The Gunfight That Created A Legend

James Butler Hickok gained notoriety after a shootout in Springfield, MO in 1865. This event would be the gold standard for literary and cinematic accounts of gunfights ever since.

On a summer day in July 1865, two men arrived at the dusty town square of Springfield, Missouri.

Each man swiftly advanced toward the other like a gladiator in a Roman arena. One combatant was a slender individual with short dark hair. He was a Southern sympathizer. The other man was slender and taller, with long reddish hair that blew slightly in the breeze. He was a proud Yankee. Town citizens had gathered to watch this expected gunfight. One can only imagine the adrenaline coursing through their veins, accompanied by the scents of sweat, dust and leather. As the men approached one another, they stopped about seventy-five yards apart, pulled out their pistols, and blasted away almost simultaneously. When the smoke cleared, one man lay on the ground mortally wounded, while the other stood erect and unharmed. This face-to-face shootout would be the standard for western accounts of gunfights and even motion pictures in the twentieth century.

The deceased young man was Davis Tutt. The survivor was James Butler Hickok, better known as “Wild Bill” Hickok. Although each had been in scraps before, this single incident soon made Hickok a legendary figure of the American West, while Tutt faded from history.

Davis Kasey “Little Dave” Tutt was born sometime between January and May of 1839 in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. His father, Hansford Tutt, was a member of a politically influential family. In 1825, Hansford married Mary Rose, and they had four children. When Mary died in 1834, Hansford married her sister, Anne Rose. Davis Tutt was their firstborn male. By the late 1840s, Davis’s family became involved in the Tutt-Everett War, which involved two family factions supporting opposite parties during the politically-charged era proceeding the American Civil War. Around fourteen people perished during the gunfire between various members. Several Tutts died during the clash. Davis’s father was ambushed by a hired assassin from Texas called the “Dutchman” in September 1850. Upon Hansford’s death, the leader of the Everett faction, Jesse Everett, fled with another follower to Shreveport, Louisiana. Jesse soon died in a cholera epidemic. With both leaders of the feud now deceased, the families decided to stop the carnage and lay down their arms.

In 1862, after the Civil War broke out, Davis enlisted in Company A, 27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. He fought for the Confederate States of America in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. It’s reported that he let his enlistment expire, however, some historians believe he may have deserted. At any rate, by the end of the war, Davis moved to Springfield, Missouri.

James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, folk hero of the American West, was born on May 27, 1837, in Homer (present-day Troy Grove), Illinois. His father, William, was a farmer and an abolitionist. Some historians believe his father used the family’s residence as a station for the Underground Railroad. William died in 1852, leaving young James’s mother, Polly (Butler) Hickok, to support and feed six children.

Hickok liked to target practice with his pistol and developed into a superb marksman. By 1855, he fled his family due to a fight with a man in which each thought he had shot and killed the other. Apparently, he wasn’t a crack shot yet. Nonetheless, Hickok seemed drawn to the ruffian lifestyle. Subsequently, he decided to ride westward. Settling briefly in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, he joined an area vigilante group known as the “Jayhawkers.”

In 1857, Hickok acquired a 160-acre tract in Johnson County, Kansas. On March 22, 1858, he was elected as one of the first constables of Monticello Township. While there, he fell in love with the daughter of an early settler. But his family interfered when they learned the girl was part Native American, and shortly thereafter, Hickok left Johnson County. By late 1859, he became employed as a teamster for Russell, Majors and Waddell, a freight company, which was a parent company of the Pony Express.

In 1860, while driving a freight team, Hickok came upon “a cinnamon bear and its two cubs” that were blocking the roadway. Dismounting his horse, he approached the bear and fired a shot at its head. The ball ricocheted off its skull, causing the bear to become mad. It ran at Bill, clawing him, which severely injured him, but he managed to slash its throat with his large knife, killing the beast. It must be noted that no documentation of this incident exits, but the legend has been repeatedly described in articles and books, and it is said that Hickok was bedridden for four months as a result of the incident.

