I am a naturalised Citizen of the U.S.A., and at this date I have been in the country for 35 years, and a Citizen for over 30 years. I was born and raised in England, and from the age of seven, when a doting aunt gave me a book entitled,“Such Outlaws as Jesse James,” I have been fascinated with, “The Old West.” While still a young man, I was a member of the Colt Combat & Fast Draw section, of the Marylebone Rifle & Pistol Club. A fellow in good standing in that club was Joseph G. Rosa, possibly the most knowledgeable Historian of James Butler Hickok. He told us all one night, when he was in the middle of writing, “They Called Him Wild Bill,” that he had amanged to obtain the confidence of the Hickok Family, and at that time was the ONLY man to have been given complete access to the Hickok Family Papers. I was very interested in Hickok, and had some conversations with Joe Rosa about the man. Now these talks were a very long time ago. Roughly fifty years, I am now 76 years o age, and I was still under 30 at that time. Joe told me, when reconting the story of the gunfight between Tutt and Hickok That after Tutt took hickok’s watch, Tutt was told or asked by hickok, to please not wear the watch in public until he had the oportunity to win it back. That Tutt’s reply was, I will e wearingit on the square tmorrow at 10 AM. That when they walked toward one another, at a distance of between 70 & 75 yards, Tutt pulled a gun from his clothing and fired at Hickok, and missed, Hickok, who was carrying a .44 Dragoon revolver, fired back as soon as he saw Tutt’s move, and he did not miss. Also that before Tutt’s body had hit the ground, Hickok turned towards Tutt’s friends, and politely asked them if they wanted to continue the quarrel on their late friend’s behalf. That all Tutt’s friends emphatically declined! That then Hickok surrendered himself to the Constable!
Now my memory is not what it once was! I shall be 77 next June! But I do believe that Joseph Rosa’s works on Hickok are the definitive works on that Man. I respect Joe Rosa totally, and know that he was a man of great Integrity.
That he would never have written anything he did not truly believe to be the truth. I had a copy of Joseph’s book, but over the years, and in my world travels, it got lost. Perhaps your writer, Mr. Cecil might like to read, or re-read Joseph’s work on this famous Gunfighter, and see if there are any discrepancies between whathe wrote, and what Joseph Rosa wrote in his works on this man. Just my Two Cents worth!
Johnnie Roper,Alias:Gunslinger9378.
Wild Bill usually carried a brace of .36 1851 Navy Colts, but is thought by some to have hauled out a .44 Dragoon for the festivities that day. I rather doubt it as the Dragoon weighed over a pound and a half more than the Navy, making it quite a haul if you needed it quickly, and some anonymous people on the internet claim the .36 had a flatter trajectory. Either way, Hickok was known as a fine shot with a cool head and a killing shot over a 50 to 75-yard distance was within both his and the gun’s capabilities.
About 30 years ago my father bought room for three in the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, about 35 feet from Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, but he chose not to use them and they are available for fans, I suppose. Just sayin’. 
How many is a brace?
Brace: Two identical things. Pistols are about the only things it’s used for anymore. Hickok is seen in a photo with what are said to be his favorites, a pair of heavily-engraved, silver-plated 1851 Navies with carved ivory grips, which he stuck in a belt or a red sash instead of holsters. The man was pure flash.
