Heroes of the plains, or, Lives and wonderful adventures of Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill ... and other celebrated Indian fighters ... including a true and thrilling history of Gen. Custer's famous "last fight"

Front matter

and Exploits of

Gen. Custer,

Kit Carson, California Joe, Cart Jack, Capt D.LPayne

Contents

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

PAGE.

CHAPTER I. — Birth — Family History — Early Life — Youthful Hunting Adventures — Desperate Fight on a Towpath —

Chapter I

It is a noticeable fact that nearly all our sturdy fron¬ tier characters are natives of the West ; there is, appar¬ ently, something in the atmosphere, in the wild winds which freight the air with primeval perfume ; an unde¬ fined elemental principle which inoculates Western chil¬ dren with a desire for adventure. Our hero, of course, belongs to that longitudinal nativity where the prairies bathe their feet at the margins of eastern forests, and then roll away to the Occident, resting at that great ridge which rises ruggedly into the vertebrae of a continent.

James Butler Hickok, known to history only as ‘ ‘ Wild Bill,” was born in La Salle county, Illinois, near the country village of Troy Grove, on the 27th of May, 1837. His parents were both natives of Vermont, from which State they removed, directly after marriage, to New York. After following farming for some time in the Empire State, and meeting 'with indifferent success, in 1834 the family, now consisting of the parents and two children, packed up their few possessions and re¬ moved to Illinois, going overland in a “ mover’s wagon,” as was the customary mode of traveling in that early period. A place for settlement was chosen in Putnam county, but two years afterward a more desirable location was found in La Salle county , the homestead then selected 21

HEROES OF T1IE PLAINS.

. and entered proving so satisfactory that it is still occu¬ pied by two survivors of the family.

The house in which Wild Bill was born was built in 1836 and stood, fronting east, upon a prairie one-half mile from the timber skirting little Vermillion creek. The house is still standing, and occupied, but the progress of rapid settlement in Illinois has reared the village of Homer about' the pioneer’s home, and the birth-place of our hero is now situated in the southeast corner of block

Wild Bill’s Birth Place.

number thirteen of that town. The cut of the house as here produced, was made from a drawing executed by H. D. Hickok, in March of the present year, and therefore illustrates the place of to-day, though there have been no materia] alterations made in the building since its first erection.

The family consisted of six children, four boys and two girls, whose names and ages are as follows : O. C. Hickok, was bom in New York in 1830 ; he is now a resi-

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

dent of California, and is the trainer and part owner of St. Julian, the greatest horse, perhaps, now on the turf. Lorenzo B. was born, also in New York, in 1832 ; Horace D. is a native of Putnam county, Illinois, having been bom there in 1834 ; James B., Celinda D., and Lydia M. were bom at the old homestead near Troy Grove. Celinda, born in 1839, married a gentleman by the name of Dewey, and is still -living in La Salle county, while Lydia, being two years younger, married a farmer named Barnes and is living in Decatur county, Kansas. Lorenzo and Horace are still living on the old homestead. The father died in 1852, and the mother in 1878 after readi¬ ng the venerable age of seventy-four years. All the children are living with the exception of James (Wild Bill) whose 'marvelous career and tragic death will be "ound fully recorded in the subsequeiit pages, constitut¬ ing a leaf in history a parallel to which can be found neither in the annals of fact nor romance.