Meanwhile, Hickok’s employer had set up Pony Express relay stations, one of them in Rock Creek, Nebraska Territory. Russell, Majors and Wadell sent him to Rock Creek in March, 1861, after his recovery from his supposed injuries, as a stock tender. Whatever the case, according to past biographers, he was “apparently unfit for his normal duties.”

Rock Creek was owned by David Colbert McCanles, who was not “a leader of cutthroats,” as some historians say, but simply “a local bully and ruffian.”

At first, the company and McCanles agreed upon renting the property, but soon, Russell, Majors and Waddell decided to purchase the land. The company, after making several payments, took over ownership of the station.

By late June, the company was in arrears, and McCanles asked about the lack of payment. Soon, McCanless ordered the men working at the station—including Hickok—to leave.

On July 12, 1861, David McCanles, rode to the “Red Rock Station office to demand an overdue property payment from Horance Wellman, the station manager.” According to his lady companion, McCanles was “a confederate sympathizer and had intended to cause trouble.” We must remember that Hickok was a Union supporter. Thus, there may have been an undercurrent of tension between them.

Supposedly, McCanles threatened Wellman and/ or Hickok, who was hiding behind a curtain. Either Wellman or Hickok pulled out a revolver and fired, killing McCanles. Both employees, along with a Pony Express rider, named, J. W. “Doc” Brink, were apprehended, tried, and found not guilty, as “they claimed McCanles was killed in self-defense.” Brink’s role, if any, in this incident is not known. Thus, McCanles may have been the first man killed by Hickok. A reported act of kindness circulated that Hickok visited McCanles’s widow, “apologized for his death, and offered her $35.00 in restitution,” susposedly all the money he had at the time.

Wild Bill Hickock, pictured here in the early 1860s, well before his reputation as a "Prince of Pistoleers" was established.

The Civil War broke out in April of 1861, and Hickok soon left Red Rock to join the Union Army. “Records of the United States War Department, Office of the Quartermaster General, show that on October 30, he was hired as a wagon master in Sedalia, Missouri.”

By the end of 1863, Hickok was employed as “the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police force.” One of his duties was to “identify and count the number of troops in uniform who were consuming alcoholic beverages while on duty, verifying hotel liquor licenses, and tracking down troops who owed money to the Union Army.” By this time, many soldiers, including Hickok, had gone for months without being paid.

Similar records from the “Office of the Provost Marshal General show that Hickok served as a special policeman in the corps during March, 1864.” There’s no documentation of his whereabouts for the next year. One source claims he served as a Union spy in Confederate ranks during this time. It’s apparent that Hickok bounced around from one occupation to another during his life. In my opinion, this may have been due to a lack of discipline, which required him to constantly make changes in his life, or perhaps his services were no longer needed.

Due to being broke, Hickok eventually took a position as a scout for General John B. Sanborn. In June 1865, Hickok mustered out and rode to Springfield, Missouri, where he frequented saloons for drinking and gambling. The book, 1883 History of Greene County, Missouri, describes Hickok as “by nature a ruffian…a drunken, swaggering fellow, who delighted when ‘on a spree’ to frighten nervous men and women.”

In Springfield, Hickok met Davis Tutt, and they became friends. This was somewhat strange as Hickok was a Union sympathizer, while Davis was a former Confederate soldier who had let his enlistment expire. It’s possible they became friends due to rumors that Tutt was a deserter.

An unruly tone had engulfed the region after the war. “Loyalties in the border state of Missouri had been deeply divided,” during the war creating conflicts that “degenerated into a vicious brand of guerrilla warfare,” giving rise to “plunder, atrocity, and disorder.” Springfield had been controlled by Union forces throughout most of the conflict. Nonetheless, both Hickok and Tutt enjoyed each other’s company, drinking and gambling. For almost a month, they became familiar figures in Springfield gambling establishments.

Nevertheless, their friendship soon turned sour. Hickok considered himself quite a lady’s man, and by the time he arrived in Springfield, he’d left a string of broken hearts. It’s been reported that he and Tutt had mutual affection for a woman named Sally from Arkansas. Mix gambling, drinking, and desire for the same woman together, and nothing but trouble usually occurs.

