Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 59

THE MINNEAPOLIS SUNDAY -TRIBUNE: MAY 8 1927 ej Wild Bill Hickok, the Prince of Pistoleers' By Frank J. Wilstach FOREWORD should reign in his bailiwick, and the others rode en masse Into the Indian camp. The amazed savages dashed out of their tents in order to learn what the racket was about, and were shot down before they could lay hands on their arms. One of the young scamps who fol- lowed Bill in this high emprise was young Will Cody, afterward known shoot Carver was indeed a miracle-worker with powder and balls, and Buffalo Bill made this statement at the time when the redoubtable doctor (who was a dentist) was in his employ and likely to take umbrage If he did not agree with Buffalo Billr And Carver was no patient violet when his own prowess was put In question. He had a high estimate of his own Importance as a pistol and rifle shot, and justly so.

There sre, however, stories that gained general currency that are too tall for acceptance. One of these is to the effect that Wild Bill and Charles Utter, known as Colorado Charlie were once freighting supplies out of Wichita. Utter, somewhat qI a wag, had riled a teamster to such a pitch that the angry man hurled a big stone at him, which would have killed him had it hit its mark. But, as the story goes, as the missile left the teamster's hand, Wild Bill's gun flashed. The bullet struck the stone, snd turned it from its course.

It wss a masterly shot and won the applause of all. No wonder! And yet Bill made shots only a little less phenomenal. The late Joseph Wheelock, the actor, once told the writer that when he was a young man he had seen Wild Bill stand between telegraph poles and fire almultaneously with a revolver in each hand, hitting both poles. An-other of Bill's feats was to cut a chicken's throat with a bullet from a distance of 30 paces, without breaking its neck or touching the head or body. He was also wont to smuse his friends' by driving the cork Into a bottle without breaking the bottle-neck.

He was able to hit a dime at 60 paces nine times out of 10. These feats are all the more remarkable when it is taken Into account that he fired from the hip without taking deliberate aim. During the last years of his life, according to Ellis T. Pelrce, Bill used two Colt's 44-callber cap-and-ball revolvera without triggers. He was a pulse shot When he grasped the butt of his revolver his thumb would rest on the hammer, and the Instant he had drawn the weapon clear of the holster its own weight would cock it.

Bill had only to lift the thumb and there was another death to record. The hammers were ground smooth so they would slip easily under the thumb when pressure was removed. Both of these famous guns have disappeared. Wild Bill was wearing a new revolver when killed at Dead-wood, a large Smith A. W'esson.

The ivory-handled gun found on his body was taken by Charlie Storm, a Jewish gun fighter of Deadwood, when the latter went south to fight Luke "Short But Short was too quick on the draw, and Storm Is still down there! Charlie Utter, Wild Bill's companion in Dead-wood, took the Smith A Wesson for a keepsake, and Wild Bills' Sharps rifle was burled beside him. It hat not been th purport of th writer to novelize Wild Bill Hiokok. That hat already been don, and rather effectively. So picturesque was the man, and 10 astounding hit that it it Itttle wonder he thould have fallen into the handi of the fietioneert It hat been my constant purpose to find out what was real, and what imaginary, in the tales about him that have been current for upward of SO years. Wild Bill was a fascinating personality to all who knew him.

The mere mention of his name never failed to bring a crash of brasses from the orchestra. Hit friends never ceased to chant hit praises as an honest man, an incredibly accurate pistol shot, and an individual who was without fear in the presence of danger. This it a good deal to say of any man, but it must be admitted that these encomiums have a solid basis of fact. Wild Bill wot no common gun-toter. He was not a bad-man, as the west defined the term in the '60s and '70s.

That the fact should be steadily borne in mind In the opinion of the great marshals, peace officers, and fighting men of the west men such as Bat Mas-terson, Bill Tilghman, and Buffalo Bill Cody, themselves renowned? Wild Bill was the greatest gun fighter and the most famous peace officer of th frontier. How many men did Wild Bill killt Aside from Indians, the estimated number has ranged all the way from IS to 75. This does not include the soldiers he slew as a sharp-shooter during the Civil war. While Wild Bill was singularly free from those sins of the spirit, vanity and boastfulness, it must be admitted that, in the matter of dress, had a flair for the bizarrt. And, what was not altogether a general virtue of the time, he had an attachment for soap and water.

