The Washington times., 1901-07-08
CAREER OF 7. ". HARDWICK
Death of the Man Who Originated
the Wild West Show.
Episode I'm His Life That Caused
NoIuminOug Correspondence Be
tween the State Department and
Canada - Fighting the Indians.


tween the State Department and
SIOUX FALLS, S. D., July THE
| death of Thomas w. Hardwick a few
days ago at Excelsior Springs, Mo, from
| Bright's disease, ended the career of one
of the best known Northwestern from
tiersmen. This gunfghter, Indian killer.
and terror to bad men died at the age
of sixty-eight.
From an episode in early Montana days
! in which he was involved arose the only
| instance on record where the fearless
! Canadian Northwest mounted police were
! ever baffied in an effort TO arrest the man
they were after. The episode gave Hard
wick an international reputation, and re-
suited in voluminoUs correspondence be-
! tween the State Department at Washing
i ton and the Office of the Governor Cen
! eraI of Canada.
Before coming to Dakota Territory, in
| the early days, Hardwick lived in Mon
tana, and while there, in the sixties, was
| a participant in remarkable chase after
band of Indians who had greatly an
| noyed him and his companions by steal
! ing their ponies. The Indians belonged
on the Canadian side of the line, and for
some time had been making raids on the
! frontier settlements of Montana.
! Hardwick, who was engaged in freight
| ing to a mining camp, determined to put
! a stop to the raids. He gathered to-
! gether a posse of eight or ten trusted and
| picked men, All were fully armed, and
| after preparing for a long campaign he
| and his comrades set out in pursuit of
| the band of Indian horse thieves, who
numbered between fifty and one hundred
| the exact number never having been
| known.
They continued the pursuit with unre-
| lenting energy, Notwithstanding that
Hardwick had arisen from a sick bed in
| order to punish the Indian raiders. One
morning, after chase of more than one
hundred miles, the Indian camp was
sighted. The handful of white men fear
lessIy approached the camp Hardwick
| demanded from the chief of the party that
| the ponies stolen from him be peacefully
returned. The chief, not fearing the small
number of white men, made an insolent
reply, and in an instant dropped >:ead.
with bullet from Hardwick's gun in his
body.
AS the result of the fierce battle which
followed all the Indians were killed The
frontiersmen were all expert marksmen,
and made every shot count. The few In
dians who succeeded in breaking away
from the white devils" were pursued by
the uniniured members of the posse until
the last of the copper eolored thieves had
been made to "bite the dust"
The affair when the particulars became
known after the return of the posse, Gre
ated intense excitement The Canadian
authorities were informed of the wiping
out of the Indian band. and. upon the
supposition that the Indians had been
killed on the Canadian side of the line,
decided to take the necessary action to
punish tine members of the posse. a force
of about twenty-five Canadian mounted
policemen was sent to arrest Hardwick,
but the miners, several hundred in num-
Der, rallied to his support and threatened
to wipe out the police if they attempted
to arrest him.
Realizing the desperateness of their
situation, the mounted police paid heed
to the threats of the miners and re-
turned TO their own side of the line.
Upon the representation of the Canadian
Government, the authorities of Montana
were finally urged to action, and Hard
wick was arrested by the authorities OF
that State. But a man could not in those
days have been convicted of killing In
dian horse thieves, and after lying in
he was released, and nothing was ever
done to him for his part in the killing of
the Indians.
Coming to Dakota in early days, when
a mans life depended upon his ability to
dodge Indians, Hardwick passed through
adventures equal to those of Buffalo
Bill" wild Bill" and other celebrated
frontier characters. He was absolutely
without fear, as an incident in the early
history of Deadwood will prove. Hard
wick struck Deadwood when the camp
was the toughest in the world, and
opened a faro layout in saloon. One
night he had trouble with a desperate
named Emerson, but who was better
known as Bad Dick
The desperado-not in the hearing of
Hardwick, however-publicly threatened
that he would kill Hardwick on sight
Hardwicks friends, alarmed for his
safety. told him of the threats and ad
vised him to make himself scarce. But
the old frontiersman simply laughed at
their fears and declined to leave Dead
wood. The next night Bad Dick" ap-
peared in the saloon, and there was a
general scattering of the mass of men
in the room, who wished to get out of
range of the expected bullets. Hardwick
saw his enemy enter. He discontinued
the faro game then in progress and
quietly sat in his chair awaiting develop
ments.
Bad Dick" walked up to the bar, and
said in a voice loud enough to be heard
in all parts of the room. and with plenty
of profanity:
Il am the boss"
Hardwick accepted the challenge in
stantly, and deliberately walking up to
a position Immediately in front of the
desperate, and only foot or two away,
steadily looked him in the eye and said:
You are liar; 1 am the boss!'
Hardwick's hands were in his pockets,
in one of which he invariably carried a
derringer pistol, then a favorite with
MANY frontiersmen. The weapon was in
his hand, and it was doubtless his in
tention had Bad Dick attempted TO
make a hostile move to send a bullet
into that individual without taking the
derringer from his pocket. The desper-
ado evidently was aware of his intention,
and noting the devilish and determined
look in the eye of the little man who had
thus defied him, turned and walked from
the room. He disappeared from Dead
wood. and his favorite haunts knew him
no more.
Hardwick was the originator of the
wild West" show idea, his partner, VIII
liam Skakel, q Well-knoWn resident of
Chicago, being associated with him in
the enterprise 1t was the first show of
the kind in the country. After travelling
Through Illinois they sold out to Buffalo
Bill" Hardwick was an adept at han
L. TVesVT