Oh, the shark has pretty teeth, dear...

In the last post, I talked about the triple-layer enameloid that is one of the defining characteristics of a modern shark.  That enameloid has an outer single crystallite enameloid/shiny-layered enameloid (SCE/SLE) that resists the spread of cracks in the teeth; a middle parallel-bundled enameloid (PBE) that resists compressional (straight down) force; and an inner tangled-bundled enameloid (TBE) that resists rotational (twisting) forces.  These are tremendous properties for a shark that bites big chunks out of something else and needs to chew them up.  A Cretaceous predator, Squalicorax curvatus from the Western Interior Seaway of Kansas (about 90 million years ago), has teeth that everyone would recognize as shark's teeth.  Squalicorax has a labiolingually compressed (flat) shape, with a strong triangular cusp and a shoulder with serrated edges (like a steak knife).  These teeth are perfect for running up on something even bigger than the shark, slicing out a chunk of prey and chewing it up.

Squalicorax curvatus teeth coated with ammonium chloride to show detail

Squalicorax curvatus would be very recognizable to the casual observer as a shark.  It just LOOKS like a shark.  Mouth behind and below snout, large dorsal fin, fusiform body, mouth full of nasty teeth and big (up to about 10 feet long).  A few extremely well preserved specimens have been found, including a nearly complete skeleton (very rare for cartilage - even calcified cartilage) recently sold by PaleoSearch, Inc. in Hays, KS from the Smoky Hill Chalk of Kansas (about 85 million years ago).

Reconstruction of Squalicorax curvatus  by Dmitry Bogdanov

Exceptional Squalicorax skeleton - absolute once-in-a-lifetime find

Squalicorax skull detail

Squalicorax curvatus SLE and PBE - surface etch.  Size bars: (1,2,6)
1 micron, (3) 100 microns, (4) 50 microns, (5) 5 microns.

There is no argument in the literature that this particular shark is a selachimorph neoselachian (read SHARK).  The external anatomy of Squalicorax curvatus teeth was examined first using teeth that had not been exposed to 10% hydrochloric acid (HCl) (panel 1), treated with HCl for 30 seconds (panel 2) or 3 minutes (panel 3-6).  There is not much relief on the surface of the untreated teeth, but you can easily see randomly oriented enameloid crystallites on the surface of a tooth treated for 30 seconds with 10% HCl.  Longer treatments remove all of this SCE/SLE from the surface and expose the parallel bundled enameloid of the Squalicorax tooth.  Panel three shows the parallel bundles at the level of the serrations in the tooth.  As the parallel bundles approach the serration, they turn direction, so that they point towards the edge of the serration, instead of towards the apex of the tooth.  As you zoom in on the parallel bundles, it is possible to see that there are two populations of bundles; one that runs parallel to the long axis of the tooth, and one that runs perpendicular to the long axis.

Cross section of Squalicorax teeth.  Size bars: (1) 500 microns,
(2,3,6) 50 microns, (4) 20 microns, (5) 5 microns

It is possible to see all three enameloid layers simultaneously in sectioned teeth.  In panel 1, the lighter area is the enameloid and the darker area inside is the dentine of the tooth.  The tooth is embedded in plastic.  In the upper right and lower left of the picture, you can see the serrations (cutting edges) of the teeth.  In panel 2, we are looking at the interface between the enameloid upper right and the dentine (left).  The arrows show where the dentine and enameloid meet.  The TBE (T) is seen next to the dentine (left) in panel 3, and the PBE (P) is to the right.  Panels 4-5 show the interface between the TBE and dentine.  As the dentine is approached, the enameloid becomes more like an SCE/SLE.  The dentine has a structure that looks a lot like bone, with channels for odontoblasts that are surrounded by concentric rings of dentinal material.  Shark teeth have not changed a whole lot in appearance in the past 90 million years.  There are small changes, but those mostly reflect stress introduced onto the tooth what the shark eats.

Almost to the pay-off for the paper.....

Is you is or is you ain't my sharky?

