1871. The Year That Broke Wild Bill Hickok
Almost everyone has heard of James Butler Hickok under his pseudonym ‘Wild Bill’. It was a name
well earned with his, sometimes embellished, exploits in the American West creating a legend that
continues to grow even today. But, even by his standards, 1871 was a tumultuous year culminating
in a fight, in Abilene, with Phil Coe that ended his days as a lawman in tears.
James Butler Hickok was born in 1837 in Homer, Illinois the son of Canadian parents. He fled the
family home aged 18 after a canal fight in which he erroneously thought he’d killed his opponent.
He moved west and became a constable in Monticello Township - his first law enforcement role.
Then, in 1860, while a stage coach driver he was severely injured by a bear after trying to
encourage it to move from the coach’s road. The bear was killed but Hickok needed a lengthy
recovery period. During this recuperation he worked as a stable hand at Rock Creek, in the
Nebraska Territory.
It was here that he killed his first man. David McCanles confronted the station manager, Horace
Wellman, over overdue property payment and the situation deteriorated to the extent that McCanles,
and two men with him, were killed. Some say that Hickok killed all three but it is probable that he
only dispatched McCanles.
The Civil War broke out in April 1861 and he had a varied career during the hostilities. Adopting
the name William Hickok (sometimes Hitchcock or Haycock) he served the Union army as a
teamster, wagon master, scout and, according to Buffalo Bill Cody, a spy. He was also noted as a
provost Marshal in Missouri during 1863.
After the war, Hickok took up gambling in Springfield, Missouri, and it was here that he killed his
second man. A dispute over a gold watch won by Davis Tutt led to a face-off on the street that
resulted in Tutt’s death. A murder charge was reduced to manslaughter and a not guilty verdict was
given.
He then spent time as a deputy Marshal at Fort Riley, Kansas and scouted for George Armstrong
Custer. In 1869 Hickok was elected as city Marshal of Hays City, Kansas and also sheriff of Ellis
County. It was while in those roles that he took his death tally to five. Bill Mulvey was shot during a
drunken rampage, then, controversially, Samuel Strawhun after a confrontation. Finally, in 1870, a
physical fight with two US troopers led to gunplay and one of the soldiers, John Kyle, was killed by
Hickok (the other was wounded in the knee).
The army was, understandably, angry and to avoid complication Wild Bill left Hays and made his
way to Abilene, Kansas. Here, his path was to collide with Phil Coe.
It was now 1871.Hickok had been hired as City Marshal of Abilene to replace Tom “Bear River”
Smith who had been shot, then hacked to death, serving a warrant. The job paid $150-a-month plus
extras for literally keeping the streets clean and shooting unlicensed dogs!
During the summer of 1871 Hickok met two significant people. Firstly, the woman who was to
become his wife 5 years later, Agnes Lake, passed through Abilene. She was the owner of “Lake’s
Hippo-Olympiad” circus and they met when she paid the performance fee for her show. Obviously,
theatrical life had an appeal for Bill as he later tried his own hand, unsuccessfully, in his own and
others, Wild West shows.Secondly, the notorious killer John Wesley Hardin arrived at the end of a cattle drive.
Hardin was operating under an assumed name, Wesley Clemmons, and Hickok always claimed he didn’t know
of Hardin’s past. Nonetheless, although they became close - gambling and whoring together- when
Hardin killed a man, whose snoring was disturbing him by shooting through the floor between
them, Hickok went to the American House Hotel to arrest him. He failed due to the outlaw leaving
via a window, over a roof and hiding in the stable until he could ride to Texas.
But since Wild Bill had arrived as Marshal there had been an underlying tension between himself
and Philip Houston Coe.
Coe had been born two years after Hickok in Gonzales, Texas. He was an exceptionally tall,
polished ‘dandy’ who’d served on the opposite side in the civil war. He’d then spent some time in
Mexico as a mercenary for the Emperor and it was there that he’d met Ben Thompson, a known
gunman. The now friends had then made their way to Abilene where they’d opened a cattlemen’s
saloon, the Bull’s Head.
The saloon was part of the issue. Coe and Thompson had painted an advertising mural on the side
of their saloon. The painting was of a bull, but with explicit anatomical details that offended many
of the more 'proper' townsfolk. It was Hickok’s job to ensure that the offensive details were over-
painted. Against Coe’s protestations, and probably under pistol guard, the job was done. But Coe
was humiliated.
In addition, there are suggestions that the two men were involved in a ‘love triangle’ with Jessie
Hazel, a local brothel keeper. She had chosen Coe and, if true, this would also have aggravated the
tension between them.
It is rumoured that Coe’s partner, Ben Thompson, tried to incite John Wesley Hardin, before his
dramatic exit, to kill Hickok. But wary of Wild Bill’s reputation, the killer refused.
Co-incidentally, Thompson was away from Abilene at the time that the strain between the two sides
broke. Coe, along with a group of between 50 and 200 ‘cowboys’ , got roaring drunk and decided to
rid themselves of the troublesome lawman. Hickok was, as usual, at his ‘office’ (a poker table in the
Alamo saloon) and was probably aware of the growing crisis. Coe, and his men, approached the
Alamo with the intention of provoking some melee that would result in the death of their adversary.
Naturally, given the late hour (9:00 PM in October) and the drunken state of the crowd., the
subsequent events are jumbled and, in some instances, contradictory. But it is clear that a shot was
fired outside the Alamo. Wild Bill came outside to investigate. Coe claimed to have shot at a stray
dog. But he then drew a second pistol, firing towards Hickok. One bullet missed, the other tore his
coat. Hickok, drew, fired three times. Coe was hit twice in the stomach but Mike Williams, a deputy
and also friend of Bills, had, in the confusion, run onto the scene and, taken by surprise and unable
to see clearly in the dark, Hickok’s third shot hit Williams in the head, killing him instantly.
Reports suggest that Wild Bill Hickok was in tears as he carried the body into the Alamo saloon.
What is not in doubt is that part of Hickok died with his friend.
Coe took 4 days to die of his stomach wounds, dying agonisingly from peritonitis.As the cattle trade had already begun to shift away from the town, Abilene City Council quickly
decided they no longer needed a "man-killer" marshal. They officially relieved Hickok of his duties
in December.
Wild Bill’s tumultuous 1871 came to an end. He was 34.
His final years were a steady decline from the man he once was. Bill was already suffering from
failing eyesight and this was aggravated by the stage spotlights when he joined Bill Cody’s “Scouts
of the Plains” in 1873. He met up with Agnes Lake again in 1876 but only hung around Cheyenne,
Wyoming Territory, for a couple of months before the lure of the gold fields near Deadwood
became too much. It was there, holding the now famous ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ of 2 aces and 2 eights,
that he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall. He was 39.
James Butler Hickok was a true Western Legend and it’s not possible to do any sort of justice to the
events of his life in a thousand words. That’s not nearly enough to even cover the events of the year
of my interest, 1871, but I hope I’ve done enough to encourage you to read more on this fascinating
man. Inspiration has been received from the books below. They are recommended.
Legends of America
Wild Bill Hickok - A Life from Beginning To End. - Hourly History.
Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth - Joseph G Rosa
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