Hickok was the
man who literally put the
town of Deadwood on the
map, and this is where he
died at the age of 39
holding the infamous
"dead mans hand" while
playing poker. There is
more on the Western
Legend below. This "pencil"
was drawn using a
photograph for reference
from a family portrait around
1873.
The original is 7.25" x
10.25" overall. It is drawn on
medium weight, hot press
Crescent Illustration Board.
German made
Faber-Castell Drawing
Pencils were used. The
majority of the "pencil' was
done with a #4 lead, while
the remainder was
darkened with a #6 and #8
leads. Total time to
complete was 9.5 hours.
The legend and fact of
James (Wild Bill) Hickok
are so widespread that it is
sometimes difficult to tell
apart. This biography will try
and straighten out some of
the stories.
His birthplace is said to be
Troy Grove, LaSalle County,
Illinois. Although that is true
it is not generally known
that at the time of his birth
Troy Grove was called
Homer. It was only after it
became known there was
already a larger town in
Illinois also called Homer,
that the name was changed
to Troy Grove.
His parents were William
Alonzo Hickok and Polly
Butler. George Bush, the
41st President of the United
States is a descendent of
Hickok's mother.
Hickok left home around
1856 with his brother
Lorenzo and except for a
two month period never
went back. In 1858 he drove
a stagecoach on the Santa
Fe Trail. He was also a Civil
War scout and spy for
Captain Richard Bentley
Owen, Quartermaster.
He also worked for General
Custer during the Indian
Wars. On one occasion they
were mistaken for each
other. It happened when a
stagecoach got stuck in a
snowdrift. One of the riders
rode off to the next station
for help while the others
found a cave to keep warm
in and pass the time. The
others were playing cards
when Custer himself
entered the cave and asked
them if they had seen any
Indians about. Since they
hadn't, the General then left.
One of the men playing
cards said to the others.
"Have you ever seen Wild
Bill? Well, that was him.
Purty boy, wasn't he?"
There is a tale about his
meeting up with a grizzly
bear on one of his
expeditions. This is
probably not true but has
added to the legend of Wild
Bill Hickok.
As to how he got the name
Wild Bill, it has generally
been attributed to a lady
watching him stop a
lynching and saying "My
God, ain't he wild." There
are many stories to how he
actually got his name but
the first published story
referring to him as Wild Bill
was in the Springfield,
Missouri paper, Weekly
Patriot in 1865.
In 1871 he took over as
marshal of Abilene after
Marshal Tom (I carry no
guns) Smith was gunned
down. It ended when he
was forced into a shoot-out
with Phil Coe over a sign
Hickok thought improper.
After shooting Coe, Hickok
turned toward a sound and
killed his deputy Mike
Williams by mistake. Wild
Bill was going blind from
glaucoma.
Another story now widely
debunked is the romance
he had with Martha Jane
Cannary (Calamity Jane).
The truth is that they hardly
knew each other, only
meeting shortly before
Hickok was killed. When
she died on August 1st,
1903 she asked to be
buried next to Wild Bill on
Mt. Moriah in Deadwood.
This is where the two are
buried today.
August 2, 1876, Wild Bill sat
down to a poker game and
took a seat with his back to
the saloon. Jack McCall
shot him in the back of the
neck, killing him instantly.
Wild Bill was holding 2
black aces, 2 black eights,
now known as the Dead
Man's Hand. The fifth card
has been held up for
speculation but was
probably the queen of
diamonds.
1877, Jack McCall was
hanged in Custer City for
the death of James Butler
(Wild Bill) Hickok.
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