James, it is said, was peculiar in his ways even in child¬ hood. His earliest desire wras for fire-arms, and by bar¬ tering a number of childish trinkets, at the age of eight years he became possessed of the greatest treasure his youthful fancy had ever pictured — a little single-barreled pistol. In his eyes this weapon, though a flint-lock and of imperfect make, represented the sum total of earthly wealth ; he would not have exchanged it for all the gold of the richest Peruvian Inca, and if staked against his soul there is no doubt but that he would have taken great risk of losing that before parting with his almost price¬ less treasure. By dint of cunning exchange and bar¬ ter the youthful sportsman procured powder, and when lead was difficult to obtain he used pebbles, and thus accoutered all his leisure hours were spent in marksman¬ ship, in which, despite the primitive character of his “out-

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

fit,” he occasionally killed a cat, wounded a pig, winged a chicken, or stung a coyote. These foibles sometimes brought a prominent admonition of Solomon into active operation, at great expense to his youthful posterior ; but if these corrections made the embryo hunter’s sitting posi¬ tion difficult they apprised him, at the same time, of the more comfortable employment of walking, and this was sure to lead him again into the commission of other acts equally indefensible in the eyes of his parents.

At about the age of fourteen James secured an excel¬ lent pistol and shortly afterward, by the assistance of his father, he purchased a rifle, and thus armed he remained in the woods almost constantly. At this period the few settlers were greatly annoyed by the ravages of wolves, so much in fact that the State offered premiums for the scalps of these destructive animals. This furnished a remunerative occupation for James who, every evening, returned home with a belt full of bloody prizes which brought him no small revenue at the end of every month when the scalps were carried to the county clerk, as the law provided.

His opportunities for schooling were entirely consistent with his other advantages ; country schools had occa¬ sional sessions in his district, but a regular attendance was prevented, both by the great distance of the school-house and the irregularity, or rather infrequency, of the sessions. However, he managed to acquire a rudimental education. At the age of fifteen chance threw in his way a copy of Peters’ “Life of Kit Carson,” and “ The Trap¬ per’s Guide,” two books which he read with the greatest interest. The former made such an impression upon him that he declared to his brothers that he would “ one day beat anything Kit Carson ever did or attempted.”

Two years after familiarizing himself with Carson’s ex-

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

ploits, James obtained employment as a tow-path driver for the Illinois and Michigan canal. Soon after engaging in this employment he had a difficulty with a driver named Charles Hudson, which resulted in a fistic contest lasting more than an hour. The two began the fight on the towpath but gradually rolling towards the canal they both finally tumbled into the water, and then it changed from blows into an effort each to drown the other. Hudson was a large man, whose physical abilities were far superior to James’, but the latter’s cat-like agility fully compensated for his deficiency in strength ; in addition to a remarkable activity his endurance was another point of superior excellence, and through these he at length gained such a decided victory that Hudson was taken out of the canal in a lifeless condition, but by dexterous manipulation he was resuscitated. This ended James’ canal experience, and he returned home.

Thus passed the youth of Wild Bill, but who can tell his longing for wider fields of adventure, his craving for escapades in which danger becomes the source of pleas¬ ure ? When he reached the period of responsible man¬ hood, eighteen years, though the avenues of communica¬ tion were few and narrow, yet there was brought to his ears stories of the incipient struggles between Missouri and Kansas. As the strife grew fiercer in aspect James decided to seek the arena of conflict; he may have grasped the ideas which actuated the Kansas settlers in repelling all efforts to make their State a territory privi¬ leging slavery, but the elements of his nature rather in¬ cite a belief that he was moved alone by the knowledge that Kansas soil was vegetating bloody broils, and that the great need of that section was heroes.

In the spring of 1855 our thirsting adventurer, collect¬ ing together what money he could command, bade adieu

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

to his old home, which nestled tamely in the wilderness of prairies, and set out on foot for St. Louis, which city he reached after many days of painful traveling. The world was almost as strange to him as one of the planets, for his intercourse had been confined to such a limited stretch of changeless country, that beyond the village store his vision had never wandered over the scenes of business life. St. Louis was to him a painted pauorama, as mysterious as the labyrinths of the pyra¬ mids ; the steamboats were novelties like the palaces of necromancers, and this new life to him had such a strange aspect that it was very like a second birth. The river business was, at that time, very large, and the Missouri was crowded with steamers plying between St. Louis and Omaha. After much deliberation James engaged pas¬ sage on the steamer Imperial for Leavenworth, a small acquaintance with city life haring infused a new longing for adventure and stimulated him for greater concerns. After a tedious voyage the boat reached Leavenworth, but at the landing met with a reception least expected. Ex¬ citement had seized upon everyone and the determination of the people seemed to be the disorganization of society and the formation of a universal mob.