Life was going swell, then work showed up and shot everything to hell.  My writing got in the way of my writing anyway.  So this is what I have been doing instead of writing blog entries.  One line of my research is examining the value of tooth enameloid characteristics in sharks as a way of determining whether they are a "shark ancestor/primitive shark" or a "modern shark".  "Sharks" are generally thought of as fish with a skeleton made out of cartilage (chondrichthyan), a mess of teeth in the mouth that are replaced over time, tooth like scales (denticles) in their skin, and a torpedo- shaped (fusiform) body.  As such, shark remains can be identified from the Devonian Period, over 400 million years ago.

1) Enameloid layers in shark teeth; 2) possible directions of
parallel bundles; 3) sectioning directions of teeth

Shark biologists spend a bit of time arguing about what characteristics make a chondrichthyan a modern shark or a shark ancestor.  The one telling characteristic of the teeth seems to be the structure of the tooth enameloid.  A shark's tooth has a core of dentine, surrounded by fluoroapatite crystals.  Primitive sharks such as the ctenacanths, symmoriids and hybodonts had a single-layered enameloid composed of randomly oriented single crystals of fluroapatite (single crystallite enameloid - SCE).  A modern shark (selachimorph) has a triple-layered enameloid, with an outer layer of SCE (called shiny layered enameloid - SLE) plus two underlying layers of bundled crystals.  The middle layer is composed of bundles arranged in parallel (parallel bundeled enameloid - PBE), while the inner layer next to the dentine is composed of interwoven bundles (tangled-bundled enameloid - TBE).

Looking at these enameloid crystals takes some doing, since they are held in place with smaller "cement" molecules.  Fortunately the enameloid crystals are more acid resistant than are the cement molecules, so 5 sec to 3 minutes exposure of fossil shark teeth to 10% hydrochloric acid is usually enough to see the enameloid, depending on what layer you want to look at, and how you have prepared the teeth.   With whole teeth, 15-30 seconds is enough to see the randomly oriented crystals of the SCE/SLE; while seeing the PBE may take 1-3 minutes.  You can see all of the layers at once if you cut the tooth open (or embed it in plastic and sand it down) and then treat with acid for about 5 seconds.

Gold coated Ptychodus tooth, about 1 cm across

Enameloid crystals are really small, so you have to use a very powerful microscope to see them.  A regular light microscope will usually allow for a 1000X magnification, but you need to magnify these teeth about 5000X to see the individual crystallites of the SCE/SLE well at all.  This requires the use of an electron microscope, which uses a beam of electrons in a vacuum to image a specimen instead of light.  Most biomaterials are natural insulators, which means that they will absorb electrons and not reflect or re-emit them.  To solve this problem, we coat the specimen with a one atom thick layer of gold.  These sharks are all pimped out.  The gold will allow us to see the shape of the surface they are deposited on by reflecting electrons (backscatter) or by absorbing an electron and emitting one in its place (secondary electrons).

Tooth embedded in plastic, ground sandpaper, and coated in gold.
Copper tape is used as a pointer

The Hybodont Tooth

One group of primitive sharks that are seen as being ancestral to the modern shark are the hybodonts.  The first record of hybodontiform sharks is seen in the Mississippian of the Carboniferous Period, about 340 million years old.  The hybodonts were very successful, surviving late into the Cretaceous Period.  This is an evolutionary life of about 270 million years.  Remember that dinosaurs went extinct only 67 million years ago.  The hybodonts had mouths that were not overhung by their noses (rostrum), large cranial scales, barbed spines in front of their dorsal fins, a variety of different denticle types, and SCE on their teeth.

Reconstruction of Onychoselache

One of the early hybodontiforms was Onychoselache.  They were very small, about 10 inches long with teeth that were about 1 mm in maximum dimension.  Their teeth had low, flat crowns for crushing hard shelled organisms.  They had barbed dorsal fin spines, oval hooked denticles on their pectoral fins, and c-shaped denticles along their lateral line (sensory region on flanks of fish).  I have found very similar remains from the 307 million year old Farley Limestone of the Kansas City Group.

