Hickok–Tutt shootout

The Wild Bill Hickok-Davis Tutt shootout was a gunfight that occurred on July 21, 1865 in the town square of Springfield, Missouri between Wild Bill Hickok, and a local cowboy named Davis Tutt. It was considered to be one of the few recorded shootings in the history of the Wild West that consisted of a one-on-one pistol quickdraw duel in a public place, in the manner later made iconic by countless dime novels, radio operas, and Western films such as Gary Cooper in High Noon and Clint Eastwood in the Dollars Trilogy. The first such story of the shootout was detailed in an article in Harper's in 1867, instantly making Wild Bill Hickok a household name.

Prelude

Tutt and Hickok were both dedicated gamblers who frequented the same saloons and had at one point been friends, despite the fact that Tutt was a Confederate Army veteran, while Hickok had been a scout for the Union. Their eventual falling out reportedly occurred following grudges over women; while sources differ, there were rumors that Hickok had once dallied with Tutt's sister, possibly fathering an illegitimate child. Tutt had also been observed paying a great deal of attention to Wild Bill's then paramour, Susanna Moore.

By all accounts, by July 20, 1865 the two men were sworn enemies. Hickok staunchly refused to play cards in any game that included Tutt. Tutt retaliated by openly supporting other local card-players with advice and money in a dedicated attempt to bankrupt Hickok.

The card game

The simmering conflict eventually came to a head during a game of poker at the Old Southern Hotel. Wild Bill was playing against several other local gamblers while Tutt stood nearby, loaning money as needed and "encouraging [them], coaching [them] on how to beat Hickok."

The game was being played for high-stakes, and Hickok did well, winning about $200 (a very substantial sum in 1865) of what was essentially Tutt's money. Irritated by his losses and unwilling to admit defeat, Tutt suddenly reminded Hickok of a $40 debt he owed him from a previous horse trade. Hickok shrugged and paid the sum, but Tutt was unappeased. He then claimed that Hickok owed him an additional $35 debt from a past poker game, back when Hickok was still willing to play against Tutt. "I think you are wrong, Dave," said Hickok. "It's only twenty-five dollars. I have a memorandum in my pocket."

Tutt, sensing a valuable chance, grabbed one of Hickok's most prized possessions off the table, his Waltham Repeater gold pocket watch, and crowed "Fine, I'll just keep your watch 'til you pay me that thirty-five dollars! " Hickok was shocked and livid, but all the other players were Tutt's allies, and the room was crowded; his hands were tied. Humiliated and stone-faced with anger, he quietly warned Tutt not to wear the watch in public. Tutt sneered back, "I intend on wearing it first thing in the morning!"

This was the breaking point for Hickok's patience. "If you do, I'll shoot you," Bill replied bluntly and calmly. "I'm warning you here and now not to come across that town square with it on." Hickok then immediately pocketed the rest of his winnings and left without further incident or conversation. The stage was set for the next day's events.

The gunfight

Though Tutt had initially won a humiliating victory over his rival, Hickok's ultimatum essentially forced his hand. To go back on his very public boast would make everyone think he was afraid of Hickok. And so long as he intended to stay in Springfield, he could not afford to show cowardice. The next day, he arrived at the town square around 10 AM with Hickok's watch openly hanging from his waist pocket. The word quickly spread that Tutt was making good on his pledge to humiliate Hickok, and reached Hickok's own ears within an hour.

At approximately 12 Noon, Hickok was seen calmly approaching the square from the north, his Colt Dragoon revolver in hand. His armed presence caused the crowd to immediately scatter to the safety of nearby buildings, leaving Tutt alone in the center of the square. At a distance of about 75 yards, Hickok stopped, facing Tutt, and called out, "Dave, here I am." He cocked his pistol, holstered it on his hip, and gave a final warning, "Don't you come across here with that watch."

For a few seconds, the men quietly sized each other up. Then Tutt made what turned out to be his final, fatal decision; he reached for his pistol. The two men quick-drew and fired a single shot each, both firing at essentially the same time, the reports combining as one. A moment later, Hickok still stood tall, smoking revolver in hand; Tutt's shot had gone wide. But Tutt himself dropped his pistol, took several stumbling steps, and collapsed, a .44-caliber bullet through his heart. He was dead in moments.

Trial and aftermath

The next day, a warrant was issued for Hickok's arrest. He was arrested two days later, during which time bail was initially denied, as was common in murder cases of the time. Hickok eventually posted a bail of $2,000 on the same day after the magistrate reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter based on the circumstances.

Hickok's manslaughter trial began on August 3, 1865 and lasted three days. 22 witnesses from the square testified at the trial. Hickok's lawyer was the prestigious Colonel John S. Phelps, former wartime governor of Arkansas. The prosecution was led by Major Robert W. Fyan, and the judge was C. B. M'Afee, former commander of the Springfield Army Barracks during the Civil War. The trial transcripts have been lost, but newspaper reports of the trial indicate that Hickok, as expected, claimed self-defense.

While Hickok's claim of self defense was technically illegitimate under the state law pertaining to mutual combat (since he had come to the square armed and in expectation of a fight), the jury decided that Hickok had good reason to defend himself from Tutt; since many men carried pistols wherever they went, and numerous witness reports indicated that Tutt was the first to reach for his pistol, the unwritten rule of the "fair fight" allowed for Hickok to shoot him down in self-defense. The trial ended with an acquittal on August 6, 1865, the jury deliberating for only "an hour or two" before quickly reaching a verdict of not guilty. The verdict was both expected and well in keeping with the "trail law" of the day; as stated by a modern historian, "Nothing better described the times than the fact that dangling a watch held as security for a poker debt was widely regarded as a justifiable provocation for resorting to firearms."

Several weeks later, on September 13, 1865, Colonel George Ward Nichols, a writer for Harper's, sought out Hickok and began the interviews that would eventually turn the then-unknown gunfighter into one of the great legends of the Old West.

David Tutt's body was buried in the Springfield City Cemetery and subsequently moved to the Maple Park Cemetery, where his grave is marked with a gravestone showing a carved pocket watch, playing cards and pistols.

See also

• Gunfight
  
• Mexican standoff
  
• Wild Bill Hickok
  
• Wild West
  
• Western movies