36 chapters
2 hour read
Selected Chapters
36 chapters
LIFE AND MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL, THE SCOUT.
LIFE AND MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL, THE SCOUT.
BEING A TRUE AND EXACT HISTORY OF ALL THE SANGUINARY COMBATS AND HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES OF THE MOST FAMOUS SCOUT AND SPY AMERICA EVER PRODUCED. BY J. W. BUEL, OF THE ST. LOUIS PRESS. ILLUSTRATED. CHICAGO: BELFORD, CLARKE & CO. 1880. Copyrighted 1879, by W. S. BRYAN....
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PECULIARITIES OF WILD BILL’S NATURE.
PECULIARITIES OF WILD BILL’S NATURE.
Wild Bill , as a frontier character of the daring, cunning and honorable class, stands alone, without a prototype; his originality is as conspicuous as his remarkable escapades. He was desperate without being a desperado; a fighter without that disposition which invites danger or craves the excitement of an encounter. He killed many men, but in every instance it was either in self-defense or in the prosecution of a duty which he deemed justifiable. Wild Bill was a necessary character in the Far
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WILD BILL’S EARLY LIFE.
WILD BILL’S EARLY LIFE.
James B. Hickok , known to history as “Wild Bill,” was born near Troy Grove, La Salle county, Illinois, May 27th, 1837. His father and mother were both natives of Vermont, in which state they were married. Shortly after marriage, they went to New York, and remained in that state until 1834, when they removed to Illinois, and settled in Putnam county. Two years afterwards, however, they again removed to settle upon a more desirable homestead in La Salle county, where they resided until their deat
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FIRST EVIDENCE OF PLUCK.
FIRST EVIDENCE OF PLUCK.
In 1856, the year in which the occurrence is said to have taken place, Independence was but a post village, and was fairly upon the border. Many teamsters stopped there, en route to Kansas City with produce for shipment. There were two saloons in the place, and, naturally, much drunkenness and lawlessness. On the occasion referred to, a dozen teamsters had put up in town, and shortly afterwards visited one of the saloons, where they soon became quite demonstrative under the influence of the liqu
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S DESPERATE FIGHT AT ROCK CREEK
BILL’S DESPERATE FIGHT AT ROCK CREEK
It was while occupying this position that the first and most desperate fight of his life occurred, and one which we may safely say is without a parallel. The particulars of this remarkable encounter have been given to the public several times, once by a writer in Harper’s Monthly , who claims to have heard the story from Bill himself, but whether he reported Bill correctly or not, the account in Harper , like that which has appeared in other publications, has but the mere skeleton of truth in it
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A RUNNING FIGHT WITH CONFEDERATES.
A RUNNING FIGHT WITH CONFEDERATES.
After recovery from his wounds, Wild Bill left Rock Creek Station and went to Leavenworth, where shortly after his arrival, he was appointed wagon master of a train Gen. Jno. C. Fremont had ordered to Sedalia, Missouri. On the third day out and as they were about going into camp for the night, the train was attacked by a company of Confederates and several of the wagons burned and the mules run off. Bill could offer little resistance, as he had less than a dozen men with him, all of whom surrend
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ENTERS THE UNION ARMY AS A SPY.
ENTERS THE UNION ARMY AS A SPY.
After Bill’s complete recovery he returned to the states and volunteered his services to Gen. Curtis, who had command of the army in Missouri, as a scout and spy. He was enrolled in the early part of 1863, and at once sent upon a dangerous mission. Gen. Price was preparing to enter Missouri, and it became very necessary for Gen. Curtis to have reliable information of the intentions of the Confederate General. Bill went to Kansas City, where he was furnished a horse, and allowed to exercise his j
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A RIDE WITH DEATH.
A RIDE WITH DEATH.
Gen. Curtis continued pushing southward, and it again became necessary for Bill to enter the enemy’s lines. There were three things particularly in Bill’s favor as a scout and spy. First of all, he was daring beyond example; second, he was an unerring shot, and third, he could change his appearance so radically as to defy detection; add to this a native cunning and adaptability, and his success and escapes are not so remarkable. Bill’s Escape from the Confederates. The second time he was sent in
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CAPTURED AND CONDEMNED TO DEATH.
CAPTURED AND CONDEMNED TO DEATH.
Directly after performing this remarkable dare-devil deed “Wild Bill” again concluded to re-enter Price’s lines, although to return into the camp where he must now be familiarly known, was like inviting death. Some men are never so happy as when daring fate, and to approach near the dreadful summoner often becomes a fascinating adventure. It was so with Bill, for the greater the risks to be encountered, the greater his enjoyment. He loved danger, not as the soldier who would gather fame from the
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A FIGHT WITH THREE BUSHWHACKERS.
