In a blog post of mine from 2013, I posted:
Wild Bill's Last Hand
I knew that if I wrote anything about Wild Bill Hickock that the long knives would come out.
Yes, I knew that Bill died with his back to the door. What I was commenting on was the almost unconscious habit that I and some other veterans exhibit of placing our backs to the wall.
My good Marine friend, the Late, Great Roy, would always try to arrive at a restaurant or coffee shop before me, so as to have the most secure seat.
Roy passed years ago from health complications of Agent Orange. Rest easy, Roy. I've got your seat.
Interestingly, this reference to Hickok's poker hand has garnered more comments than almost any other piece of the four "Steward" stories.
I'll only say that there is a lot of contradictory information being circulated about Wild Bill's death. What lessons can we draw from it? You pays your money and takes your choice.
On 2022-12-13 Desert Baseballer said:
> You wrote "(even though it hadn’t helped Wild Bill Hickok)".
>
> I have heard the day he drew his "dead man's hand" he had been
> convinced to sit with his back NOT against the wall. He was shot
> from the back of his head.
>
> FWIW, YlMMV.