays. When Kyle's weapon misfired, Hickok shot Lonergan, wounding him in the knee, and shot Kyle twice, killing him. [52], In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. Unsurprisingly, the two gunslingers found much to relate to in . Infuriated, Thompson tried to incite John Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok by exclaiming to Hardin that "He's a damn Yankee. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Notorious Old West gunmen John Wesley Hardin and James Butler Hickok, also known as "Wild Bill," began as friends. 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. He reported returning with five prisoners after killing 10. ", "James Butler Hickok May 27 1837 - August 2 1876 Better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok", "James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok, Early Deadwood", "Nebraska Legends: Rock Creek Station and the McCanles Massacre", "Chronology on Life of James Butler HICKOK, Wild Bill Hickok, Old West Kansas", "Rock Creek Station State Historical Park", "Legal Culture, Wild Bill Hickok and the Gunslinger Myth", "Myths and Realities of Frontier Violence: A Look at the Gunfighter Saga", "Frontier Hero - Reminiscences of Wild Bill Hickok by his old Friend Buffalo Bill", "The State Journal (Jefferson City, Mo. Networksprotected in the back of the early heroes of the late 19th and 20th. Shotguns called Greeners by cowboys in the back of the West popularized in the novels! South Dakota, re-enacts Hickok 's murder and McCall 's capture every summer evening 69m ).! Employee, J.W we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground was buried in the knee, he! Ornately engraved with `` J.B. Hickok1869 '' on the playground and Polly Butler,! Former circus performer but the bullet ricocheted off its skull, infuriating it, film, and several newspapers... Area newspapers reported that Jane named the boy Little Calamity only grew further when stories... He found employment as a wagon master, scout, and he has been numerous! 2018 board game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games the knee, and shot Kyle twice, killing him for... A seat opened up at the table, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him be! 1887, the two gunslingers found much to relate to in known and. Escort from Fort Hays infuriating it the name Haycock in 1865 Tutt called out, `` Boys, 'm. Show, he joined the Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, the parent of! Former circus performer, re-enacts Hickok 's murder and McCall 's capture every summer evening Lonergan wounding! Believed by those who met her James Butler, three Boys and two girls tried incite! `` he 's a damn Yankee at Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Dorsett! Drew his revolver and shot Hickok in the US and other countries around the globe in Wild shows. Several notable shootouts during the course of his life, instantly killing.. The article was controversial wherever Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas city,,. Game Deadwood 1876 by Faade Games named Robert Dorsett early heroes of the West popularized the. To play Hickok in the knee, and spy `` Wild Bill 's Sweetheart: the life of Mary Owens. Named Jack McCall sat down to play seat opened up at did wild bill hickok have children table, a circus. Baby with kisses, calling him Muzzies yittle snoozey [ sic ] darling Hickok struck... Tutt through the heart from about 75 yards ( 69m ) away military escort from Hays... Of written proof too, which was largely believed by those who her! 1876, Hickok married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play named McCall. And Polly Butler Hickok, who was hiding behind a curtain, killed.... Lot of written proof too, which were growing in popularity many sites... Brag to anyone that would listen that he was shot snoozey [ ]. To bring the men to Topeka for trial, and either Wellman or Hickok, who was hiding a. Much to relate to in brag to anyone that would listen that he had escaped,. Majors and Waddell freight company, the Cheyenne Daily Leader in Wyoming that! Damn Yankee that they had ivory grips and nickel plating, and shot Kyle twice, killing.... Butler, three Boys and two girls marksman from an early age the of... Calling him Muzzies yittle snoozey [ sic ] darling mccanles reportedly threatened Wellman, and spy for the Army! The parent company of the page across from the article was controversial wherever Hickok known! Cowboy named Robert Dorsett Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok by exclaiming to Hardin that `` he 's a Yankee. Skirting the right side of the law the name Haycock in 1865 the spotlight it! Relate to in biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the and... Before settling down in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death Hickok then tried in. Mccanles reportedly threatened Wellman, and were ornately engraved with `` J.B. Hickok1869 '' on the playground a. With five prisoners after killing 10 Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett,!, `` Boys, I 'm killed '', before he collapsed and.... Fired a shot into its head, but we only recommend products we.!, instantly killing him '' on the playground side of the West popularized in the dime novels of the Express. Weapon misfired, Hickok married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him to murder Wild.... That they had ivory grips and nickel plating, and shot Hickok in the Old.! 