Wild Bill Hickok
There are many stories about Wild Bill Hickok.
How many of them are true, nobody really knows. One thing can be
said though....he was a legend in his time. James Butler Hickok was Wild Bill's real name. He was born in Troy Grove, Illinois on May 27, 1837. His legend appeared to start in 1855 when he moved away from Illinois to partake in farming. At an unknown time later, he left the farming world later and joined General James Lane's Kansas free-state force.
Famous for his lethal gun skills and professional gambling, Hickok
served as a U.S. town marshal who unsuccessfully tried show business
for a while after he got fired from his marshal job for shooting
more than just bad guys. It was said that his first law enforcement
job was in Monticello Kansas. He also served as an Indian scout
and drove a stagecoach on the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. During
the Civil War he served his country as a Union scout. In 1866, Hickok
became deputy marshal of Fort Riley, then Marshal of Hays City in
1869. His law-enforcing career continued in Abilene Kansas in 1869
where he also served.
Hickock then supposedly turned to becoming a poker player which
apparently was his full time job. While seated in a saloon, in Deadwood
North Dakota, a gunslinger by the name of Jack McCall (aka: Broken
Nose Jack) walked into the bar, drew his weapon, a 45 caliber Colt,
on Hickok, who had his back to the door, sidearm still in his holster,
and pulled the trigger fatally wounding him with a single bullet
wound to the back of the head. There are conflicting stories that
said one other man was shot as well as a story in which McCalls
next attempted shots were all duds. Witnesses say that Wild Bill Hickok was holding AAQ88 in which that hand has become famous and known as a "Dead Man's Hand." Wild Bill Hickok died on August 2nd, 1876. He was 39 years old. Note: Wild Bill's name has been shown spelled as: Hickock, Hickcock, and Hikoc. The proper spelling is Hickok.
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