There is a great scene in the movie Braveheart where Mel Gibson as William Wallace addresses his army. He says, "Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace!"
Then a Scotsman calls out in disbelief, "William Wallace is seven feet tall!"
Mel Gibson as Wallace replies, "Yes, I've heard! Kills men by the hundreds! And if he were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse!"
That sums up how some people see James Butler Hickok. And thanks mostly to Hollywood, he is still seen that way. In fact, his life was exaggerated, unreal, and fabricated on the most part.
He was a dime novel hero, a bragger, a gambler, a killer, a murderer, and some believe a bushwhacking coward.
His fame all started in 1861, when James Butler Hickok was employed as a stable boy at the Rock Creek Stage Station in Jefferson County, Nebraska. It was there that the famous McCanles massacre took place on July 12, 1861.
It was there that the Hickok lie started. Thanks to a "Dime Novelist," who told a great lie about a man who took on an entire gang of armed desperadoes, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and stabbings, and who was victorious over the outlaw band. It was a sure hit!
That’s the way it was. Dime Novels sold like pancakes in the 1800s. Everyone bought them and no matter if they had a single once of truth in them or not, that's the sort of bullspit that sold books in those days. And friends, it was done all the time - and people believed it.
You see it was just a few years after the McCanles massacre had taken place, in 1867, that the very popular Harper's New Monthly Magazine ran an article written by "Colonel" George Ward Nichols.
It was Nichols who labeled James Butler Hickok as "Wild Bill". When Nichols wrote about the event, none of what he wrote was close to true. But it didn't matter to Nichols.
According to the Nichols story, Hickok single-handily killed 10 "desperadoes, horse-thieves, murderers, and regular cutthroats" known as the McCanles Gang "in the greatest one man gunfight in history". During the battle Hickok, armed with only a pistol and bowie knife, suffered 11 bullet wounds, the story went on and on.
And no, no kryptonite was mentioned. Probably just an oversight I’m sure.
Was it true? Well, there was no McCanles Gang. And honestly, most of the story in the magazine was made up.
You see Nichols visited Kansas and in 1866 interviewed Wild Bill Hickok about his exploits as a gunfighter. And after the article appeared in the February, 1867, edition of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Newspapers such as the Leavenworth Daily Conservative, Kansas Daily Commonwealth, Springfield Patriot and the Atchison Daily Champion quickly pointed out that the article was full of inaccuracies and that Hickok was lying when he claimed he had killed "hundreds of men".
After the heavy attacks Nichols received for his article in the Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Nichols moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and concentrated on writing about music.
But by then, other than Newspapers, the unknowing public didn't cared to find out if there was or wasn't such a gang or if those things really happened. Fact is that once the story was published, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was instantly famous.
And though Nichols story had made the victims into villains, the "Wild Bill" Hickok legend was born. As inaccurate as it was, it didn't matter because that story was what laid the basis for Hickok's reputation as a gunfighter.
So what really happened?
Well, as I said before, there was no such thing as a McCanles Gang. But yes, the McCanles massacre took place in Rock Creek, Nebraska, on July 12, 1861.
In 1861, the stage company hired Horace Wellman to manage the stage station. Wellman hired a 23 year old James Butler Hickok as a stable boy.
McCanles knew Hickok from going to do business with Wellman. McCanles thought Hickok had a funny look because his nose almost touched his upper lip. So McCanles jokingly nicknamed Hickok "Duck Bill."
That is where most historians agree Hickok's name "Bill" came from. Before James Butler Hickok was "Wild Bill," he was known as "Duck Bill." Imagine that!
On July 12, 1861, Dave McCanles went to the stage station which in reality was his old cabin to see about collecting his past due money. Along with him were his cousin James Wood, his 12 year old son Monroe, and a friend by the name of James Gordon.
McCanles must not have thought anything bad would happen as all four were completely unarmed. He brought his 12 year old son Monroe along to help gather up any loose stock if they had found any.
James Wood, James Gordon, and his son Monroe waited outside while Dave McCanles went inside the station to meet with the station manager Horace Wellman.
It was then that Hickok showed up and went inside as well passing McCanles. Hickok went into the bedroom in the back of the cabin. The bedroom area was separated from the front of the station by a blanket curtain partition.
