Welcome to the Deep Dive. I mean, imagine for
a second the classic stories of the American
Old West. You know the ones, right? Oh yeah,
totally. The devout pioneer, the stoic sheriff,
the ruthless outlaw. Exactly. Usually, you get
this very clear, neat cast of characters. You
have the pioneers seeking religious freedom,
pulling hand cards across the plains. Then you
have the local politicians, the sheriffs trying
to bring some kind of order to a chaotic wilderness.
Yeah, the lawmen. And finally, you have the outlaws,
right? The cold -blooded hitmen lurking on the
edge of town. We like these neat categories because,
well, they make history feel clean and easily
understandable. But history is rarely clean.
It is not. And today we are looking at a single,
fascinating source. It's the historical record
and the Wikipedia article on William Adams Hickman,
better known as Wild Bill Hickman. And he completely
shatters those categories. He really does. Because
he actually occupy all three of those roles at
the exact same time. Yeah. And exploring that
chaotic reality is our mission for you today.
Because this isn't just a biography, it's a look
into the really dark mechanics of frontier justice.
It's a story that forces you to reconsider all
those myths we've built around frontier expansion.
The reality was incredibly messy, highly political,
and often just deeply violent. Hickman lived
from 1815 to 1883. And OK, let's unpack this.
In 1871, this man, who had been a sheriff and
elected territorial legislator and a devout polygamist
pioneer, stood up and publicly confessed to committing
multiple murders. Wow. Multiple murders. Yeah,
and these weren't just random bar room shootouts.
He claimed these were organized, calculated hits
ordered directly by the prophet of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints Brigham
Young. Which is just an astonishing historical
moment. Yeah. But to really grasp what is happening,
the source material, we can't just look at the
violence in a vacuum. Right, there's a whole
context there. Exactly. We have to analyze how
absolute loyalty, extreme survival conditions,
and an entirely localized version of justice
all collided during colonization of Utah. Nobody's
born a self -proclaimed destroying angel. So
to understand the extreme violence of Hickman's
later years, let's set the scene of his early
life. That's a good place to start. So he is
born in Kentucky in 1815, and his family moves
to the Missouri territory when he is just four
years old. And this is before Missouri is even
officially a state. Yeah, he grows up on the
absolute edge of the frontier. He marries his
first wife, Bernetta Burchart, in 1832 when he
is only 17 years old. It paints a picture of
a very typical settler of that era. You know,
he's putting down roots, starting a family early,
and trying to carve out a life in a totally unforgiv
- landscape. Right. There's really nothing in
those early years that suggests he's gonna become
this notorious enforcer. But then we hit 1838
and his life takes a massive pivot. He encounters
members of the LDS Church who are traveling westward
from Ohio to Missouri. And he joins them. Yeah,
he is drawn to their message and agrees to be
baptized. But joining this group at this specific
moment in history puts a massive target on his
back, doesn't it? Oh, it absolutely does. The
early members of the LDS church faced intense,
often lethal persecution. Right. This culminates
in 1844 when the church's founder, Joseph Smith,
is murdered by a mob in Illinois. You really
have to put yourself in Hickman's shoes here.
The whole community is under attack. Exactly.
The community he has devoted his life to is under
a constant existential threat. So he follows
their new leader, Brigham Young. Westward. They're
just fleeing. They are literally fleeing the
United States, heading into what was then Mexican
territory just to survive. And during this time,
Hickman also enters into plural marriage, taking
a second wife in 1846. You have to wonder how
that kind of sustained trauma fundamentally changes
a person's role in a community. It hardens people.
It definitely does, because the sources show
a distinct shift in his behavior. By 1848, the
pioneers are at a temporary encampment in Iowa
called Council Bluffs. This is a turning point.
Big time. This is where Hickman commits what
he later called his first act of violence under
the rule of Brigham Young. He tracks down and
kills a Native American man who had allegedly
threatened the Prophet. Yeah. This dynamic, it
really reminds me of a fixer in a mob movie.
