Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-03-29
A Western City Marshal.

One of the most remarkable men
whom this country has produced is Mr..
William Hickox of Kansas, generally
known by the familiar appellation of
Wild Bill. He gained a great deal OF
notoriety during the war as a scout,
and before and since the rebellion was
deemed one of the most reckless des-
peradoes ever known even among the
roughest class of frontiersmen. Several
years ago a writer gave a glowing bio
graphical sketch of Wild Bid, in which
some of the most famous exploits of
the man were held up for popular ad-
miration, and the publication of this
sketch is said to have afforded great
encouragement and qualification to its
subject, who was delighted to find his
virtues thus recognized. For a while
Wild Bill disappeared from public no.
tice, and how many men he killed DUR
ing his retirement is as yet unknown.
But when the new town of Abilene, on
the Kansas Pacific Railroad, became the
great receiving point of the Texas cat
tie trade, and as a consequence the
headquarters of one of the roughest
congregations of hard characters to be
found in America, Wild Bill oppor-
tunely made his appearance there, and
was appointed City Marshal by the
authorities, who hadread his story, and
thought Mr.. Hickox possessed of just
the heroic qualities required for the
perilous position. AS the chief peace
officer of Abilene Wild Bill gained new
laurels, rarely if ever coming out sec
ond best in any of his encounters with
the unofficial rufians of the new city.
His insignia of Office consisted of two
eight-inch Colt revolvers, one on each
hip, bowie knife, and as many smaller
weapons as he could conveniently stow
away about his parson and his appear
ance as he daily took his post at the
railroad station for the qualification of
public curiosity when trains passed, a
broad -brimmed hat roofing his portable
arsenal, and his hair falling nearly to
his elbows, is described as having been
impressive in the extreme. But the
most astonishing Characteristic of Wild
Bill is the extraordinary vitality of the
man. Some months ago full and de-
tailed account was extensively published
of terrible fracas in which he was kill
ed under the most shocking circum-
stances, and about week ago we re-
ceived from correspondent in Kansas
information that the week previous
Wild Bill had been slain in Galveston,
Texas, by man named Cole, whose
brother he had shot while acting as City
Marshal of Abilene. Having the recol-
lection of Mr. Hickox's former death
in mind, we doubted the authenticity
of the last named report but we find
that our correspondents account is fully
corroborated by an Abilene newspaper
and also by other testimony. Not only
this, but we also learn from various
Western journals that Wild Bill was
again killed in Fort Dodge about ten
days ago by two men pretending to be
his friends, who enticed him into a
saloon, where at given signal the lights
were all extinguished and the contents
of several revolvers shot at him; also,
that letters of recent date from Wild
Bill himself show that he was visiting
some friends in Springfield, Mo-; and
finally, still later intelligence that Mr..
Hickox is out on the Union Pacific
Railroad, where the other morn
ing in spirit of pleasantly he shot and
killed three Indians who refused to
drink cold coffee with him, insisting on
it's being made hot. 1t is evident that
Wild Bill has as many lives as cat, and
that writing obituary notices of him is
likely to furnish occupation for Western
journalists yet unborn.-N Y. San.