Wild Bill Hickok: Dead ManOn August 2, 1876, the legendary frontier marshall Wild Bill Hickok entered Saloon #10 (Carl Mann's saloon) in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. Eager to join a poker game, he uncharacteristically took a seat with his back to the door because his companions had already taken seats on the wall and refused to move, good-naturedly ribbing Hickok about his paranoia of assassins.
Shortly thereafter, Jack "Crooked Nose" McCall entered the saloon, walked along the bar until he was behind Hickok, drew his Colt .45, and shot Hickok in the head. Hickok's hand at the time? A pair of aces and a pair of eights - thereafter known, of course, as the "Dead Man's Hand."
[Though McCall's motive died with him on the gallows some time later, many historians suspect that local outlaws had hired him to eliminate Hickok before he could be become sheriff of Deadwood and bring order to the town.]
[Trivia: Wild Bill Hickok was a Union spy and scout in the Civil War.]
Hickok, James Butler ["Wild Bill"] (1837-1876) American frontier scout and marshal [noted for his legendary law enforcement exploits against Western outlaws]
[Sources: M. Driscoll, ed., 5087 Trivia Questions & Answers; Biography magazine, June 2003, p. 26]More James Hickok anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Assassinations Famous Last Words Gambling Poker Cards Teasing Omens Death Murder
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