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KF5JRV > TODAY 12.07.19 13:45l 13 Lines 2570 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 10437_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jul 12
Path: IZ3LSV<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<EA2RCF<LU9DCE<VE3UIL<VA7RBP<KF5JRV
Sent: 190712/1141Z 10437@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
Wild Bill Hickok begins to establish his reputation as a gunfighterafter he coolly shoots three men during a shootout in Nebraska.Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickokmoved to Kansas in 1855 at the age of 18. There he filed a homesteadclaim, took odd jobs, and began calling himself by his father’s name,Bill. A skilled marksman, Hickok honed his abilities as a gunslinger.Though Hickok was not looking for trouble, he liked to be ready todefend himself, and his ability with a pistol soon proved useful.
By the summer of 1861, Hickok was working as a stock tender at a stagedepot in Nebraska called Rock Creek Station. Across the creek livedDavid McCanles, a mean-spirited man who disliked Hickok for some reason.McCanles enjoyed insulting the young stockman, calling him Duck Bill andclaiming he was a hermaphrodite. Hickok took his revenge by secretlyromancing McCanles’ mistress, Sarah Shull.
On this day in 1861, the tension between Hickok and McCanles came to ahead. McCanles may have learned about the affair between Shull andHickok, though his motivations are not clear. He arrived at the stationwith two other men and his 12-year-old-son and exchanged angry wordswith the station manager. Then McCanles spotted Hickok standing behind acurtain partition. He threatened to drag “Duck Billö outside and givehim a thrashing. Demonstrating remarkable coolness for a 24-year-old whohad never been involved in a gunfight, Hickok replied, “There will beone less son-of-a-bitch when you try that.
öMcCanles ignored the warning. When he approached the curtain, Hickokshot him in the chest. McCanles staggered out of the building and diedin the arms of his son. Hearing the shots, the two other gunmen ran in.Hickok shot one of them twice and winged the other. The other workers atthe station finished them off.
The story of Hickok’s first gunfight spread quickly, establishing hisreputation as a skilled gunman. In 1867, Harper’s New Monthly Magazinepublished a highly exaggerated account of the shoot-out which claimedHickok had single-handedly killed nine men. The article quoted Hickok assaying, “I was wild and I struck savage blows.ö Thus began the legendarycareer of “Wild Bill.ö
For the next 15 years, Hickok would further embellish his reputationwith genuine acts of daring, though the popular accounts continued toexceed the reality. He died in 1876 at the age of 39, shot in the backof the head by a young would-be gunfighter looking for fame.
73, Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.com
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