This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we continue here with our American stories.

Wild Bill Hickok, his name conjures up an image of an out-of-control gunslinger.

Here to tell the real story of Wild Bill is Roger McGrath, author of Gunfighters, Highman, and Vigilantes.

He's a U.S. Marine and former history professor at UCLA, and he's appeared on numerous history channel documentaries.

He's also a regular contributor for us here at Our American Stories.

Take it away, McGrath.

Well, Bill Hickok was a gunfighter and lawman of legendary proportions in the Old West,

who also served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Civil War and later during the Indian Wars. Nearly everything he did

in his adult life commanded attention. Even the hand of cards, he was holding when shot

to death in a deadwood saloon. In the 1870s, no Western figure

was better known. He's the subject of hundreds of articles and books. A half dozen movies

have been made about his life, most notably the Plainsman starring Gary Cooper,

and recently Wild Bill starring Jeff Bridges.

There was also a television series, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, which ran for eight seasons

and starred Guy Madison.

Wild Bill Hickok is born James Butler Hickok in 1837 in Homer, Illinois, a small town 80

miles west of Chicago.

The town later changes its name to Troy Grove.

James' God-fearing Christian parents are abolitionists who risk their lives by turning their home

into a station for slaves along the Underground Railroad.

It is during this time that the lean and wiry young man gets his first taste of hostile gunfire

...