Furthermore, he delighted in broadcloth and fine linen. Yet he dressed according to the mode of the border, not after the fashion and frum-periet of the "besriited east." Edward F. Colborn, Salt Lake City, Utah, lived on the border a good part of the vermilion days that knew Wild BUI. Lately, the writer asked Mr. Colborn for his recollections of liill't everyday appearance.

"1 can see Bill," was the reply, "through the eyes of memory. Tall, erect, with long brown hair that swept in profusion to his shoulders; aquiline nose, high cheek bones, high forehead. His attire was generally that of the Mississippi steamboat gambler a long-tailed cutaway coat of dark cloth; wide blue trousers, narrow at th bottom; a fancy vest; high-heeled boots with taps under the trousers; a leather belt with two white-handled 'cap-and-ball' Colts; a white shirt, a string tie, a graceful carriage, a moustache that drooped a little, and a poise and calm confidence that only good ariFestral blood could give. What the writer's investigations have been able to add to the store of fact regarding Wild Bill is disclosed here. The most difficult problem encountered was the famous fight with the "McCanles gang of horse-thieves," which took place on the afternoon of July 12, 1861.

It it th opinion of the writer that the mystery of that "renowned slaughter" has at last been cleared up as effectively as it ever will be. The enigma vnll never, I believe, be wholly solved But in checking vp Wild Bill's activities other perplexities were encountered notably how James Butler Hickok came to be called Wild Bill, and the canard that Calamity Jane was his sweetheart. These have been satisfactorily settled. Other facts and fictions havt been looked into and suitably classified. FRANK J.

WILSTACH. CHAPTER I. THE PRINCE OF PISTOLEERS. FOR the past sixty years Wild Bill Hickok has been accepted on the last frontier as having been the greatest of all pistol shots. For speed in drawing and accuracy in firing, he had no equal.

Buffalo Bill, speaking of his friend with whose pistol practice he was through their long association quite familiar, said in his memoirs that "he was the most deadly shot with rifle and pistols that ever lived." He began the use of firearms when he was a mere lad and it Is certain that during the last 20 years of his life there was never a moment when either a pistol or rifle was not within reach of his hands. George Ward Nichols asked him in 1865 where he learned to shoot so perfectly, and he replied: "I always shot well, but I came to be perfect in the mountains by shooting at a dime for a mark, at bets of half a dollar a shot." Nichols, desirous of having this famous marksman give him an example of his ability, told him that he would like to see him shoot. Wild Bill drew one of his revolvers and pointed to a letter 0 in a signboard which was affixed to the stone wall of a building on the opposite side of trie way. "That sign is more than 60 yards away," Bill remarked. "I'll put six shots into the inside of the circle, which isn't bigger than a man's heart." I 1 it rr i ii i From th AIbrt Dirif Collection.

JAMES BUTLER (WILD BILL) HICKOK it did. We now come upon a piece of in formation which has not found its way into the records. During this period Wild Bill married a young squaw after the Indian fashion, which was not regarded as bindlnp. This knowledge I have from Wil liam E. Connelly, the present secre tary of the Kansas State Historical society, of Topeka, Kan.

Mr. Con- nelley says on the subject: "There is no record of Wild Bill's life among the Shawnee In dians. The old settlers of Johnson county, Kansas, whom I interview. ed a good many years ago, and who are all now on the other side, gave me what information I have." This alleged Indian marriage was never mentioned, so far as I can discover, by Wild Bill in after years, but there are other beautiful Indian maidens who will be heard of later on, and of whom there is ample evidence. 1 But, squaw or no squaw, Bill was not allowed to live in peace on his Kansas homestead.

As a member of Jim Lane's Red Legs, he had ad ministered a severe chastisement to the Border Ruffians of Missouri. They bore him a particular grudge, and this they set about to pay back in kind. In one of their predatory Incursions on Kansas soil, they burned his cabin. Wild Bill was absent at the time. What might have been written on the ample pages of history, had Bill been on hand, it Is unnecessary to cogitate.

A new cabin was built and th! one also. while Constable Hickok was away from home, was laid in ashes. Wild Bill now decided that he had enough of Johnson county, Kansas. A new field of operations was open ed to him by the offer of a position as driver for the Overland Stage Co. In this capacity he crossed the plains several times, operating from Missouri and Colorado and points in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, to Sante Fe, New Mexico, and Salt lake City.