On the night of July 20, 1865, tensions reached their peak during a friendly game of cards in an upstairs room at the “Lyon House,” now the Southern Hotel, just south of the square on South Street. Here, Hickok and Tutt had a falling out. During the card game, Tutt reminded Hickok of his forty-dollar debt for a horse trade. Wild Bill promptly paid his debt. However, Tutt proclaimed that Hickok still owed him another thirty-five dollars. Hickok gruffly disagreed, pointing out that the debt was only for twenty-five dollars. Tutt, seeing Wild Bill’s pocket watch, reached over and “took his [Hickok’s] prize Waltham watch as security for payment.” Tutt proclaimed to everyone present that he would wear the watch on the public square the next day. With that, Hickok declared Tutt would die if he did so. Gossip circulated throughout Springfield that Tutt would be wearing Hickok’s watch on the public square the next afternoon and that Hickok said “if he did, it would become a shooting matter.”

The next day, July 21, citizens swirled around, chatting and waiting for the two to possibly appear in the square. Finally, around 6:00 p.m., Tutt appeared, ignoring the obvious danger as he crossed the square wearing Hickok’s watch. Seeing this, Hickok briskly walked toward Tutt from the opposite side of the square. Hickok warned him not to cross the square. Davis’s response was to draw his revolver just as Hickok did the same. Each fired at almost the same time. Davis fell to the ground with a ball in his heart, while Wild Bill remained standing, as Davis’s shot missed its mark.

Hickok wore his pistols butt-forward in a belt or sash. Seldom was he seen using holsters to draw his deadly weapons. He used a “reverse and twisted” style or cavalry draw, as would a cavalryman.

Springfield’s local physician examined Tutt’s corpse and declared that a ball from Hickok’s gun entered at his fifth rib on his right side and exited through the fifth rib on his left, passing through his heart. This indicated Tutt was standing sideways, in a dueling fashion, when he and Hickok fired. Based on testimony and old city maps, it has been established that the men stood approximately seventy-five yards from each other when they blasted away. You might conclude that Hickok’s shot was either very lucky, or his reputation as a marksman was well deserved, but it must be noted that the Colt Navy Revolver Hickok used was accurate up to two hundred yards.

Wild Bill, as he liked to be called, was a tall, imposing figure with long reddish hair, who carried a pair of Colt 1851 Navy Model (.36 caliber) cap-and-ball revolvers. Each had an ivory grip and nickel plating, which he later had engraved with “J. B. Hickok—1869.”

Hickok was arrested under the name William Haycocke—the name he’d been using while in Springfield— on orders from Albert Barnitz, who was part of the troops assigned after the Civil War to perform policing duties in Springfield. He had witnessed the Hickok- Tutt shootout.

Barnitz’s version of the gunfight was recorded within hours of the event and corroborates much of an account that appeared in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in February 1867. Hickok was charged with murder, but the charge was later reduced to manslaughter.

Davis Tutt was buried soon after the gunfight in the old Springfield cemetery on the outskirts of town. Later, his brother, Lewis Tutt, who had been born in servitude, purchased several plots in the Maple Park Cemetery, and in March 1883, reburied his brother (Davis) with dignity in a plot next to his own.

Bail for Hickok was initially denied until July 22, when he posted a bail of $2,000 and was released. Barnitz noted, “Public sympathy seemed about equally divided between him and his victim.”

Asked if he regretted killing Tutt, during an interview for the February 1867 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Hickok replied, “I had rather not have killed him, for I want ter [sic] settle down quiet here now. But thar’s [sic] been hard feelings between us a long while. I wanted ter [sic] keep out of that fight; but he tried to degrade me, and I couldn’t stand that, you know, for I am a fighting man, you know.”

