Nuttal & Mann's

Possible location of the original Nuttal & Mann's saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was killed, 624 Main Street, Deadwood

Nuttal & Mann’s was a saloon located in Deadwood, South Dakota, and the deathplace of Wild Bill Hickok. It was later renamed the Number (No.) 10 Saloon. The current Saloon #10 is not in the same location as the original Nuttal & Mann's.

The Assassination of Wild Bill Hickock

On the evening of August 1, 1876, Wild Bill Hickock was playing poker with a group of men. One of the men, Jack McCall, had been playing poorly and after losing his final hand, Wild Bill returned some of his losings and suggested he get something to eat with the money. It is believed that McCall took this gesture to be condescending. The next day, Wild Bill entered the Nuttall & Mann's saloon and while drinking at the bar, was invited to join the poker game. Wild Bill always preferred to sit with his back against the wall to avoid being vulnerable to attack from an adversary. However the only seat available in the game had its back to the door of the saloon. He asked one of the players, Charlie Rich, to switch seats but was refused and so reluctantly took the available seat. Subsequently, McCall entered the saloon, calmly walked up behind Wild Bill and shouted "Take that!" as he shot him in the back of the head with a .45 caliber double-action revolver. The bullet exited through Wild Bill's cheek and hit Captain Massie, another poker player, in the wrist. McCall fled, and a few people attempted to revive Wild Bill, although such attempts were ultimately futile, as he likely died instantly from the bullet wound to the head. The poker hand Hickock was holding when he was shot, was a pair of eights and a pair of Aces, all black, which would eventually become famously known as the "dead man's hand".^[1]

Jack McCall was apprehended as he attempted to flee and was given a trial by which he was acquitted of the murder, having claimed he was avenging his brother's death. However less than a month later he was re-charged with the murder, on August 29, after bragging about what he had done. Although this was considered double jeopardy in the United States, Deadwood lay within territory granted to Native Americans and therefore technically was a lawless town. He was brought back to Yankton, South Dakota to be arraigned. At his second trial McCall was found guilty of the murder of Wild Bill Hickok and was promptly hanged on March 1, 1877. He was buried with the noose around his neck. ^[2]

After the Assassination and Present State

The original building burned down in 1879, and the new I.H. Chase Building was built in 1898, which housed a clothing store until 1903. When Chase moved out, Frank X. Smith opened a beer hall, and later it housed the Eagle Inn, the sign of which still hangs on the upper portion of the building. Today, it remains vacant, as many of its decorations have been moved to its current location, renamed the No. 10 Saloon, including the chair Wild Bill died in. Many people mistakenly believe Wild Bill was shot in the current location of the No. 10 Saloon, although that is only the new location. The building houses a sign that says it was the actual place Wild Bill was shot.

External links

• http://www.legendsofamerica.com/picturepages/PP-Deadwood18-Number10Saloon.html

References

1. ^ http://www.legendsofamerica.com/picturepages/PP-Deadwood18-Number10Saloon.html
2. ^ http://www.rateitall.com/i-2191271-nuttal-manns-saloon-no-10-deadwood.aspx