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. Hickok, just a stable-hand at the time, killed the three men, despite being severely injured. was advancing on him with a drawn pistol and that Tutt had previously made threats of personal injury to Deft. It is a loose adaptation of Hickok's life, ending with his famous aces-and-eights card hand. 3. Author McClaird theorised that Jessie, who had no birth certificate, said what she had to in order to receive financial assistance at her last residence in California. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Wild Bill Hickok's iconic status is rooted in a shootout in July 1861 in what came to be known as the McCanles Massacre in Rock Creek, Nebraska. 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. He was arrested while using the name Haycock in 1865. And though it is difficult to picture her in the domestic arena, Jane was also a mother. 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. He was the son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok (Fishwick). 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. In 1860, Hickok was badly injured by a bear, while driving a freight team from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. McCall lost heavily. They arrived in Topeka on April 2. Lonergan pinned Hickok to the ground, and Kyle put his gun to Hickok's ear. The cards he was holding at the time a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights became known as "the dead man's hand.". Red objects generally appear black in early photographs, as the photographic processes were insensitive to red light. In June of 1887, the Cheyenne Daily Leader in Wyoming reported that Jane was arrested for drunkenness. 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. What was the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane? Although the show brought Hickok some much-needed income, he was unhappy, began drinking heavily, and returned to the West in March 1874. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok.Late in her life, she appeared in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition.She is said to have exhibited compassion to others . In 1899, Dorsett took Jessie to live with his mother in Lewiston. She was the eldest of as many as six children born to Robert and Charlotte (Burch) Cannary. [24], In late 1863, Hickok worked for the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police. Did Old West houses have outhouses, and were public facilities available? McCanles may have been the first man Hickok killed. [58] Jane confirmed this account in an 1896 newspaper interview, although she claimed she had been hospitalized with illness rather than in the guardhouse. On December 9, Hickok and Lanihan both served legal papers on Macintosh, and local newspapers acknowledged that Hickok had guardianship of Hays City. 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. [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. On August 2, 1876, during a poker game in a saloon that found him with his back uncharacteristically to the door, Hickok was shot in the back of his head by Jack McCall, who may have been hired to kill him. McCormick claimed that ONeil offered to adopt her, taking she and her mother to meet his wife in Omaha. Doc Holliday did have a bad cough, as suggested in this episode, from his tuberculosis. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. subscribe to All About History for as little as 26. He usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but the only seat available when he joined the game was a chair facing away from the door. The way Wild Bill conducted himself in his later years was a direct correlation for what he did when he was a young boy. "[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. Bill and Jane are buried next to each other in Deadwoods Mount Moriah Cemetery. ", This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 18:12. Hickok was killed August 2, 1876, at the age of 39, and Calamity Jane died of illness on August 1, 1903, at age 51; both died in South Dakota.. During his life, Hickok was a soldier, scout, stagecoach driver, lawman, gunfighter, showman, marksman, gambler, and more. The event haunted Hickok for the rest of his life. 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." Later, after bragging of his murder of Hickok, McCall was retried in Laramie, Wyoming Territory, found guilty, and hanged on March 1, 1877. Wild Bill Hickok is remembered for his services in Kansas as sheriff of Hays City and marshal of Abilene, where his ironhanded rule helped to tame two of the most lawless towns on the frontier. Wikimedia Commons Advertisement 11. Alonzo and Polly Hickok moved to Illinois in 1833, finally settling in Troy Grove (known as Homer at the time), LaSalle County, along the banks of the Little Vermillion Creek. McCall alleged that John Varnes, a Deadwood gambler, had paid him to murder Wild Bill. [6][35] Witnesses confirm that while working as a scout at Fort Harker, Kansas, on May 11, 1867, Hickok was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after he shot and killed two. 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. To date, four children have been credited to the lady, although some of the claims have come from the children themselves. Famous Cowgirls. [38], In July 1869, Hickok returned to Hays and was elected city marshal of Hays and sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas, in a special election held on August 23, 1869. Not a word was uttered. By the end of 1861, he was a wagon master, but in September 1862, he was discharged for unknown reasons. In July 1865, "Wild Bill" Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt in Springeld, MOthe rst quick-draw duel on the frontier. Hickoks father moved his family from Vermont to Maine to Homer (now Troy Grove), Illinois. Six months later Jane visited friends in Deadwood, stating Jessie had married and was living in North Dakota with two children. As vile a character as I ever met for some cause Wild Bill incurred Coe's hatred and he vowed to secure the death of the marshal. In real life, Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) never met 'Doc' Holliday: she actually was in love and pursued 'Wild Bill' Hickock. The couple had a daughter, who also became an accomplished performer and horseback rider. [69] In 1979, Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickok . Hickok moved west in 1855 to farm and joined General James Lane's Free State. This cemetery filled quickly, and in 1879, on the third anniversary of Hickok's original burial, Utter paid to move Hickok's remains to the new Mount Moriah Cemetery. 