HR0360

LRB096 12565 GRL 25812 r






1

HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
2
    WHEREAS, James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill 
3
Hickok, was born in Homer (now Troy Grove) on May 27, 1837; 
4
while he was growing up, his father's farm was one of the stops 
5
on the Underground Railroad, and he learned his shooting skills 
6
protecting the farm with his father from slave catchers; and

 
7
    WHEREAS, In 1855, at the age of 18, Wild Bill Hickok moved 
8
to the Kansas Territory; while in Kansas, he joined General Jim 
9
Lane's vigilante Free State Army; at the age of 21, Hickok was 
10
elected constable of Monticello Township; and

 
11
    WHEREAS, When the Civil War began, Wild Bill Hickok joined 
12
the Union forces and served in the west, mostly in Kansas and 
13
Missouri, and earned a reputation as a skilled scout; after the 
14
war, he became a scout for the United States Army and served 
15
for a time as a United States Marshal; he also engaged in 
16
buffalo hunting with Buffalo Bill Cody, Robert Denbow, and 
17
David L. Payne; and

 
18
    WHEREAS, In 1870, Wild Bill Hickok served as sheriff of 
19
Hays, Kansas; in 1873, Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack 
20
Omohundro invited Hickok to join them in a new play called 
21
Scouts of the Plains after their earlier success; Hickok 
22
eventually left the show before Cody formed his Buffalo Bill's 
 


 






HR0360
- 2 -
LRB096 12565 GRL 25812 r




1
Wild West Show in 1882; and

 
2
    WHEREAS, Wild Bill Hickok quickly developed a reputation as 
3
a feared gunfighter; on July 21, 1865, in the town square of 
4
Springfield, Missouri, Hickok killed Davis Tutt, Jr. in a 
5
"quick draw" duel, a type of gunfight that would become a 
6
significant part of Wild Bill's legacy; during his career, 
7
Hickok would eventually kill five men, wound one man, and be an 
8
accessory in the deaths of three more; and

 
9
    WHEREAS, In September of 1865, Wild Bill Hickok came in 
10
second in the election for City Marshal of Springfield, 
11
Missouri; after leaving Springfield, he was recommended for the 
12
position of Deputy United States Marshal at Fort Riley, Kansas; 
13
he also sometimes served as a scout for George A. Custer's 7th 
14
Cavalry; and

 
15
    WHEREAS, In 1868, Wild Bill Hickok ran for sheriff in 
16
Ellsworth County, Kansas, but was defeated by former soldier 
17
E.W. Kingsbury; he was elected sheriff and city marshal of 
18
Ellis County, Kansas on August 23, 1869; on April 15, 1871, 
19
Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas; and

 
20
    WHEREAS, In 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was diagnosed by a 
21
doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia; 
22
on March 5, 1876, Hickok married Agnes Thatcher Lake, a circus 
 


 






HR0360
- 3 -
LRB096 12565 GRL 25812 r




1
proprietor; he soon left his new bride to seek his fortune in 
2
the gold fields of South Dakota; and

 
3
    WHEREAS, On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal & 
4
Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, Wild Bill 
5
Hickok was shot by Jack McCall, ending the life of the fearsome 
6
gunfighter and lawman; and
 
7
    WHEREAS, On May 27, 2009, a statue of Wild Bill Hickok will 
8
be unveiled in Troy Grove in honor of Hickok and his legendary 
9
exploits; the statue was sculpted in bronze by William Piller; 
10
therefore, be it

 
11
    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
12
NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
13
designate the day of May 27, 2009 and every May 27 thereafter 
14
as "Wild Bill Hickok Day" in the State of Illinois.