The McCanles Gang was an alleged outlaw gang active in the early 1860s that was accused of train robbery, bank robbery, cattle rustling, horse theft, and murder. On July 12, 1861, some of its supposed members, including alleged leader David Colbert McCanles, were killed by "Wild Bill" Hickok during a confrontation at a Pony Express station in the Nebraska Territory. The incident was among the earliest to frame Hickok's later reputation as a legendary gunfighter.
David C. McCanles, 1860
James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, c. early 1860s
James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation.
James B. Hickok in the 1860s, during his pre-gunfighter days
David C. McCanles, alleged leader of the McCanles Gang, in 1860
Wild Bill Hickok in 1869
Hickok, Texas Jack Omohundro, and Buffalo Bill Cody as the "Scouts of the Plains" in 1873