On April 15, 1871 he became marshal of Abilene, succeeding in the office to Tom "Bear River" Smith, who was murdered on November 2, 1870. However, Hickok fraternized with the outlaw John Wesley Hardin, who passed through Abilene in 1871. In his 1895 biography, published after his death, 19 years after Hickock, Hardin claimed to have disarmed Hickok using a known trick during a failed attempt to arrest him in a saloon, caused by his refusal to be disarmed. This story is generally considered apocryphal, or at least greatly exaggerated.
Hickok's favorite guns were a pair of Colts .36 Navy Model of 1851, which he wear to the day of his death. They were silver with ivory handle, and had engraved the words "JB Hickok 1869." The guns were a gift that made him Senator, and future President of the United States, Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, as a reward for their services as an explorer for a hunt.However, Hickok resorted to larger caliber weapons when expected some duel. …show more content…
So "Wild Bill" sat with his back to a door, in front to another another door. This apparent paranoid behavior was justified, a former poker opponent, Jack McCall, came shortly by the door and unleashed a shot with a 50-caliber revolver in his head. Legend said that at that moment has Hickok had two pair of aces and eights, while the fifth letter is unknown or had not yet been distributed. The truth is, since that moment that hand has been known as the "dead man's hand", and since then is associated with bad luck in the game. 103 years later, Hickok's name was entered into the Poker Hall of