Charlie Utter

B. Hickok, Wild Bill, aged 48 years, murdered by Jack McCall, August 2, 1876.

Chapter 29 of Life and Marvelous Adventures of Wild Bill the Scout Life and Marvelous Adventures of Wild Bill the Scout by J. W. Buell Chapter 29 Jack McCall Pays the Penalty After the farcical termination of the trial and the burial of Wild Bill, several friends of the deceased met at Charlie Utter's ranch and determined to avenge the cowardly assassination of their friend.

McCall, unfortunately, heard of the meeting and its purposes and lost no time in getting out of the country.

He roamed around in the far west and finally settled at Yankton.

"'That's Calamity Jane!' Burgess looked at the man a while longer, trying to think who that might be.

Calamity Jane, you know, rode with Charlie Utter and Wild Bill Hickok.

Burgess didn't know Charlie Utter, but he certainly did know who Wild Bill Hickok was.

Stories of Wild Bill had been told all over Philadelphia about the famous Kansas lawman who captured many a gunfighter and thief.

She rode with Custer, the man said, clearly excited to tell him this.

life and marvellous adventures of wild bill the scout by j w buell bill's last trip to the black hills after leaving the buntline troop wild bill came to st louis for the purpose of organizing an expedition to the black hills the gold fever was at its height and st louis like all other western cities was very much excited over the auriferous discoveries bill remained in st louis about three weeks at the end of which time he had succeeded in organizing a party of nearly one hundred men which was increased to one hundred and fifty by additions received at kansas city the party arrived at the black hills in the latter part of june bill going to deadwood and the others distributing themselves among the hills where they established ranches and began their quest for gold deadwood was a gay place when bill entered its limits and the life led by its mixed citizens was exactly suited to his disposition every other house was a saloon and if ever there was a gambler's paradise it was there the female portion of deadwood's population was limited but the few who were there were so active and boisterous as to compensate for ten times the same number of ordinary women bill was in his element although he had no disposition to take part in the wild orgies of the drunken maudlin crowd which infested every nook and corner of the place he liked the freedom the society permitted but indulged himself only in gambling and an occasional drink bill made many friends in deadwood and it was not known that he had any enemies in the black hills but while he was surrounded by friends he should never have forgotten the fact that his enemies were almost like the leaves of the forest they were always plotting his destruction and laying snares along his path the end came at last just as bill had himself often predicted bill's last trip to the black hills