During the trial, the names of the accused and the victim were amended to J. B. Hickok and Davis Tutt/Little Dave, “little” being equivalent to the present-day “junior.” The case against Hickok began on August 3, 1865, and lasted three days. Twentytwo witnesses testified as to what happened at the square that day. Former Union military Governor of Arkansas Colonel John S. Phelps represented Hickok at the trial. Major Robert W. Fyan led the prosecution. The judge was Sempronius Hamilton Boyd. Hickok claimed self-defense. The most disputed fact at the trial was who actually fired first—Hickok or Tutt? Since the jury felt Tutt instigated the fight (by confiscating Hickok’s watch) and displayed the first act of overt aggression, and since “two witnesses testified he had drawn his pistol first, the unwritten law dictated that Hickok was justified.” Hickok was found not guilty, a verdict that aroused mixed reactions. Some locals felt Wild Bill was just a killer, while others thought Tutt was a lawless individual. The local press also displayed some controversy.

In spite of the cloud over his head, Hickok ran for town marshal in the September election, but he came in second out of five candidates.

A number of issues remain unanswered, even with the coroner’s findings. Just a day before the shooting, Tutt had been in court and was fined $100 for illegal gambling a few months prior. Unable to pay his fine, Tutt was jailed. Thomas Martin, Hickok’s scouting “mate” in the war, paid the fine, and Tutt was released. Thus, it seems that Tutt was in need of money before the fateful card game with Hickok. However, for some unknown reason, he didn’t tell Hickok of this fact. In view of their previous relationship, Hickok might have helped him, but instead, Tutt kept quiet, perhaps due to pride or for some other reason that now is lost to history.

Gossip circilated throughout Springfield that Tutt would be wearing Hickock's watch on the public square the next afternoon and that Hickock said, "If he did, it would become a shooting matter."

On September 13, 1865, Colonel George W. Nichols, a writer for Harper’s, sought to find this infamous gunman and conducted interviews of the men who witnessed the event, along with Hickok himself.

In January of 1866, Hickok witnessed a shooting and was called upon to give testimony. In spite of this excitement, Hickok became restless with Springfield and wasted no time leaving for a job as a military guide in Fort Riley, Kansas.

In the February 1867 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Colonel Nichols described the Hickok-Tutt gunfight in detail. The virtually unknown Springfield became the talk of cities all over the United States. Wild Bill’s exploits, real and imaginary, soon spread like wildfire and were embellished by dime novels, thus shaping the popular image of the American frontier. The gunfight at Springfield had a major impact on the birth of the notion of two men standing face-to-face on a dusty street to shoot it out. In reality, this seldom occurred, as most victims were shot in the back.

Many Western films still use the image of men having face-to-face gunfights in order to sell tickets. When television came along, it, too, joined the bandwagon to perpetuate this false image.

After leaving Springfield and having the gunfight exploited in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Hickok’s reputation grew enormously, first, as a deputy U. S. Marshal, and later, as a scout for the 7th and 10th Cavalry regiments. When Ellis County, Kansas, had problems retaining its peace officers, Wild Bill saw his chance to gain employment. In August 1869, Hickok was elected sheriff of Ellis County, headquartered in Hays City. His next move was to the cowtown of Abilene, Kansas, where he was elected Marshal on April 15, 1871. During these stints as a lawman, Hickok disposed of several lawbreakers with blasts from his ivory-handled revolvers.

When the Hippo-Olympiad and Mammoth Circus came through Abilene in July 1871, Bill met it’s proprietress, a thirty-eight-year-old widow, Agnes Lake Thatcher. Wild Bill seemed impressed with her business sense, and they became friends. For the next five years, they corresponded, but saw each other infrequently. She later told her family that she had loved James for three years.

Tragedy struck Wild Bill in October 1871, when he shot and killed a saloon owner who fired a couple of rounds at him. Hickok shot back, killing the man. But while standing off a crowd, he heard a man running toward him, turned, and blasted away, killing his special deputy marshal, Mike Williams, who was only coming to his aid. This event apparently haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life, as he never used his guns in a violent act again.

By the fall of 1872, Hickok had returned to Springfield, staying at the St. James Hotel until August 1873, when he traveled east to join Buffalo Bill Cody’s theatrical shows.

Growing tired of the theater, Hickok moved back to the West early in 1874. His movements were obscure, for only scattered articles of Hickok appeared in the press. Almost the entire year of 1875 is cloaked in mystery. The only reference to Hickok is found on June 17, when he was charged with vagrancy. A warrant for his arrest was issued, but the case never went to court. No documentation of the reason for the charge is known to exist. Perhaps his reputation as a violent man contributed to the charge.

