The West’s Forgotten Scout

“Comanche Jack” Stilwell is a name little remembered today, but an 1868 battle made him well known in his lifetime. The Beecher Island affair was so prominently reported throughout the country that Jack became famous before Buffalo Bill Cody achieved a large degree of attention—Cody wouldn’t receive the Medal of Honor until 1872. Wild Bill Hickok’s career was still young at the time; only the year before, 1867, Harper’s gave him international recognition. Stilwell was better k