Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-09
POLICE LOSE OLD MASCOT
Bill" Nixon, Friend of Them All,
Dies at Hospital.
HAD UNIQUE LIFE HISTORY
was Successful business Man, Then
Porch-CIimber and Wound Up
Career with Once-Dreaded
"PaIs" nj station.

Every man In the Omaha police depart
ment has a heavy feeling around hts
heart today because last night at $3.50
"Bin' Nixon, official mascot and trusty
OF the station. passed away at St Jo-
seph's hospital from the excessive use of
drugs, following an Illness Of few DAYS.
When tho station was Informed Of his
death Captain Patullo voiced the feeling
Of the force when he said: old Bill was
a friend Of ours and wen all see that he
gets a lit burial at our expense"
The body was turned over TO Coroner
Crosby temporarily until definite arrange
ments for a funeral can he made.
BILL who was always sickly, complained
two days ago that things weren't Just
going right" and said he believed he
would stick 20 his cot up over the ma
chine shop In the garage for a little
while. He was taken to the hospital yes
terday afternoon, but died shortly after
getting there. His last request TO DR..
Foltz, who attended him. was; DOC,
know I'm going. Can't you call one Of
the lads at the garage and have him
take me back to the station to die?" He
died a few moments after the request was
made.
Had Unique History.
Bllrs history f. unique In It's own par
ticular way. He was born In San Fran
cisco forty-elght years ago. rose from tho
slums and worked his way through both
the public and high schools. He went into
business at an early ago and succeeded.
One day in a quarrel with business
partner he fired at the latter's head. saw
him fall and rushed from the place think
l..
not stop to dispose OF business interests
or to say goodbye TO his folks, but took
the first train that would hurry him from
the scene of his crime. The man he
thought he had killed was only slightly
wounded, but Bill did not learn this until
Il was too late to go back and start over
He drifted into Omaha in 1890 and
worked I'm the Union Pacific shops with
Andy Patullo, now police captain. At
| that time. according to Patulo. no started
tho drug habit and after working a short
time became unreliable, quit his Job and
| took up a life OF crime. ''second-story"
work being his particular speciality He
did numerous short sentences and finally
was sent TO the penitentiary. During his
entire career he served time in the Me-
braska, Colorado and Missouri state
| prisons.
! Finally, five years ago, Bill became In
volved In little irregularity here in
Omaha and was sentenced to the county
jail Tho police station needed a rusty
and general "helper-around" at that par
! ticular time and the two men who had
] caught Bill In the act that sent him 20
the Nebraska penitentiary years before
asked that BIZ be given the chance.
Since then Nixon worked himself so
firmly into the hearts OF plain coppers,
sergennts. captains and all. that he was
! trusted with almost anything within rea-
son and never was the confidence vio-
lated. lie was fed and given a room OF
the jail and was clothed with offerings
from members OF the department. He
lived on the contributions OF the police
the surgeons and the newspaper men. and
always appeared as joviel and happy as
" he had thousand dollars tucked away