O2315

Legends Of The West

Wild Bill Hickok

Collins Anecdotal Note 

James Butler Hickok was born in 1837 in Illinois. He moved to Kansas in 1856 where his youthful indiscretions earned him the name of Wild Bill. He served with valor in the Union Forces during the Civil War and was an Army scout out West afterwards. In 1868 he saved 34 men by riding for help through a war party of attacking Indians. As a gunfighter, he had personal courage, a sharpshooter's eye, and a big ego. He was hired as marshall of Abilene, Kansas to "clean up the town." Most of his time was spent at the Alamo Saloon where he played poker. Anyone seeking him on official business was sent there. In 1873 and 1874 he was a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. In 1876 he traveled to the Dakota Territory in search of gold, He was killed there while playing poker. His hand at the time was a pair of aces and eights - forever after referred to as the "dead man's hand." Wild Bill Hickok - a Legend of the West.