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As most of you know, I enjoy our history and collect historical conversation pieces. I am currently reading The Gunfighters, written by Bryan Burrough, who does a great job of collecting the written history of traditional gunfighters in America. His book is a collection of gunslingers from 1865 and ends around 1920.
James Butler Hickok, “Wild Bill Hickok,” is one of those gunfighters whom he documents in his book. Wild Bill Hickok was born May 27th, 1837, and had an untimely death on August 2, 1876. Bill was known as a soldier, scout, lawman, gunslinger, and a showman.
Some people confuse Hickok with William Frederick Cody, “Buffalo Bill”. They were friends and ran in some of the same crowds. Buffalo Bill was also an American Soldier, Buffalo Hunter, and a great showman. Buffalo Bill started the Wild West Show in 1883, and some of you may have seen a set of chaps I acquired, which are believed to belong to one of his showmen and were used in the show.
Wild Bill’s story hit home when I read the highlights of his career. Hickok was a well-known gunfighter, and in 1871, he was sought after to be the town marshal of Abilene, Kansas. Before that, Hickok was a lawman in the town of Hays, Kansas.
As I have been in law enforcement for over two decades, I have seen my share of traumatic events. I have learned that some things happen that are so traumatic with a shock and awe factor that they change you forever, and some things you won’t recover from.
October 5th, 1871, was just one of those traumatic events with such a shock to the psyche that Hickok wasn’t going to come back from. That day, Hickok and his deputy, Mike Williams, were keeping track of a group of noisy cowboys that were engaged in a farewell pub crawl, weaving from bar to bar. As they stood outside the Novelty Theater, they heard a gunshot coming from the corner near the Alamo. Hickok said, “Be right back,” as he left Williams to go see who fired the shot.
Hickok found a crowd of people and demanded to know who fired the shot. A Texas gambler named Phil Coe told Hickok that he fired the shot and was shooting a dog. Hickok and Coe were in a feud over a mutual prostitute they both spent time with. Coe had been telling people he would kill Hickok before the next frost.
Without warning, Coe drew his pistol, and Hickok pulled both of his, firing two shots and killing Coe.
A moment later, Deputy Williams raced around the corner with his pistol drawn. Hickok wheeled and fired two shots, killing him instantly. It was a horrible accident, entirely avoidable, yet understandable. The newspapers soon were painting Hickok as a bloodthirsty murderer.
As I dive deep into our history, reading and collecting conversation pieces, I realize points in time that change history. By December, the city of Aberline dismissed Hickock, and he went down his rabbit hole, as he never recovered from the shock and awe of killing his deputy.
Hickok tried his hand at a few jobs, including joining up with Buffalo Bill as a showman for a short time. Hickok found himself on August 1st, 1876, playing poker with a town drunk in Deadwood, South Dakota. During that poker game, he told the town drunk to leave the table and sober up.
The next day, on August 2nd, that same nobody showed up and jumped Hickok while he was sitting at a poker table. He fired the shot that would end Hickok’s life and was later hanged for his crime.
In my job, I have seen the shock and awe of a traumatic event end lives, careers, separate families and change the direction of the people involved. As I read this chapter in the Gunfighter Book, it brought back memories, and I can see how our history was shaped by points in time.
I hope that this short history lesson reminds you to take care of yourself, your family, and those who matter.
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