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August 2nd, 1876 The day had started late for 'Wild Bill' seeing how he had been sleeping off the effects of the previous night. With a slight headache from his steadily failing eyesight or drink, Jimmy Hickok got dressed in his typical card sharp attire and headed out the door in search of some sustenance. The streets of Deadwood were already bustling with fortune seekers and busy town folk as he stepped onto the wooden walkway in front of the hotel where he was staying. Settling his black hat on his head and adjusting his signature ivory handled Colts about his waist, Jimmy turned towards the center of town. For days now, he had had a sense of urgency to complete his business and leave this town. In the back of his mind, he got the feeling that he needed to go 'home' to the people who had become his family so many years ago when he rode for the Pony Express. He longed to see his old friends, Kid and Louise, who had married shortly after the Express ended. Buck lived nearby with his wife and children. Cody was out east with his Wild West show. 'I think it's time to go see my family
again,' he told himself as he tipped his hat to a passing woman and
her daughter. Stopping in front of Saloon No. 10, Jimmy warred with himself on going in and playing one last game of poker or going and finishing up his business in town and getting his things together and heading out to see his old friends. The thrill of the game and the addiction that had taken hold of his blood for gambling won out and he entered in through the swinging doors. 'After this one game, I'll get out of Deadwood for good,' he promised himself. The inside was dimly lit and there was a haze of cigar smoke in the air. There was a crowd at the tables and lined up at the bar even though it was still early in the day. Deadwood didn't really sleep it seemed to him, as he asked the barkeep to send him a couple of cheese sandwiches over to his usual table. Wading through the rowdy bunch that congregated around the gaming tables, Jimmy went to his usual table near the corner. Zeke Wallace was in his seat. "Zeke, would ya mind moving so I can have my seat," he stated none to pleased as he motioned one of the men to deal him in. "I don't see your name on this chair Hickok," Wallace said smugly and suggested cockily, "There's an empty seat in front of you. Take that one." Jimmy looked at the man and then the empty seat. As a rule, he always sat with his back to the wall where he was able to keep an eye on all that was going on around him. It was just a precaution he'd stated taking when more and more men who were looking to make a name for themselves had started coming around, gunning for him. He got an uneasy feeling but shook it off and sat down when the dealer asked, "Are you in Hickok or not?" The game had not been going on very long when Jimmy had been dealt a pair of aces and a pair of eights with a three. 'Not too bad a hand...I can make this work,' he told himself smiling. The level of noise in the saloon made it difficult to listen to what was going on around him and to keep his mind on the game at hand. Jimmy never heard the pistol being cocked and had a split second before the bullet hit the back of his head to realize he heard a shot coming from somewhere behind. In a split second, the saloon's patrons stopped all movement and sound. They were stunned as they watched 'Wild Bill's' head fall forward onto the table, a small river of blood flowing from the hole in the back of his head. Suddenly a woman screamed and all chaos broke out as several men tried to restrain a man, who some recognized as Jack McCall, when they noticed the smoking gun in his out stretched hand. On-lookers couldn't help themselves by staring at the dead gun fighter. It was noticed that in Jimmy's hand, he held two eights and two aces, which from that day on, became known as the 'Dead Man's Hand'. Email Lisa L.HOME |