Hybodontiform parts:  scale bars(1-5) 1 mm, (6-9) 0.5 mm,
(10-11) 0.2 mm

The remains at the right are from an indeterminate hybodontiform.  There is not adequate material to describe a fish, and while the remains are associated, they are separate bits and pieces.  This is just not enough material to describe an organism down to the species level.  Views 1-5 are various views of a tooth: 1-top (occlusal) view; 2-front (labial); 3-side (lateral); 4-broken side (medial); 5-back (lingual) views.  View 6 is a piece of dorsal fin spine with hooked denticles on the posterior (back) side.  Views 7-9 are denticles from the pectoral (front) fins and 10-11 are denticles from the lateral line.  I sectioned several pieces of these teeth and looked at the structure to make sure that they were really hybodontifom and had an SCE.

Sectioned hybodontiform teeth:  Scale bars: (1)  200 microns;
(2) 10 microns ; (3,4,6) 1 micron; (5) 50 microns

The tooth crown is composed of dentine, which extends in columns up into the enameloid.  In the electron micrographs at left, the dentine is dark and the enameloid is light colored.  In panel 1 you can see columns of dentine approaching the surface of the tooth.  The enameloid has several channels for conducting odontoblast (tooth-building cells) processes through the enameloid (panel 2).  In panels 3-4, randomly distributed enameloid crystals make up the outer layer of the tooth.  Dentinal tubules are seen in section in panel 5.  The junction (arrows) between the dentine (D) and enameloid (E) is seen in panel 6.  The SCE is clearly visible in this section as well.  A channel carrying an arm of an odontoblast cell can be seen between the left two arrows.

That is about 3 months worth of work to get everything done just right.  Next is the last two years of my research life.




Reconstruction by Kahless28

Bodacious Botanicals: Dotted Horsemint

Having studied biology on some level for more than 40 years, I have seen a wide variety of living organisms.  One of the most striking plants that I have seen is the Dotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata).  It grows to about three feet tall, with clusters of yellow tubular flowers with purple spots on the upper leaf axils.  The bracts (leaves near the flowers) turn white to lilac in color.  The stems are square, a hallmark of the mint family.  The leaves are spearhead shaped (lanceolate) to narrowly oblong and have hairs.  This plant grows in sandy soils from Vermont to southeastern Minnesota and down to Florida and Texas.  Interestingly, the dotted horsemint is missing from the Ohio River drainage.  Horsemint tends to grow in colonies, so if you find one plant, you will likely find others.

Also known as the spotted horsemint or spotted bee balm, the decorative flowers work well in butterfly gardens.  They bloom for a long time, and have showy foliage from July - October.  Pollinators include bumblebees, honeybees, plasterer bees, miner bees, wasps, swallowtail butterflies and the Karner blue butterfly.  Hummingbirds are attracted to the aromatic blossoms, as well.

Dotted horsemint has found many uses by humans through the years.  Being a member of the mint family, it produces several fragrant oils, and the Navajo used them to freshen the air in their hogans.  The plant has been used by several American Indian tribes as a medicine.  It has been used by tribes as diverse as the Meskwaki (Fox), Mohegan, Blackfoot and Nanticoke in teas and powders to relieve stomach cramps, cold, fever and flu.  Poultices on wounds can be used as an antiseptic. 

The plant produces a high content of thymol, which has known medicinal qualities.  Several mints are known to settle a queasy stomach when brewed into a tea.  Thymol can also be used to remove worms from the digestive tract, has antibacterial and antifungal properties.  Thymol has also been used as a miticide and fungicide in beehives.  It shows promise as a way of treating bacteria while reducing the incidence of antimicrobial resistance when used in tandem with antibiotics or antifungals.  Thymol also acts as a depressant through GABA-receptors, which explains some of the calming effects of herbal teas containing mints. 