That was a lively life for a youth who only a short time before was killing wolves in LaSalle county, Illinois, or fishing in ver millon creek at Troy Grove. Driving a stage coach in those days was nothing like a cross-coun try motor Journey of today. To get nn-av with the 1ob called for a steady nerve and an ability at all times to defend one's self either with fists or pistols. Every station was located near a saloon and every stage employe was practically an animated skinful of fighting whisky. Desperate rows were as common aa waxweed flowers on the prairie in springtime, and the man that had failed to snuff out a life was as a bashful fellow at a country dance woefully out of place.

Such a condition did not daunt Wild Bill. It suited him to a dot And that he was left pretty much alone is ample proof that even then, although a youth under age, he was a dangerous individual to meddle with. But this happy state of peace was arrived at only after several rough encounters in all of which he came off best; and, furthermore, at this time he was consld-ered the best pistol shot on the plains. But something far more menacing than the ruffians along the stage route now hove into view; the In dians of the Sweetwater broke out of their reservation and started on a rampage. They took to massa cring settlers, killing pony express riders and.

to bring matters to a handsome head, began to attack the stage coaches. Having succeedea in this adventure killing the flrtver and two passengers they took to running off the stock of tne com pany. That put an end to theslage coach business In those parts ior the time being. Then It was that the officers th ataee company sent for Bill. He promptly reported at St.

Joseph for a council of war. Nobody knew what to do until he spoke up and. according to the record, delivered himself of the following brief but pointed speech: "You have enough men here. If they are turned loose right, to clean nut all the red devils along the all the men now idle would consider it a frolic to go Into Indian service for a short time." It. Wild Bill was told to go ahead and see what he ronld do.

and when he was getting ready for a fight he was an ardent party. He called the men together and told them what was wanted. Fifty men enlisted with a hearty irood will, all promising implicit niwdionre. with Bill as leader. This well-equipped band, under a com-mander Just 21 years of age, started nwav from St.

Joseph, on the 29th of September, 1858. Arriving at Powder river, where they expected to find the Indians encamped, thev found nothing but dead ashes and tracks that pointed westward. They followed, and In three days came upon the Indians at Crazy Woman's Fork. The original band had meanwhile doubled in number, and all were painted up and prady to go anywhere they might cause trouble. Discovering the extent of the camp some of the band suggested that they return to St Joseph.

Bill told them that he would shoot the first man who turned his back on the enterprise. Here was a force of four to one against them, but that didn't bother the young leader. He had with him a crowd of young dare-dev-lis who, one picturesque chronicler remarked, could be depended upon to fight a lOacre field full of grizzly bears with only a toothpick for a weapon. At some little distance smoke in the tree tops was discovered. That meant an Indian camp.

Bill ordered his men to halt, to give him a chance to locate the game. Alone he made a broad circuit to reach high ground In ordtr tu ascertain the extent of the camp and learn where the horses were tethered. This, was done and a plan of battle devised. Bill dered his men to rest till nigh'' nd to light no fires that serve to attract the foe At 10 m. Bill called Tils men ta saddle and gave his instructions.

Each man wns ordered to follow hltn into the Indian camp and earn to fight only with his pistol; to make for the stock which, being in a corral, would be easily stampeded and run out, and then collected and secured. These commands, according to the best Information. were strictly obeyed. A dash was made for the corral by a dozen of the men, while as Buffalo Bill. The party returned to St.

Joseph with all the horses which had been stolen from the stage company, and with upward of 100 more belonging to the Indians, iu naa taugni me reosKins a ies- son they never forgot. An end was written to stage-coach massacres. Next year, 1859, Bill left the employ of the Overland Stage Co. and engaged as driver with the famous freighters, Majors and Russell, for a long and hazardous trip between Independence, and Sante Fe, N. M.

It was at this time that he nun his Tamniu nent witn a nwir. to which so many references have been made by writers of frontier Htor-atliro While passing through the Soccoro. range with his team, travelling two nines aueaa 01 nis cuiiiimiiiiuu, aney, ne encounterea a Dig cin namon Dear in ine roaa. iiavnig two cubs with her, the bear betrayed not the slightest intention of getting out of the way; instead she showed fight. Bill, provided with his brace of pistols and a good hunt ing knife, was not much concerned.