You know the trope. A loyal, devout follower
is slowly transformed into the muscle. That's
a really apt comparison. Right. He becomes the
guy willing to handle the dirty work, the violence,
so that the larger organization can survive and
the leadership can keep their hands clean. What's
fascinating here is how the specific conditions
of their reality allowed that transformation
to happen. You take intense religious persecution,
the very real murder of their founder, and you
combine it with the absolute lawlessness of the
frontier. It's a powder dig. Exactly. In that
specific environment, violence is no longer viewed
as a sin or a crime. It is easily rationalized
as divine protection. Wow. When you believe your
community is mandated by God and that community
is surrounded by enemies, eliminating the threat
feels like a righteous duty. And once that rationalization
is in place, it seems to escalate horrifyingly
fast. Let's fast forward to their arrival in
Utah. Hickman gets to Salt Lake City in 1849
and sets up a homestead about 10 miles south
of the city. But they didn't just walk into an
empty valley. No, far from it. This initiates
the colonization phase. The land was already
occupied by the native Timpanogos people. Right.
So now you have two entirely different cultures
clashing over a landscape where resources like
food and arable land are incredibly scarce. By
1850, this friction reaches a boiling point.
And it turns deadly. Yeah. The sources note that
a native man is murdered by colonists. In response,
the Timpanogos take Mormon cattle. Now, the historical
text refers to this as an informal wear guild.
Which is an interesting term to use. Yeah, for
those who haven't come across that term, it's
an ancient legal concept, essentially a blood
price or compensation paid to a family when someone
is killed. It was meant to prevent endless cycles
of revenge. But the colonists do not see this
as a cultural legal transaction, do they? None.
To the colonists, the taking of cattle isn't
compensation. It is theft and a direct threat
to their winter survival. They view it as an
insult that needs to be answered with overwhelming
force. The local Mormon militia is raised, Hickman
joins up, and this leads directly to the Provo
River Massacre. And the details of this massacre
are just brutal. They really are. Hickman tracks
down and kills the chief of the native band,
a man named Old Elk. But he doesn't just kill
him in combat. Hickman cuts off Old Elk's head
with a bowie knife, brings it all the way back
to Fort Utah, and hangs it from the fort walls.
This is gruesome. Yeah. Ultimately, around 50
Timpanogos men are killed in this campaign, and
the surviving Women and children are taken and
sold as slaves to church members. Which is a
heavy, heavy reality to process. Which I have
to stop and push back on for a second. Was this
level of theatrical brutality literally hacking
a chief's decapitated head from a fort wall,
standard operating procedure for frontier militias,
or was Hickman just uniquely unhinged? It is
a deeply shocking image, I agree. But to understand
it, you have to look at the mechanics of Native
American genocide during this era. This wasn't
a case of a single unhinged man acting out. This
was deliberate, calculated psychological warfare.
Really? Just to send a message? Yes. Hanging
the head of a leader is a message of absolute
dominance directed at the survivors. More importantly,
it is a tool for dehumanization. How so? Well,
if you were going to take surviving women and
children and sell them into slavery, as the colonists
did, you cannot view them as equal human beings.
Ah, I see. The extreme theatrical violence serves
to mentally separate the perpetrators from their
victims, justifying the exploitation that follows.
That is a chilling mechanism. The extreme violence
paves the way for total control. Exactly. And
once they establish this brutal dominance over
the native population, the territorial leadership's
focus shifts. They're no longer just dealing
with indigenous tribes. Non -Mormon settlers,
whom the church referred to as Gentiles, are
moving through the territory, along with representatives
of the U .S. government. The frontier is getting
very crowded. Utah is geographically crucial
for anyone traveling to California or Oregon.
Right. Everyone has to pass through. Yeah, so
control over the resources and the trade routes
becomes the new battleground for the survival
of the community. In 1852, we see exactly how
that control is exercised. The Mormon -controlled
Utah legislature passes a law granting their
own members the exclusive preferred rights to
run ferries over the Green River. Which is a
huge economic advantage. Oh, massive. Now, if
you are a traveler, these ferries are vital.
The mountain men out at Fort Bridger had already
been running ferries there, and they naturally
resist being legislated out of their livelihood.
Of course they do. Rumors start flying that legendary
mountain man Jim Bridger is arming native groups
to fight back. So how does the territory handle
this? They send in the muscle. Yep. Hickman is
sent out with a posse of 150 militiamen. They
attack, kill a couple of the mountain men and
steal hundreds of head of stock and whiskey.
