The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-06-27
WILD BILLS FIRST BATTLE.
Story of the Most Remarkable Con.
fliCt in Border Annals

Forty years ago. in December ten men
on bay horses galloped across the dry bed
OF Rock Greek. skirted a little clump of
bars OF the Overland Stage Company
horse corral on the California trail a few
miles North of Manhattan. Bill Nc
kandlas, jumping from his horse put his
hand on the top rail. \ tall slender
young man stepped to the door of the
dug out few yards away with a gun in
his hand. and eyed the Mckandlas gang
with dark disfayor. He called out with
some emphasis that he would shoot the
first man who took down a bar. and
made some comment on their parentage.
few hours before they had gone by
his quarters jerking an old preacher by
lariat. As they passed they announced
that they would come back for the stage
| horses in the corral at three O'Clock in
the afternoon. The young man with the
| gun had replied that he would be there
when they came back. He was paid to
| feed, harness and protect the company's
| property. and intended to earn his
money. The ten visiting gentlemen tied
| their horses to the corral, and turned to
the more cheerful duty of exterminatn
the imprudent and forward young watch
man. lie retired into his dug out domi-
ellie, barred the door, and stood waiting
| with rife in his hand. Even then he
had the habit of not shooting until the
! occasion really demanded it. The high
Waymen hunted up log from among
the cottonwoods, and with praise
worthy industry proceeded to batter
| down the door.
jim Mckandlas. with a revolver, a
| bowie-knife, a whoop and a yell leaped
across the threshold and into eternity.
As the Others rushed through the door
the man inside fired three shots, with
that accuracy of aim for which he was
SO much admired in the years that were
to come. The six somewhat startled
horse thieves who remained alive
| sWarmed across the dug-Out floor
and piled upon the young station
keeper with revolvers and bowie-knives.
One beat him over the head with a gun,
and Bill Mex andlas struck with a bowie
knife, only to bury it in the table, and
with a bullet in his heart, to suddenly
terminate career which had furnished
an infinite variety of interest for the
sheriffs and vigilants of several counties.
The rusty stove fell from its insecure
foundation cross the surging cOmbatants
mixed in ineXtricabe and sanguinary con-
fusion. Outside Il horse broke his hitch
ing strap and galloped away The little
table broke down beneath the weight OF
Il thousand pounds of shooting, stabbing,
swearing frontiersmen. The latest ban
dit rolled toward the door, and catching
glimpse Of the brown prairie outside,
which looked good to him, suddenly
reached the conclusion that he did not
need any stage company horses in his
| business and bolted.
BY this time the affair had ceased to
have for the other four horse fanciers
that enticing interest which had drawn
them into it. As he afterwards expressed
it, the young man in charge of the stage
station had gone wild" Covered with
wounds and freckled with bullet holes he
had lost every thought and instinct eX-
cept the lust OF death and victory AS
they fought he struck the sixth man in
the throat with his bowie, and the man
fell across the little pile of blankets. The
| three who were now on their feet retreat
ed through the door and toward their
| horses their host staggering after them
with the CLEAN Of battle still in his blue
eye. That morning his associate in the
company's service had gone hunting, to
return on the run barely in time to wit
ness the close OF the tragedy. Doe Mills,
the associate, had lost a golden oppor-
tunlty. While he was out shooting quail
Fame had knocked at the dug-out door,
handed q laurel to James Butler Hickok,
and passed on Hickok wrested the gun
from Mills hand and killed another of his
fleeing foes before they We're fifty yards
away. One, badly wounded, sped down
the little creek, found his way to Manhat-
tan. and died within two days. The
ninth, more fortunate, mounted a horse
and followed the first deserter across the
prairie.
When the stage from the East came
rumbling in half an hourlater, they found
this hero of the most savage and the
most remarkable conflict in border an
nails insensible and at the point of death
The floor of his dug-out looked like the
deck of a Vikings warship after a glori
Gus victory. Six months elapsed before
he recovered. He had beaten ten men il
a fair fight, killing eight of them, but he
had won his fight, saved his employers
property, and hencefOrth he was WILD
Bill for all time.-E. c. Little in Every
bodv>s Magazine.