“ACES and EIGHTS ”
d Since Audust 2
'6/That Has Been
the "Dead
Mans Hand”
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
CES and eights! Or, to be moTe spe
clflc, tlie aces and eights of spades
I and clubs, the black aces and eights—
V 1 “how many a later player holding
HZ' M that sinister combination. In some
OJfc 1 lighted, cheerful room, must have felt
yi a prickling of his scalp as If an Icy
KbT"^ I breeze fanned his hands, or some
dark, cold presence, suddenly In the
room, stood mocking at his shoulder.'’
For more than half a century that sinister
combination has been known as the "Dead Man’s
Hand." It was the hand of cards which the
famous Wild Bill Hlckok was holdlhg when he
was assassinated In Deadwood, S. D„ on August
2, 1876, and that event Is a landmark In the
history of the American frontier.
‘‘HU death marked not only the loss of a
brave and gentle man, but also the passing of
a great epic," writes a recent biographer of
this celebrated frontiersman. “Wild Bill, the
greatest scout of the Plains, the cool and fear
leas marshal of border ‘bad towns,’ the marvel
ous marksman, the terror of desperadoes and
‘bad men' was gone. And with him was gone
the most yltal need for a man of his type. The
days of wild, free frontier life were numbered.
Already courts and schools and libraries and
factories were ao near by that one 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
1030 he left behind him the manuscript of an
unpublished biography of Hlckok, based upon
42 years of research. During that time he had
an unusual opportunity to obtain, evaluate and
Interpret authentic mnterlal relating to the life
and character of Hlckok. Associated with him
In his work, was his daughter, Mrs. Edith Con
nelley Clift, and upon his death It fell to her
lot to edit her father’s 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 Hlckok," (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
up was.
Like many another Wild West hero, Wild Bill
Hlckok hns been the central figure In many a
tall tale which was either entirely fictitious In
the first place or had only a slight basis of fact
but which, by constant repetition, hns come to be
regarded as fact. Therefore, one of the values
of Connelley’s book Is that It 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 it Is possible to learn the
truth about a man who had such a colorful and
varied career as Hlckok had.
Among these legends is the story of how James
Butller Hlckok came to be known as “Wild Bill”
and there have been ns many variations on this
theme as there hnve been on most of the other
events In his life. According to Connelley, the
true story Is this: In 1861 Hlckok, already wide
ly noted as a skillful government scout and
guide, was placed In charge of a wagon train
which, escorted by 12 guards, was transporting
army supplies from Fort Leavenworth to Seda
lia. Mo. En route a party of BO guerrillas at
tacked the train not far from Independence,
Mo„ and the guards, outnumbered four to one,
made no attempt to defend the train, but re
xreaieu ai once.
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 a saloon
owned by a friend of his and learned that the
bartender was besieged In a near-by house by a
mob of teamsters and other rowdies because he
had wounded one of their ntimber during n
fight. Hickok Immediately drew two pistols and
offered to fight the entire party but his challenge
was not taken np. Then he ordered the crowd
to disperse, saying: “If you do not, there will be
more dead men around here than the town can
bury,” whereupon the ruffians departed hastily.
The citizens of the town.gathered In the town
square after they had left to express their appre
elation to the man who had delivered them from
their brief reign of terror and during the meet
Ing a woman cried out: "Good for you. Wild
Bill!" Who she was and why she called him
“Wild Bill" Instead of “Wild 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 uninjured wagons and some of
the mules. When he arrived at Sedalla he found
that the story of his encounter In Independence
had preceded him and everywhere be was hnlled
as “Wild Bill," a name which stuck to him to
the any of his death.
A great many of the legends that have grown
up 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
suited in the confirmation of most of these sto
ries, even those which seem nearly unbelievable,
rather than In dispelling the legend.
Like so many other stories about Wild Bill,
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Hickok's Last Letter to His Wife
the story of his death has been told many times
with a wide variety of conflicting detail. Be
cause of Its historical Importance, In the light
of the quotation from Connelley’s book at the
beginning of this article. It seems worth while,
as the anniversary of that event approaches, to
give the version of It which hag resulted from
the Kansas historian’s research.