A FIGHT WITH THREE BUSHWHACKERS.
Being a scout, Bill was not permanently attached to Gen. Curtis’ army, but had a wide latitude in which to range; but he was fighting Confederates nearly all the time, sometimes in company with a small force and at other times single-handed. There are very few acquainted with the many phases the war assumed who do not remember the terrorism which existed in Southern Missouri from 1864 until the close of the rebellion. The country was infested with bushwhackers, whose single purpose was the murde
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S BOWIE-KNIFE DUEL WITH AN INDIAN CHIEF.
BILL’S BOWIE-KNIFE DUEL WITH AN INDIAN CHIEF.
During the period that Bill was scouting for Gen. Curtis, he fought a duel to the death with an Indian chief, the particulars of which are partially forgotten, and the facts, therefore, can only be imperfectly recited. The details, so far as Dr. Thorne can remember them, are as follows: It will be remembered that during the civil war several tribes of Indians were employed, chiefly for foraging purposes, by both Federals and Confederates, the largest force being commanded by Gen. Jim Lane. Gen.
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
INDIAN AND BUFFALO SPECULATION.
INDIAN AND BUFFALO SPECULATION.
Shortly after the close of the great civil war Wild Bill engaged in a novel enterprise, the result of which was a complete financial failure, though it furnished rare amusement for a great many wealthy people. He secured six fine, full-grown buffalos, and with four Commanche Indians, he made a trip to Niagara Falls, for the purpose of treating the visitors of that fashionable and famous resort to a genuine buffalo chase. The entertainment was duly advertised and a very large number of persons wa
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S DUEL AT SPRINGFIELD.
BILL’S DUEL AT SPRINGFIELD.
In the latter part of 1865, Wild Bill went to Springfield, Missouri, where he remained some time. It was while at this place that he fought a duel with Dave Tutt in the public square, and, as usual, killed his man, and came out of the encounter scathless The particulars of this affair are as follows: Springfield became a meeting place, after the war, of Confederates and Union men. Both sides recruited their forces from this section, and though the war had ended, many of the animosities then enge
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A QUADRANGULAR DUEL IN NEBRASKA.
A QUADRANGULAR DUEL IN NEBRASKA.
Bill remained in Springfield several months after killing Tutt, and until he was engaged, in 1866, to guide the Peace Commission, which visited the many tribes of Indians that year. Henry M. Stanley, the African explorer, accompanied the commission as correspondent of the New York Herald , and wrote some amusing sketches of Bill during the trip, but none of a nature which would make them appropriate in the history of his escapades. They related chiefly to his feats of markmanship, knowledge of I
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WILD BILL’S OPINION OF YANKEES.
WILD BILL’S OPINION OF YANKEES.
In 1868, Wild Bill was engaged to guide a party of thirty pleasure-seekers, headed by Hon. Henry Wilson, deceased ex-Vice-President, through some of the Western territories. Mrs. Wilson, wife of the Vice-President, was among the party, and being of a most vivacious and entertaining disposition, added greatly to the enjoyment of the trip. Wild Bill’s introduction to her resulted in a pleasing episode at the conclusion of the trip. She requested Bill to carefully scrutinize the party, and then giv
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HOW BILL KILLED JACK STRAWHAN.
HOW BILL KILLED JACK STRAWHAN.
After Bill’s return from the trip with the Wilson company of wealthy “Yankees,” he resumed his duties as city marshal of Hays City. It would be difficult for any one not familiar with the terrorism of border life to form an approximate estimate of the condition of society in Hays City when Bill became the custodian of its peace. Saloons and gambling hells were the most flourishing branches of business, and never closed their doors. The Sabbath was ignored, and the revelry of ruffians continued d
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL MULVEY’S LAST ROW.
BILL MULVEY’S LAST ROW.
Shortly after the event just related, Bill Mulvey, a notorious rough and desperado from St. Joseph, Mo., struck Hays City, and got on what we term in the West, “a great big tear.” He paraded the streets with a revolver in each hand, howling like an enraged tiger, and thirsting for some one’s blood. He was met by the squire and constable, both of whom endeavored to make him keep the peace, but their efforts were so far futile that he turned upon them and drove both out of the town. Wild Bill, who
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A FIGHT WITH FIFTEEN SOLDIERS.
A FIGHT WITH FIFTEEN SOLDIERS.
Bill’s fortunate escape from death in his fight with the McCandlas gang at Rock Creek was no more remarkable than one of his fights at Hays City which occurred in 1870. During this year, the 7th U. S. Cavalry was stationed at that post, and many of the soldiers, partaking of the desperate nature which distinguished the place, gave the authorities great trouble. Bill’s duties as city marshal caused an antagonism which finally culminated in a most desperate fight with fifteen of the soldiers, the
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A DEATH FIGHT WITH TEXAS GAMBLERS.
