There's a ten part Western documentary series from Non Fiction Films made in 1998 that offers an opening episode on the career of Wild Bill Hickok that closely parallels this 'Legends and Lies' entry. At first I thought the casting of Brian Merrick as the legendary lawman here a bit awkward, but a repeat viewing eliminated my concern. The episode presents Hickok as a righteous man who tried to avoid trouble, but he disliked bullies and always rose to the occasion when provoked to action.
Featured in this episode are the major events in Hickok's life that garnered his reputation as a fearless and deadly gunman, beginning with the McCanles incident at Nebraska's Rock Creek Pony Express Station in 1861. The station manager, Horace Wellman and his family were being threatened by David McCanles over an unpaid installment on the station. Though the episode portrays Wellman firing first at McCanles from behind a curtain, the actual events of that day will probably never be known. But for Hickok, who killed McCanles and two of his partners that day, the legend of 'Wild Bill' began after his arrest and acquittal on grounds of self defense.
On July 21st, 1865, Springfield, Missouri became the site of what's generally considered the very first draw and shoot showdown on which countless TV and movie recreations are based. Hickok faced off against a gambler named Davis Tutt who on the previous day had grabbed Hickok's pocket watch as collateral in a poker game. Warned by Hickok not to wear the watch in public, Tutt ignored the warning and was called out by Hickok to answer for his indiscretion. Facing each other in a sideways dueling stance, Tutt's shot missed while Hickok's proved deadly, striking his opponent in the heart. Though it wasn't presented in the episode, it's reported that when Tutt was shot, he called out "Boys, I'm killed".
Trouble seemed to follow Hickok throughout the Old West. In Hays City, Kansas, Hickok shot a former Union soldier, again in self defense but witnessed only by fellow soldiers who might have given false testimony. It was in Abilene, Kansas that Hickok's career suffered a disastrous turn. Facing off against a gambler name Philip Coe, Hickok shot him when Coe drew against the lawman, but in the heat of battle, Hickok also turned and fired upon another man who he thought was coming to Coe's aid. It turned out to be Hickok's own deputy Mike Williams who now lay dead in the street.
Devastated by his mistake, Hickok became a wanderer with a guilty conscience, giving up the badge of a lawman and resorting to gambling and alcohol. Former acquaintance Buffalo Bill Cody offered him a spot in his traveling Wild West Show, but Hickok hated it. Heading off to the Dakota Territory, Bill wound up in Deadwood, where on August 2, 1876, he was treacherously killed from behind by former buffalo hunter Jack McCall. Another legend was born that day when the card hand Hickok was holding when he died turned out to be a pair of aces and a pair of eights, the infamous 'dead man's hand' as it came to be known through the decades.
Overall, this was a well researched and well presented episode, with interesting commentary from a variety of historians and quotes from Hickok himself as attributed by newspaper articles and personal letters he wrote. To further explore the legend of Wild Bill Hickok, I would point to the first four episodes of the gritty HBO series 'Deadwood' which features Keith Carradine as Wild Bill in the lead up to his death at the hands of McCall.
Featured in this episode are the major events in Hickok's life that garnered his reputation as a fearless and deadly gunman, beginning with the McCanles incident at Nebraska's Rock Creek Pony Express Station in 1861. The station manager, Horace Wellman and his family were being threatened by David McCanles over an unpaid installment on the station. Though the episode portrays Wellman firing first at McCanles from behind a curtain, the actual events of that day will probably never be known. But for Hickok, who killed McCanles and two of his partners that day, the legend of 'Wild Bill' began after his arrest and acquittal on grounds of self defense.
On July 21st, 1865, Springfield, Missouri became the site of what's generally considered the very first draw and shoot showdown on which countless TV and movie recreations are based. Hickok faced off against a gambler named Davis Tutt who on the previous day had grabbed Hickok's pocket watch as collateral in a poker game. Warned by Hickok not to wear the watch in public, Tutt ignored the warning and was called out by Hickok to answer for his indiscretion. Facing each other in a sideways dueling stance, Tutt's shot missed while Hickok's proved deadly, striking his opponent in the heart. Though it wasn't presented in the episode, it's reported that when Tutt was shot, he called out "Boys, I'm killed".
Trouble seemed to follow Hickok throughout the Old West. In Hays City, Kansas, Hickok shot a former Union soldier, again in self defense but witnessed only by fellow soldiers who might have given false testimony. It was in Abilene, Kansas that Hickok's career suffered a disastrous turn. Facing off against a gambler name Philip Coe, Hickok shot him when Coe drew against the lawman, but in the heat of battle, Hickok also turned and fired upon another man who he thought was coming to Coe's aid. It turned out to be Hickok's own deputy Mike Williams who now lay dead in the street.
Devastated by his mistake, Hickok became a wanderer with a guilty conscience, giving up the badge of a lawman and resorting to gambling and alcohol. Former acquaintance Buffalo Bill Cody offered him a spot in his traveling Wild West Show, but Hickok hated it. Heading off to the Dakota Territory, Bill wound up in Deadwood, where on August 2, 1876, he was treacherously killed from behind by former buffalo hunter Jack McCall. Another legend was born that day when the card hand Hickok was holding when he died turned out to be a pair of aces and a pair of eights, the infamous 'dead man's hand' as it came to be known through the decades.
Overall, this was a well researched and well presented episode, with interesting commentary from a variety of historians and quotes from Hickok himself as attributed by newspaper articles and personal letters he wrote. To further explore the legend of Wild Bill Hickok, I would point to the first four episodes of the gritty HBO series 'Deadwood' which features Keith Carradine as Wild Bill in the lead up to his death at the hands of McCall.