By 1876, at only thirty-nine years of age, his eyesight was weakening and his health was failing. Hickok’s world changed when, after years of courtship, he and Agnes Lake Thatcher married on March 5, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Following the ceremony, the couple traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a two-week honeymoon. They agreed to return west, as Wild Bill had heard of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, Dakota Territory, now South Dakota. Once he made his strike in the gold mines he planned to send for his wife, and they would begin to settle down.

Wild Bill and a party of three other men arrived at Deadwood, Dakota Territory, on or about July 12. Hickok’s presence in Deadwood aroused much interest, mostly by those who had read about his heroic deeds. Hickok delighted in practicing daily with his pistol, to the cheers of crowds. He also wrote to his wife, back in Cincinnati. Her last letter from him would be dated August 1.

Deadwood had grown in size due to the lure of gold. This offered quick profits and easy pickings off the unsuspecting folks who flocked to Deadwood. Pimps, gamblers, and prostitutes, among them Calamity Jane, were eager to relieve the unwary of their hard-earned “dust.” It didn’t take long for citizens wanting law and order to spread Wild Bill’s name as a possible candidate for marshal. But time ran out for Wild Bill.

The iconic "Dead Man's Hand"—Aces and Eights—which Hickock is said to have been holding in his hand when shot by Jack McCall in the No. 10 Saloon.

During the afternoon of August 2, 1876, Hickok sat in on a poker game in Nuttall and Mann’s Saloon No. 10, with his back facing a door. Around 3:00 p.m., “a small nondescript individual entered the front door, meandered up to the bar, and then eased himself behind Hickok.” A shot rang out, and the man shouted, “Damn you, take that!” A lead ball fired by a coward, named Jack McCall, struck Wild Bill in the back of his head, killing him instantly.

McCall, a laborer, had lost at cards with Hickok the previous night. On the morning of his murder, Hickok insisted on lending McCall money for his breakfast.

Upon his capture and trial, McCall explained to the court that he had killed Hickok out of revenge for killing his brother in Hays City, Kansas. Although there was never any proof presented by McCall’s defense counsel, the jury found him not guilty, and he was released.

The gravestone of Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood's Mt. Moriah Cemetery. A legendary gunfighter, Hickock was shot in the head by Jack McCall while playing poker in the No. 10 Saloon.

Photo Credit: powerofforever/istockphoto.com

Some historians believe McCall had been in a drunken stupor and just attempted to do what others had failed to do—kill Wild Bill Hickok.

Today, it’s still unclear why McCall killed Hickok. History does make it clear that McCall killed Wild Bill in the usual cowardly style, shooting him in the back instead of facing him as in the Hickok-Tutt gunfight.

In the end, Jack McCall got his just reward. He was arrested at Laramie City, Territory of Wyoming, due to talk of perjury, and “because Deadwood was an illegal town on an Indian reservation.” A United States commissioner ruled that since the Deadwood trial was illegal, McCall would have to face trial in federal court. His trial was held at Yankton, Dakota Territory, where McCall was found guilty on December 6. On January 3, 1877, he was sentenced to be hanged, and on March 1, a rope was placed around McCall’s neck. As he dropped through the trap door, a single choked cry was heard. “Oh God!” He now joined his victim in death.

Through his frontier exploits, James Butler Hickok has been immortalized in popular television shows and movies, as well as in books and magazines. This has solidified Wild Bill Hickok as one the greatest legends of the Old West.

Photo Credit: powerofforever/istockphoto.com

—Michael Koch has penned two nonfictional books. He’s a member of The Tulsa NightWriters, Ozark Writers League, Ozark Creative Writers, and the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. His short stories have been published in Echoes of the Ozarks, Mysteries of the Ozarks, Frontier Tales, Wicked East Press, and the Southeast Missouri State University Press. Mike has also written several short stories for anthologies in Full Moon Books and Static Movement. His latest short story was published in a Tulsa NightWriters anthology called A River of Stories. He lives in Coweta, Oklahoma.