was James B. Hickok; he afterwards became famous as "Wild
Bill, the Scout of the Plains"--though why he was so called I never
could ascertain--and from this time forward I shall refer to him by
his popular nickname. He was ten years my senior--a tall, handsome,
magnificently built and powerful young fellow, who could out-run,
out-jump and out-fight any man in the train. He was generally admitted
to be the best man physically, in the employ of Russell, Majors &
Waddell; and of his bravery there was not a doubt. General Custer, in
his "Life on the Plains," thus speaks of Wild Bill:

* * * * *

"Among the white scouts were numbered some of the most noted of their
class. The most prominent man among them was 'Wild Bill,' whose highly
varied career was made the subject of an illustrated sketch in one of the
popular monthly periodicals a few years ago. 'Wild Bill' was a strange
character, just the one which a novelist might gloat over. He was a
plains-man in every sense of the word, yet unlike any other of his class.
In person he was about six feet and one inch in height, straight as the
straightest of the warriors whose implacable foe he was. He had broad
shoulders, well-formed chest and limbs, and a face strikingly handsome; a
sharp, clear blue eye, which stared you straight in the face when in
conversation; a finely shaped nose, inclined to be aquiline; a
well-turned mouth, with lips only partially concealed by a handsome
moustache. His hair and complexion were those of the perfect blonde. The
former was worn in uncut ringlets, falling carelessly over his powerfully
formed shoulders. Add to this figure a costume blending the immaculate
neatness of the dandy with the extravagant taste and style of the
frontiersman, and you have Wild Bill.... Whether on foot or on horseback,
he was one of the most perfect types of physical manhood I ever saw.

"Of his courage there could be no question; it had been brought to the
test on too many occasions to admit of a doubt. His skill in the use of
the pistol and rifle was unerring; while his deportment was exactly the
opposite of what might be expected from a man of his surroundings. It was
entirely free from all bluster or bravado. He seldom spoke himself unless
requested to do so. His conversation, strange to say, never bordered
either on the vulgar or blasphemous. His influence among the frontiersmen
was unbounded, his word was law; and many are the per