The history of the American West is filled with a treasure trove of colorful and interesting personalities from Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday to Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill Cody. Many would become bigger than life as legends grew around them and their exploits as in the case of one colorful legend, Wild Bill Hickok.
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok who was born in Troy Grove, Illinois on May 27, 1837 was an American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman, who helped bring some semblance of order to the frontier West. His reputation as a marksman and later gunfighter gave rise to legends and tales about his life.
While Hickok's life and the legends that would follow might have paled in comparison to other historical figures from the same period of American history like Earp, (who incidentally is another Illinois native from Monmouth, Illinois) Holliday and Buffalo Bill, he would still carve out or "shoot out" his own legend.
As a young man growing up in Troy Grove, Hickok's family, who were farmers, also operated a station on the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves to freedom. The young Hickok often assisted with this work, and it was during this period of his life that he began to develop and cultivate the courage, cunning and resourcefulness that would become a part of the "Wild Bill" legend in later years. To be sure while the rest of the family attended to the daily chores of working the farm, James stalked the woods, honing his shooting skills by hunting such wild animals as wolves for bounty and not to mention providing a variety of fresh meat for the family.
The lure of the American West must have been quite strong for men like Hickok who sought adventure and a better life because when he was in his late teens he moved to Kansas where he was elected constable of Monticello when he was only twenty years old. During the next few years, Hickok worked as a wagon master in Montana and as a guide on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails.
When the American Civil War broke out, Hickok joined the Union Army in 1861, serving first as a wagon master and then as an agent with the Provost Marshal's office in Springfield, Missouri. As an agent with the Provost Marshal's office, Hickok caught soldiers not reporting for duty and horse thieves, investigated liquor license fraud, and tracked down counterfeiters.
In 1864, General John Sanborn appointed Hickok as his personal scout and spy eventually working in Missouri and Arkansas where guerrilla tactics by Union and Confederate forces were often savage. He emerged from war duty as a man both feared and admired. From then on Hickok was known as "Wild Bill".
In the years following the Civil War Hickok became a professional gambler and also, for a brief time he served under General George A. Custer in his 7th Cavalry.
Hickok's life and exploits as a gunfighter would spawn numerous legends and tales some of the "dime novel" variety as well as his association with legendary Western personalities like Buffalo Bill Cody, Wyatt Earp, John Wesley Hardin, and Calamity Jane.
His reputation as a gunfighter began when he killed David Tutt in the public square of Springfield, Missouri on July 21, 1865. The two men had quarreled over a card game and decided to have a gunfight. That evening, Hickok and Tutt arranged to meet outside. They walk towards each other and when they were about 50 yards apart both men drew his gun. Tutt fired first but missed. Hickok's shot, on the other hand hit Tutt in the heart. This was the first recorded incident of two men taking part in a quick-draw duel. The following month Hickok was acquitted after pleading self-defense.
Sadly, Hickok's life would be cut short when he was shot in the back during a card game in Deadwood City, in the Dakota Territory; however, it would guarantee his place in the history of the American West and folklore. On August 2, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was playing cards in Deadwood when Jack McCall, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, shot Hickok in the back of the head. At the time of his death, Hickok was holding a pair of black aces and a pair of black eight's that would become known as "A Dead Man's Hand" that would forever be connected with him and his legend.