Wild Bill Hickok
    James Butler Hickok  son of Alonzo Hickok and Polly Butler born  May 27, 1837, in the town of Troy Grove, Illinois.
   Bill was 18 years old when he and his brother Lorenz left home and headed west. In 1858 Bill  drove a stage coach over the Santa Fe Trail where he was wounded or hurt in an accident. (This is where it's said he was attacked by a bear and killed it with only his bowie knife.) While hurt Bill worked at the Rock Creek Station, where he was involved in a gunfight with the McCanles gang. Rumor's were, Bill killed three of them by himself. History tells us that he may have killed one. Later Hickok signed on as a civilian scout for the union army and was also said to have worked as a spy. After the war He showed up in Springfield Missouri where he shot and killed a man by the name of David Tutt, over a card game or girl or both, there's about twenty different version's of this incident.
    After the Springfield incident Bill was said to have been appointed US Marshal at Fort Riley Kansas but there is no record of it. He did however take a job with the army hunting stolen mules and horses. Hickok worked  off and on for the army many times and was a friend of General Custer, and was said to have worked with General William Tecumseh  Sherman for a short while.
     Late 1867 finds Hickok at Hay's City Kansas working as US Marshal. Here it is said that Bill killed two men one a well known city ruffian named Samuel Strawhun and another trouble maker by the name of Mulvey. Bill was cleared of any wrong doing in these killings.
     March 1871 Hickok's moved on to Abilene Kansas, where he was given the job of city Marshal. The former Marshal Tom Smith had been killed in the line of duty by an assailant with an ax Bill proceeded to clean up the town starting with the unfair gambling practices in the saloons. Mayor McCoy said of him," He's the most honest man I've ever met." The citizens of Abilene would learn, Bill was a fearless man, with expert gun handling abilities and a reputation as a killer of men when necessary.
   As more and more prostitute's and gambler's came into town, the city council informed Bill to shut down the sporting and  illegal gambling.
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Oct. 5, 1871 Bill and his good friend  deputy Mike Williams were having a conversation in the street when they heard gunshots fired at the Alamo saloon which was owned by one of Bill's bitter enemies Phil Coe. Bill told Williams to stay put, he was going to check out the shooting. Why he would tell a deputy to stay there and not go with him when knowing there could be trouble is a question we'll never know. Bill entered the saloon to find Coe and a gunman by the name of Ben Thompson, both men had been drinking and were pretty much drunk. Bill was told that Coe had fired the shot's. Bill reminded him of the town ordinance banning the firing a gun while in the city and to pack it up and leave, which only made Coe angrier at Bill. At this point accounts differ depending on who tells the story. It was said that Coe pulled his gun and started firing. Bill slapped leather and put  two slugs into Coe. As soon as Bill shot Coe, Williams who Bill had told to stay put earlier ran through the door with  gun in hand. Bill  with his gun already drawn turned and fired killing his friend.
   After that night Bill was said not to be the same man. He was bitter after killing his friend and started drinking heavily. Bill  pretty much enforced the law as he saw it, not necessarily the way it was written and In December 1871 Bill was relieved of his duties as Marshall of Abilene for that reason.
   Bill drifted around  for a while and at one time tried his hand at show business, hooking up with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. The job with Buffalo Bill didn't last long Bill quit,( Most people said that He was fired because of the heavy drinking) and headed back west.
   Wild Bill was married on March 5, 1876, to Agnes Thacker Lake, a girl he met while serving as Marshall of Abilene. After the wedding the couple went  back east for a few weeks and after the honeymoon, Bill headed for South Dakota where gold had been discovered. Bill was going to stake a claim and send for his wife.
    On August 2, 1876, Bill was in Deadwood South Dakota at Saloon #10 playing cards with friends when Jack McCall walked through the back door of the saloon and shot Bill in the back of the head killing him instantly.
     McCall claimed  the shooting was to avenge the death of his brother who he said  Bill had killed. Many people believed that he shot Hickok because some locals had been talking about giving Bill the job of Marshall and wanted the town cleaned up. Either way Mr. McCall was tried and later invited to attended a local sociable where he was the star attraction.