Wild Bill Hickock was an Outlaw of the Old West - 514 Words

James Butler Hickock, also known as Wild Bill Hickock, was born in Homer, Illinois (now Troye Grove, Illinois) on May 27, 1837. He was an outlaw of the American Old West. He was a skilled gunfighter, gambler, and lawman, which are some of the many reasons why he is famous. Hickock was born and raised on a farm in Illinois. He went west at the age of 18 in 1855 first working as a stagecoach driver, then as a lawman in Kansas and Nebraska. While in Nebraska, Hickok was often called â€Å"Duck Bill†. He grew a mustache and began referring to himself as â€Å"Wild Bill†. He fought and spied for the Union Army during the American Civil War. wild bill.jpg On March 22, 1858, he was elected as constable of Monticello Township, Kansas. A year later, he joined the Russell, Waddell, Majors Freight Co, the company of the Pony Express. In 1860, he was seriously injured by a bear while driving a freight team from Missouri to Texas. He found the road they were taking blocked by a Cinnamon bear and its two cubs. He dismounted and approached the bear. He shot it in the head, but the bullet ricocheted from its skull. The bear attacked, crushing him with its body. Hickock slashed its throat with a knife. When the Civil War began in April 1861, Hickok signed up as a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. In September 1862, he was discharged for an unknown reason. There are no known records of him for over a year, though historians think that Hickok was operating as a Union spy in