Central street, Deadwood, South Dakota
With all the stories and history surrounding the America's Old West time period, the legends of yesterday still draw intense interest today. There are a lot of stories about shoot-outs in the street, cattle rustling, stage coach and train robberies. Two of the most well known figures of the Old West are James Butler "Wild Bill'' Hickok and Martha Jane Cannary, better known as "Calamity Jane''. There stories are shrouded in myth, mystery, truth and lies, but somewhere along the lines they crossed paths and history was made.
Wild Bill Hickok was born on May 27, 1837 in Homer, Illinois (now known as Troy Grove, Illinois). He was known for his colorful personality, skills as a gunfighter, a scout and lawman. He fought for the Union Army during the Civil War and later gained notoriety as an expert marksman and professional gambler.
Martha Jane Cannary, "Calamity Jane'', was born May 1, 1852, and she was a professional scout for the US Army and a frontierswoman. She is best known for her close friendship with Wild Bill Hickok, in her biography, she even claimed the two had married and had a child together. Though this was never proven to be accurate.
Hickok was known for being an expert gunslinger and marksman. He wore his favorite guns, two cap and ball Colt 1851 .36 Navy Model, until his death. The guns were silver plated and engraved with his initials, he wore them at the hip and backwards. He never used a gun holster and wore a red sash when wearing buckskin clothing and in a belt when wearing his "city'' clothing, he drew the guns in a reverse draw.
On August 6th, 1876, Hickok was playing poker at Saloon 10, in Deadwood, North Dakota. There were no empty places to sit, and Hickok regularly sat in corner seats so that he could avoid being ambushed from the back by rivals. During this game however, Hickok gave way to superstition and took a seat, with his back to the door while facing another door. This proved to be a fatal error, because Hickok was shot to death in the back of the head by Jack McCall.
Charlie Utter claimed Hickok's' body and placed a funeral notice in the local paper, the Black Hills Pioneer. Almost the entire town of Deadwood attended his funeral, Hickok was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Upon her death and according to her wishes, Calamity Jane was buried next to Wild Bill Hickok, their grave site continues to draw visitors to this very day.