Something that Hickok did inside the cabin caught Dave McCanles' attention and he wasn't sure what Hickok was doing. McCanles became suspicious though and called for Hickok to come out. Then words were had and McCanles told Hickok that if he wanted to fight him that they can both go outside and settle it like men.
Apparently, Hickok had moved into position to bushwhack the unsuspecting McCanles. Both Hickok and the station manager Wellman knew that they would be no match for the bigger and stronger Dave McCanles. And no, they weren't about to pay him a dime.
Hickok shot him from ambush, as McCanles entered the doorway. Yes, Hickok used a rifle to shoot McCanles through the curtain. The round struck McCanles directly in the chest. Some say directly in the heart.
According to records, the gun that was used to kill McCanles was ironically his own gun that he had left in there from when he owned the cabin. McCanles left it there so that Wellmen would be able to protect the Stage Station.
It was then that Wellman came out with a garden hoe in his hands. He quickly rushed around the corner of the cabin, and there he found a dying James Wood. And there, using that hoe as his murder weapon, Horace Wellman hacked James Wood to death.
But Wellman wasn't finished yet, because it was then that he turned toward Dave McCanles’ 12 year old son Monroe.
Then seeing Wellman coming at him, Monroe instinctively realizing that he was in mortal danger and started running away from Wellmen who was now after him. The boy soon out distanced Wellman and got away.
The whole time this was happening Horace Wellman's wife came out and stood at the doorway. She started yelling, "Kill them! Kill them all!"
Little did Wellman and the others know that Monroe watched as Gordon was horrifically killed before running home to his mother and telling her what had happened at the station.
Once Mrs. McCanles heard about the murders of her husband and the others, she sent word to Dave McCanles brother James in Johnson County to come quickly.
The three were arrested, and later they were sent to Beatrice for trial.
The McCanles Massacre and the subsequent trail of "Wild Bill" Hickok are ancient history now, but court documents are available to the public. If anyone wants to see some of them, go to this link below.
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/treasures/wild_bill_hickok.htm
There was an effort to say that McCanles was angry with Hickok over a woman. But honestly, I think that the whole "killed over a shared mistress" thing was brought up by people who wanted to wag the dog and get the focus off of the crime and real criminals.
Then a Scotsman calls out in disbelief, "William Wallace is seven feet tall!"
Mel Gibson as Wallace replies, "Yes, I've heard! Kills men by the hundreds! And if he were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse!"
That sums up how some people see James Butler Hickok. And thanks mostly to Hollywood, he is still seen that way. In fact, his life was exaggerated, unreal, and fabricated on the most part.
He was a dime novel hero, a bragger, a gambler, a killer, a murderer, and some believe a bushwhacking coward.
His fame all started in 1861, when James Butler Hickok was employed as a stable boy at the Rock Creek Stage Station in Jefferson County, Nebraska. It was there that the famous McCanles massacre took place on July 12, 1861.
It was there that the Hickok lie started. Thanks to a "Dime Novelist," who told a great lie about a man who took on an entire gang of armed desperadoes, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and stabbings, and who was victorious over the outlaw band. It was a sure hit!
That’s the way it was. Dime Novels sold like pancakes in the 1800s. Everyone bought them and no matter if they had a single once of truth in them or not, that's the sort of bullspit that sold books in those days. And friends, it was done all the time - and people believed it.
You see it was just a few years after the McCanles massacre had taken place, in 1867, that the very popular Harper's New Monthly Magazine ran an article written by "Colonel" George Ward Nichols.
It was Nichols who labeled James Butler Hickok as "Wild Bill". When Nichols wrote about the event, none of what he wrote was close to true. But it didn't matter to Nichols.
According to the Nichols story, Hickok single-handily killed 10 "desperadoes, horse-thieves, murderers, and regular cutthroats" known as the McCanles Gang "in the greatest one man gunfight in history". During the battle Hickok, armed with only a pistol and bowie knife, suffered 11 bullet wounds, the story went on and on.
And no, no kryptonite was mentioned. Probably just an oversight I’m sure.
Was it true? Well, there was no McCanles Gang. And honestly, most of the story in the magazine was made up.
You see Nichols visited Kansas and in 1866 interviewed Wild Bill Hickok about his exploits as a gunfighter. And after the article appeared in the February, 1867, edition of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Newspapers such as the Leavenworth Daily Conservative, Kansas Daily Commonwealth, Springfield Patriot and the Atchison Daily Champion quickly pointed out that the article was full of inaccuracies and that Hickok was lying when he claimed he had killed "hundreds of men".