This nice stand of horsemint was along the nature trail at Illiniwek Village State Historic Site in Clark County, Missouri.  This site contains the only known Illinois Indian village in Missouri.  Although the plant has a wide distribution, the first time I saw it was about 3 years ago on vacation with Nadienne. If you garden with native perennials east of the Rocky Mountains, this would be a showy addition to your collection.

Free Frank McWorter and New Philadelphia

Free Frank era buildings moved to townsite

Traveling along US-36/I-72 in Pike County, Illinois (about 20 miles east of Hannibal, Missouri) you encounter highway signs that proclaim that this is "Free Frank McWorter Historic Memorial Highway" and there are signs to "Free Frank McWorter Gravesite".  Being the smart-aleck that I am, I have often wondered why?  Who or what is free?  Is it the highway?  Is it Frank?  Or is the attraction free?  Through time, other signs were added for "Free Frank McWorter gravesite New Philadelphia" and "New Philadelphia founder Free Frank McWorter gravesite, National Register of Historic Places".  If it's good enough for the National Register of Historic Places, it should prove to be somewhat interesting.  Nadienne and I were looking for something to eat, so it was a good place to get off the road.

Town plat in incorporation documents

At first glance, old New Philadelphia is nothing to look at; just an open field.  There are some old buildings on the site.  They are not original to New Philadelphia, but were built in the same era.  A recent owner of the land moved them here for preservation.  If you look hard, you can make out the town plan - looks like a bunch of squares.  The two buildings above sit on lots 7 and 8 of block 3, just about the corner of King and Ann Streets.  It was founded, it grew as the US population migrated north and west, then shrank as the US population moved into bigger cities.  The town was not impressive in just about any way, except in who founded the town, to what purpose the town was founded and the groups of people that lived here.  All of the stuff that you can't read in the land.

New Philadelphia

Town plan in 1872

The townsite itself was plotted as 144 lots, each measuring 60 ft x 120 feet.  Each block contained 8 lots.  The gravels streets were planned so that the major streets (Broad and Main) were 80 ft wide, the secondary streets were 60 ft wide and alleys were 15 ft wide.  The town occupied a total of 42 acres.

New Philadelphia was founded in 1836 by a former slave, Free Frank McWorter.  Although colonies of freed blacks had been established before, this town was different.  It is the first town platted and legally registered by an African-American prior to the Civil War.  Free Frank used the proceeds from sales of lots to buy the freedom of his children and grandchildren who were still enslaved at that time.  New Philadelphia is also one of the first wholly integrated towns in the United States, where whites, blacks, and biracial people lived willingly side by side on equal footing.  The only facilities that appear to be segregated are the cemeteries, as even school facilities were integrated (although some accounts maintain that there was a school for whites and a school for blacks until 1874).  There is no clear picture as to why that might be, but I think that the cemetery for blacks started as the McWorter family cemetery and expanded to include extended family and friends.

New Philadelphia population trends 1850-1880

Each lot in town for sale to individuals was sold, and many sold multiple times.  It was an attractive investment at the time, with land speculators first betting on the Illinois-Michigan canal passing the town site and later, that railroads would build stations there.  A store was established in New Philadelphia in 1839 and a post office existed by 1850, along with a blacksmith shop, wheelwright, two shoemakers and two cabinet makers.  Total population climbed steadily from 58 residents in 1850 to a peak census population of 171 in 1865.  It is interesting that this town founded by a black man always had a majority white population.  The black population held steady until a postwar influx of freed southern slaves in 1865, but the population across all categories declined from that point forwards.

Racial balance in New Philadelphia 1850-1880

The decline of New Philadelphia was brought about by a complex variety of factors.  One of the largest may be the routing of the Hannibal and Naples to the north of New Philadelphia.  During this time frame, rural areas were depopulating because of movement of people to larger cities and to the newly opened western states.  In 1885, the eastern blocks (1, 10,  11, 20) and the eastern half of the adjoining blocks (2, 9, 12, 19) were declared vacant and returned to agricultural use. This eradicated Maiden Lane and Canton Street.  Queen Street was renamed Stone Street.  These changes shrank New Philadelphia down to 27.5 acres.  By the early 20th century, about 6 households were left in town, mostly involved in farming.  By the 1940s the townsite was almost totally abandoned.