A DEATH FIGHT WITH TEXAS GAMBLERS.
The removal of the Seventh Cavalry from Hays City gave Bill immunity from danger from that quarter, and though he did not return to that place, he accepted the office of city marshal of Abilene, a town one hundred miles east of Hays City, and frequently visited the latter place on business. Abilene was the point from which all the cattle from Texas for the Eastern markets were shipped. Immense droves were daily brought into the place, and with the cattle came the drovers, a large majority of who
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A REWARD OF $5,000 IN GOLD OFFERED FOR BILL’S HEART.
A REWARD OF $5,000 IN GOLD OFFERED FOR BILL’S HEART.
The large and wealthy cattle raiser referred to, directly after returning to Texas, selected eight desperate characters—men who he knew would not hesitate to commit any crime for the sake of money—and offered them the sum of five thousand dollars in gold if they would kill Wild Bill and secure his heart. The proposition was made at a pre-arranged meeting, which took place in an old barn on the premises of the cattle raiser, at which each of the employed assassins was required to take an oath not
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL THOMPSON’S FATAL SURPRISE.
BILL THOMPSON’S FATAL SURPRISE.
Wild Bill got off the train at Topeka, and returned to Abilene the next day. A week later he went up to Ellsworth, to which place he was a frequent visitor, being attracted to that town by a woman whose name we omit to mention, by her request. This woman was the keeper of a house of ill-repute, but her beauty made her a most attractive person, and her real admirers were numbered by hundreds. She is now pursuing the same calling in Kansas City, but though still a fine looking woman, very few trac
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MAKES TWENTY MEN ASK AN APOLOGY.
MAKES TWENTY MEN ASK AN APOLOGY.
In a few weeks after the killing of Thompson, Bill again visited Ellsworth, and during this visit he met with an episode in which his influence among the desperado element was clearly evidenced. Reaching the town late in the evening, he had gone direct to the house kept by the woman just referred to, and after taking supper and playing a few games of cards with her, he retired to bed. About eleven o’clock at night, loud and boisterous noises, coupled with threats to tear the house down if admitt
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S FIGHT WITH PHIL COLE’S COUSIN.
BILL’S FIGHT WITH PHIL COLE’S COUSIN.
About one year after the killing of Phil Cole at Abilene, Wild Bill had occasion to visit Wichita, Kansas, on some private business. He made the trip on horseback, there being no other mode of travel between the two places. Bill was acquainted with no one in Wichita, and habit caused him to make his first stop in the place before a saloon, where he hitched his horse and went in. There was no one in the saloon at the time of his entrance; so Bill took a seat expecting the proprietor had just step
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HE REMOVES TO KANSAS CITY.
HE REMOVES TO KANSAS CITY.
Bill served the time for which he was chosen as marshal of Abilene, and in the spring of 1872 removed to Kansas City. It was at this place the writer—then connected with the daily Journal —met him and formed an intimate acquaintance, which afforded abundant opportunity to learn his real character as a man. Bill was frequently importuned for the particulars of his marvelous adventures, and permission to write his life, but he always positively refused. The last time this request was made, he retu
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A PRIZE FIGHT IN A CHICAGO BILLIARD ROOM.
A PRIZE FIGHT IN A CHICAGO BILLIARD ROOM.
In 1874 Bill engaged in a battle with a tribe of Indians under Black-Kettle, in which he received a severe wound from a spear thrust through his thigh. Being very much disabled he paid a visit to his aged mother and relatives at Troy Grove, Illinois, where he remained some weeks and until the wound healed. Before returning west he went to Chicago to see his old friend, Heman Baldwin, and while there the two entered the St. James Hotel bar to play a game of billiards. While being thus engaged sev
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S MARRIAGE TO MRS. LAKE.
BILL’S MARRIAGE TO MRS. LAKE.
In the fall of 1874, Bill met Mrs. Lake, the widow of William Lake, proprietor of Lake’s circus, who was killed by Jack Keenan at Granby, Missouri, in 1873. The meeting was purely accidental, but the consequences were matrimonial. A courtship followed, and in the early part of 1875 the two were married by a justice of the peace in Kansas City. Within a few months after the marriage Bill became afflicted with sore eyes, from which he suffered intensely, and for the period of nine months was unabl
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MAKES HIS DEBUT ON THE STAGE.
MAKES HIS DEBUT ON THE STAGE.
In February, 1876, Wild Bill entered into an engagement with Ned Buntline, (Judson,) the novelist who created Buffalo Bill and his exploits, to appear as a leading character in a border play he had written for the stage. The troupe was made up in New York, and the principal actors were Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack. The business was a most disagreeable one for Wild Bill, who entered into the engagement solely under the pressure of pecuniary needs. The authorities of Kansas City had so v
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S LAST TRIP TO THE BLACK HILLS.