Instead of staying on his wagon, which would have been the better part of valour, he sprang to the ground, imagining that it was an easy Job to kill a bear. But not this mother bear. When she had snarlingly approached with-. In ntint iHitinm rf him Pill lrt fly with one of his pistols arid caught the cinnamon between the eyes. It appears, as BUI subsequently dls-rnvprpd.

that in the case of a bear of her size and family, the spot waa ill-chosen. The bullet merely glanced off the skull and resulted only In maklne the animal more trufculent She charged. Bill was too far away from the wagon to gain its security, so noth ing was left for him to do but fight. And when man or bear put it up to Wild Bill to have a fight, a good, brand of tumult was generally provided. His next shot injured the animal's left foreleg.

The bear reared on her. haunches and grappled with her foe. Bill resorted to his knife and thrust it Into the animal's body again and 1 again, and into stomach and throat. but the Infuriated bear fought on. Bill had suffered several frightful lacerations.

The ground was wet with blood, and still he was unable to escape the embrace of the Infuri ated bear. Finally the two antagon Ists slipped to the ground, BUI un- with nt. left arm tn tha bear's mouth. In this position he found that he could use his knife with greater effectiveness. In the end.

Bill literally disem-howeled his antagonist. At the finish. it whs auucuii 10 say wmca presented the more horrible spectacle, Kin or tne Dear, tsui win was aiive and the bear dead. That is the way it always happened when BUI got into a fight. But this time he was badly wounded and when Farley drove up he took him to Santa Fe, where he waa nisced in the care of a capable surgeon.

It was several months before he was able to do any active work. It was two years prior to this time that Bill cut into the traU of Buffalo Bill Cody, and as a result of that meeting they remained fast friends throughout their lives. Wild Bill was then 20 and Will Cody but 11 yeara of age. In his various biographies, and In his oft-quoted reminiscences, Buffalo Bill made much of this incident. Mavinar lost his father, young Cody had Joined an expedition over the Salt Lake trail, and having been transferred to Lew Simpson's wagon train, he unexpectedly encountered Wild, Bill.

One day the men were treating the Cody youth rather roughly. Suddenly there came out from under a wagon a young giant. "What are you fellows trying to do with that boy?" he asked. One of the men told the Inter, loper to attend to his own business. "Well, If you fellows really want to fight, tackle me and let that boy alone," Bill replied to this.

The man who came to younf Co.dy's assistance was Wild Bill. All along In this record, Jamee Butler Hickok has been referred to as Wild Bill. How he gained this sobriquet Is In doubt. Lifelong friends have expressed themselves aa being In the dark in the matter. How the mistake was made of substituting William for Jamna is open to conjecture.

When Bill Cody first met him on the plains, he teils us. Wild Bill was called Jim Hickok. in an error: to supply a reason for me' Men1 acquired it through the nick-name, Buffalo Bill said a misun. dorstandlng or mistaken identity. Ha said that young Jim Illckok at the time above referred to had an elder brother named Bill Hickok.

who for several years had been a celebrated plainsman, and famed as being one of the best wagon-masters In charge of the great government trains, with all their responsibilities. He became famous for his courage, ability to command men, to defend the Interests of his employes, to stand off the Indians and bandits that preyed on the wagon trains, and for his control of the dare devil spirits who drove the teams. Ht younger brother, James, according to this account, rose so rapidly thar rumor soon identified him with hie elder brother, William the result being that he was known througv out the west as Wild Bill Hickok. This Is a fairly good story, but the chief fault with It Is that Wild Hill hnd no brother named William. And yet Buffalo Bill's explanation.

Is true In every particular, except ss to the name, Mrs. Lout Hickok Informs the writer that Wild RM'e brother, Lorenzo, who was a plainsman duplicating Buffalo Bill's description, acquired the nickname P. Illy Barnes aa a child and that name followed him on the plains. Lorenro then was the original "Wild Hill" Hickok, the sobriquet subsequentlr acquired by his younger brother James Butler. With the exception of Buffalo Bill, all other writers none sernilngly awn re that Irenzo Illckok wns call-ed Bill on the plains have claimed that James Butler Hickok wat, not mlled Wild Hill until frr the fa mous "subjugation of the Mc('snlt gang." hich we shall next Coarriiht.

DsakMit Tut C. (To lie Continued Nest anything that Kit Carson ever did or attempted." Wild Bill's first employment was tow-path driver on the Illinois and Michigan canal. It appears that he did not long remain away from home, and the reason for this was that he had had a difference with a man named Hudson. The two en gaged in a fist fight which lasted more than an hour. The battle be gan on the tow-path, the fighters finally rolling Into the water.

