Long before he became acting sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas, and later marshal of Abilene, also Kansas, James Butler Hickok had served in several law enforcement capacities. His first appointment was as one of four constables elected early in 1858 by the citizens of Monticello, Johnson County, Kansas, to serve the local magistrates. Then came the Civil War. “William Hickok” as he was known to most of his companions during the War before the more familiar “Wild Bill” earned him notor


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