Hickok

in six months, according to his superior, he knew
more about the company's affairs than the presi-
dent himself. From this office he advanced to
the presidency in 1877, and although he allowed
himself to become lieutenant-governor of the
state in 1879, he refused reelection, declaring
that he would rather conduct the affairs of his
company successfully than become president of
the United States. This devotion to business,
which turned him from politics, deprived him of
vacations and perhaps shortened his life* He
fought business rivals as he had fought the Con-
federates, with all his might. He found time,
however, to engage in civic affairs* In politics
a Republican, he was for years a power in the
political life of Cincinnati, On Feb. 13, 1867,
he had married Maria L. Smith, daughter of
Adolphus R and Sarah (Bates) Smith, and
their home became a notable gathering place,
where the old soldier loved to recount war-time
experiences. He published several papers and
other writings, chief among which are The Hat-
tie of Shiloh (1903) and books dealing with
phases of the industry in which he was engaged,
notably Street Lighting (1899), F*ol»gas for
Cincinnati (1893, 1896); and Fairy Talcs, or
Romance of an Arc Electric Light (1901)* In
January 1903, he made a visit to Mexico in quest
of health. At that time he was already suffering1
from cystitis, a disease which caused his death
in his sixty-seventh year.

[C T. Grcve, Centennial Hist, of Cincinnati and Rep-
resentative Citizens, vol. II (1904); Whitclaw Kcid,
Ohio in the War, vol. I (1868); The Biog, Cyc. and
Portrait Gallery . . . of Ohio, vol. I (1883); War of
the Rebellion; Official Records (Army}, see Index: /fc-
port of the Proc. of the $oc< of the Army of the Tenn,
, .. ipo5 (1906); Cincinnati Enqnirerf and Commcr*
cial Tribune, May 13, 1904.] H*C.H.

HICKOK, JAMES BUTLER (May 27,1837-
Aug. 2, 1876), soldier, scout, and United States
marshal of border posts, commonly known as
Wild Bill, was born at Troy Grove, La Salle
County, 111. He was the grandson of Otis Hick-
ok, an emigrant from Ireland who fought at
Plattsburg in the War of 1812, and the fourth
son of William Alonzo and Polly (Butler) Hick-
ok, both of Grand Isle County, Vt As a youth
he was a hunter and the best shot in his part of
Illinois, In 1855 he made his way to Leaven-
worth, Kan., where he was industrious, |>eaceably
inclined, and willing to work at any honest task,
He became an active free-state man and was one
of Gen. Jim Lane's force. In 1856 he was elect-
ed constable of Monticello Township, Johnson
County, Kan., where he had taken a preemption
claim, and proved himself an efficient and faith-
ful officer. He then became a driver for a stage

Hickok
company operating over the M Santa Fe Trail
In this service, in the Kattm l*a>s, he wa* at-
tacked by a cinnamon hear, which he killnl with
his bowie-knife. He was so terribly injure*! that
it was not believed he cunld live; Jwt he recov-
ered ami was transferred to the Overland Sla^r,
on the Oregon Trail. Here at Kock Creek Sta-
tion, Jefferson County, NVbr» July IA tftu. he
had his famous battle with the notorious Me-
Canles Gang, in which he killed XK'Canles and
two of his men.
During the Civil War he served as a Union
scout and spy, attached tn headquarter* at
Springfield, ilo. More than onee he was cap-
tured and sentenced tn he shut as a >py. Ilis ser-
vices were invaluable and his adventures awl
escapes were marvelous. In 1805, in the public
square at Springfield, he killed Dave Tmt, a Fed-
eral soldier associated with Wild Bill a* scout*
who had turned traitor and joined the Confed-
erate army.
In 1866 he was appointee! deputy Cnited Strata
marshal at Fort Riley, Kan, His. territory was
a wild country, four hundred wilts wide awl
five hundred long. He killed many thieves awl
outlaws and recovered hundreds of stolen horn's
and mules. On this frontier he served also as
scout under Generals Hancock, Sheridan, and
Custer, and took part in the battles with In-
dians fought hy these officers. Krom this service
he resigned in 1867 and in iWkj (warn? marshal
of Hays City, then the roughest town on the
border, Here he killed several and wai mice at-
tacked hy three men, all of wlumi he killed, In
1871 (Apr. !5-Dec. 13) he wan marshal of Abi-
lene, Kan,» then the great shipping-point fur
Texas cattle. It was a raw and turbulent town
but he ruled it with an iron hand, presenting the
unique spectacle of one man, by hi* courage ami
skill, holding at bay all the lawless elcinrnt of
one of the wildest towns on the border* Hr
killed a number of men at Abilene, his ma*t fa-
mous victim being Phil Coc, a leader of the
Texans during the cattle day*, who kept a saloon
and gambling"hous»e and who had attempted to
kill him.
Wild Bill was an exceptionally handsome and
fascinating man, quiet in manner, with nothing
to suggest the border bully* He never killed a
man except in self-defense or in the line of offi-
cial duty. His friends and admirers included the
most conspicuous soldiers ant! frontiersmen of
his day. In March 1876, he was married at
Cheyenne, Wyo., to Mrs. Agnes lake* who sur-
vived him. Wild Bill toured the East with Buf-
falo Bill in x87a-73, afterward going to Dead-
wood, Dakota Territory, where he was murdered