The Life of Wild Bill Hickok (Jerry Skinner Documentary)

[Music] here we are traveling east on Interstate nanny in the western part of South Dakota we're on our way to the old Western historic town of Deadwood goats in 1874 gold was discovered by the expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer the seventh Cavalry was charged with finding a location for a fort and away southwest through the Black Hills they found a small amount of gold and word spread during the next 125 years ten percent of the world's gold will be taken out of Black Hills although the black hills of Dakota Territory was Sioux Indian land guaranteeing that no whites would intrude by the 1865 Fort Laramie Treaty but within two years of the motherlode discovery words quickly spread and prospectors fortune hunters outlaws gamblers and prostitutes began pouring into the makeshift mining camp of Deadwood the population quickly reached five thousand within a few months the population today is only 1,300 now you simply turn south on exit 17 off Interstate 90 onto Highway 80 then it's only 8 miles to Deadwood Deadwood is located in a valley with mountains on three sides old-timers call the valley of goats of course Deadwood is now a tourist town and we're looking for the most popular historic spot in town the location of the muddle and Mann's saloon known at the time simply as saloon number 10 number 10 is located where the famous lawman scout and showman Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed while playing cards now this is the way Deadwood looked in the early days mostly tents and wooden buildings with always muddy streets the actual saloon and a large portion of the town was burned to the ground a few years after he dead as a matter of fact there's been so many fires in and around Deadwood that old wood covers the ground and dead trees still stand among the new growth thus the name Deadwood you're looking at the muddle and man saloon number 10 it is one of the most popular saloons in the country especially with bikers and tourists now when Wild Bill arrived in 1876 he was already famous but not rich wealth had eluded him and fame had become a burden James Butler Hickok was born May the 27th 1837 in LaSalle County Illinois he was the fourth of six children born on a farm to William Alonzo Hickok and his wife Polly Butler like most youngsters in his day bill was taught how to use a gun they quickly become an excellent shot and by the time he was in his teens he was known as the best shot in LaSalle County by the age of 18 he caught was working for the railroad driving a mutant when he got into a fight with a co-worker by the name of Charles Hudson the two ended up in a river trying to drown each other as bill was being pulled off a Hudson by other workers someone shouted out Hudson is dead he wasn't but bill didn't wait to find out he headed west to Kansas and Nebraska thank you that the law would be looking for him he started using his father's name William Hickok bill worked several jobs finally becoming a stagehand in Rock Creek Nebraska for the Overland stage and the newly formed Pony Express company the Express Company had leased the land from the owner David McCandless hurtin for money the company was behind on its lease payments and on July the 12th 1861 McCandless along with two other men and including his 12 year old son Monroe arrived at the Express station to either receive payment or repossession they asked to see harsh Wellman the station manager now what happened next is in question what we do know is that David McCandless and two of his men ended up dead with his son escaping one story says a bill shot mechanists in cold blood while standing behind a quilt curtain as David entered the cabin some say that McCandless had been bullying bill calling him duckbill referring to his long nose and protruding upper lip instead of just plain bill and to make things worse it was said that both men were interested in the same woman serifs chills some say that it was a station manager Horace whalemen that actually killed McCandless and that bill had wounded the other two men that had come to McCandless is 8th some believe that a third person JW brink working for whalemen at the station actually was the one that killed the two men however a few years later George Ward Nichols writing for the Harper's new monthly magazine had Wild Bill killing 10 men at the Rock Creek shootout all with Wild Bill's blessing after the shootout bill along with harsh Wellman & JW brink were all three charged with murder they were found not guilty on the grounds that they were protecting company property the story goes that on their way to the trial bill demands that they stop by and apologize to McCandless's wife and give her money they afraid that the nickname duck-billed would stick he began calling himself Wild Bill and grew a thick mustache to cover up his upper lip the next five years Hickok was served the north as a spy wagon master and provost marshal during the Civil War and in July of 1865 bill ends up in Springfield Missouri where he had served as provost marshal on July the 12th Hickok was staying at the Lands House Hotel playing cards when he was confronted by a next Confederate soldier by the name of Davis Tutt billowed took money from a previous gambling loss they disagreed on the mount old Tut grab he watch that was laying on the card table and said I'll keep the watch until the mount I say you old is paid bill said I'll pay my debt but don't worry the watch in public you see as a gambler it was really important that you pay your debts and losing his watch to touch was not only embarrassing to bill but could put in question his ability to pay his gambling debts dud said I were you watch wherever I please even in the town square unable to work out a settlement the next evening under 21st a little before 6 p.m. friends of Tut met bill at the Lyons hotel where he is staying and Tony at him saying that Davis Tutt was in a town square wearing his watch the Friends of Davis actually thought that Davis was the better shot now the Lyons hotel was located on South