There was a curious Irony of fate In the man
ner of Wild Bill’s dying which makes It more
than another Illustration of the age-old saying
that those who live by the sword shall die by
the sword, with the substitution of the word
“six-shooter” for the word “sword.” Woven Into
the red fabric of the narrative of Wild Bill’s
last days Is a white thread which seems strange
ly out of place In the chronicle of the violent
end of a life of violence. It Introduces Into the
story of this cold-eyed killer of the plains the
unusual and unexpected role of a tender and de
voted husband, even though the element of ro
mantic love may be lacking.
In 1876 Hickok was living In Cheyenne, Wyo,
listening to the siren call of gold In the Black
Hills of South Dakota. But before he could
answer that call he learned that Mrs.'- Agnes
Thatcher Lake, the widow of a famous circus per
former and herself one of a long line of show
people, was visiting a relative in Cheyenne. He
had first met her while he was marshal of Abi
lene, Kan,, In 1871, and, In 1874,'during his brief
career as an actor with “Buffalo Bill” Cody In
Ned'Buntline’s "Scouts of the Plains,” he had
met her again in Rochester, N. Y.
The result of their meeting In Cheyenge was
their marriage on March 5. Says Connelley:
“There Is no doubt that the two, venturesome
and full of courage and life, appealed to each
other. But the question of love Is a very dubious
one. The marriage was the practical, sensible
combining of forces of two people who knew
that they could be of mutual help." After the
marriage they went first to St. Louis, then to
Cincinnati. Two weeks there found Hickok rest
less and eager to get back to the West and go
to the Black Hills.
Accordingly he returned to St. Louis and set
about organizing a company of adventurers whom
he was to lend Into the gold country. This he
did, going by way of Cheyenne where his old
friend, "Colorado Charley” Utter, Joined him.
They arrived In Deadwood early In May. Con
nected with that arrival Is one of the elements
of the lrony-of-fate motif ln~ the story of Wild
Bill's death—his premonition that he was going
to his death in Deadwood Gulch.
According to a well-authenticated story, as he
and Utter came to the top of Break Neck Hill
nnd looked down Into the gulch, Wild Bill said
to his companions: "Boys, I hnve a hunch that
I am In my last camp and will never leave this
gulch alive.” Some time later, in fact the very
evening before his death, he was leaning against
the side of the open door of the “G6” saloon
when a friend noticed his downcast appearance
and asked him why he was “looking so dumpy.’’
Hickok replied: “Tom, I have a presentiment
that my time Is up and that I am going to be
killed.”
After arriving in the Hills, Hickok took up
several claims and began developing them. How
successful he was Is unknown. There is extant
(in the museum of the United States Playing
Card company at Cincinnati) his last letter to
his wife, written on July 17, which does not
Indicate any considerable success as a gold
hunter. His letter read:
"Dead Wood black hills. Dacota July 17th. 187C.
"My own darling wife Agnes I have but a
few moments left before this letter starts I
never was as well In my life but you would
laughf to see me now Just got in from Pros
pecting will go away again to morow but god
nowse when It will start my friend will take
this to Cheyenne if he lives I don't expect to
hear frojn ,you but It Is all the same I no my
Agnes and only live to love hur never mind Pet
we will have a’ home yet then we will be so
hnppy I am almost shure I will do well Hie man
is hurlng me Good by Dear wife Love to Emma
“J. B. Hickok •
“Wild Bill”
When Hickok arrived in Deadwood, that camp
was in the grip of the moat lawless element.
Although he was there only as a peaceful pros
pector, his reputation as a marshal in Kansas,
at Hays and Abilene, was well known. Soon the
Inw-ahlding element in Deadwood began talking
of making him marshal of that town and having
him “clean np the camp.” Hickok neither en
couraged nor discouraged such talk but went
quietly about his work.
But such talk was disconcerting to the card
sharps, the thieves and the killers who had
^— - -
V— —=~J
Monument atMwild BillVOrave
flocked to Deadwood. They knew that their activ
ities were doomed If he became marshal. Not
brave enough to forestall that possibility by
"shooting It out” with him themselves, two of
the leaders of the lawless element, Tim Brady
and Johnny Varnes, resorted to assassination.
“Broken Nose Jack" McCall, a former buffalo
hunter in Kansas who had degenerated Into a
drunken hanger-on around the saloons and dance
halls of Deadwood, was hired to do the Job. They
gave him $25 in gold dust and promised him
$175 more, filled him up with the brand of
“chain lightning" whiskey which flowed freely In
the camp and set him to his task.