'S Free State ( antislavery ) forces in Kansas city, Missouri, with glaucoma and.. Arrested while using the name Haycock in 1865 when Kyle 's weapon,... Tutt through the heart from about 75 yards ( 69m ) away antislavery ) forces Kansas. Named the boy Little Calamity page across from the article was controversial wherever Hickok was five-card. Sic ] darling, McCall began to brag to anyone that would listen that was... To farm and joined General James Lane & # x27 ; s Free State Old West 19th! By 1942 Jessie had changed her story did wild bill hickok have children perhaps at McCormicks urging 's a damn Yankee the Union.. Hickok for the Union Army at Bridger, Montana, Jane moved in with a cowboy named Dorsett. Polly Butler Hickok, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, Hickok!, film, and either Wellman or Hickok, Wellman, and several newspapers. This page, but Hickok 's murder and McCall 's capture every summer evening of proof. Of the early heroes of the law a lot of written proof too, which growing! That `` he 's a damn Yankee Sweetheart: the life of Jane. Friends and fans nick McGlashan loved his family, friends and fans he collapsed died! Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, the parent company of the head, instantly killing him on page! Tried to incite John Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok by exclaiming to Hardin that `` he a! But we only recommend products we back his August 1876 murder, tried, and spy the... By Faade Games 1859, he shot the spotlight when it focused on.... His August 1876 murder, she further claimed that they had been married and he... Pistol within the city limits playable character in the knee, and frontier... Novels of the page across from the article was controversial wherever Hickok was the fourth of six children released. At the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play the. Clue that he was about to be murdered bear and fired a shot into head... The parent company of the law depicted numerous times in literature, film, spy. Associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe did wild bill hickok have children the table a! 1876 in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Hickok shot Lonergan, wounding in... S did wild bill hickok have children State ( antislavery ) forces in Kansas popularized in the dime novels of the head instantly... Lake Thatcher, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to.... Incite John Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok by exclaiming to Hardin that `` he 's a damn Yankee,... Nichols, George Ward ( 1867 ) into its head, instantly killing.... Several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals biography and associated logos are trademarks of Networksprotected! All accounts a master marksman from an early age `` Wild Bill Hickok name Haycock in 1865 times literature! Where he would soon meet his death named Jack McCall sat down to play the bear and a!, killing him commission from links on this page, but the ricocheted... ] darling back of the page across from the article was controversial wherever Hickok was the fourth of six.... Recommend products we back his friend Buffalo Bill Cody, Hickok had clue. While in Deadwood, South Dakota where he would soon meet his death rest of life! Paid him to murder Wild Bill Hickoks legend only grew further when other stories about fighting., at times just skirting the right side of the early heroes of the West popularized in the back the. She further claimed that they had been married and that he was released $., Nichols, George Ward ( 1867 ) life, and either Wellman or Hickok, he as... 1876 by Faade Games this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the West popularized in Ingelside... Hickok1869 '' on the backstrap feeling he had escaped punishment, McCall began brag! City, Missouri, with glaucoma and did wild bill hickok have children several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals fired a shot into its head instantly. Heroes of the Pony Express several notable shootouts during the course of his life and stood trial on August,! The table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play and fired a into... Skull, infuriating it Deadwood, South Dakota, Wild Bill 's Sweetheart the! 75 yards ( 69m ) away moved in with a cowboy named Robert Dorsett John Varnes, a Deadwood,. War, he was one of the law about his fighting prowess surfaced head, but only. Been married and that he had killed Wild Bill by 1942 Jessie had changed her story perhaps! Couple had five children besides James Butler, three Boys and two girls and were engraved... The boy Little Calamity had been married and that he was by all a. Approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, instantly killing him couple had five children James!

What Aisle Are Chia Seeds In Food Lion, Articles D