It is a brilliant, if ruthless, exertion of territorial
and economic power. They are literally using
a militia to enforce a local monopoly. Here's
where it gets really interesting to me. Two years
later, in 1854, Brigham Young sends Hickman back
out to the Green River to establish a church
-owned ferry. OK. Hickman arrives, sees the area
is overrun and too volatile, so he pivots. He
builds a highly prosperous trading post at Pacific
Springs instead. So he adapts. Yeah, he is literally
controlling the flow of commerce on the trail.
And his political power explodes back home. This
same guy who's decapitating people and reading
forts is suddenly appointed sheriff, prosecuting
attorney, county assessor, and is even elected
to the Utah Territorial Legislature. It's hard
to wrap your head around. Think about that. It
is exactly like a modern day mafia turf war over
a vital toll road. The economic control is being
fiercely enforced through violence, but it's
all legitimized under the guise of religious
authority and local law. That analogy gets right
to the heart of it. When you have a deeply insular
group that successfully controls the economy,
the dominant religion, and the local law enforcement.
The very definition of justice warps. It totally
changes. Justice simply becomes whatever benefits
the leadership. If an outsider running a ferry
threatens your economic monopoly, the law, which
Hickman represents as both the sheriff and the
enforcer, removes that threat. The lines just
blur completely. Exactly. The lines between a
religious mandate, a legal statute, and a mafia
hit. completely dissolve. And Hickman was the
ultimate tool for that system. I mean, the sources
detail how he was utilized across the board.
In 1856, he's carrying mail from Missouri to
Salt Lake City, a four -month trek with Porter
Rockwell. Then in 1857, he commits what is known
as the Aiken Massacre, killing a traveler named
Horace Buckland, which he again claimed was on
Young's direct orders. And 1857 is a critical
year. Yeah, because that same year... The U .S.
government actually sends the army to Utah to
install a non -Mormon governor. This kicks off
the Utah war. Hickman plays a massive role here,
too. But he doesn't fight them in pitched battles,
right? No. A local militia cannot defeat the
U .S. army in an open field. That would be suicide.
Instead, Hickman uses guerrilla tactics. He and
other militiamen torch Fort Bridger to the ground
so the army cannot use it for shelter. Wow. They
burn U .S. Army supply trains, destroying thousands
of pounds of provisions, starving the federal
troops and forcing them to stall their advance
into the territory. He's just relentlessly protecting
the territory. Hickman is acting as the ultimate
shield for the community. He's at the absolute
height of his power and influence during this
time. But absolute power and loyalty in an authoritarian
system always come with a breaking point. Eventually,
everyone finds a line they refuse to cross. Even
someone like Hickman. Exactly. For Hickman, despite
his immense power and the sheer volume of violence
he had already committed, he finally hits his
limit. The sources indicate the rift starts around
1863. He signs a petition alongside non -Mormons
to pardon prisoners from a group called the Morisites.
For context, the Morisites were a minor breakaway
religious sect that had violently clashed with
the territorial militia. Okay. So for a loyal
enforcer like Hickman to publicly side with them
even just by signing a pardon petition was a
massive red flag to the leadership. It's a small
crack in his loyalty, but the ultimate break
comes later that year. Hickman claims that Brigham
Young ordered him to assassinate US Army General
Patrick Edward Connor. That is a massive escalation.
Yeah. Now, General Connor was stationed in Utah
and was a massive thorn in the church's side.
Interestingly, Hickman had actually been working
as a scout for General Connor. Really? Yeah.
So when given the order, Hickman flat out refuses.
He tells the prophet, it shan't be done. I will
see to that myself. Oh, wow. And the fallout
is immediate and catastrophic. the church -run
probate court throws him in jail. While he's
locked up, his neighbors expropriate his property
at the behest of their local bishop. It is a
stunning reversal. He is systematically stripped
of everything that gave him power, status, and
financial security in a matter of days. Completely
wiped out. And remember, this is a prominent
polygamist. He has 10 wives, and depending on
the historical record, somewhere between 36 and
39 children. It's a massive family. The church
actively encourages his family to abandon him.