On the afternoon of August 2 Hlckok was en
gaged in a friendly game of poker in “the "66"
saloon with Charley Rich, Carl Mann (one of
the owners of the place) and Captain Massey, a
Missouri river pilot Although the others laughed
and Joked as they played, Hickok seemed un
easy and worried. He’was sitting with his back
to the door, "a position so absolutely contrary
to the caution that governed his alert and watch
ful hubit that all his time-trained Instincts were
In violent rebellion.” Several times he asked to
change places with the others, but they refused
and teased him about his nervousness.
None of the four paid any attention as McCall
came lounging through the door and moved
noiselessly up behind Hlckok. Suddenly Jerking
out his .45 caliber six-shooter, McCall shoved the
gun within a yard of the back of Wild Bill s
head and, exclaiming: ”D—n you! Take that!”
fired a single shot. As nickok slumped forward
on the table, the assassin threatened Harry
Young, the bartender, with his gun and, keeping
the other men in the room covered with It,
backed from the room. Running to his pony, he
threw himself Into the saddle. But the cinch
was loose and the saddle turned, throwing him
to the ground. Then he picked himself up and
ran into a butcher shop nearby to hide. There
he was found by the famous "Calamity Jane”
Burke, whose quick temper flamed Into a furious
rage when she heard the news of the murder of
her friend, Wild Bill. Unmindful of the fact that
McCall was still armed, she entered the butcher
shop, seized a cleaver from a rack and, threaten
ing him with It, forced him to surrender.
Back In the "60" saloon, Hickok’s friends has
tily Summoned Ellis A. ("Doc”) Pierce. But
McCall’s one shot had been Instantaneously
fatal. Beside Wild Bill on the floor lay the four
cards which he had drawn—the two black See*
and the two black eights. Who first called that
combination the “Dead Man’s Hand” Is unknown.
But It Is certain that that characterization of It
throughout the West dates from that day.
One other Item In the lrony-of-fate motif de
serves mention. After McCall’S capture they
examined his revolver and discovered that every
chamber In it was loaded. But none of the other
five cartridges In It could be exploded 1 As “Doc"
Pierce once said: "What would have been Mc
Call’s chances If he had snapped one of the
other cartridges when he sneaked up and held
his gun to Bill’s head? He would now be known
as No. 87 on the file list of Mr. Hlckok."
• br Western Newspaper Vales
Scenes and Persons in the Current News
1—Congressman E. W. Marland, who Is the Democratic nominee for governor of Oklahoma. 2—Police
attacking rioting longshoremen with gas bombs in the strike fighting In San Francisco. 8—Henry P. Fletcher,
chairman of the Republican national committee, speaking at the celebration of the party’s eightieth birthday
In Jackson, Mich.
College Girls Hold a Sweeping Tournament
The Urst annual broom sweeping contest, held at Virginia Beach, Va„ for college girl vacationists, uncov
ered much new talent Miss Virginia Pierce of New York, second from left, was the winner and got sis brooms.
_'___A
CHAMPION MILER
Jack Medlca, giant member of
the Washington A. C. team, of Se
attle, Wash., is the new world's
champion mile swimmer, having ne
gotiated the distance In 20:57.8 In
the national A. A. U. outdoor men's
title meet at A Century of Progress
In Chicago.
ROTARY’S NEW HEAD
Robert Columbia, Mo.,
who was elected president of the
Rotary International at Detroit
Grain Centuries Old
Stores of grain one thousand
/ears old were nnearthed during
the excavations of the ancient Bul
garian city‘of Suvara. The site of
the town, which flourished between
the Tenth and Thirteenth centuries,
Is now occupied by the village of
Danllkova. In the Tartar republic.
Insists on Making His Own Corks
Despite the NltA code of the cork manufacturers. A. Kddle, hen:!
horticulturist of the Del Monte hotel, at Del Monte, Calif., being a
Scotsman, Insists on making his own corks. He Is shown here fashioning
a cork Tor his own bottle from the last surviving tree brought to Cali
fornia from Spain In the early years by the Jesuit fathers.
Fine Music for World’s Fair Visitors
Ureat music, greatly played. Is offered to visitors to the Chicago
World’s fair on the Swift Bridge of Service, shown above. In the huge
band shell the famous Chicago Symphony orchestra, under the leadership
of Dr. Eric DeLamarter, gives concerts each afternoon and evening. The
crowded open-air auditorium at every performance proves the people
appreciate first-class music.