Avenue where the systematic Savings Bank is now located bailiff the lands has woken towards or the flagpoles or now standing where he spotted tut Davis was standing in front of the courthouse at that time in the northwest part of the square bill warned Tut not to come across the square were in his much and to show exactly how far they were 75 yards or 225 feet the lady is standing where Wild Bill was that at the time and now the camera is turning back the word Tut was that at the little round plate in the middle of the street both men stopped and drew their guns Tut missed Bill didn't both men fired one shot each touch stumbled back a few feet and fell on courthouse steps a warrant was issued for Bill's arrest he was tried for manslaughter but found not guilty after a three day trial McCall's Davis Tutt initiated the fight they said by taking bill's watch and witnesses also stated that Hickok had made several attempts to avoid the fight some time later after hearing about the exceptional shot made by Wild Bill in Springfield Colonel George Nichols looking for stories to help circulation of his Harper's new monthly magazine began writing exaggerated stories about the exploits of Wild Bill Hickok soon bill became famous as a straight-shooting pistoleer from the stories printed in the harper's magazine in february of 1867 in august 1869 Wild Bill James Butler Hickok was elected the acting sheriff of Ellis County that's Hays City Kansas partly because of this fame from the harper magazine stories during his first month in office he shot and killed his first man as a law officer eyewitnesses stated that build movi while drinking and riding up and down the street shooting up the town stated that he had come to town to kill bill as bill walked into the street to stop movie movi while sitting on his horse cocked his rifle and pointed it at the sheriff Hickok at the same time threw up his hands and looked past movie and yelled no don't shoot him in the back boys he's been drinking as moti turned his horse to see who was behind him and discovering that he had been duped Hickok draws his pistol and puts a bullet through loved his head the very next month on September 27th around 1:00 a.m. Sam straw hunt along with several friends were wrecking one of the several saloons in Hays when Wild Bill and deputy Peter Lenihan arrived Sam refused to stop the ruckus and it's not certain whether Sam threatened to shoot the sheriff I throw a glass in his face one thing is sure they buried Sam straw honey the next day at the coroner's inquest Hickok said that he was trying to restore order several witnesses disagreed about the killing but the jury found the killing justifiable on July the 17th 1870 bill was attacked by two soldiers from the 7th US Calvary Jeremiah longer Gunn and John Cao they attempted to fistfight Hickok when Jon Kyl pulled a gun and put it to Wild Bill's head and pulled the trigger the gun snapped and felled a fire bill managed to pull his own revolver killing cow and shooting Lonnegan in the leg while bill stayed on guard for some time after the thinking that other soldiers might come seeking revenge on April of 15th 1871 while there was elected town marshal of Abilene Kansas he replaced marshal Tom Smith who had been shot and killed in the line of duty from ambush on November the 2nd 1870 the town council ordered marshal Hickok to clean out the brothels which put him in conflict with the local Cowboys on October the 5th 1871 around 9:00 p.m. marshal Hickok walked out of the Alamo saloon to put down a disorderly mob of drunken Cowboys leading the group was a man by the name of Phil Cole he was a gambler gunman and businessman while bill and Phil Cole had had several run-ins in the past but this man Cole had fired a gun which was against town ordinance and Wild Bill asked for Cole's gun Cole turned the gun toward being twice the first shot went into the sidewalk where Bill was standing and the second shot is said to have gone through Bill's coat Marshall he can't return fire putting two bullets into field cold stomach he died two days later here in the gunplay Mike Williams a close friend and deputy marshal of Wild Bill's pulls his gun and headed towards the commotion thinking that the marshal might be in trouble Hickok not knowing that it was his deputy and only seeing someone coming up behind him with a gun bill turns and shoots killing Mike Williams his own deputy this mistake will affect Bill Hickok for the rest of his life after Mike Williams's death bill would never hold another law man's position it'll be his last gunfighter he will pay for Williams's funeral and ride all the way to Kansas City to explain to Williams's wife what happened while bill was marshal of Abilene he meets Agnes Thatcher Lake a wealthy widow woman now this is Bill Agnes and her daughter Emma bill and Agnes would develop a friendship and will continue it by correspondence for the next few years and they'll meet again while bill was performing with the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show that he had joined after leaving Abilene this time friendship will turn to romance bill will soon grew tired of show business and after a couple of years he'll quit the Wild West Show he'll make a living off his fame and gambling tables in the first part of 1876 Wild Bill was diagnosed by a Kansas City doctor as having glu coma and trachoma a disease that causes blindness he was already losing his marksmanship not a good thing for pistol era in March of the same year bill was in Cheyenne Wyoming preparing to go to the gold camps in Deadwood Dakota Territory when Agnes Lake stopped in Cheyenne to visit friends on her way back from San Francisco the couple quickly renewed their friendship and on the 5th of March 1876 James Butler Hickok marries Agnes Thatcher Lake it was Wild Bill's first and only marriage at age 38 it was a second marriage for Agnes at the age of 49 the couple travels to Cincinnati Ohio where Agnes had a home it was reported that Agnes had love Bill for three years but refused to marry until her daughter was old enough to marry she had planned to