James, an unsophisticated country lad, but withal pos¬ sessed of a mother acuteness which led him to carefully con¬ sider the best means for his own security, carefully noted the excited throng which, without the least show of reason, except exaggerated suspicion, forbade any of the passengers coming on shore . The town of Leavenworth being his des¬ tination, however, James determined to leave the boat, and to do this he resorted to a cunning expedient. Tying a large bandana kerchief about his neck, with his pants stuffed carelessly into his boot-legs, and being a deck pas¬ senger, he readily assumed the labor of a roustabout and

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

began to carry off freight. While in this occupation he had no difficulty in slipping away through the crowd and gaining the center of the town, where he at once cast about for means of employment.

Disembarking in a Kansas Mob

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

Jim Lane, who had recently come from Indiana with a body of two hundred men, was then the recognized leader of what was known as the “ Red Legs,” or anti-slavery forces in Kansas, and at this time had his headquarters in Leavenworth. His band consisted of a little more than three hundred men, armed with such weapons as their individual means afforded. James gravitated natu¬ rally towards Lane, and within a week after his arrival in Leavenworth he had joined his fortunes with those who were under that leader’s generalship. A few days after his enlistment the regiment was called out on the commons west of town for drill and rifle practice. The range was one hundred yards, and the guns used were common squirrel rifles. In the contest of marksmanship James easily beat every other man in the command, and indeed made such excellent scores that Lane personally com¬ plimented his accuracy in the most flattering words . While this little ceremony was being conducted, a crow chanced to fly overhead, and, greatly elated at the distinction be¬ ing shown him, James drew a pistol from his pocket and shot the bird, then carelessly replaced his weapon with¬ out remark as to the excellence of the shot. The crowd of men, however, set up a wild cheering, and for several minutes the confusion was so great that Lane could not make himself heard. When the noise had somewhat abated he renewed his flattering compliments, and putting a hand on James’ shoulder, he said to his band: “This man, my newest recruit, will one day excite the wonder and admiration of America, and I shall watch his course with the greatest interest and solicitude.” After this little incident the regiment gave James the title of “ Shanghai Bill,” a name which clung to him until after his great fight at Rock Creek, nearly five years after¬ wards. I can readily conceive the origin of the appella-

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

tion of “ Shanghai,” because James was, at this time, no less than six feet in height and uncommonly slim, though very lithe and willowy, but how he came to be called “Bill,” instead of “Jim,” I have been unable to discover. His most intimate acquaintances are at a loss for the rea¬ son, and his diary makes no mention of anything except the time and circumstances under which the “ title” was bestowed.

“Bill,” as I shall hereafter very properly call him, served with Lane for nearly two years, through the most trying days when Kansas WTas building a wall on her east¬ ern border out of the blood and bodies of her noblest sons, to keep out Slavery. He fought only as a brave and excellent soldier, always recognized by Lane as the most effective man in the command. In the early part of 1857 Bill entered a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of the finest land in Monticello township, Johnson county, Kansas, and though he was not yet of age, his reputation was such that almost immediately after set¬ tling in that section he was elected constable.

But he was not permitted to live in peace m his new home. The “Border Ruffians” of Missouri, who had suffered defeat, held a special grudge against Bill and in their predatory incursions on Kansas soil they visited Monticello township and during the absence of their enemy they burned his cabin. Being unable to revenge this out¬ rage because of the secret identity of the men who did it, Bill went to work again and soon had another comfortable house erected on his premises. His duties as constable called him from home so frequently, however, that the marauders had no difficulty in a second time applying the torch and laying the new house in ashes.

