Wild Bill Hickok - Law Enforcement, Acting and Politics

Law Enforcement, Acting and Politics

Hickok was reported to be "an inveterate hater of Indians", but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Witnesses confirm that while scouting from Fort Harker Kansas on May 11, 1867, Hickok was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after Hickok shot and killed two. In July, Hickok told a newspaper reporter he had led several soldiers in pursuit of Indians who had killed four men near the fort on July 2. He reported returning with five prisoners after killing ten. Witnesses confirm the story was true in part; the party did set out to find those who had killed the four men, but the group returned to the fort "without nary a dead Indian, even seeing a live one".

In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. Leaving Springfield, he was recommended for the position of deputy United States marshal at Fort Riley, Kansas. This was during the Indian wars in which Hickok sometimes served as a scout for General George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry.

In 1867, Hickok moved to Niagara Falls, where he tried acting in a stage play called The Daring Buffalo Chasers of the Plains. He proved to be a terrible actor, and returned to the West, where he ran for sheriff in Ellsworth County, Kansas, on November 5, 1867. He was defeated by a former soldier, E.W. Kingsbury.

In December 1867, newspapers reported Hickok's arrival in Hays City, Kansas. On March 28, 1868, he was again in Hays as a deputy U.S. Marshall, picking up 11 Union deserters charged with stealing government property and who were to be transferred to Topeka for trial. He requested a military escort from Fort Hays, and was assigned William F. Cody, along with a sergeant and five privates. The group arrived in Topeka on April 2. Hickok was still in Hays in August 1868, when he brought 200 Cheyenne Indians to Hays to be viewed by "excursionists". On September 1, Hickok was in Lincoln County, Kansas, where he was hired as a scout by the 10th Cavalry Regiment, a segregated African American unit. On September 4, Hickok was wounded in the foot while rescuing several cattlemen in the Bijou Creek Basin who were surrounded by Indians. The 10th arrived at Fort Lyon, Colorado, in October and remained for the rest of 1868.

In July 1869, Hickok was back in Hays and was elected city marshal of Hays and sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas, in a special election held on August 23, 1869. The county was having particular difficulty holding sheriffs—three had quit over the previous 18 months. Hickok likely was already acting sheriff when elected, as a newspaper reported him arresting offenders on August 18 and the commander of Fort Hays praised Hickok for his work in apprehending deserters in a letter he wrote to the assistant adjutant general on August 21. Regularly scheduled county elections were held on November 2, 1869, and Hickok (Independent) lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan (Democrat). However, Hickok and Lanihan remained sheriff and deputy, respectively. Hickok accused a J.V. Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. On 9 December, Hickok and Lanihan both served legal papers on Macintosh, and local newspapers acknowledged Hickok had guardianship of Hays City.

In his first month as sheriff in Hays, he killed two men in gunfights. The first was Bill Mulvey, who "got the drop" on Hickok. Hickok looked past him and yelled, "Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk," which was enough of a distraction to allow him to win the gunfight. The second was a cowboy, Samuel Strawhun, who encountered Hickok and Deputy Sheriff Lanihan at 1 am on September 27 when they had been called to a saloon where Strawhun was causing a disturbance. After Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok", Strawhun died instantly from a bullet through the head as Hickok "tried to restore order". At Strawhun's inquest, despite 'very contradictory' evidence from witnesses, the jury found the shooting justifiable.

On July 17, 1870, in Hays, he was involved in a gunfight with disorderly soldiers of the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Two troopers, Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kyle (sometimes Kile), attacked Hickok in a saloon. Lonergan pinned Hickok to the ground while Kyle put his gun to Hickok's ear. Kyle's gun misfired, which allowed Hickok to reach his own guns. Lonergan was wounded in the knee, while Kyle, shot twice, died the next day. In the next election, Hickok failed to win re-election.

On April 15, 1871, Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas, taking over from former marshal Tom "Bear River" Smith, who had been killed on November 2, 1870. It was here that his confrontations with John Wesley Hardin and Phil Coe took place.

In 1873, Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro invited Hickok to join them in a new play called Scouts of the Plains after their earlier success. Hickok and Texas Jack eventually left the show, before Cody formed his Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1882.