Then followed efforts on the part of pnch to drown the other. Toung Bill, de spite the fact that Hudson was powerful fellow, overcame this ad vantage by his extraordinary agility and finally won a decided victory, Hudson vhg taken from the water in an almost lifeless state, and it was only by the greatest exertion that he was resuscitated. This is the first exploit of his career which illustrates the truth of the saying long current on the border, "Wild Bill is a bad man to fool with." In 1855, when camped on the sunshine side of 20, he decided that the time had arrived for him to venture forth into the world. From what he had read and heard he knew, that the territory west of Missouri was 4he habitation of Indian tribes; a vast area destined to become the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc. The Indiana in that Immense stretch of country comprised the Shawnese, Dclawares, Kickapoos, Osages, and other tribes; but Kansas waa wild enough in those days to satisfy all his longings.

It wss, however, neither freedom nor Indians that had attracted his attention, but rather the struggles between more or less lawabld-Ing factions In Missouri and Kansas. Here was a theater of action that must have had a strong appeal to so venturesome a spirit. Wild Bill waa an ardent Unionist, and he probably sensed, as has been said, that the great need of that section was heroes. Somehow, during all his life he always headed for that point where the largest amount of trouble existed; and It was his ardent purpose, backed by his flaming hardware, to put It down and restore the peace. So, gathering his pistol, hunting knife and rifle, he bade adieu to his mother, brothers and sisters, and headed on foot for St.

Louis. He reached his destination after a weary march of many days. To him the city was a marvel, but it was not altogether to his liking. After a fow daya of sightseeing, longed to tread the road of adventure, and so engaged passage on a steamer bound for Leavenworth. Arriving at that haven he discovered to his dismay that the town was In a tumult and that for political reasons, no passengers were permitted to land from the boat.

That didn't bother him any; he had started for Leavenworth and that was where he was going to stop, mob or no mob. He resorted to the expedient of disguising himself as a roustabout and began to unload freight. In this manner he succeeded In frustrating the angry and suspicious citizenry. He then learned that xlm Lane, the recognized leader of, the Red Less, an anti-slavery organization In Kan-sas, had recently arrived In Leavenworth from Indiana with a contln-gent of 200 to 3oo men. Within a few days he had Joined the forces of Lane, but to become a Red Leg It was necessary that the recruit demonstrate hla proficiency as a marksman which lie did In the spectacular fashion already recounted.

For several months he was Identi fied with the Red Legs and came to be recognized by Lane, accord Ing to the fable, as "tho most ef fertlve man In his command." The records show that In 18,17 ne filed a claim for 160 acres in Monti cello township, Johnson county, Kan, Although he was not yet of a Re, his reputation as a fighter and dead shot had been heralded far and wide, with the result that he wns elected constable. This was Wild Bill's first post as peace officer. He buckled on his pistols and announced that he proposed that peace and cider friend of Wild Bill. He wrote lately that "Wild Bill tffcs one of the greatest men that ever lived." The present scrivener would hardly go so far as that; his enthusiasm does not mount high. But looking this way and that, much might be said In favor of Clark Albertl'a far-encircling proclamation.

If greatness consists of an unswerving courage, an unquestioned honesty, a gentle and generoua spirit, aa w-ell as a willingness at all times to endanger one'a life for the sake of public order or to save a friend, then Wild Bill Hickok has a considerable claim to fame. He was. In hla time and in hla environment, this country's greatest peace officer. He stood for law and order when there was neither. And as a pistoleer in the presence of bad men running he was the ne plus ultra perfecto.

So much attention has been given to the hectic adventures of this cavalier of the border that little or none has been devoted to his genealogy; aa to the why and wherefore of the man. Acquainted with his stubborn and well nigh foolhardy courage, none need be surprised to discover that he came from sterling stock. Before makihg this dlscov ery, the writer felt certain that something of a tonic nature would be revealed when the facts were unearthed. Men of Wild Bills' nerve do not spring from lean and hungry back-alley ancestry. So, when It was developed that hit father, William Alonzo Hickok, was a deacon in the Presbyterian church, a worthy man of Scotch-Irish ancestry, all our fondest expectations were realized.