The insecurity of his possessions admonished Bill that his labors would never avail him, as a farmer in Johnson

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

county, and before the year expired he abandoned his claim and accepted a position as driver for the Overland Stage Company. In this capacity he crossed the plains several times, driving from St. Joseph, Denver, and points in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Salt Lake City. As a driver he was apparently reckless and yet no man ever got through his route so frequently with as few accidents. Coming into his destination Bill usually treated his passengers to “a shaking up,” as he called it, “ in order to jolt the cricks out of their joints.” The last stretch of road entering Santa Fe was a slight decline and over this Bill almost in¬ variably turned the horses loose and gave them the lash. The big Concord coach would bound along like a wounded monster, lurching the passengers from side to side, dish¬ ing up dyspeptics, phlegmatics and rollicking dispositions indiscriminately, and bowling into the town finally the centre of a dust bank and the object of excited interest to everyone in the ancient Mexican city.

Chapter II

The Overland Stage Company, like the great freight¬ ers, Majors, Russell & Waddell, had its routes over the entire West. It was a very easy matter at that time, and in that peculiar civilization, for a man, so disposed, to make a record. In fact, it was more difficult for him not to make one, for he was soon put down as either an arrant coward or a man of nerve. Every station was located by a saloon and every stage employe was practi¬ cally an animated skin-full of fighting whisky. Desper¬ ate rows were as common as wax-weed flowers on the

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

prairie in spring-time, and the man who had failed to snuff out a life was like a bashful fellow at a country dance — wofully out of place. But Shanghai Bill’s record was recognized in the bud, for his physical ability had been demonstrated in many social encounters, and while he had gone through the ordeal of more than a score of fights his master had not yet been found. Being also acknowledged as the best shot on the plains and fortified with a wonderful self-possession under trying circum¬ stances, full of cunning, strategy and pluck, he was already a hero by general consent of all who knew him.

In the fall of 1858 the Indians broke out of their res¬ ervation on the Sweetwater and began their depredations to the serious injury of the stage company. Several set-' tiers had been massacred, two pony express riders killed, and, being emboldened by their success, they at length attacked a stage coach near the three crossings on Sweet¬ water creek. In this encounter the driver and three passengers were killed and the assistant division agent escaped with a serious wound. In addition to this out¬ rage the Indians stole a large number of horses belonging to the stage company and rendered its business so ex¬ tremely hazardous that for nearly two months the express and stage were suspended on that division. The com¬ pany, being thus enjoined from operations, and appreci¬ ating the necessity of some decisive action, sent for Bill. He promptly responded and meeting the officers at St. Joseph they went into council to consider the best means of proceeding against the Indians. Bill was the first to offer a proposition looking to a solution of the troubles. Said he : “ You have got enough men here, if they are turned loose right, to clean out all the Red Devils along the route, and all the men now idle would consider it a frolic to go into the Indian service for a short time.”

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

He was requested to perfect his plans and given full authority to conduct the proposed operations according to his own wishes. Bill at once had the men called to¬ gether and in his own pithy phrases related to them what was wanted ; a hearty disposition to engage in the expe¬ dition was manifested by every one, and on the following day preparations were made to leave. About fifty men enlisted, all of whom were well provided with the best of arms and good horses ; before starting they unanimously chose Bill as their leader, promising implicit obedience to his orders.

The well equipped and organized body set out on the 29th day of September, pointing directly for the Powder River. When they reached that stream, along which they expected to find the Indians encamped, they saw nothing feut an indistinct trail leading westwardly. This the company followed for three days, finding it growing constantly fresher, when suddenly they found, upon reaching Crazy Woman’s Fork — a small stream usually dry during summer and frozen solid in winter — that the Indians whom they were so successfully trailing, had been joined by another party in war paint numbering not less than one hundred. Here was a dilemma which caused several in the command to falter, for it was now evident that the whole band of Indians comprised fully two hundred, and to meet with such an overwhelming force seemed like charging the guns at Balaklava. But Bill gave his men no opportunity to talk about the in¬ creasing danger of the expedition, for he proposed to shoot the first man who attempted to return. This bold threat may not have been needed, for though there were some expressions concerning the judiciousness of follow¬ ing so large a band of Indians, yet every one under Bill was full, up to the chin, with dare-devil courage, and 2

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

they could be depended on to fight a ten-acre field full of grizzly bears with only a tooth-pick for a weapon if they were only put to it.