Modern aerial map with town grid overlay

Free Frank McWorter

Bust of Free Frank McWorter based on descriptions
and pictures of descendants.

Outside of being a fully integrated antebellum town founded by a former slave, the story of New Philadelphia itself is as unremarkable as the story of its founder is amazing.  Free Frank McWorter was born a slave in 1777 South Carolina's Piedmont region (Union County) near the Pacolet River.  His mother was an African woman named Juda and his father was most likely her owner, George McWhorter.  He was of mixed race and is described in various documents of the time as "yellow" or "mulatto".  Being a slave, he was known at this time simply as Frank.  

He was moved to Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1795.  It is quite possible that my 6x great-grandfather Nicholas Jasper knew McWhorter and Frank, since the Jaspers lived in Union County, South Carolina in the 1770's before moving to (and naming) Pulaski County, Kentucky.  In 1820 and 1830, several Jaspers are found on Census pages adjoining Free Frank, so they lived nearby.  Free Frank married a slave woman named Lucy from the neighboring farm of a distant McWhorter family connection, William Denham.  At this time, marriages between slaves carried no legal standing, since a slave was the property of their owner.  Frank fathered four children while enslaved: Judy, Sally, Frank and Solomon.  By 1810, Frank was allowed to hire himself out for work, and was allowed to keep any monetary amount beyond that charged by McWhorter for his slave's work.  Frank also set up a saltpeter mining operation, providing a key ingredient for gunpowder manufacture.

Lucy McWorter c. 1870 painting by George Neal
from family daguerreotype 

When George McWhorter died in 1815, he made no provision for the manumission (freeing from slavery) of Frank, so Frank was transferred with the rest of the estate property to McWhorter's heirs.  By 1817, Frank had saved enough money to purchase the freedom of his wife from her owner at the price of $800 (about $14,500 in 2016 money).  Already recognized as a sharp businessman, Frank demonstrates his shrewdness here, since Lucy was pregnant.  Their son,Squire, was born a free person, and that is one less purchase Frank would have to make.  Frank paid for his own freedom for the same amount from the McWhorter's.  His manumission papers were signed on 13 September 1819.  Two more children were born in freedom: Commodore and Lucy Ann.

Frank continued to live in Pulaski County, Kentucky mining saltpeter, speculating on land and farming.  By the time of the 1820 Census, Frank had adopted the name Free Frank, announcing his status as a free man.  In 1829, Free Frank traded his saltpeter operation for Frank Jr.'s freedom.  By this time, Frank Jr. had escaped to Canada, and this business deal allowed him to return to the United States a free person.  In 1830, Free Frank is listed as Free Frank Denham in Pulaski County, Kentucky with two sons, two daughters, Lucy and himself listed as free colored persons.

Interpretive sign in information kiosk at roughly the corner of Broad
and North Streets

Remaining free could be a tricky proposition for a black person in antebellum USA.  Kidnappers could seize a free person, burn their papers and sell them back into slavery.  Free Frank wished to gain some breathing room by moving to a free state.  He was able to buy a quarter section of land (160 acres) on the Military Tract of Illinois from Dr. Galen Elliott.  In 1830, Free Frank and his free family moved north, wintering in Greene County, Illinois.  During the trip, Frank Jr. lagged behind his parents, decreasing the chance that kidnappers could capture all of them.  All told, the family would fetch about $4000 on the slave market (about $105,250 in 2016 money).  They arrived on their land in Hadley Township, Pike County, Illinois in spring of 1831.  An early history of the county noted that "the first white man to settle Hadley Township was a black man".

This was a turbulent time in Illinois politics.  Bordering slaveholding states on the south and west, political maneuvering was taking place to variously make Illinois a slave state, a free state, a slave state that barred free blacks and finally an all-white state barring all blacks.  Free Frank's land ownership circumvented a requirement by Illinois at the time for free blacks to post a $1000 ($26,000 2016 dollars) bond before emigrating to Illinois.