BILL’S LAST TRIP TO THE BLACK HILLS.
After leaving the Buntline troupe, Wild Bill came to St. Louis for the purpose of organizing an expedition to the Black Hills. The gold fever was at its height, and St. Louis, like all other Western cities, was very much excited over the auriferous discoveries. Bill remained in St. Louis about three weeks, at the end of which time he had succeeded in organizing a party of nearly one hundred men, which was increased to one hundred and fifty by additions received at Kansas City. The party arrived
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ASSASSINATION OF WILD BILL.
ASSASSINATION OF WILD BILL.
On the 2d day of August, 1876, Wild Bill was in Lewis & Mann’s saloon, playing a game of poker with Capt. Massey, a Missouri river pilot, Charley Rich, and Cool Mann, one of the proprietors of the saloon. The game had been in progress nearly three hours, when about 4 o’clock, P. M. , a man was seen to enter the door and pass up to the bar. Bill was sitting on a stool with the back of his head towards and about five feet from the bar. When the man entered, Bill had just picked up the card
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JACK McCALL PAYS THE PENALTY.
JACK McCALL PAYS THE PENALTY.
After the farcical termination of the trial, and the burial of Wild Bill, several friends of the deceased met at Charley Utter’s ranche and determined to avenge the cowardly assassination of their friend. McCall, unfortunately, heard of the meeting and its purposes, and lost no time in getting out of the country. He roamed around in the far West, and finally settled at Yankton. In the following year a United States court was established in Dakotah Territory at Yankton, and Jack McCall was again
49 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WILD BILL’S REMAINS EXHUMED AND FOUND TO BE PETRIFIED.
WILD BILL’S REMAINS EXHUMED AND FOUND TO BE PETRIFIED.
On the third day of August, 1879, just three years after the tragedy, Charley Utter and Lewis Shœnfield, the particular friends of Bill during his life, determined to give the remains a better resting place, where the thorns and briars of the bleak mountains would not hide the spot where so brave a heart lay buried. Accordingly, early in the morning of that day they, proceeded to the grave, and, with heads uncovered, out of respect for their dead friend, they exhumed the body and took off the co
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IDIOSYNCRACIES OF BILL—HIS BELIEF IN SPIRITS.
IDIOSYNCRACIES OF BILL—HIS BELIEF IN SPIRITS.
We have now described nearly all the adventures in which Wild Bill was a participant, but before closing this very brief and unvarnished recital of his life, it is eminently proper to speak of him in his private and social relations; his peculiar beliefs; his feats of marksmanship, and his companion in many vicissitudes—the dearest of all his friends—Black Nell. As mentioned in a previous chapter, Wild Bill was a fatalist—at least he believed that he was predestined to be killed. In fact, it wou
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BILL’S WONDERFUL ACCURACY OF AIM.
BILL’S WONDERFUL ACCURACY OF AIM.
It may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that Wild Bill was the best pistol shot America has ever produced. Much of his marvelous accuracy of aim was, of course, acquired by years of experience, but he was a good shot from the moment he first fired a pistol. For a long period he carried two small derringers, both of which he used effectively in many sanguinary encounters. These pistols are now in the possession of Dr. Thorne, to whom they were given by Bill before leaving on his last t
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BLACK NELL, THE WONDERFUL MARE.
BLACK NELL, THE WONDERFUL MARE.
During the early part of the war, Wild Bill came into possession of a young black mare, having captured her from a bushwhacker during Price’s invasion of Missouri. The mare was as black as a coal, and at the proper age to enter upon the course of training Bill put her in. She was full of fire, and the exquisite symmetry of her head, neck, limbs and body, showed the pure blooded stock that was in her. Bill devoted all his leisure time for more than a year teaching the mare tricks which afterwards
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CONCLUSION—DOES BILL DESERVE A MONUMENT?
CONCLUSION—DOES BILL DESERVE A MONUMENT?
It has been customary among every nation to perpetuate the daring deeds of its heroes, by rearing a monument commemorative of their heroism. The general who commands armies, and by chance wins great battles, is no more deserving a monumental tribute than the man who discovers new means for the more rapid advancement of knowledge, or the man who extends the highway of civilization. In opening the vast, illimitable resources of the great West, sturdy pioneers were as essential as the brain and mus
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Transcribers’ Notes
Transcribers’ Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained. Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. Contents : “Idiosyncraces” was printed that way; page 83 : “IDIOSYNCRACIES” was printed that way. Page 83 : “clairavoyant” was printed that way....
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter