The “Deadman’s hand” in poker is named for the way Wild Bill was killed. He was playing poker in a saloon, drinking with a group of men, when a very drunk man at his table got a little too upset about his losing hand.
The man, Jack McCall, left, but came back the next night, stormed through the doors and shot Bill. He was a holding a pair of aces and eights: a Deadman’s hand.
Wild Bill Hickok and Jane met on the train headed out to Deadwood. This fact was verified later by another person who was on the train at the time, which contradicts what Jane wrote in her autobiography.
Things like that little hiccup are a big part of the reason why her book should be taken with a grain of salt.
No matter how the two wound up spending time together, they did. Once they’d met, they hit it off instantly, and were often seen together out and about.
However, rumors of them being any more than friends were left unconfirmed. Jane didn’t know Wild Bill for very long before his impending untimely death.
Much like Bonnie would have done if one of her fellow gang members was killed - Jane got mad. But then, she set out on the hunt to get even. She wasn’t about to let the man who killed her friend over a game of poker get away with it.
After all, she was Calamity Jane. Luckily, before she could get to him, the authorities caught up with him and he was killed by the system.
In her early 50’s, Jane succumbed to pneumonia, before the doctor could get out to visit her. She may have passed on, but she would be anything but forgotten.
In fact, as is the case with so many people, her fame and following only increased tenfold after her death.