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. Wild Bill's brother, Oliver Cromwell Hickok married and fathered five children per: Search Results from User Submitted Genealogies (only as accurate as submitter). The two men faced each other sideways for a duel. The bullet emerged through his right cheek and struck another player, riverboat Captain William Massie, in the left wrist. [52], In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. Did Wild Bill Hickok have children? [23][b], After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Hickok became a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. Russell, Majors and Waddell had not kept up with their payments for the station, and the gun-brandishing McCanles had come to demand his money from Wellman, who insisted that he did not have it and refused to relinquish the property to McCanles, as did his wife. 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. Were Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane married, and did they have a daughter? Notorious Old West gunmen John Wesley Hardin and James Butler Hickok, also known as "Wild Bill," began as friends. During the next several years he appeared in Buffalo Bill Codys Wild West Show, living off his fame as the consummate gunfighter. "Doc" Howard, who had known Hickok, stated that Hickok had left Buffalo Bill's Wild West Exhibition "because the lights affected his eyes, so he had to give it up". He is said to have wrestled a bear 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. "Wild Bill. After in inquest where other incidents of Hickoks brand of frontier justice was revealed, he was relieved of his duties. There, again, he killed several men, including his deputy marshal, whose deaththe result of an accidental shootingled to Hickoks dismissal. ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1982). "Gunfighters of the Real West: Wild Bill Hickok. Hickok managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear's paw. [i][68], Jack McCall was hanged on March 1, 1877, and buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery. Several times he was arrested for vagrancy. The next child, also named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in November of 1832. He noted that the sound was similar to tapping a brick wall and believed the remains weighed more than 400lb (180kg). I suggest you read Calamity Jane: The Woman and the Legend by James D. McLaird. Jane was well-known for her abilities as a sharpshooter . In 1855, at the age of 18, he left to become a part of thegrowing American West. 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. Jean McCormick was the daughter of Jane "Calamity Jane" Cannary and James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. [39] Three sheriffs had quit during the previous 18 months. 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. "[citation needed]. Nick McGlashan had two children, Lennyn Annette Richardson of Unalaska (7) and Kane Wilder Hammond of Port Townsend, WA (1). McCormick had a lot of written proof too, which was largely believed by those who met her. When they returned from overseas, Agnes and Bill Lake decided to start their own circus. During the Civil War he found employment as a teamster and spy for the Union Army. He replaced Tom "Bear River" Smith, who had been killed while serving an arrest warrant on November 2, 1870. awaiting execution. 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. Wild Bill Hickok begins to establish his reputation as a gunfighter after he shoots three men during a shootout in Nebraska. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Their quick-draw duel was recorded as the first of its kind. Brink, were tried for killing McCanles, but were found to have acted in self-defense. A second son, named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in October of 1831 but died soon thereafter. [12], While in Nebraska, Hickok was derisively referred to by one man as "Duck Bill" for his long nose and protruding lips. He was released on $2,000 bail and stood trial on August 3, 1865. The Bull's Head Saloon in Abilene had been established by gambler Ben Thompson and Coe, his partner, businessman, and fellow gambler. On September 4, Hickok was wounded in the foot while rescuing several cattlemen in the Bijou Creek basin who had been surrounded by Indians. In more recent times, however, Calamity Jane biographer James McLaird disproved McCormicks claim by researching when and how her fantastic autobiography unfolded. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. In the melee that followed, Hickok shot Woods, who, most historians agree, was then attacked and ultimately killed with a hoe by Mrs. Wellman. Brady, like Varnes, had disappeared from Deadwood and could not be found. The original wooden grave marker was moved to the new site, but by 1891, it had been destroyed by souvenir hunters whittling pieces from it, and it was replaced with a statue. [33], In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. Hickok then tried acting in Wild West shows, which were growing in popularity. Four of the men on the self-appointed committee who planned Calamity's funeral (Albert Malter, Frank Ankeney, Jim Carson, and Anson Higby) later stated that, since Hickok had "absolutely no use" for Jane in this life, they decided to play a posthumous joke on him by laying her to rest by his side. 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. Hardin was a well-known gunfighter, and is known to have killed more than 27 men. Hickok ran as an Independent; but lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan, who ran as a Democrat. by Marshall Trimble | Nov 1, 2007 | Inside History. 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. 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? "Wild Bill and the Timber Thieves. 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. 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. A young drifter named Jack McCall walked in and approached Hickok from behind. [9], Hickok used his late father's name, William Hickok, from 1858, and the name William Haycock during the American Civil War. They returned from overseas, Agnes and Bill Lake decided to start their circus... 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