James Butler Hickok
"Wild Bill"
James
Butler Hickok, the renowned “Wild Bill”, remains perhaps one of the
most famous of all western gunfighters. His exploits as a Civil War
operative, frontiersman, and peace officer have been celebrated
often in print, in movies and on television.
But, despite all this attention throughout the years, we know
very little about the man himself. Vintage photographs, haunting and
mysterious, span the mist of time. We wonder - who was Wild Bill
Hickok?
The man who became marshal of
Abilene, Kansas on April 15, 1871, was a frontier dandy. He stood 6
foot 3 in his custom made boots. His riveting gray eyes, set off by
a drooping mustache, seemed to look right through people. Beneath
the hat with the sweeping brim, blonde hair tumbled to his shoulders
and a Prince Albert frock coat showed off broad
shoulders and a narrow waist.Phil Coe, co-owner of the Bull’s Head
Saloon, on the evening of
October 5, 1871, along with some other Texans went on a
shooting spree. When ordered to disperse by Hickok, Coe made the
mistake of drawing against the marshal. Both men fired. Coe missed
but Hickok put two bullets into the Texan. Mike Williams, Hickok’s
deputy and friend, came running to the marshal’s aid. Hickok’s
failing eyesight caused him to believe that this was a cohort of
Coe’s and his guns blazed again before he realized it was his own
deputy.
Wild Bill Hickok, the stone-cold killer, wept
openly at the sight of his deputy and friend as he lay mortally
wounded in the street. Hickok paid the funeral expenses for
Williams, probably the last man he ever killed.
The Arizona Gunfighters recreate this famous
confrontation with a professional costumed cast of over 30
gunfighters.
View a video of the Wild Bill Hickok Show at Festival of the West
here
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