Finding the trail decidedly fresh, the party, with Bill always in the lead, proceeded with due circumspection, gaining the high knolls cautiously, and sweeping the land¬ scape to discover if the enemy were in view. At Clear Creek the crossing was apparently made but two or three hours before, and almost immediately after this disco very, the day being well advanced, Bill commanded a halt, and pointing directly north, he said: “ Do you see that little blue vapor hanging on the tree tops? Well, that means an Indian camp. You boys just stop right here and I ’ll locate the game.” So saying he left the trail and rode like he was making to the windward of a herd of buffaloes, taking a broad circuit in order to reach some high ground from which he could discover the exact strength of the Indians, how their camp was pitched, where their stock was stationed and whether tethered or corraled. All this information was soon gathered by Bill, who returned and ordered his men to rest until dark, get themselves in good readiness and be prepared for a dashing fight after night-fall.

The company remained in camp, without fire, until nearly ten o’clock, getting a good rest and permitting their horses to recover from the tiresome march. When Bill called his men to the saddle each one responded with alacrity. His instructions then were for each man to fol¬ low him into the Indian camp and to fight only with the pistol ; to make for the stock which, being in a corral, would be easily stampeded and run out, so it could be collected and secured. These instructions were obeyed to the letter ; the party rode cautiously toward the camp, which being found unpicketed was easily approached,

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

stupefied Indians came out of their tents, not realizing what the confusion meant, they were shot down until the at¬ tack became a slaughter. The surprise was complete ;

and then a dash was made for the corral by twelve of the men while the others rode into the camp and as the half

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

while the deadly revolvers in the hands of those who so well knew how to use them, did fearful execution. All the horses were secured except a few scrub ponies, and then it was an easy matter to get off, for there was noth¬ ing left on which the Indians could make pursuit.

The men returned with all the horses stolen from the stage company, together with more than a hundred head of those belonging to the Indians. After getting back to St. Joseph the brilliant results of the campaign superinduced a general big drunk in which all the stage employes participated, and, though very strange to assert, yet none the less true, the row which followed as a mat¬ ter of course, resulted in the killing of only one man, a stage driver, by Alf. Slade, one of the company bosses.

Severing his connectin ’with the Overland Stage Co., in 1859, Bill engaged with the great freighters. Majors & Russels, to drive between Independence, Mo., and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was while thus employed that he met with a unique adventure which cost him very dearly but taught him a very useful lesson. Matt Farley was his companion on one occasion during this long over¬ land trip, and but for him the name of Wild Bill would never have been heard. While passing through the Soecro range with his team two miles ahead of Farley, Bill discovered a large cinnamon bear with her two cubs directly in the road ahead of him. The bear, instead of manifesting any fear at Bill’s approach, but moved en¬ tirely by her maternal instincts, boldly disputed his pas¬ sage, and with further advance of the team she growled fiercely and showed her intention to attack him. Bill be¬ ing provided with two excellent pistols and a large bowie-knife gave himself no concern for the result of the en¬ counter, thinking it an easy matter to kill the bear — a presumption in which he was most seriously mistaken.

LITE or WILD BILL.

