Hickok, Wild Bill (1837-1876), was an American frontier army scout, peace officer, stagecoach driver, and gambler. He is best remembered for his brief and violent service as a sheriff and marshal in Kansas. Hickok’s adventures and questionable killings made him a legend even during his own lifetime.
James Butler Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois, on May 27, 1837. As a youth, he gained a reputation as an expert marksman and a tough, greatly feared fighter. Hickok left home in 1855 and got jobs as a farmworker, police officer, stagecoach driver, and wagon master.
During the Civil War (1861-1865), Hickok served the Union as a spy and scout. According to legend, he was given the nickname “Wild Bill” during this period. Hickok became a deputy United States marshal in 1866. In 1867, he scouted for the army’s Seventh Cavalry Regiment, commanded by the famous Indian fighter Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer.
In 1869, Hickok won election to the office of sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas. He spent most of his time in Hays City, Kansas, which was a wild frontier town. As sheriff of Ellis County, Hickok killed two men. He lost a reelection bid in November of that year. In 1871, Hickok served as marshal of Abilene, Kansas. There, Hickok shot and killed a gambler and, by mistake, a policeman. He drew much criticism for his violent responses to rowdy drunks.
During the next few years, Hickok drifted through the West gambling and performing in a play called Scouts of the Prairie. In 1876, he moved to Deadwood in the Dakota Territory during a gold rush. Hickok hoped to strike it rich but was unsuccessful. On Aug. 2, 1876, he was shot and killed by a town worker named Jack McCall while playing cards in the No. 10 Saloon. Hickok fell to the floor, still clutching a pair of aces and eights, known ever since as the “dead man’s hand.”