After the heavy attacks Nichols received for his article in the Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Nichols moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and concentrated on writing about music.
But by then, other than Newspapers, the unknowing public didn't cared to find out if there was or wasn't such a gang or if those things really happened. Fact is that once the story was published, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was instantly famous.
And though Nichols story had made the victims into villains, the "Wild Bill" Hickok legend was born. As inaccurate as it was, it didn't matter because that story was what laid the basis for Hickok's reputation as a gunfighter.
So what really happened?
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| David Colbert McCanles |
David Colbert McCanles was a local rancher. He was also a former County Sheriff of Watauga County in North Carolina from 1852 to 1859.
According to Watauga County records, the whole McCanles family was in Law Enforcement in one way or another for many generations. From Judges and Justices of the Peace, to Sheriffs and Deputies, they were all upstanding citizens.
Like many, Dave McCanles had decided to go West to California during the Gold Rush. But during the journey, he changed his mind and by the time he reached Rock Creek, Nebraska, he decided that that was as far as he was going and settled there..
It is said that he changed his mind after hearing the stories of many of the dejected Miners coming back from California with nothing to show for their trouble.
According to Watauga County records, the whole McCanles family was in Law Enforcement in one way or another for many generations. From Judges and Justices of the Peace, to Sheriffs and Deputies, they were all upstanding citizens.
Like many, Dave McCanles had decided to go West to California during the Gold Rush. But during the journey, he changed his mind and by the time he reached Rock Creek, Nebraska, he decided that that was as far as he was going and settled there..
It is said that he changed his mind after hearing the stories of many of the dejected Miners coming back from California with nothing to show for their trouble.
All in all, McCanles was a man's man of good pioneer stock. He was a physically strong man, who was know for having a sense of humor, and who tended to take matters into his own hands when he thought he was being wronged.
He was not one to back down from anyone, and he had a reputation for not being a man to mess with.
He was not one to back down from anyone, and he had a reputation for not being a man to mess with.
In 1861, the stage company hired Horace Wellman to manage the stage station. Wellman hired a 23 year old James Butler Hickok as a stable boy.
McCanles knew Hickok from going to do business with Wellman. McCanles thought Hickok had a funny look because his nose almost touched his upper lip. So McCanles jokingly nicknamed Hickok "Duck Bill."
That is where most historians agree Hickok's name "Bill" came from. Before James Butler Hickok was "Wild Bill," he was known as "Duck Bill." Imagine that!
The stage company was renting land from Dave McCanles which included his old cabin that the company was using as the station. They had only paid their down payment. McCanles had not received any more money from the stage company according to the payment schedule that was set up. That's according to bank records.
On July 12, 1861, Dave McCanles went to the stage station which in reality was his old cabin to see about collecting his past due money. Along with him were his cousin James Wood, his 12 year old son Monroe, and a friend by the name of James Gordon.
McCanles must not have thought anything bad would happen as all four were completely unarmed. He brought his 12 year old son Monroe along to help gather up any loose stock if they had found any.
It was then that Hickok showed up and went inside as well passing McCanles. Hickok went into the bedroom in the back of the cabin. The bedroom area was separated from the front of the station by a blanket curtain partition.
Something that Hickok did inside the cabin caught Dave McCanles' attention and he wasn't sure what Hickok was doing. McCanles became suspicious though and called for Hickok to come out. Then words were had and McCanles told Hickok that if he wanted to fight him that they can both go outside and settle it like men.
Apparently, Hickok had moved into position to bushwhack the unsuspecting McCanles. Both Hickok and the station manager Wellman knew that they would be no match for the bigger and stronger Dave McCanles. And no, they weren't about to pay him a dime.
Hickok shot him from ambush, as McCanles entered the doorway. Yes, Hickok used a rifle to shoot McCanles through the curtain. The round struck McCanles directly in the chest. Some say directly in the heart.
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| A young James Butler Hickok |
When both James Wood and James Gordon heard the shot, they both started running toward the station to see what had happened.
But that was their downfall, because it was then that Hickok stepped into the doorway and fired twice at each of them with a pistol.
But that was their downfall, because it was then that Hickok stepped into the doorway and fired twice at each of them with a pistol.
James Wood was severely wounded and staggered around the corner of the cabin and fell close to death. Gordon was wounded as well, but was able to run for the trees along a nearby creek.
