The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16

WIS the Msrsbars duty 70 disarm thcfn, and
Hickok did It 10 perfection. His r%eyolyers
them. was as clubs. .Graspins tho handles, he
would pound tho obstreperous oowboys INTO
IespsS snS s.{ Slt4 sIS Sa: and IA As carried e FHf Sls li itsf IL
his hands every time he stepped from his home.
The reputation of being q dead shot and the
:sBii's Idea was to make Abilene moral by
confne his attention to cowboys and gamblers.
He would order women into their homes II they
h6a harp 9 ne dass to %ggSSsSr IKE Il gay Z G Ssme or OF t MSis stFS Ss a
bnnkcr's private home . be sttop pgsSip and h, when orGe ;ne
hosts nose. For a few. months PIN was ACT.
ing Adjutant-G General TO tho Mayor. The
ator in Kansas. On ono occasion there was be-
fore the Council a proposition TO vote an appro'
RB rrs .aa w sftravS was c0n WhSn the Sy c sS%1S H. Honn "A.
Hardy, who has since been Mayor Of Omaha.
was about to call the yeas s and maya, four r mem ,Rc
quorum. There was q whispered conference
between tho Mayor and Marshal, and the, stall
One OF the Council members had his office in
another part Of the building. Wild Bill went
s pnriey, seized 10 III The 'G %idofn Sna.s and, throwing him
frantic, Into thu, presence OF the Mayor, who
vote. While the Marshal stiii held the squirm:
ing Councilman aloft tho motion was declared
wild Bill never let up for a moment in his en-:
deavors TO- execute the will of the lawmakers of
b hSi1Sn g niI HS T fS@ %es lSt T slsssP he RSr gd thg 4ee : fsw
n week or two without taking of his clothes.
the cowpunchcrs and saloon men made him
many enemies, and they declared they would
a gambling saloon with a cooked revolver in
each hand and dared tho gamblers and COW:
boys to draw on him.. MEANWHILE he would
He never walked on the sidewalks in those days.
being afr In t Of a 10, foe m luiFdkdilng ~ IN &c. some Sfr alley 0H 81
was constantly on the lookout.
His bitterest foe was Philip Cole, a leader
s sbooa the the MARSHAL SpTSGys on W sIFht. aeS ono aa ne IN %s sep!
tcmber, 1871, Hickok stood in front Of the Alamo
saloon, one OF n row Of two. dozen franc build
track. Cole came up the street and approached
the sidewalk. There was a shot fired at the
near by will never be known, but in an instant
Wild Bill drew both his revolvers and placed
two bullets in Coles breast: The holes where
o 5aSSskh The fhs shooting %eo %sFe em aTtsietGy the fssi ne sEGR shse
in a moment. Hickok ordered them to disperso
and he quick about it,,and they dispersed. Be
f %;s, The sys stands tb had do fallen . back Ea far one rsn Mike
up. Either Wild Bill did not recognize him or
Thought that Williams had turned against
had just exhibited, he levelled both revolvers
again and two more bullets found their mark.
WILLIAMS sank to the ground, almost by the
4 week later two Mexican vaqueros. who had
been suspected of highway robbery outside Of
A to%n. so Mee0 o sssn w snsaa and e eold M s GH''f Il wS as
growing dark then. and when Bill started out
vised to be cautious about going after Mexican
despeeradoes In the dark, but BIZ argued that he
walked a mile or two about town. and finally
stopped to reconnoitre under some cottonwood
trees a half mile south of Abilene, A bullet
his pistol and whirled about. He saw two men
standing about nifty yards away: He started
Bill tripped and fell over some. brush.
Several bullets whistled past him while he strug-
F thc m to regain ThaI his so feet; Then nn he S stHrt fo1,o after
one, shooting him mortally through the back
as he was lodging behind a boulder. Bill al
ways took pride in telling Of that affair.
Along in the fall Of 1871 the cowboys. gam
had been we'll nigh ruined BY Bits rigorous
h heiiddm q secret CO %@ mee H1i!o and Pe offered s S1S %9f for
the death of Hickok. but the man did not exist
n %neS. B fhn'T knew nHm of th %h 9ee eGnld s ssTp The the pla re;
to get him out OF the way. The next morning
he was out as usual, and attended, a fair south
than ever. and carried. in addition to his usual
rels sa wed off to make the weapon about eigh.
teen inches long. This was loaded almost to
the muzzle. and was seldom out Of its owners
hands. There were several hundred hardened,
reckless men from off the plains In town that
day. and not one dared to attempt tho Mar.
that kept their shooting irons at their sides.
At another time Hickok raided a dance hall
tried to shoot from a Window holes through a
way. Wild BIN got two men to go with him.
there were several OF his bitterest enemies
aT r,1.A -.- .--- T.. Al.-
house.. van" said GIhs her, 8 Sio q fel eyery kn mSn the f@ l tn,s
and mean to enforce i. Come over here and
the proper time comes"
About half the men held back, while the other
half came forward and other showed that they
were unnrmed or gave their weapons to Hickok.
The latter drew n cooked pistol in each hand,
and told his assistants to do the same, and then
was not many minutes before the wooden shelf
Everybody obcycd Bill.
"NaT you can go on With your dance" said
Abilene has been executed. I don't mean any
wrong. fellows. but the law must be kept. or
somebody TS e dSyw has got nt to die r0n Good HSii night" =.
was possible for n citizen to go about unarmed.
and murders became less common. Then the
from Abilene to Ellsworth and Newton, Kan.
Wild Bills occupation as Marshal and regula-
is out OF date now. Abilene has grown to DO
one OF the p~retticst and most thriving towns in
Kansas. Not a relic remains tsave the grave
yard, where dozens Of murdered men lie buried)
to tell the story Of the wild days OF twenty.six
years ago.
Wild. Bill Hickok. next went to Idaho, and
finally became n gambler in Deadwood. One day
he went into a room at the re9r of the gambling
f broke an I IN Door poe r health heaId h~' a mann With a Sh w@s
he had had a long feud came up behind him
and put a bullet into his back and another into
his neck. 1nstinctiycly the desperate reached
for his weapons, and had both rcvolvers in his
dead. He was 35 years old.
II know Wild Bill well in western Kapsa 8
in = ls7l is5,2 H. and ID l ds5s said Henry W; Gh'
muscular. authoritative fellow, who had less
thought of personal danger than any one l ever
knew among all the horde of reckless. devil
may;caro men along the Santa Fe trail from
Of Abilene. and had been a very rigorous peace
officer in time when 1t seemed certain death for
n man to enforce the law. When he went out
Of office he became a different sort Of man. He
knew that his life might he taken by Il score or
more OF half-breed cowpunchers at almost any
hour. Almost daily he had warning that
some one had nm old.timo grudge against him,
and that 1t might be wiped out by blood at any
aiN@ H. 1911