During the months that followed the Civil War, James Butler “Wild Bill†Hickok spent much of his time in Springfield, MO., where he supported himself by gambling. During July, 1865 he got into a dispute with another gambler named Dave Tutt. Tutt was a former Confederate while Hickok had been a Union Scout. Before long bad blood developed between the two and things became hot when Tutt proposed to humiliate Hickok by walking across the Plaza wearing a watch of Bill’s that he’d taken to satisfy an alleged gambling debt. Hickok told him he’d never make it if he tried.
According to George Ward Nichols, a former Union officer and now writer for “Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,†this is what happen. (I am quoting from an original copy of the article that I have before me, including Nichols’ convoluted spelling.)
Next day, about noon, Bill went down on the squar (sic). He had said that Dave Tutt shouldn’t pack that watch across the squar (sic) unless dead men could walk.
When Bill got onter (sic) the squar (sic) he found a crowd stanin (sic) in the corner of the street by which he entered the squar (sic), which is from the south, you know. In this crow’d (sic) he saw a lot of Tutt’s friends; some were cousins of his’n (sic), just back from the reb army; and they jeered him, and boasted that Dave was a-goin (sic) to pack that watch across the squar (sic) as promised.
Then Bill saw Tutt stanin (sic) near the court-house, which you remember is on the west side, so that the crowd was behind Bill.
Just then, Tutt, who was alone, started from the court-house and walked out into the squar (sic), and Bill moved away from the crowd toward the west side of the squar (sic). Bout fifteen paces brought them opposite to each other, and about fifty yards apart. Tutt then showed his pistol. Bill had kept a sharp eye on him, and before Tutt could pint (sic) it Bill had his’n (sic) out.
At that moment you could have heard a pin drop in that squar (sic). Both Tutt and Bill fired, but one discharge followed the other so quick that it’s hard to say which went off first. Tutt was a famous shot, but he missed this time; the ball from his pistol went over Bill’s head.
Hickok however, didn’t miss and Dave Tutt fell dead.
At a later time, Nichols was in Wild Bill’s room when he offered to demonstrate his shooting skills. Again I quote from Nichols’ account.
“I would like to see you shoot,†says Nichols.
“Would yer,†replied the scout, drawing his revolver; and approaching the window, he pointed to a letter O in a sign-board which was fixed to a stone-wall of a building on the other side of the way.
“That sign is more then fifty yards away. I will put these six balls into the inside of the circle, which isn’t bigger then a man’s heart.â€
In an off-hand way, and without sighting the pistol with his eye, he discharged the six shots of his revolver. I afterwards saw that all the bullets had entered the circle.
Nichols’ article soon made Wild Bill a celebrity known the world over. Other writers would claim the distance during the fight was 75 yards or even more, and at least one account of the “sign-shooting†incident says the istance was “over 100 yards.†The readers of this post may feel free to take their pick.