At once we discovered where Wild Bill Inherited his unmitigated devotion to law and order, even to the point of shooting up a town and planting a few worthless carcasses In his own private cemetery. In the presence of the disorderly, the two Ivory-handled Colt's resting handily in their holsters, spelled a short-cut to the tomb to any one who reveated disturbing intentions of breaking the peace. While it la not disclosed that the son of the worthy deacon was attentive to his religious duties, we shall see later on that when he assumed the marshalshlp of any heretofore lawless town he ran it like a church. We shall now have a little closer look at Wild Bill's forbears. Ills father, the worthy William Alonzo Hickok, was born at North Hero, Grand Isle county, Vermont, Decern-ber 5, 1801.

The latter's father. Otis Hickok, Is mentioned as one of the heroes of tho battle of Plattsburg, during the war of 1812. Otis was one of five brothers who came to America from the north of Ireland. Toung 'William Alonzo, of a pious rather than a warlike nature, was given a sound education, hla parents having designed him for the ministry. Through overwork although a powerful man after graduation he was prostrated with brain fever.

Hla recovery was slow and his illness left his mind so impaired that the past was forgotten. Finally his amnesia left him and his memory was restored. Regaining his health he gave up the idea of entering the ministry. In 1827 he married Polly Butler of his native county. The young couple moved to Broome county, New 7ork, in 1831, where William kept a store.

Not thriving according to his expectations he moved In 1834 to Bailey's Point, 111. From there he went to Putnam county, and finally in 1837, to llomer, later called Troy Grove, La Salle county. This hamlet is about 70 miles southwest of Chicago. William Alonzo here opened the first general store at Troy Grove, but the financial crash of 1837 ruined his business prospects. He became a farmer.

This worthy and kindly man died In 1852 when his son Jamea was In his fifteenth year. William A. and his wife, Polly, had six children four sons and two daughters. Mrs. Louise Illckok of Troy Grove has kindly copied from the family Bible the record there aet down: Oliver O.

Hickok, b. 18J0, 4. 1899. Lorenzo Butler 1832, d. 1913.

Horace Dewey, Hickok, b. b. 1834, d. 1916. James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill), b.

1837, d. 1876. Celinda, b. 1839, d. 1916.

Lydia, b. 1842, d. 1916. Wild Bill's mother, Polly, born In 1804, died in 1878 at Troy Grove, two years after her celebrated son had been assassinated. When he was 14 years old, he obtained an excellent pistol and a short time thereafter his father presented him with a first class rifle.

From that day he spent the greater part of hla time in the woods. At this period the neighborhood was greatly annoyed by the ravages of wolves, to such an extent, in fact, that the state offered a premium for the scalps. The boy became hunter of wolves, with the result that each evening he returned home with a belt full of scalps which were con verted Into cash at the end of each month. Some surprise has been expressed by certain worthy folks that young Bill now decided to fare forth into the wilds, imagining that his failure to stay at Troy Grove was owing to some perversity of character. Any man child who does not understand the absurdity of this supposition proves that he haa never been a boy scout and knows naught of the lure of the woods.

Bill's father had traveled by wagon more than 1,000 milea to seek a home on the prairie, and why ahould his son not do like wise? The magic of the setting sun in that day was In the blood of every man and boy. Those who remained behind longed to be on the move. That a boy with an adventurous spirit should meditate hanging up his hat for good in Troy Grove la not at all likely. The question of what to do and where to go must have tormented our hero not a little. Every village boy, even at this day, is confronted by a similar problem, and if he has romance and adventure in him, he will find a way of escape.

If Wild Bill had had any notion of gaining a settled, humdrum living In a town a clerkship, or something equally moilsome he might well have set his heart on Chicago, only a short distance away, and then a thriving town which had been incorporated two yeara before he obtained his first firearms. We learn from Wild Bill's school friends that the boys of Troy Grove were much the same as others of that period. Mark Twain was a boy of the same era, living at no great distance away In Missouri. Ail the boys of that day were agog with stories of the plains, of shooting and trapping, of Indians, of free life in the open, something that has ever appealed to youth. For such a lad as Wild Bill, Troy fJrove must have been deplorably Irksome.

His brother, Lorenzo, did go on the plains for a time, but returned to become a surveyor; Oliver was a famous owner and driver of trotting horses the trainer and driver of the greatest trotter of his day, St. Julian; Horace was a Justice of the peace, while James, without disclosing any particular accomplishments, sallied forth to develop Into the frontier's most famous celebrity. The opportunities for gaining an education In rural Illinois at that period were meagre. Yet, with such schooling as he was able to acquire, and under his mother's own tutelage, the boy managed to gain, according to all accounts, a rudimentary education. Horace A.

