John Edwin Bull was born in England in 1836.

Other than that, we know virtually nothing of his early life, including when or where he first

arrived in the United States.

Hell, truth be told, I'm not even sure that's his real name.

The term John Bull first originated as a satirical character back in the early 1700s,

and for a long time it just sort of described the common

man there in the UK. It's not used very much nowadays, but back in the mid-19th century, it would

not have been unheard of to hear someone from England referred to as a John Bull. So if that was

our topic's name, that'd be quite the coincidence. Nevertheless, it's all we've got, so John Bull, it is.

Now, Bull first appears on record in 1861 when he joined the Gold Rush to Elk Creek Basin

in present-day Montana. Not as a prospector, though. Oh, no, no, no. You see, John Bull was a gambler,

and as such, he learned to extract gold from a poker table rather than a cold crick. And in addition to being a gambler, and as such he learned to extract gold from a poker table rather

than a cold crick.

And in addition to being a gambler, John was also just a tad bit on the deadly side.

Case in point.

In August 1862, Bull gunned down a horse thief by the name of William Arnett.

John attracted Arnett and his two accomplices all the way from Elk City, Idaho, to a little mining camp southeast of Missoula.

Upon arrival, Bull located the thieves in the tent saloon playing Monty and ordered him to surrender.

Be that as it may, I guess Arnett was hard of hearing, and instead of throwing his hands up, he went for his gun,

which left John Bull no other choice but to give him a load of buckshot

straight to the chest. The next day, a minor's court was convened for Arnett's surviving companions,

and one of them, a man described by locals, as rather quiet, reserved, and pleasant,

...