make them a home in a while every in June after three months of mage Wild Bill leaves Ohio for Cheyenne according to most accounts he left Agnes in Ohio and went off to seek his fortune agnus stated that she could make good money performing in a circus being that she had been a circus owner and performer from an early age Hickok stated in a letter that he wanted her to perform only for him and not to public some did wood historians believe that Agnes was actually staying in Cheyenne waiting for bill to return and not in a while Hickok was planning on investing in mining claims and buying tracts of timber when Charlie utter a friend of Wild Bill's stopped in Cheyenne with 30 wagons that he had organized for a trip to Deadwood Bill joined the wagon train and became a business partner with other another person that had joined the train was Martha Jane canary known locally as clam indeed Jane also traveling with the wagons was several loads of prostitutes it was said that in July 1876 when the wagon train arrived in Deadwood that two miners lined the streets and broke out in a loud applause not for a Wild Bill but for the prostitutes one whole block was designated for them in the first few days bill tried pin him for gold but quickly gave it it he found that most of the mining claims was taken up and he soon decided that his future was at the card tables Bill's favourite saloon and card games was at the Nuttall and man's number 10 saloon the original number 10 burned down three years after Hickok was killed however if you go down these stairs it'll take you to the original site and Street location in 1876 unfortunately the place was a little dark and they charged extra to take you down to the cellar on August the 2nd 1876 while bill hickok walked into the nettles and man saloon looking for a card game that was always in progress today while bill will not be wearing his famous and navy coats that he had used in so many gun fights instead he was wearing a red sash around his waist as he often did and his Smith & Wesson Model 2 5 shot 38 caliber army revolver will be in his sash wherein the handles reversed as the cavalry military officers did as bill walked inside he saw sitting at the card table Carl man it was part owner of the saloon bill Massey a Missouri steamboat captain and Charlie Rich with one chair empty where a fourth person had just lost his stake and left the empty chair was in front of the back door not the front door as most believed bill has Charlie Rich to change chairs with him as he was accustomed to sitting with his back to the wall he had only been in Deadwood 28 days rich refused and said he'll bill you hadn't been here long enough and no one even knows that you're here bill reluctantly took the empty chair a man by the name of Jack McCall have been watching bill and seen his change for revenge and fame it lost his money the day before dewild bill bill reportedly gave Jack enough money to eat him and said don't play if you can't afford it Jack walked behind the bar to the end where several men were standing talking he went unnoticed and walked up behind bill and pulled his 45 revolver and shouted out damn you take that and shot bill through the back of the head bill Massey sitting straight across from Hickok will receive the bullet in his left risk carl man was sitting to Wild Bill's left and Charlie Rich on his right bill dropped his cards that he was holding a pair of black eights and a pair of black aces his fifth card is believed to have been an an of diamonds this hand will forever be known as the dead man saying aces & eights Jack McCall were run out of door and try to mount a horse the cinch had been loosened by the owner so the saddle slipped off and he was unable to get on so he runs down the street to a butcher shop where he was quickly caught by upset friends of Wild Bill's there was no law in Deadwood and no jail jack was locked in the outdoor toilet long enough for the miners to form a miner's Court which had no legal standing as deadwood itself was not legal Jack McCall's defense was that Wild Bill had killed his brother back in Hamelin Kansas the miners court found Jack McCall's killing of Wild Bill Hickok justifiable after two hours deliberation because Bill they thought had killed Jack's brother after Jack leaves town they'll discovered that Jack McCall had no brothers he'll be called in Wyoming territory after bragging that he had killed Wild Bill in a fair fight he'll be arrested by a US Marshal and brought back to the Kota Territory and tried by a legal court and hanged Jack McCall was buried with the Rope still around his neck James Butler Hickok was first beat at the Ingleside cemetery in deadwood by his friend Charlie utter shown here on the right two years later his body along with several others will be moved up the hill to the new Mount Moriah cemetery overlooking Deadwood the town needed the land for expansion James Butler Hickok Wild Bill was 39 years old after Wild Bill's death the Harper's monthly magazine began writing fictitious stories about the romance between Wild Bill and Calamity Jane they felt that the readers had rather hear about Bill and his romance with a 24-year old gun toting calamity Chang instead of hearing about him writing the love letters to his fifty year old wife Agnes Jane had requested that she be buried next to Bill she knew that it would secure her place in Western history and on August the 1st 1903 Martha Jane cannary passed away from stomach infection in pneumonia believed to be from years of excessive drinking and rough living Jane was 51 years old although Deadwood fathers knew that while bill and laughs had little to do with clamming - Jane Jane was well liked by Deadwood citizens for her unselfish work during the smallpox epidemic of 1878 partly as a joke on bill and realizing that it would be good for tourism the town leaders granted James request to be buried next to Wild Bill Hickok [Music]

Channel: Jerry Skinner

Views: 180,505

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Id: 5aU1aTy5snk

Length: 26min 31sec (1591 seconds)

Published: Sat May 02 2020