John Bull (1836–1929) was a little-known yet nonetheless deadly
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
American Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
. He is featured in the book ''"Deadly Dozen"'', written by
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
Robert K. DeArment as one of the twelve most underrated gunmen of the 19th century west.
Early life
Born John Edwin Bull, in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, little more is known of his early life. It is unknown precisely when he ventured to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, but is believed to have been some time during the 1850s. He first appeared, in historical texts, in 1861, as a professional
gambler
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...
who made his way around mining
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
s.
On August 25, 1862, he was involved in a gunfight while in the mining camp of Gold Creek, located in
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana.
Original boundaries
T ...
. He entered the town stating his name was John Bull, and that he and his companion, a man named Fox, were on the trail of horse thieves who had stolen six valuable horses in
Elk City, Idaho
Elk City is a census-designated place in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 202.saloon, Bull stepped inside with a double barrel shotgun, and demanded both men throw up their hands and surrender. Arnett immediately grabbed his pistol lying on the table beside him, at which point Bull shot him with one blast from his shotgun in the chest, killing him instantly. Jermagin surrendered, and he and Spillman were tried the next morning in a makeshift
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
. Jermagin was able to successfully argue that he played no part in the horse theft. However, Spillman was convicted and sentenced to
hang
Hang or Hanging may refer to:
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* Choe Hang (disambiguation), various people
* Luciano Hang (born 1962/1963), Brazilian billionaire businessman
* Ren Hang (disambiguation), various people
Law
* Hanging, a form of capital punishment
Arts, e ...
. The next morning, he was executed.
At this time mining camps in Nevada Territory were booming, most prominent Aurora, and then Austin. John Bull settled at the silver camp of Austin, in the center of the Territory. Early in 1864 there came about a nationalistic dispute over who was “chief” in Austin - Irish vs. English. In deference to the late editorial against dueling with pistols and knives, the use of those weapons was rejected by involved parties. It so happened another talent of Johnny Bull was fisticuffs. The issue was finally settled between Bull and a particular Irishman. They met up late at night on February 21, in a saloon at the corner of Main and Cedar Streets. Inside, within the presence of an excited crowd, the two combatants (with their seconds) came to an agreement with regard to the rules of pugilism to be allowed:
By 1865 Bull had partnered with Langford Peel, they were moving together next to Belmont, Nevada. ontana Post - Aug. 4, 1867
Life and reputation
Duel with Langford M. Peel
Bull was next heard of in 1866, when he arrived in
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Virginia City developed as a boom ...
. By this time, he was partnered in a gambling operation with fellow Englishman Langford M. Peel, known as "Farmer" Peel, a former soldier. During this time, famed writer
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
became friends with Bull, writing later of how well they had gotten along, and particularly of a joke that Bull had once pulled on Twain during the winter of 1866.
Bull and Peel, by early 1867, had moved their operations on to
Belmont, Nevada
Belmont is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada, United States along former State Route 82. The town is a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is Nevada Historical Marker number 138.
History
Belmont was establi ...
, and then to
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. While in Salt Lake City, the two argued, and for a time separated. However, by the summer of 1867 the two were working together again, by this time in
Helena, Montana
Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County.
Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...
. On the night of July 22, 1867, Peel and Bull were seated at a table in the "Greer Brothers Exchange Saloon", and for some reason the argument they had previously had was rekindled. Both men jumped to their feet and began arguing loudly.
Peel slapped Bull in the face with one hand, and pulled his gun with the other. Bull raised his hands, stating, "I am unarmed". Peel responded that he should go and arm himself, then return. Bull retreated to his room, quickly wrote down a makeshift
will
Will may refer to:
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* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
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...
for the disposition of his property in the event of his death, then took his gun. Peel waited in the saloon, but after an hour he thought that Bull had already fled from his challenge, and therefore left.
By the time Bull had returned, Peel had already left the saloon and moved down the street to the "Chase Saloon" to meet his girlfriend,
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
Belle Neil. Peel then escorted Neil to retire to his room. As they walked outside onto Helena's Main Street, they were met by Bull. Immediately, the two men then drew their guns, but Peel's arm was unintentionally locked by a shocked Niel, who was tugging his arm and slowing his draw. Bull managed to get off two shots, and Peel fell face down into the street. Bull then walked up calmly, and fired a third round into Peel's head, killing him.