chapter 28 of life and marvelous adventures of wild bill the scout this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by jyothi taravanath life and marvelous adventures of wild bill the scout by j w buell chapter 28 assassination of wild bill on the second of august eighteen seventy six wild bill was in lewis and mount's saloon playing a game of poker with captain massey a missouri river pilot charlie rich and coolman one of the proprietors of the saloon the game had been in progress nearly three hours when about four o'clock p m a man was seen to enter the door and pass up to the bar bill was sitting on a stool with the back of his head towards and about five feet from the bar when the man entered bill had just picked up the cards dealt him and was looking at his hand and therefore took no notice of the newcomer the man who proved to be jack mccall alias bill sutherland after approaching the bar turned and drawing a large navy revolver placed the muzzle within two inches of bill's head and fired the bullet entered the base of the brain tore through the head and made its exit at the right cheek between the upper and lower jaw bones breaking off several teeth and carrying away a large piece of the cerebellum through the wound bullet struck captain massey who sat opposite bill in the right arm and broke the bone at the instant the pistol was discharged the cards fell from bill's hands and he dropped sideways off the stool without uttering a sound his companions were so horrified that several moments elapsed before it was discovered that captain massey was wounded the assassin turned upon the crowd and compelled them to file out of the saloon before him after reaching the street he defied arrest but at five o'clock he gave himself up and asked for an immediate trial deadwood was at that time so primitive that it had no city officers and there was no one legally competent to take charge of or try the prisoner during the same evening however a corona was chosen who impaneled a jury and returned a verdict to the effect that j b hecock wild bill came to his death from a wound resulting from a shot fired from a pistol by john mccall alias bill sutherland having proceeded thus far it was determined to elect a judge sheriff and prosecuting attorney to try mccall on the following day the lessee of mcdaniel's theatre offered the use of the theatre for the purposes of the trial which is arranged to take place at nine o'clock on the following morning three men were sent out in different directions to notify the miners in the neighbourhood of the murder and to request their attendance at the trial promptly at the time appointed the improvised court convened and joseph brown who had been chosen sheriff produced the prisoner f j kuykendall the pro tempore judge then addressed the crowd in a very appropriate manner reminding those present that the court was purely a self-constituted one but in the discharge of his duty he would be governed by justice and trust to them for a ratification of his acts his remarks were greeted with hand-clappings of approval the prisoner was then led forward and conducted to a seat on the stage to the right of the judge never did a more forbidding countenance face a court than that of jack mccall his head which was covered with a thick crop of chestnut hair was very narrow as to the parts occupied by the intellectual portion of the brain while the animal development was exceedingly large a small sandy mustache covered a sensual mouth and a coarse double chin was partially hid by a stiff goatee the nose was what is commonly called snub he had cross eyes and a florid complexion which completed a more repulsive picture than dore could conceive he was clad in a blue flannel shirt brown overalls heavy shoes and as he sat in a stooping position with his arms folded across his breast he evidently assumed a nonchalance and bravado which were foreign to his feelings and betrayed by the spasmodic heavings of his heart the selection of a jury consumed all the forenoon as it was next to impossible to select a man who had not formed or expressed an opinion concerning the murder although but few who were in the panel had heard of the tragedy until a few hours before a hundred names were selected written upon separate scraps of paper and placed in a hat they were then well shaken and the committee appointed for the purpose drew from the hat one name at a time the party answering to the name then came forward and was examined by the judge touching his fitness to serve as an impartial 92 names were called from the panel before the jury was made up following are those who were selected and served j j l d brokaw j s thompson c whitehead geo s hopkins j f cooper alexander travis k f towley john e thompson l a judd edward brooke and john mann the jurors being sworn they took their seats and testimony for the prosecution was begun the first witness called was charles rich who said that he was in the saloon kept by lewis and mawne on the afternoon of the second and was seated at a table playing a game of poker with wild bill and several others when the prisoner whom he identified came into the room walked deliberately up to wild bill placed a pistol at the back of the deceased and fired saying take that bill fell from the stool upon which he had been seated without uttering a word samuel young testified that he was engaged in the saloon that he had just delivered fifteen dollars worth of pocket checks to the deceased and was returning to his place behind the bar when he heard the report of a pistol shot turning around he saw the prisoner at the back of wild bill with a pistol in his hand which he had just discharged heard him say take that call man was one of the proprietors of the saloon in which wild bill was killed was in the poker game noticed a commotion saw the prisoner whom he identified shoot wild bill the defence called for the first witness p h smith who said he had been in the employ of mccall four months that he was not a man of quarrelsome disposition that he had always considered him a man of good character that he the witness had been introduced to wild bill and cheyenne and drank with him that