HR0360 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0360 LRB096 12565 GRL 25812 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

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

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

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

WHEREAS, In 1870, Wild Bill Hickok served as sheriff of Hays, Kansas; in 1873, Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro invited Hickok to join them in a new play called Scouts of the Plains after their earlier success; Hickok eventually left the show before Cody formed his Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1882; and

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

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

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

WHEREAS, In 1876, Wild Bill Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia; on March 5, 1876, Hickok married Agnes Thatcher Lake, a circus proprietor; he soon left his new bride to seek his fortune in the gold fields of South Dakota; and

WHEREAS, On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, Wild Bill Hickok was shot by Jack McCall, ending the life of the fearsome gunfighter and lawman; and

WHEREAS, On May 27, 2009, a statue of Wild Bill Hickok will be unveiled in Troy Grove in honor of Hickok and his legendary exploits; the statue was sculpted in bronze by William Piller; therefore, be it

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