The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1934-07-26


" q that sinister combination, In some
IA lighted, cheerful room, must have felt
IN N a pricklng Of his scalp as If an icy
MI breeze famed his hands, some
dark, cold presence suddenly in the
room, stood hooking at his shoulder"
For more than half century that sinister
J. combination has been known as the "Dead Mans
Hand" 1t was the hand of cards which the
famous Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he
was assassinated In Deadwood, S. D., August
2, 1876, and that event is landmark In the
history of the American frontier.
His death marked not only the loss of
brave and gentle man, butSalso the passing of
a great epic" writes recent biographer Of
this celebrated frontiersman. wild Bill, the
greatest scout of the Plains, the cool and fear
less marshal of border bad towns the marvel
. Gus marksman, the terror of desperadOes and
bad men was gone. And with him was gone
the most vital need for man of his type. The
: days of Wild free frontier life were numbered.
Already courts and schools and libraries and
factories near by that more
eager forward move would put them and the
rich life they brought into the place of saloon
and gambling-hall and dance-resort. Wild Bill
and the period in which he lived, both had
played their part
The man who wrote those words was the late
William Elsey Connelley, secretary of the Kan
sas State Historical society. When he died in
1880 he left behind him the manuscript of an
unpublished biography of Hickok, based upon
AZ years of research. During that time he had
an unusual opportunity to obtain, evaluate and
interpret authentic material relating to the life
and character of Hickok. Associated with him
. in his work was his daughter, Mrs Edith Con-
nelley Cliff, and upon his death 1t fell to her
lot to edit her fathers manuscript and round
out the story which he was writing. The result
was the book "Wild Bill and His Era-The Life
and Adventures of James Butler Hickok," (is-
sued last year by the Press Of the Pioneers, a
New York publishing firm, directed by Rufus
Rockwell Wilson, which is doing an invaluable
work in preserving a variety of pioneer histo-
rical records) and in the opinion of those best
able to Judge the result this latest biography is
"a sane, convincing portraiture Of Wild Bill as
he was" --.. s-.. ....-
Like many another Wild West hero Wild Bill
Hickok has been the central figure In many
tall tale which either entirely fictitious in
the first place or had only slight basis of fact
but which, by constant repetition, has come to be
regarded as fact. Therefore, one of the values
of Connelley's book Is that 1t dispels many Of
these legends and myths which have clustered
around the name of Wild Bill and substitutes
for them statements which can be accepted with
the confidence that they represent the truth
about him as nearly as 1t is possible to learn the
truth about man who had such colorful and
varied career as Hickok had
Among these legends is the story Of how James
Butler Hickok came to be known as "Wild Bill"
and there have been as many variations on this
theme as there have been on most of the other
events in his life. According to Connelley, the
true story is this: In 1861 Hickok already wide
~ noted as skillful government scout and
guide, was placed in charge of wagon train
which, escorted by u guards, was transporting
army supplies from Fort Leavenworth to Soda
liza, Mo. En- route party of SO guerrillas at
tackled the train not far from Independence,
nd fhn aufn four 70
made no attempt to defend the train, but re-
treated at once. 49,. ~.'@..
Hickok as master Of the train, was riding on
horseback ahead of it. When the guerrillas
called upon him to surrender, he replied: "Come
and take me-" and spurred his horse toward
Independence. In the running fight which fol-
lowed he killed several of his pursuers but
escaped without a scratch. Reporting the loss
of the train to the Union troops there he was
told that they could not help him, but that he
would have to go on to Kansas City and report
the loss to the commander at that place.
While in Independence he went Into saloon
owned by friend Of his and learned that the
bartender besieged in nearby house by a
mob of teamsters and other rowdies because he
had wounded one Of their number during a
fight Hickok Immediately drew two pistols and
offered to fight the entire party but his challenge
not taken up Then he ordered the crowd
to dispense, saying: "If you do not there will be
more dead men around here than the town can
bury" whereupon the rufnans departed hastily.
The citizens of the town gathered in the town
square after they had left to express their appre-
citation to the man who had delivered them from
their brief reign of terror and during the meet
ing a cried out: "Good for you, Wild
Bill" Who she and why she called him
"Wild Bilr' instead of "Wid Jim," Hickok never
knew. He went on to Kansas City, secured the
aid of a detachment of soldiers and, returning
to the scene of the attack on the wagon train,
recaptured the unnjured wagons and some Of
the mules When he arrived at Sedalia he found
that the story of his encounter in Independence
had preceded him and everywhere he was hailed
as "Wild Bill" name which stuck to him to
the day of his death.
great many of the legends that have grown
nh around the name of Wild Bill have had to
do with his almost uncanny skill with the six
shooter but Connelley's patient research has re-
shifted I'm the confirmation of most of these sto-
rios even those which seem nearly unbelievable,
rather than in dispelling the legend.
Like 50 u,aDI ether stories about Wild Bill,