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THE BLACK HILLS PIONEER
VOL. 1 DEADWOOD CITY, BLACK HILLS, THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1876 NO. 1
WILDBILLSHOT!
LOT 1180 father because she was an only child who never married and
Wild Bill Hickok’s Historic Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Old Army Revolver with Documentation - Serial no. 29963, 32 Long RF cal., 6 inch solid rib bbl., blue finish, rosewood grips. This historic Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 is solidly documented as owned and carried by the model’s most famous user: Wild Bill Hickok, and listed by serial number in a sworn affidavit. It is also the opinion of many historians that this very gun was on Hickok’s person when he was killed in Deadwood, Colorado. This model was reported to have been one of Hickok’s favorite side-arms at the time of his death,
with many experts believing that Hickok’s failing eyesight
and physical attributes prompted him to move to the slightly smaller, lighter and more accurate model vs. the Colt 1851 Navy that he used earlier in life. It was also easier to carry and conceal. Many publications note that Hickok was carrying a
No. 2 when he was murdered while holding the famous “Dead Man’s Hand” during a poker game in Mann & Nuttall’s Number 10 Saloon in the Dakota Territory on August 2,1876, and Ed McGivern’s book, “Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting” provides the most significant details. On pages 302 and 303, McGivern provides significant provenance for this revolver. Writing in
the 1930s and after actually visiting Deadwood personally,
he states, Mrs. Emil Willoth “’has Wild Bill’s gun sealed up in a case just as her husband left it when he died, and she won’t allow it to be taken out.’ The gun was given to Mr. Willoth by Seth Bullock, Lawrence County’s first sheriff.” He also writes, “The Willoth gun is quite generally established as being one of Wild Bill’s guns, and all reports seem to support such a claim convincingly.” Ed McGivern is renowned as one of the best hand-gunners that ever lived. His Guinness world record for “The greatest rapid-fire feat” (set on August 20, 1932 at the Lead Club Range, South Dakota) still stands. He and friend Elmer Keith, were the most famous promoters of Magnum Revolvers with McGivern so adept and accurate with their use, that he became an instructor to Police Agencies across the United States to include the FBI. His famous book is still in print today and his opinions, work ethic and integrity were of the highest caliber.
Included with the revolver is a 2013 affidavit from Leona H. Arder of St. Charles, Illinois. In it, she states that she personally knew JoAnn Willoth of Deadwood, South Dakota, after the latter moved to Chicago and worked at the Merchandise Mart with Arder’s father, Leo Zymetzke. In the spring of 1972, she personally witnessed Willoth present the revolver to Zymetzke and witnessed Willoth’s explanation of the revolver’s history and that it “belonged to Wild Bill Hickok” JoAnn further explained that she was giving the gun to the undersigned’s
had no children and therefore she had no immediate family to make a bequest of the gun.” Arder then states that her father in turn left the gun to her for the benefit of her sons and
that the gun was kept in her personal possession. Additional, included documentation confirms that Leo Zymetzke worked at The Merchandise Mart from 1930 to 1990, that Hazel Willoth (1888-1957) of Deadwood, South Dakota, died after living in Chicago for 17 years, and that JoAnn Willoth (1918-1996) was the daughter of Emil (1876-1930) and Hazel Willoth, never married, and died while living in Chicago. A photograph of Leo Zymetzke with the revolver framed on the wall behind him exists.
The likely scenario indicates through reports that Hickok’s effects were auctioned/raffled/sold off to pay for his funeral. Bullock may have either purchased the revolver or had
it in his custody following Hickok’s murder, having
retained it initially as evidence from the murder given the case was not fully resolved until the hanging of McCall on March 1, 1877. (Bullock was made the de-facto Sheriff of Deadwood August 21, 1876 after Hickok’s murder and was officially appointed Sheriff of the entire county by then Governor Pennington of the Dakota Territory in March of 1877). Bullock remained
in Deadwood until his death on September 23, 1919, and thus his life overlapped with Emil Willoth’s and his in-laws. Bullock therefore could have given the gun to Willoth at any time, possibly befriending Willoth as a small boy who later became a business associate and prominent citizen in Deadwood, dying there in 1930. His obituary notes that he married Hazel Fishel, daughter of Adolph Fishel, in 1910. She received the revolver
after his death, and, as McGivern noted, kept it carefully.
Information on the Fishels is as follows; Per A.T. Andreas’“Historical Atlas of Dakota” (1884), Max
Fishel & Bro. was established in Deadwood in 1876, the year of Hickok’s murder, as “dealers in stationery, fancy goods, cigars
and tobaccos.”
"I have never insulted man or woman in my life, but if you knew what a wholesome regard I have for damn liars and rascals they would be liable to keep out of my way."
-Bill Hickok
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