Once there Gordon tried to hide himself because he knew they would be coming. Like Dave McCanles and James Wood, he too was unarmed and defenseless.
Once there Gordon tried to hide himself because he knew they would be coming. Like Dave McCanles and James Wood, he too was unarmed and defenseless.
It was then that Wellman came out with a garden hoe in his hands. He quickly rushed around the corner of the cabin, and there he found a dying James Wood. And there, using that hoe as his murder weapon, Horace Wellman hacked James Wood to death.
But Wellman wasn't finished yet, because it was then that he turned toward Dave McCanles’ 12 year old son Monroe.
Monroe McCanles was in shock. He was standing outside the station when his father came staggering out the door after being shot in the chest by Hickok. He looked up at his son to say something but died before he could utter a word.
Then seeing Wellman coming at him, Monroe instinctively realizing that he was in mortal danger and started running away from Wellmen who was now after him. The boy soon out distanced Wellman and got away.
The whole time this was happening Horace Wellman's wife came out and stood at the doorway. She started yelling, "Kill them! Kill them all!"
Hickok, the station manager Wellman, and a stock tender named “Doc” Brink, headed for the creek to look for the man who got away. Doc Brink had a shotgun with him and the search was on. And yes, it wasn't long before they found James Gordon hiding in the trees on the bank of the creek.
There before them was James Gordon begging for mercy, but to no avail because Brink used his shotgun and at close range to blast Gordon to death.
Little did Wellman and the others know that Monroe watched as Gordon was horrifically killed before running home to his mother and telling her what had happened at the station.
Once Mrs. McCanles heard about the murders of her husband and the others, she sent word to Dave McCanles brother James in Johnson County to come quickly.
James McCanles came as quickly as he could but first stopped in the town of Beatrice to alert the Sheriff. After hearing what had happened in Rock Creek, the Sheriff swore out arrest warrants for James Butler "Duck Bill" Hickok, Horace Wellman, and J.W. "Doc" Brinks.
The three were arrested, and later they were sent to Beatrice for trial.
The trial was a farce. The stage company paid for the lawyers of the defendants, and I read somewhere that the town was advised by the company that they would take their business elsewhere if their employees were found guilty.
To make things easier for the defense, the only eye witness to the massacre was Monoe McCanles and he was banned from testifying as to what he saw. They said that because of Monroe McCanles young age, he was not permitted to testify.
In fact Monroe was not even allowed to take the stand to testify, nor was he even allowed in the court room even though he was the only eye witness to all three murders.
In fact Monroe was not even allowed to take the stand to testify, nor was he even allowed in the court room even though he was the only eye witness to all three murders.
The verdict was quick, and the jury found the three innocent of "self defense."
Yes, that's right! The Court actually dismissed the case after determining that the killing of three unarmed men was a clear cut case of "self defense." Even though one was shot in the chest at close range, and two others who were both shot before being were finished off with a shotgun blast at close range and hacked to death,
Yes, that's right! The Court actually dismissed the case after determining that the killing of three unarmed men was a clear cut case of "self defense." Even though one was shot in the chest at close range, and two others who were both shot before being were finished off with a shotgun blast at close range and hacked to death,
The McCanles Massacre and the subsequent trail of "Wild Bill" Hickok are ancient history now, but court documents are available to the public. If anyone wants to see some of them, go to this link below.
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/treasures/wild_bill_hickok.htm
I find it very interesting that a stock boy, who was guilty of the Capitol Crime of murder, was "made" into a so-called "Frontier Hero" by a Dime Novelist who never traveled West of St Louis. A writer who the victims into villians, and a back-shooting coward into a Hero.
From what I've read on the McCanles Massacre, it sounds as if there are two camps: One group which supports Hickok no matter what the truth is and who are whole-heartily against McCanles. Then there is the other group who seems to feel that the legend of “Wild Bill” will live on no matter what the truth really is.
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| USED BY THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, THIS PICTURE DEPICTS A COWARDLY HICKOK AMBUSHING McCANLES FROM BEHIND A CURTAIN. |
The facts are that it was there at Rock Creek that James Butler Hickok, “Wild Bill” Hickok, killed Dave McCanles and two other men. And though he and the others were acquitted of the murders of those men in Gage County District Court.
This was the event that catapulted James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok to fame - coward or not.
Story by Tom Correa
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