the deceased had a bad reputation and had been the terror of every place in which he had resided h h pickens said that he had known defendant four years and believed him to be a quiet and peaceable man wild wolf's reputation as a shootist was very hard he was quick in using the pistol and never missed his man and had killed quite a number of persons in different parts of the country erafold had known the defendant about one year like a great many others he would go upon a spree like the rest of the boys wild bill had the reputation of being a brave man who could and would shoot quicker than any man in the western country and who always got away with his antagonist the defense called several others the tenor of whose evidence was but a repetition of the foregoing no attempt was made to show that wild bill had ever seen the prisoner the prisoner was called upon to make a statement he came down from the stage into the auditorium of the theater and with his right hand in the bosom of his shirt his head thrown back in a harsh loud and repulsive voice with a bulldog sort of bravado said well men i have but a few words to say wild bill threatened to kill me and i crossed his path i am not sorry for what i have done i will do the same thing over again the prisoner then returned to his place on the stage the prosecution then adduced testimony to prove that wild bill was a much abused man that he never imposed on any one and that in every instance where he had slain men he had done so either in the discharge of his duty as an officer of the law or in self-defence the case having been placed in the hands of the jury the theater was cleared with the understanding that the verdict should be made known in the saloon where the murder was committed the prisoner was remanded to the house where he had been imprisoned during the night at nine o'clock the following verdict was read to the prisoner deadwood city august 3rd 1876 we the jurors find the prisoner mr john mccall not guilty charles whitehead foreman the prisoner was at once liberated and several of the mortal jurymen who had played their parts in this burlesque upon justice and who had turned their bloodthirsty tiger loose upon the community indulged in a sickening cheer which grated harshly upon the ears of those who heard it the first vote taken by the jury resulted in eleven for acquittal and one for conviction and the single man who desired justice was so intimidated by his fellow jurors that he was induced to sanction the iniquitous verdict it was even proposed by one of the jurymen that the prisoner be fined fifteen or twenty dollars and set free after the inquest the body of the deceased was placed upon a litter made of two poles and some boards then a procession was formed and the remains were carried to charles utter's camp across the creek charles utter better known as colorado charlie had been the intimate friend of the deceased for fifteen years and with that liberality which is a feature among mountaineers had always shared his purse with him charlie was much affected by the death of his friend and incest at the villain who had murdered him a tepee was pitched at the foot of one of the giant trees which rise so majestically above charlie's camp preparations were at once made for the funeral the following notice was printed and sent out funeral notice died in deadwood black hills august second eighteen seventy six from the effects of a pistol shot j b hicok wild bill formerly of cheyenne wyoming funeral services will be held at charlie utter's camp on thursday afternoon august third eighteen seventy six at three o'clock or are respectfully invited to attend at the time appointed a number of people gathered at the camp charley otta who had gone to a great deal of expense to make the funeral as fine as could be had in that country under the tepee in a handsome coffin covered with black cloth and richly mounted with silver ornaments lay wild bill a picture of perfect repose his long chestnut hair evenly parted over his marble brow hung in waving ringlets over the broad shoulders his face was cleanly shaved excepting the drooping moustache which shaded a mouth that in death almost seemed to smile but in life was unusually grave the arms were folded over the stilled breast which enclosed a heart that had bet with regular pulsation amid the most startling scenes of blood and violence crops was clad in complete dress suit of black broadcloth new under clothing and white linen shirt beside him in the coffin lay the trusty rifle which the deceased priced above all other things and which was to be buried with him in compliance with an often expressed desire clergyman read an impressive funeral service that was attentively listened to by the audience after which the coffin lid hid the well-known face of wild bill from the prying gaze of the world grave had been prepared on the mountainside toward the east and to that place in the bright sunlight the air redolent with perfume of sweet flowers the birds sweetly singing and all nature smiling the solemn cottage wended its way and deposited the mortal remains of wild bill upon a large stump at the head of the grave the following inscription was deeply cut a brave man the victim of an assassin

Chapter 29 of Life and Marvelous Adventures of Wild Bill the Scout Life and Marvelous Adventures of Wild Bill the Scout by J. W. Buell Chapter 29 Jack McCall Pays the Penalty After the farcical termination of the trial and the burial of Wild Bill, several friends of the deceased met at Charlie Utter's ranch and determined to avenge the cowardly assassination of their friend.

McCall, unfortunately, heard of the meeting and its purposes and lost no time in getting out of the country.

He roamed around in the far west and finally settled at Yankton.

Oh, I don't know, Matt.

Charlie Utter keeps talking to me about Deadwood.

Oh, it's as dusty up in Deadwood as it is in Kansas.

[laughs] Yeah, I know, Miss Kitty, but Charlie thinks some of that dust is made of gold.

No, they sure don't.

Not lately, anyway.

Matt, I think I'll go up to Deadwood with Charlie Utter right soon after all.

Maybe I can find me a little peace and quiet.