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GOOD-BYE BILL

© Mary Trotter Kion

GREAT PLAINS GAZETTE for August 3, 1876

The West Mourns the Passing of Wild Bill

Yesterday, August 2, 1876, James Butler Hickok, also known to friend and foe as Wild Bill, was brutally assaulted and murdered in the Black Hills mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota.

At 4:15 on that horrendous day Hickok’s attacker, the notorious gunslinger known as Jack McCall, and also referred to as Broken Nose Jack, entered the No. 10, or possibly the No. 66, Saloon where the now-deceased was innocently enjoying a friendly game of poker with friends.

Unbeknown to one of American’s most famous heroes of the west the bloodthirsty McCall, with no known provocation, entered the saloon where the peaceable Hickok sat with his back to the saloon door. McCall then slipped up behind Hickok and shot him in the back of the head with a heavy .45-caliber Colt, serial no. 2079, killing Wild Bill instantly.

After having murdered James Hickok, gunslinger McCall then attempted to assassin others in the saloon. Ironically, the remainder of the cartridges in McCall’s pistol were reported to be duds, however it is believed that one other man was hit.

At the time of his murder, Hickok, who never had a chance to defend himself nor see his assailant, was holding a draw-poker hand consisting of an ace of diamonds, an ace of clubs, one eight of clubs and an eight of spades. In addition, Hickok also held the Queen of Hearts.

At this writing a hand consisting of these same cards is already being referred to as the Dead Man's Hand. This hand was witnessed and verified by a Mr. Christy, a friend of Hickok’s who was present at the time of the murder. Also ironic, in view of reputation and past heroic deeds of the deceased, James Hickok died with his Smith and Wesson revolver secure in its holster.

Hickok first graced the fair city of Deadwood, South Dakota in the spring of 1876. Shortly thereafter he became a welcomed regular at the poker tables of various Deadwood saloons. It is believed that at the time of his death Hickok, who had only reached his 39th year, was a full time-employed card player.

James Butler Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Ill., on May 27, 1837. In 1855, after some disturbance, he left Illinois. For a time, thereafter, he turned his hand to farming. Sometime later, Bill joined General James Lane's Kansas free-state force.