Wild Bill Hickok
Posted on 08/02/2007 4:51:08 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
On This Day In History
August 2, 1876 : Wild Bill Hickok is murdered
"Wild Bill" Hickok, one of the greatest gunfighters of the American West, is murdered in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Born in Illinois in 1837, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok first gained notoriety as a gunfighter in 1861 when he coolly shot three men who were trying to kill him. A highly sensationalized account of the gunfight appeared six years later in the popular periodical Harper's New Monthly Magazine, sparking Hickok's rise to national fame. Other articles and books followed, and though his prowess was often exaggerated, Hickok did earn his reputation with a string of impressive gunfights.
After accidentally killing his deputy during an 1871 shootout in Abilene, Texas, Hickok never fought another gun battle. For the next several years he lived off his famous reputation, appearing as himself in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. Occasionally, he worked as guide for wealthy hunters. His renowned eyesight began to fail, and for a time he was reduced to wandering the West trying to make a living as a gambler. Several times he was arrested for vagrancy.
In the spring of 1876, Hickok arrived in the Black Hills mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota. There he became a regular at the poker tables of the No. 10 Saloon, eking out a meager existence as a card player. On this day in 1876, Hickok was playing cards with his back to the saloon door. 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. Hickok died immediately. McCall tried to shoot others in the crowd, but amazingly, all of the remaining cartridges in his pistol were duds. McCall was later tried, convicted, and hanged.
Hickok was only 39 years old when he died. The most famous gunfighter in the history of the West died with his Smith & Wesson revolver in his holster, never having seen his murderer. According to legend, Hickok held a pair of black aces and black eights when he died, a combination that has since been known as the Dead Man's Hand.
39 is just too young.
A few more links about Wild Bill Hickok:
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west/3026831.html
http://www.theoutlaws.com/outlaws8.htm
Wild Bill Hickok
Looks like a woman’s hat. And no, I wouldn’t want to have to tell him that. I like my innards where they presently reside. :-)
......but as much as I like S&W too, he was NOT carrying these when Jack McCall perforated Wild Bill's skull from behind. 
Custer wore a similar hat about a month before...
In view of his celebrity status, if he lived in today's world, he'd been in and out of rehab, been acquitted of murder in a sensational trial, dated Anna Nicole, and have his own reality show whose ratings soar when he cuts his hair and announces he is gay.
Hmmmm... so I surmise wearing a woman’s hat can lead to a hole-y demise.
“On this day in 1876, Hickok was playing cards with his back to the saloon door.”
First mistake.
I loved the old stories of the west when I was a kid; Kit Carson, Custer and Wyatt Earp!
Where were the Gun Control weenies when they were needed??
I did hear a story of Hickok being called “Duck Bill” when he was younger due to protruding lips. He grew the mustache to hide the fact. That was later shortened to “Bill” and when he stopped a riot in one of the towns he was marshaling, someone in the crowd yelled out, “Yay, for Wild Bill”. The nickname stuck.
The aces and eights was supposed to be a two of a kind with the other card unknown. Legend has it he was being dealt the last card when he was murdered. I miss watching HBO's Deadwood but I hated the solution to the town's problems at the end of the series. It was terrible.
You are correct about the ending.
I was thinking they were going to end it with the great fire that leveled the town. Instead they just buggered out.
Maybe soon a movie will come along to do a just ending.
Yup...I heard he carried Navy Colt’s... cap’n’ball as well.
Looks like a women’s hat?
You wouldn’t say that if you knew anything about male headwear of the time period. The “cowboy” hats we are all so familiar with did not exist until the 1920’s
For that matter, no gunslinger or cowboy of that period ever wore their gun holster low on the legs like we see in movies today. All gun holsters were right against the waist belt like we think of a police man’s pancake holster is today.
Imagine trying to ride a horse with your gun all the way down your leg? It would fall right out of the holster every time you sat in the saddle!
And NO cavalry soldier ever had a yellow kerchief as part of their uniform EITHER!
If you want to know anything about what REAL cowboys and western folks did, wore, or had in the REAL cowboy days (between the 1850s and 1900) IGNORE Hollywood!!!
More than likely... it was the style for the time. Especially for celebrities in the American west.
Deadwood was still a “wild” town when I visited there one night in 1970. A bunch of college buddies picked me up in my hometown of Hot Springs, SD. We drove over to Deadwood and spent the night (as best as I can remember). :-)
That is good advice in general. There may be an exception, but I can't think of one.
“He wanted me to tell him something pretty”
Pretty the ending wasn’t at all. But fitting.
In other news, the rumored two “special” Deadwood movies are still DOA or MIA depending on who you read.
By today's standards, yep.
At the time Wild Bill demise was triggered the average life expectancy of a male was somewhere around that age, give or take a few years.
So we may say that he lived to a ripe old age before he bit the bullet.
Leni
He looked much older than 39 in his photos, but I guess that kind of life will do that to ya.
Didnt happen to go to Pam’s Purple Door? ;)
“I miss watching HBO’s Deadwood but I hated the solution to the town’s problems at the end of the series. It was terrible.”
What happened, did they all stop using the F-word?
A bad omen for both.
36 colt navy. I’ve got a repro that I shoot a lot. Hickok was a dead on shot and he got that way by practice and knowing his gun. They all have their differences in drift. Knowing what load is most accurate for your particular gun is very important if you want to throw lead on target the old fashioned way. Speed of draw isn’t as important as accuracy. In a gunfight its the man who has nerves of steel that usually comes out alive. The Hollywood scene of two guys squaring off in the street is mostly BS. It did happen but very rarely.
If what you’re talking about is what I think it is, then yes I did - although I don’t recall it having a business name.. :-)
I applaud you both on your knowledge of 19th century apparel and customs.
... my wife would beg to differ with you. She is bored to tears as I rip apart every western movie we watch!
“They didn’t wear that!”
“They would never have said that!”
“They didn’t have THOSE then!!!”
LOL
I’m still irritated how it all ended. Anyone interested in the series can stop watching after the first season. The second and third aren’t worth the aggravation.
I’m on a buying spree lately and I want another Navy just like the one I already have. I found a possible candidate at my local gunshop and if it matches, it’s going home with me.
Thanks for the clarification.
I love history...but I am not a historian.
I just posted this directly from History.com
I cancelled HBO several years ago after the conclusion of “Band of Brothers”
HBO was broadcasting too much R-rated garbage that my kids could tune into.
Anyways...I just started watching “Deadwood” through Netflix. I am in the middle of the first season right now.
I’m pretty hooked on it.
Should I really pass on seasons 2 and 3?
The ending for the first season was one of the finest moments of television.
I don’t remember anything from the second season except for a real sad incident. The third season ending was just so frustratingly irritating. It was like those revenge movies where the bad guy has his way and you wait and wait for the good guy to finally do something. Sorry, I don’t think it was worth it.
It was no good on the Navy .36 at the gunshop. Some idiot lost some of the screws and replaced two of them with Philips heads. It was awful. I didn’t notice when I saw the gun for the first time.
I’ll keep looking for a good one under 180 dollars. I hope to find something with a tall front sight.
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