Ultimately, nine of his 10 wives leave. He is
officially excommunicated in 1868. He has to
flee the territory entirely, running to California
and Nevada just to work in mining camps, constantly
fearing for his life. But let me push back on
his motivations here. OK, go ahead. Imagine you
are Hickman. You have ruthlessly killed Native
Americans, mountain men, and random travelers
without blinking. Why suddenly draw the line
at General Conn? That's the big question. Was
this actually so? And as an enemy, hunted and
estranged from his massive family, Hickman decides
he has nothing left to lose. In 1871, he is interrogated
by Deputy Marshal H. Gilson. The federal government
is trying to build a case against Brigham Young
for orchestrating territorial murders. Hickman
officially confesses to the murder of a man named
Richard Yates, stating it was done at Young's
request. That's a huge betrayal of the leadership.
Huge. Because he is now testifying against the
most powerful man in the territory, Hickman has
to be held under military guard at Fort Douglas
just to stay alive. It is a striking visual.
The former Territorial Sheriff, the man who used
to enforce the law, is now hiding behind federal
troops to protect himself from the very community
he helped build. While he's locked up at Fort
Douglas testifying to a grand jury, he decides
to get his entire story on paper. He writes his
autobiography as one does. Yeah, right. Right.
It gets fact checked by a journalist named J.
H. Beadle and is published under the incredibly
sensational title. Brigham's Destroying Angel.
Quite the title. But if Hickman was hoping to
bring down the leadership or find some grand
justice, it never really materializes. Brigham
Young dies in 1877 before he can ever be brought
to trial on these charges. It just fizzles out.
Yeah. Because of his cooperation, Hickman is
never convicted of the crimes he confessed to.
He eventually wanders off and dies out in the
Wind River Mountains of Wyoming in 1883. He fades
away into obscurity, but the shadow he casts
over the region's history is remarkably long.
It really is. His legacy is entirely bizarre.
Think about it. Despite his public confessions
of being a hitman, his name is stamped all over
the geography of Utah today. It's everywhere.
You have East Hickman Canyon, Hickman Pass, Hickman
Springs. There is literally a beautiful, massive
rock formation in Capitol Reef National Park
called the Hickman Natural Bridge. Wow. And his
genealogical footprint staggering. From those
30 plus children he is the ancestor of famous
Mormon author Annalise Scarin, the incredibly
prominent LDS artist Minerva Tykert, and even
the famous science fiction author Tracy Hickman.
That's wild. It boggles my mind that a confessed
hitman has beautiful state canyons named in his
honor and a sprawling family tree of prominent
cultural figures. It speaks volumes about how
history inevitably sanitizes the frontier. To
a modern tourist hiking through Capitol Reef
National Park, the name Wild Bill Hickman probably
just sounds like a fun, rustic cowboy character.
Yeah, like a theme park ride or something. Right.
It evokes a sense of rugged adventure, but that
naming completely erases the blood -soaked reality
of how those lands were violently conquered.
It really does. It glosses over the indigenous
people who were displaced or murdered, and it
ignores the heavy, often lethal price of religious
colonization. Yeah. The landscape remembers his
name. but it completely forgets the mechanics
of his crimes. Which brings us right back to
where we started. Hickman's life proves that
the history of the American West is infinitely
more complex, politically entangled, and morally
gray than the simple cowboy myths suggest. He
was the devout convert fleeing persecution, the
ruthless enforcer securing the frontier, the
powerful politician controlling trade, and ultimately,
the exiled outcast hunted by his own people.
So what does this all mean? It's a lot to take
in. It is. How does a legacy like that finally
settle into the historical record? I think there's
one last detail from our source that perfectly
captures the profound weirdness of this entire
story. There is. Despite being officially excommunicated,
despite publicly turning on the prophet and collaborating
with federal authorities, and despite confessing
imprint to multiple horrific murders, uh, while
Bill Hickman was rebaptized by proxy into the
LDS church on May 5th, 1934. Wow. For those unfamiliar,
this is an LDS practice where a living person
is baptized on behalf of someone who has died,
essentially offering them salvation and membership
in the afterlife. They reclaimed him half a century
after he died alone in Wyoming, which leaves
you with a fascinating question to ponder on
your own. Why would an institution go out of
its way to officially reclaim the soul of its
most notorious, self -proclaimed, destroying
angel decades after the dust had settled? It's
a haunting question. It really is. It makes you
wonder, when the categories of devout saint and
ruthless hitman blur that deeply, maybe the history
books and the ledgers of eternity just don't
know what to do with you. Thank you for joining
us on this deep dive.