Wild Bill Hickok's Deadwood "A killing or two each day or night was not uncommon"

DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA

Deadwood now, is nothing like it was when Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Nathan Bernard and many others you may have read about, when the likes of dirty, old miners, prostitutes and drunks were the occupants of this town.
As I entered Deadwood, years ago, I recall riding down the hill into town and passing the towering Mineral Palace Hotel, where we eventually stayed the night. The Mineral Palace
Hotel at the time, as I recall was the largest structure in the town, hardly looking like the buildings that were lining the short Main Street in 1876 when Hickok was murdered. At that time the small shops looked like sheds, the saloons were quickly thrown together, two story hotels with the entire first floor crammed with tables and chairs where the drinking was done and aside from the gambling area. The bar was a bartender standing behind a row of large wooden kegs with large planks of boards used for the bar top.

A killing or two each day or night was not uncommon. Hardly a twenty-four hour period went by without somebody getting killed for one reason or another. According to the journal of Nathan Bernard, in the six weeks before Wild Bill was shot, Nathan never heard of anybody 'striking it rich'. In fact during the following year, Nathan's 'rage year', he knew of nobody ever finding anything of value. During this 'rage year' it was rare to see Nathan Bernard in town at all. It was known to all in town it was wise to be anywhere else than be in town walking the Main Street when Nathan was in town.

After the trials of Jack McCall it was also rare to see Calamity Jane in Deadwood also. No mention of her was noted in Nathans journal. He apparently never saw her again. According to his journal When Nathan arrived back in Boston, he put his gun, holster, and boots away, along with all his western attire and never spoke the words Wild Bill again, but often when his wife, Fancy would arrive home from shopping or wherever she had been she found Nathan sitting in his favorite chair, crying.

For further blogs check this site out daily. Or, read the novel:
Wild Bill Hickok- His last six weeks.
by
Dan Goldstein

Need information about Wild Bill Hickok?

Whatever info you need about Wild Bill Hickok or Nathan Bernard, e-mail me at: Dansbooks@embarqmail.com . If I don't have the answers to your query, I will either find your answer from my contacts in Deadwood or tell you where to find it. Although, if you read my book you may find your answer there. You will also find a number of events you never heard about before.

The Gambler - Wild Bill Hickok and Nathan Bernard

He was a gambler, army scout, sheriff among other jobs, this man called Wild Bill Hickok. Nathan Bernard, at age 14 headed out on his adventure from Boston to the West to meet his dime store novel hero, Wild Bill Hickok. (Hickok's legal name was James Butler Hickok). Upon their meeting, they hit it off quite well and Nathan Bernard and Wild Bill became like father and son. Wild Bill was never aware that Nathan Bernard was keeping a journal of the events as they were happening from day to day. It was this journal which Nathan passed down to his son James, in turn passed down to James' son Butler. This journal was read to me slowly, word by misspelled word to enable me to scribble the words down into my small notebook.
This note book was then lost during my permanent move to Florida. Years later (in 2008) my daughter found the notebook in a box I had left in her attic and sent it down to me.
To read what happened from there, read my prior and further blogs.

Hickok's sidekick faster than all others?

Who do you think was the fastest gun in the West? Wyatt Earp, John Wesley Hardin? Billy the Kid? The answer is, none of these! According to Wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp it was a sixteen year old kid Jewish boy from Boston, Nathan Bernard !

My lost note pad of Wild Bill Hickok and his sidekick, Nathan Bernard

Nathan Bernard passed down this journal to his son James, who in turn passed it down to his son Butler. The journal, which they wouldn't allow me to lay a finger on, was read to me word for miss spelled word slowly to enable me to scribble my own notes into my small note pad. This note pad was lost during my move to Florida permanently. Until my daughter up north was rummaging through a box in her attic, which I left behind, came upon the journal. When she sent the note pad down to me in Naples, I held it in my hand not knowing what I should do with it. At this time I was writing novels and decided I should write a novel about what I had scribbled into this valuable note pad.

Events of Wild Bill Hickok's last days

During the next two and a half days, myself and the two old men, sat in their parlor as they read to me from a journal which Nathan Bernard had written during his six weeks as Wild Bill Hickok's very close friend. This actual journal written in 1876 was the basis of this book, 'Wild Bill Hickok His Last Six Weeks'.

The happenstance of this Wild Bill Hickok book

I was born in Revere, Mass. a small beach town north of Boston. I moved to Naples part time in the 1990's. I took a trip one year back to my beach town, to reminisce while sitting on the sea wall, watching the small waves lapping at the shore line. I felt a tapping on my shoulder, it was a man who asked, "Aren't you Danny Goldstein?" He told me we played football together back in high school, and he told me his name which I didn't recognize nor did I recognize his face. All I remember was the name he told me, 'Joe' something. We talked about what we were doing with our lives. I mentioned that I had been writing children stories. He offered to me the chance to meet with the son of Nathan Bernard. I asked, "Who is Nathan Bernard?" He explained that Nathan Bernard was the side kick of the famous Wild Bill Hickok, during the short time he was in deadwood, South Dakota. A few days later I heard from 'Joe'. He had set up a meet with the old son , James Hickok, and his son Butler.