Wild Bill Hickok’s legend is often traced to one gunfight in Springfield, Missouri, on July 21, 1865. Davis Tutt is mainly remembered for dying in that moment. Neither man, though, came from anything like a peaceful beginning.
Wild Bill’s Early Life and First Brush With Violence
Wild Bill was born James Butler Hickok on May 27, 1837. He was raised on a farm in northern Illinois by a family of fierce abolitionists. They sheltered runaway slaves and sometimes transported them farther north to safety.
Young James took part in these trips. This may have been the first time he came under gunfire.
A Canal Fight and a Flight From Illinois
At age 18, Hickok fled Illinois after a fight in which both he and Charles Hudson fell into a canal. Hickok thought Hudson was swept away and died. He worried he might be found guilty of manslaughter.
Strangely enough, Hudson thought the same of Hickok.
The Santa Fe Trail and the “Momma Bear” Mistake
Hickok held several jobs before he joined the Civil War. One job was teamster, driving a wagon along the Santa Fe Trail.
While doing that, he made the classic blunder of messing with a momma bear and her cubs. He managed to kill the bear. He spent several months recuperating from his injuries.
Rock Creek Station and a Shooting With Disputed Details
In July 1861, Hickok was involved in a shooting at Rock Creek Station in Nebraska Territory. The details are under dispute, including who fired the shots.
What is known is that David McCanles threatened Horace Wellman, the station chief and Hickok’s boss. McCanles left the station. Someone from inside the station shot him and the two men with him.
There are claims that McCanles was the leader of an outlaw gang. There are also claims that this story started to justify the shooting. However, Hickok, Wellman, and another employee were tried and acquitted on self-defense.
Civil War Service and the “Wild Bill” Name
By this point, Hickok was no stranger to violence. He joined the Union Army and served as both a teamster and a scout.
He may have joined under his father’s name, William, which could be where the nickname “Wild Bill” started. He mustered out in June 1865. That was only a month before the infamous gunfight in Springfield.
Davis Tutt’s Childhood in the Tutt-Everett War
Davis Tutt may have had an even stranger childhood. While most people have heard of the Hatfield and McCoy feud, Davis Tutt was born into the Tutt-Everett War.
Davis was born around 1836 in Yellville, Arkansas. Yellville was the county seat of the newly formed Marion County.
The Tutts were associated with the Whig party. The Everetts were associated with the Democrat party. The data is a little sparse. It appears the Everetts were in the area before the county was formed, and they and their friends held most seats in the county government early on.
Eventually, the Tutts started to win some elections themselves. In a county with around 300 voters, almost everyone was aligned with one family or the other.
The 1844 Debate That Lit the Fuse
A public debate was held in June of 1844. There had already been clashes, but this debate became the spark that lit the feud.
An all-out brawl erupted. Luckily, no one had their firearms with them. Sim Everett, by all accounts a large man and good in a fight, was finally stopped by a Tutt follower who struck him with a garden hoe.
The seriousness of this injury settled the melee down. Sim Everett was not seriously injured. After this, both camps generally carried firearms with them.
The 1848 Shootout in Yellville
There were some individual skirmishes, though little detailed information survives. Tensions escalated. Then, on October 9, 1848, a shootout occurred in Yellville.
One account puts Sheriff Mooney as an impartial keeper of the peace. Two accounts, with one dating to the very month of the shooting, say he was aligned with the Everetts. This group together demanded the Tutts leave the county.
Hansford Tutt, Davis Tutt’s father, had a business in Yellville. Late on October 9, gunfire erupted. By the end, three men lay dead, including Sim Everett.
Ambush, Militia, and the End of the Feud
On August 31, 1849, the Everetts ambushed and killed several members of the King family. The King family had fought on the Tutt side in the previous shootout.
The Governor of Arkansas organized a militia to restore law and order to Marion County. The militia arrested several members of the Everett family. When the militia was disbanded, supporters of the Everett family broke them out of jail.
By 1850, Hansford Tutt was the senior member of the Tutt family. He knew he was a marked man. He was ambushed and shot, but did not die immediately.
Reportedly, he requested that no revenge be taken for his death. This was the final act in the feud.
The Springfield Gunfight and What Came After
Davis Tutt was shot and killed by Wild Bill Hickok in July of 1865. Wild Bill was shot and killed in Dakota Territory in August of 1876.
Their paths to violence, though, started much earlier.
I explored the Hickok–Tutt gunfight itself in a recent post for Heroes, Heroines & History, which you can read here.
