Deadwood

A fifteen mile drive from Sturgis, where we have our RV, and we were in Deadwood. We found the cemetery where Wild Bill Hickok was laid to rest after being shot in the back of the head at a card game. Calamity Jane’s dying wish was to be buried next to Wild Bill even though they were not married or ever in a relationship.    Her wish was granted since he died first and had no say. The cemetery’s overlook gave a great view of the town.     

Kevin Costner made the movie “Dancing With Wolves”  in Deadwood and he now owns a hotel/casino and a tour bus company here. Tommy and I took his tour, a one hour bus ride around town, which gave an overview of the towns history. After the tour we strolled through some of the old hotels, including the one owned by Kevin Costner.             Tommy couldn’t resist trying the slots for a bit.      Wow he hit it big! 160! That’s right, he won $1 and 60 cents on the nickel machine on his $1 investment. We are living large! At 3pm we went to the Saloon #10, where Wild Bill was shot, for a reenactment of the event.           Prior to the show, Wild Bill gathered some members of the audience to help with the show, four in total. A riverboat captain, a saloon owner, a barkeep, and Charlie Rich, Wild Bills friend. Oh Yes, Tommy was Charlie Rich. The volunteer actors played cards while Wild Bill answered the audiences questions. This guy was so good. He took the questions that were asked and turned it into a one man play. He kept our attention as he spoke to the crowd as Wild Bill for an hour, giving very detailed answers to the questions. Wow he was so good, I wished the show lasted another hour. When that portion of the show was over, the reenactment of the slaying took place. Wild Bill came into Saloon #10 for a drink and a card game. The only chair in the game that was open was the chair that would put his back to the door. Not liking this chair he tried to get the others to change chairs. Since it was bad luck to switch seats in the middle of the game, no one would change and Wild Bill was forced to take the seat leaving his back to the door. A drunken man, Jack McCall, came into the Saloon and for an unknown reason he pulled his gun and shot Wild Bill in the back of the head. Wild Bill, former scout and friend of General Custer, former US Marshall and sheriff, was dead at age 39.

After the show Wild Bill took time to have pictures taken with the audience. What a great show. We really enjoyed ourselves. We tooled around town for a bit longer until a storm came up bringing us back to the RV. The storm brought us a really pretty sky.