WILD BILL’S ‘DEAD MAN’S HAND’ SIX-SHOOTER TO BE AUCTIONED

Folklore has it that Wild Bill Hickok killed hundreds of bad men, but in fact, he killed only six or seven white men (Indians did not count in those days) in face-to-face shootouts. The six-shooter being auctioned off is the one he was carrying in a Deadwood, South Dakota saloon when a coward came up to him from behind and shot him in the back of the head in August 1876. He was playing poker at the time and was holding two black aces and two black eights together with an unknown card, the combination of which became known as the ‘dead man’s hand.’

PISTOL BEHIND PHARASE ‘DEAD MAN’S HAND’ GOES UP FOR AUCTION: THE GUN ‘WILD BILL’ WAS CARRYING WHEN HE WAS SHOT 150 YEARS AGO DURING POKER GAME IS EXPECTED TO FETCH $500,000
Antique Smith and Wesson pistol has six-inch barrel and varnished rosewood grips; without its history, it would normally sell for about $2,000

By Sara Smyth

Mail Online
August 23, 2013

The revolver worn by infamous gunslinger 'Wild' Bill Hickok when he was shot dead 150 years ago is expected to sell for $500,000 at auction.

The legendary Smith and Wesson pistol was worn by the lawman in 1876 when he was shot in the back of the head while playing poker in South Dakota.

It will be sold at Bonhams auction house in San Francisco in November. The antique piece boasts a .32 rimfire, a six-inch barrel and varnished rosewood grips.

The gun comes with documents proving its origins and details of how it passed through generations of the Willoth family in Deadwood.

Paul Carella, Bonhams' arms and armor expert, said: 'Wild Bill Hickok was one of the most iconic figures of the Wild West.

'He was friends with Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane and was noted as the best quick-draw shooter of his time.

'He was a stagecoach driver, a lawman, a scout - he was everything that epitomized the Wild West.

'He had moved to Deadwood to find his fortune in the gold rush and also to make some money from gambling. Ironically he died at the poker table.'

Hickock had a habit of sitting with his back to a wall when playing poker, but on the day of his death, the only spare chair had its back to the door.

Mr Carella said: 'Following his death his effects were given to the new sheriff who then gave the gun to a family who ran a bazaar to pay off debts Wild Bill had with them.

'The gun has been in the family ever since.

'It would have been worth about $15, around $500 in today's money.

'It's just a standard Smith and Wesson pistol in average condition that would normally sell for around $2,000 but because of its history we expect it to go for much more.'

Hickok was shot dead by 'Crooked Nose' Jack McCall. At the time he was holding two black aces, two black eights and another unknown card, which went on to be known as the 'dead man's hand' in poker.

McCall claimed he had shot Hickok in revenge for killing his brother. He was later hanged for the murder.

Hickok started calling himself 'Wild Bill' after winning a deadly shootout in 1861.