The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-10-27
"ULIZD BILL" HCNOkI rs

Wild Bill in Abilene that day they kept care
fully out of sight. Not shot was fired. Moth
ing happened Wild Bills reception at Abilene
was a regular ovation.
THAT little trip that Coles brother and
friends had made from Texas to Abilene to
avenge Coles death was no bluff. They went
to Abilene again the following year expecting
to find Wild Bill there. Whey they learned
that he was in Cheyenne, Coles brother and
two of his close friends started off for the
Wyoming town. Wild Bills friends in Abilene
wired him to be on the lookout for them.
Bill was standing against the bar of a sa-
loon in Cheyenne drinking glass of beer
when the three Texans stalked in. Bill recog-
nized Coles brother by his resemblance to the
Cole he had killed But Bill made no move.
He merely fingered his glass lazily and watched
the three strangers out of the corner OF his
eye. The Texans separated slightly and closed
on Bill in semi-circle. Get him now!' said
their leader suddenly All three whipped out
revolvers. But-wcud you believe ft?-they
did not fire shot. Bill was the quickest man
ON the draw that ever lived He fired so
rapidly that others in the saloon testified after
wards they heard but one report His bullets
found the Texans between the eyes and they
fell dead in their tracks Wild Bill killed
these men with six-shooter l had given him
when he quit the theatrical business.
wild Bill was one of the best revolver shots
ever In the west" Buffalo Bill went on He
certainly was the best revolver shot in fight"
"The man of today wonders why Wild Bill
got into so many fights One naturally figures
he must have been a quarrelsome man. On
the contrary he was distinctly likable and ami.
able. But out west in early days there were
many men who took pride in bloody exploits
and killed men simply to make record In
the spirit of gamblers these men swore to
kill each other to decide which was the better
man. They hunted each other often and trav.
eled hundreds of miles to fight 1t out with
rival killer number of these professional
bad men tried 70 Kill Wild Bill for the reputa
ton it would give them. Other men tried tc
kill him a result OF disputes Still Others
sought his life to avenge the deaths Of rela
tives who had fallen before Wild Bilps re-
volvers.
"He was killed in Deadwood by Jack MEGA,
on August 2, 1875 WITH a party of frtenda
he had entered saloon to play poker. Tga
card table was in corner at the rear of ,tt
place. Captain Durfee, an old Missouri stear,
Dvct man and a friend of Hickok's, took thS
seat in the corner. Wild Bill tried to get tht
seat first. When he failed, he asked Captstt
Durfee to let him have it. Captain Durfes
suspected Bill wanted the seat to have certsin
man at MS right to cut for him and perhaps
stack the deck. Captain Durfee refused to give
up the seat Then Bill without more ado sat
down in chair with his back to the front
door, In that position he could not see McCaH
enter. The assassin stepped up behind him
and fired bullet in the back of his head, kill
ing him instantly. Mccall was hanged in Yank
ton not long after. The fatal bullet, after pasa
ing through Wild Bills skull. broke Captain
Durfee's arm.
Captain Durfee said afterward that be did
not realize until too late that Wild Bill wanted
ha q h.
view of the bar and ell who entered from
the street If the captain had known this b.
would have surrendered the chair and Wild Eli
would not have been assassinated."