Hickok, the son of Wild Bill's brother Horace, states that his father had told him that "his brother, James, never started a quarrel; was always good-tem pered; was a bright and apt pupil and never behind his schoolmates." There were not many books to be obtained In those parts, but we are told that he managed at the age of 15 to lay hands on copies of Peter's "Life of Kit Carson" and of "The Trapper's Guide." These books made such a profound Impression on his mind that, In later years, he told a friend he then, and there said to his brothers, "One day I'll beat CHAPTER II. Ancestry and Early Manhood. James Butler Hickok, known fame ss Wild Bill, did not indite sonnets. His penchant did not lie in that direction. His conversation, so far as Is known, was not a Kim-berley which flashed epigrammatic diamonds.

He waa withal a reticent man. Aa for letters, there are but few extant Tet bis fame, after his body hss rested for nearly 60 years in the little cemetery at Deadwood, South Dakota. Is as glowing aa on the day he waa lowered into the grave by a few devoted friends. And when the history of those lurid times finally, la written, Wild Bill and his forthright pistols will supply material for many a thrilling and astoundnig page. Fully to understand such a character, it ia necessary to be acquainted somewhat with the environment In which he waa born.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, that vast territory comprising hundreds of thousanda of square miles, extending westward from the Missouri river to the Rocky mountains, from the Mexican border on the south to the Canadian line on the north, waa In the language of the tlmea, a howling wilderness. The howling waa done. In the main, by prowling Indians, ravenous wild animals and their victims. It has been computed that, as late aa 1S6(, there were roving buffalo aa well as 60,000 hostile Indians en the plains. For a white man to venture alone into that vast area was a perilous adventure.

The change from wilderness to the present calm began with the dlscov-ery of gold in California. Immediately there followed long and hazardous Journeys of wagon tralna across the plains; the coming of vast herds of long-horned cattle from Texas in search of new grazing fields; the hurried building of the Southern and the Central Pacific transcontinental railroads; the swift annihilation of the Immense herds of buffalo and finally the subjugation of the hostile Indians. All these stirring events were crowded into a period of 30 years. During that chaotic time, wherever white men were to be found in the newly inhabited territory espe cially at such Jumping-off places as railroad terminals, like Dodge City, Abilene, Haya City, and Cheyenne-there thrived a particularly evil assortment of gun-toting gamblers; merry and reckless cowboys In from the vast unfenced ranges for a few days of untrammelled fun and frolic; a plentiful supply of deplorably wanton ladles of dance-hall and bagnio, and the ever-present bad man, whether cowboy, gambler or outlaw, with his flashing pistols. There was no such thing as civilized order at the beginning; every man, with tits smoking hardware, waa Judge, Jury and executioner.

The quickest and deadliest shot survived the longest. Out of this welter of lawlessness came sach good men and bad men as Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, BUI Longley, Bat Masterson, Sam Bass, Doe Holllday, Buffalo Bill Cody, Billy the Kid, Texaa Jack Omohun-dro, Virgil and Wyatt Earp, Soapey Smith, Pat Garrett, John Selmnn, Gyp and Mannen Clements, Dick Ware, George Scarborough, and others of lesser note. All of this merry crew, with the exception of Wyatt Earp, have been called In by the Great Spirit. Each provided, according to Owen P. White, a halo of six-nhooter smoke of his own manufacture.

It waa truly an era of hilarious tragedy. Clark at this writing an editor in California, was a schoolboy And then it was that mil. with- out raising- his pistol to sight It with his eye, discharged six shots at the mark. It was found upon examination that all alx had perforated the circle. This story by Nichols Is smple evt-denee that It was thus early In life that Bill had perfected hla sccurate aiming from the hip', which was the wonder of all who witnessed his marksmanship.

Emerson Hough, In his novel, "North of 16." telle of a similar Incident occurring while Wild Bill was marshal of Abilene. Mr. Hough. In this narrative, says that "all the army men rated Hickok as the best shot with rifle and revolver that th i west ever aaw.H Tet, he oddly states that while Bill was engsged In spotting the letter he "raised one of his weapons to a high level and fired." All who have seen his pistol work declared that he fired from the hip. Although Bill was the least bosstful of men, he had frequently been heard to aay that he never missed a mark.

