TanksPanky: FTJ, Entry 116: The Wildest Town, the Biggest Heads

Another town, another Bill...Hickok, this time. We went from Buffalo Bill to Wild Bill. (Who's next? Mister Bill? Ooooooh noooooo!) And from Montana to South Dakota.

Seems Wild Bill -- born James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876) -- met his end in the notorious town of Deadwood, SD, our destination after our visit in Garryowen, MT.

The town of Deadwood, which in its heyday had more than 50 bars and 30 some brothels, sprang up in 1876, when fortune seekers looking for gold in them thar Black Hills of South Dakota came upon a gulch full of dead trees. And a creek full of gold. Yeeeee ha. Deadwood was born. Everybody came a runnin' to find gold, gamble, and well, dally with loose women.

Unfortunately, so did Wild Bill Hickok, the fastest gun in the West. Notorious for his fast draw, he was assassinated while playing poker in Deadwood's Saloon No.10 -- shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall...coward!!

Wild Bill.

These days, Deadwood survives off tourism and gambling. We spent about $5 and lost it. Typical.

The main drag of Deadwood.

The scene of the crime, not the criminal.

Cool tourist come-on for the town -- just a wooden facade emulating the old days.

We had lunch at Kevin Costner's restaurant, Diamond Lil's, in his Midnight Star Casino building. Memorabilia from his more than 40 movies line the walls.

Beau enjoys his first Moose Drool beer. Awful name, pretty good beer. Pitchman in the making???

Ah yes, Costner earns some more money from us....

During a tour we took (another Costner enterprise -- the guy practically owns the whole town), our crazy tour guide gave us some color commentary about Deadwood and Hickok, then drove us up to his gravesite.

Hickok was good friends with Calamity Jane -- born Martha Jane Cannary Burke -- and she and Wild Bill are buried right next to one another up on Boot Hill (wherever cowboys are buried, the cemetery gets this nickname), otherwise known as Mt. Moriah Cemetery.

The bronze bust behind Beau is Wild Bill's grave. Lots of aces and eights playing cards litter the site. That's the hand Wild Bill had in the poker game he was playing the day he died. These cards are considered bad luck today -- good luck, I guess, if you put them on Bill's grave?

Calamity lies right alongside Bill.

Tatanka Tales

While in Deadwood, we were both intrigued by Kevin Costner's Tatanka, Story of the Bison Interpretive Center, and wanted to scope it out. I thought it was a nonprofit, but now realize it is not. No matter. It is a fascinating "museum" and educational experience.

The introductory film was very moving -- all about Costner's fascination with the bison and the Lakota (Sioux), and his failed efforts to build a hotel in Deadwood that ultimately led to the creation of Tatanka, Story of the Bison.

Much like he did with his award-winning film, Dances With Wolves, Costner tries to tell an important story with Tatanka (which means "bison" in the Lakota language) -- a story that is often overlooked by most people, and is certainly not taught in schools. Costner used his own money ($6 million by some reports) to develop Tatanka and to commission a highly dramatic and huge bronze depiction of a buffalo jump as its centerpiece. The work shows14 bison and three Indians on horseback driving those bison off a cliff (thus, the "jump"). It is simply awe inspiring. Moreover, it is the second or third largest bronze in the world.

Lakota guide Melissa Two Trees, in traditional doeskin garb, gave a terrific presentation that explained her people's history, customs, relationship with the bison, and the purpose of the Tatanka center. She's about 4'10". We went in the teepee -- quite liveable, but we prefer luxury camping.

The buffalo jump bronze is AMAZING and powerful.

The film we saw showed Costner's speech at the grand opening -- he was surprisingly nervous, but his words were moving and heartfelt. I was a bit skeptical about his motivation in the beginning, but he won me over big time. Yeah, yeah, and he's cute.

But think about this: As many as 30- 60 million bison once roamed the Great Plains of North America. After the whites came, this number dwindled to less than 1,000. Wanton, thoughtless greed spurred the invaders to slaughter bison by the thousands, skinning them, and leaving their carcasses to rot in the sun. And by annihilating the bison, they also helped destroy the Plains Indians. We even read a quote from General Sheridan advocating such buffalo slaughters, in hopes it would solve the "Indian problem." Yet another despicable chapter in our history.

The Big Heads

From Deadwood, we were easily able to visit one of the most distinctive and famous U.S. landmarks: Mount Rushmore. Stirring -- one of those "pinch-me" moments: Are we really seeing this?

I know Beau wants to point out that Rushmore was created by Gutzon Borglum, who lived in Stamford, CT, for 10 years. Notice also his blatant promotion of the New York Giants.