Wild Bill Hickok liked adventures. He liked to have fun. He had a horse that could do tricks. Wild Bill would show people the tricks his horse could do in the Springfield City Square.

But, Wild Bill was also a bully who liked to scare people. He would ride his horse up on the sidewalk and into stores. No one stopped him because they were afraid. He always had his gun, a pistol revolver. He liked to drink whiskey. He was known as a ruffian and a desperado.

Wild Bill Hickok was a gambler. He enjoyed playing poker. One night in Springfield he was gambling, playing poker with Dave Tutt at the Lyon House which became the Southern Hotel on South Street. Tutt was also a desperado who liked to drink whiskey and to gamble. He also liked to carry a pistol. In the poker game that night, Tutt won. Wild Bill lost his money and his pocket watch.

Wild Bill was proud of his nice pocket watch. He asked Dave Tutt not to wear it and show it to people in public. If he did, then people would know that Wild Bill was a loser. Tutt said he won the watch in a fair game, it was now his, and he would show people if he wanted to. Wild Bill told him not to. He said, “If you do, I’ll shoot you!”

The next morning, on July 21, 1865, Dave Tutt walked across the Springfield City Square with his pistol. He was showing people the pocket watch he had won from Wild Bill. Wild Bill went into the square with his pistol. Wild Bill drew his gun first. He aimed the pistol at Tutt. Wild Bill yelled, “Dave, don’t you come across here with that watch!” Tutt drew his pistol. Wild Bill shot his gun. The bullet hit Tutt in the heart. Wild Bill Hickok had killed Dave Tutt.

When the sheriff came, Hickok handed over his pistol. Hickok was arrested for killing Dave Tutt. Hickok went to trial at the County Courthouse in Springfield. In the court, they looked at Dave Tutt’s pistol. The revolver had an empty chamber. This could mean that Tutt did shoot his gun. Several of the people who had been around the Square at the time of the shootout said they heard two shots fired. The jury thought that Tutt had fired first, that Kickok was defending himself. The jury decided that Hickok was not guilty. He was free to go.

Wild Bill Hickok left Springfield. He liked to travel and get into adventures. In another shootout, he was killed.

This version of the story is from the "Killing of Dave Tutt by 'Wild Bill,'" in R. I. Holcombe, History of Greene County, Missouri, 1883, Chapter 30

Image, portrait of Wild Bill Hickok, Courtesy of The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County
(For use in conjunction with the SMSU Campus Compact/WorldCom grant project. You must request permission from the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County to print, copy, or download this image for any other use.)