Infamous Facts About Wild Bill Hickok, The Sheriff Of Deadwood
May 27, 1837 saw the birth of one of the most famous figures of the American Wild West. With a life that ranged from scout to soldier to spy to showman, fiction has had a field day depicting the much-storied life of James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. He has become such a legendary folk hero that separating fact from myth is a nigh-impossible task. How many men did he kill? What is the dead man's hand? What led to the chilling events of August 2, 1876 in Deadwood, South Dakota? Well, we've dug through the legend to get to the man behind the tales, and we now present to you these remarkable facts gleaned from the life of the #1 buckaroo himself, ol' Wild Bill Hickok.
Wild Bill Hickok Facts
1. Don’t Mess with Me!
Hickok would have had you believe that he’d killed numerous gunmen throughout his life, but this speaks to the fact that Hickok, like many of the people writing about him, loved to exaggerate his reputation and his life.
However, Hickok biographer Joseph G. Rosa, trusted as one of the best sources on his life, was able to confirm seven men who’d found themselves on the wrong end of Wild Bill's gun.
2. Did They Also Say His Name was Alfred
It turns out that Wild Bill's surname was subjected to a series of changes during his lifetime, though this was mostly because people found it hard to spell or pronounce. During the Civil War, Hickok was occasionally referred to as “Haycock,”
while one report in 1867 listed his name as “Hitchcock.”
3. Pre-Pony Express
Before he took part in the Civil War, Hickok worked for a freight company called Russell, Majors, and Waddell. The name might not be too familiar to many, but it eventually got another moniker: the Pony Express.