Town Marshal John Xavier "X" Beidler took Bull into custody. That night, a lynch mob gathered, intent on hanging Bull, but Beidler backed them down. In the trial that followed, the jury failed to convict, and Bull was released. He immediately left Helena, traveling to
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...
. Langford Peel had been known to have killed at least four men before, Bull killing him, and thus Bull was treated as a man with somewhat of a reputation since it was he that killed Peel. In fact, he was treated as somewhat of a celebrity while in Cheyenne.
Further gunfights
In 1868, now again in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, Bull married to a woman described as having been gorgeous and lady like, but ill-suited for his lifestyle. Bull thus moved with her to
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and there the two had two children. She died of illness in 1872, and Bull placed his children in
foster home
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...
s. By the following year he was in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, again operating as a gambler.''Deadly Dozen: Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West: Volume 3'' p. 315
Shortly before midnight, on July 12, 1873, while in the company of gambler George Mehaffy, Bull and Mehaffy stabbed railroad employee Samual Atwood outside the "Crystal Saloon" in Omaha, due to Atwood warning others that Bull was a crooked gambler running a crooked game. Town Marshal Gilbert Rustin gathered several policemen and went searching for the two men, locating Bull inside "Sullivan's Saloon". When Rustin approached him, Bull produced his pistol, refusing to be arrested, causing Rustin to withdraw. Bull then ran all the patrons out of the saloon, and calmly sat down in a chair, falling asleep. When awakened, he quietly submitted to arrest without resistance.
Atwood was still alive, but in serious condition, thus a mob of supporters is threatening to hang Bull. Mehaffy by this point had also been captured, and both were being held in the local jail. Atwood, when interviewed, implicated Mehaffy as the one attacker he could identify, and thus Bull was released. Mehaffy was later freed on bond following Atwood's recovery, and again began working with Bull in their gambling arrangement. Bull began to move around frequently through the small western towns of the day, often in the company of other gamblers, and often taking part in crooked games meant to heist money from unsuspecting amateur gamblers. He also began dabbling in professional
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, as a promoter.
In 1874, he and Mehaffy were arrested for
armed robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
, citing that they had robbed a man named Wilkinson in a
gin mill
A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...
. In 1875, those charges were dropped, after Bull had gotten released on bond and jumped bail. Due to him having worn out his welcome in that area, Bull moved on to
Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...
in 1876, another boomtown. By 1879 he had settled in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and over the next few years his name often appeared in police reports, often being arrested for public drunkenness and disturbing the peace. While in "The Slaughterhouse" saloon, he was once arrested for disturbing the peace, at which point he resisted knocking one policeman unconscious with a walking stick, after which several other officers beat him into submission.
On the night of October 14, 1880, Bull, now partnered with gambler Jim Moon, became involved in an altercation with two city policemen. Moon's wife and another woman who had been dating Bull also became involved, throwing chinaware at the officers, causing them to retreat. Bull and Moon met the officers, who returned with more policemen, at the front door, pistols drawn, but after seeing that they could not win, both Bull and Moon surrendered. Less than a month later, Moon killed a man named Sam Hall by beating him on the head with his pistol. He was
acquitted
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
on the grounds of
self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
in the trial that followed. Seven months later, Moon, a jealous man, attacked a gambler named Clay Wilson, believing Wilson was paying too much attention to his (Moon's) wife. Wilson shot Moon twice, killing him.
Bull moved on to Denver, where, in January 1882, gambler and associate Jim Bush shot Bull in the foot after an argument. Bull refused to press charges, and let the matter drop. Shortly afterward, he again moved on. In 1898, he was in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
, and attended a show in the "People's Theater" with friend Frisky Barnett. As the two men walked out, Barnett for unknown reasons jammed his lit cigar into Bull's eye, which caused Bull to scream in pain, then draw his pistol. Barnett jumped behind a woman, and drew his own pistol. The two men began firing, both emptying their pistols. One of Bull's shots hit the woman, another took off one of Barnett's fingers. Bull had been shot four times, once in the neck, once in the groin, once in the chin and once in the left arm.
The woman recovered, but Bull was forced to allow his arm to be amputated. Barnett was fined $10 for discharging a firearm in city limits, and released. Bull was expected to die, but hung on for several weeks. He recovered, still carrying a bullet in his neck. In 1921, when the bullet began to bother him, he had it removed in
Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay County, Missouri, Clay and Ray County, Missouri, Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 10,553 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...