Of course, one should always take with ample sprinkling of sAlt all such statements reported as coming from him, but It may be that he was amss-Ingly self-assured regarding his pis-tolry- When It came to ahootlng at a human mark. Bill's mnny pistol battles are sufficient evidence that he was highly proficient marvclously an. He Is credited with killing from 15 to 75 men, but this latter figure would naturally Include his slnylngs, as a sharpshooter, in General Price's army, as well as his Indian killings. Outside of his wolf-hunting exploits near his home at Troy Grove, where he achieved considerable local fame on account of the accuracy of his marksmanship, the first publlo test of his ability came when he applied to General Jim Lane for membership In his famous Red Legs at Leavenworth, Kan. The Red Legs were an unofficially organised group of guerilla cavalry enlisted on the abolitionist side to resist by force any-Invasion of Kansas by armed bands ralillng from pro-t'mvery Missouri.

Prentiss Ingrahatn gives a detailed account of this incident: "falling In an effort to aecurs employment at once In Kansas, whither he had gone In -search of adventure, Hickok sought to enlist In the Red Legs. This aggregation numbered some 200 men, all thoroughly armed and mounted but not having the wherewithal to purchase a horse and complete outfit, he waa, greatly to hla annoyance, refused as a Red Leg ranger. A few days after this the Red Jrgs went out on the commons to shoot with rifles and pistols for prlr.es, and our youth determined to get Into the ring If possible. To at-trnct attention when any one shot snd did not drive the bull's eye, he laughed In a satirical way, till at last one of the Red Lege turned fWrely him and said: 'Look a hysr. boy, you has too much laugh as if you c'u'd do tetter, and dern my skins even ef yer hnlnt ft Red Leg 111 give you a fMtif to shoot Ef yer takes ther prize, I'll pay yer putup dust, an' ef yer don't I'll take the hickory ramrod o' my rifle an' welt yer nigh to death.

Does yer shoot on my terms? M'I will, snd beat you, was the quiet response. "AH eyes were now turned on the tall, handsome youth before them, for several had determined to try his mettle after the ahootlng for having laughed at them, and now they gazed on him with Increased Interest There were three prizes, A fine horse, a saddle and bridle for the first; a rifle and belt, with two revolvers and a bowie-knife for the second, snd a purse of 1100 for the third. He had some little money and aald quietly: 'I'll pay the fees, for I want no man to give me "Then shell the stranger remarked. "It's $15 for the first. $10 fer the second, and $5 fer the third prise, an' ther boya hes all chipped In, an' ef yer don't win, boy, they'll all aee me larrup "All knew and greatly feared the speaker, Shanghai Bill, for he waa a desperado of the worst type, a giant In size and of enormous strength and ever ready to get into a brawl.

The boy smiled at hla words, paid his $30, which left him with three in his pocket, and after tho Red Legs had shot, took his stand and raising his rifle quickly fired. The first to start the cheering waa Jim Lane himself, who cried out: 'By heaven! The best shot In 'It's a accident; besides, Gineral ther's two more to be growled Shanghai Bill. "The two more were then shot In th same quiet way as before and the bullets went dead center. 'Ive got the horse, saddle and bridle toward becoming a Red Leg, said the boy quietly, addressing Lane. 'Tou have, indeed.

Now see if you can win the arms. I believe you waa Lane'e reply. These were to be shot with pistols and at 20 paces, the best two In three shots, and once more three dead-center bull's eyes were scored by Wild Bill, The men now became deeply Interested in the youth and watched eagerly for him to come to his third trial, which was to be with a rifle nt a moving object 100 yards off. This object was a round piece of wood painted red, which was to be rolled like wheel along the ground, and at this three shots were allowed. Just as the man started It In motion, a crow flew over the field above the heads of the crowd, and Instantly raising his rifle he fired and brought it down.

He then seized the weapon held by Shanghai Bill and throwing It to a level sent a bullet through the red wheel ere it had stopped rolling." This sounds almost too good, but the same story has come from various sources much after the same fashion. Indeed, If there was not a conspiracy of the time to hoist Wild Bill on to a purple throne of shining glory, as a plstoleor, we may safely accept it as a fact. Buffalo Bill In rating him above Doctor Carver, whom I used to see perform marvels with firearms, gives him the topmost place among pistol ahooters. Any man who could out-.