When the bear approached within twenty feet of him he fired one of his pistols, the ball striking her squarely in the forehead, but the accurate aim instead of proving fatal had no other effect than to put the beast in a more desperate rage, for the cinnamon, like thegrizzley, has a brain protection so thick that the ball from an ordinary rifle will produce no impression on it. In fact, many experienced hunters claim that the cinnamon is much more dangerous than the grizzley, because of its greater activity and equal vitality. Bill at once discovered, from the bad result of his first shot, that he had an antagonist bent on a mission which might well afford serious appre¬ hensions. His first feeling of security prevented him from taking safety on the top of his wagon and now he was cut off from that means of escape. In fact he had no time to think of retreat after the first shot was dis¬ charged, for the bear was fairly on him in the next instant; he discharged his second pistol and succeeded in injuring the animal’s left foreleg, as he intended, but as he jerked his long knife the bear reared on her hind legs and grappled him. The struggle which now ensued was one of the most desperate ever known. Bill buried the knife rapidly in various parts of the bear’s body and cut her throat, but while doing this his shoulder was tom dreadfully, his left arm crushed from the elbow, his breast furrowed by the long, poniard-like claws, and his left cheek was split open. But he never regarded his terrible wounds, standing up in the agonizing embrace of the infuriated animal until the ground on which they fought was saturated with blood. Bill finally slipped and fell, the bear fallirig squarely on top of him and holding his left arm in her mouth. This fall, was, how¬ ever, a most fortunate circumstance, for the position was easily reversed and Bill could use his knife with greater

HEROES OF THE PLAINS.

effect ; while, in a standing position, although injured in one of her forelegs, yet the bear could with this member seriously interfere with the execution of Bill’s single free hand. Before the fight was concluded he had literally disembowled the dangerous animal and her feet became so tangled in her intestines that she thus assisted in her own quick destruction.

The combat lasted nearly half an hour and at its close it was difficult to decide which presented the more horri¬ fying spectacle, Bill or his dead antagonist ; they were both saturated with blood and their flesh was in shreds in several places. However, Bill survived, but when his companion, Farley, came up he was barely able to point to the dead bear and his own desperate lacerations. Bill was hauled to Santa Fe and there placed under the charge of Dr. Sam Jones, an excellent frontier surgeon, who, by good attention, was able to so far restore his patient in two months’ time as to permit Bill’s return to Indepen¬ dence. But it was not until several months after his dis¬ charge from the surgeon’s care that Bill was able to re¬ sume work again, and the scars from the wounds re¬ ceived in that encounter he bore to his grave.

In the latter part of 1860, Bill left the employment of Majors & Russel to accept a position tendered him by the Overland Stage Co. as watchman and hostler at Rock Creek Station, a point on the Old Platte route fifty miles west of Topeka. The stage company, which ran its coaches between St. Joseph, Mo., and Denver, had estab¬ lished Rock Creek as a relay post and had built stables for the accommodation of about twenty-five horses, which number was almost always found there. Bill had a com¬ panion with him known as Doc. Mills, a small Irishman, who did the cooking and assisted in the care of the horses, in fact performing a greater part of the menial duties, as

LD BILL

THE CINNAMON BEAR

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

Bill was employed, chiefly, to guard the stock, owing to the depredations of horsethieves who were very numerous in that section. The two occupied a small log hut, hay¬ ing but one room, which was divided, however, by the suspension of an old horse-blanket, hack of which was their bed. The roof of the hut was thatched, and being built on the side of a steep hill it was easy to walk from the hill directly on to the roof. It was what is univer¬ sally called in the far West a “dug-out,” there being but one entrance, in the front, and not a single window. To the right of the “ dug-out ” were the stables, built of heavy logs and so secure that when the big puncheon doors were locked it would require the services of a pro¬ fessional safe-cracker to effect a violent entrance. It was here that Bill and his chum spent the autumn days, in the very heart of the dreariest solitude between Mis¬ souri and the Rocky Mountains. But even away up in this wild place the news of an approaching struggle be¬ tween the North and South had penetrated and as the daily coach rolled up before the cabin door Bill always anxiously inquired for papers and information.