Free Frank set to rapidly improving his land, and had 80 acres in production within two years, using tools that he brought with him from Kentucky.  He farmed oats, barley, flax, potatoes, cattle, hogs and horses.  Lucy helped in the operation by raising poultry, making butter, cheese, and collecting honey.  The farm was successful enough that Free Frank could buy another 80 acres directly south of his farm and buy his son Solomon from slavery by 1835.  This additional 80 acres was used to lay out the town of New Philadelphia in 1836.  In all, Free Frank owned 600 acres of Illinois land.  When Free Frank incorporated the town, it was noted that he intended to used the profits from the sales of town lots to purchase the freedom of his family that remained enslaved.  

1872 property map of Hadley Township around New Philadelphia

Illinois law did not very clearly spell out the rights of freed blacks to own land.  In addressing this, 14 white citizens of Pike County vouched for Free Frank's character.  He then petitioned the Illinois legislature for a legal last name (McWorter), allowing his children to take his name, and spelled out his rights as a citizen, having "the right to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, purchase and convey both real and personal property in said last mentioned name".  This created precedent for all free blacks to own property.  By the time that Free Frank McWorter died in 1854, he had purchased the freedom of his children remaining in slavery, as well as his daughter-in-law Louisa and two grandchildren.  His will directed his heirs to purchase the freedom of the rest of the family, which occurred prior to the start of the Civil War.  In all, he purchased the freedom of 16 individuals at a cost of about $14000 (2016 equivalent, about $370,000).

It is an amazing story.  A man born a slave, establishing a business, buying freedom for his family and himself.  The arc of success continued throughout Free Frank's life, he started a town, that fostered a tolerant society, secured property rights for blacks in Illinois and left his family in position to carry on his legacy.  Many of the McWorter's remained as farmers after the demise of New Philadelphia in 1885, but most have scattered across the country, still building up a stronger, better nation.  Their story can be seen in part on an episode of Time Team America (Season 1, Episode 3).

Getting There

Much work is still being done in terms of archaeological study of the site.  When we visited, there was a covered kiosk for the interpretive signs.  It appears from pictures that individual house sites are being marked as they are uncovered.

From US-36/I-72, exit at Barry, Illinois (exit 20).  Take County Highway 4 south to Illinois Highway 106.  Turn east on IL-106.  Turn northeast onto County Highway 2 east to New Philadelphia townsite at 360th Ln.

Waypoint:  Latitude 39.698023 N; Longitude 90.961322 W

Further Reading

National Park Service New Philadelphia Site

New Philadelphia Archaeology Site

Free Frank and New Philadelphia History

Rock Creek Station XP: Where "Bill" Hickok Became "Wild"

McCanles fight according to legend

James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok is another of the Western men whose legend eclipsed the man.  Dime novel hero, crack pistol shot, cold eyed killer, a fine specimen of rugged Western manhood, protector of feminine virtue, gambler, lawman.  Finding the event that gave birth to the legend is not difficult, but wrestling away fiction from fact is another story, altogether.  The birthplace of the "Wild Bill" legend is Rock Creek Station, near Fairbury, Nebraska and his fight with the "notorious McCanles Gang".

Much of Wild Bill's legend stemmed from his physical presence.  A large muscular man with steel gray eyes, flowing auburn locks and mustache, he was attractive to the ladies and intimidating to other men.  From a young age, he trained himself to be a crack shot, and loved to have an audience at target practice.  The more people that knew he could shoot well, the fewer he would likely have to fight.  By all accounts, he was calm under fire, and once he decided to shoot, he would shoot to kill.

One of the players in the Rock Creek incident, Sarah Shull remembered Hickok:  "Hickok has steel-blue eyes that were beautiful and gentle but could change in a second and look dangerous.  You had better watch his eyes; he wasn't one to run from a fight."

Wild Bill and the McCanles Gang - According to Hickok (Abridged)

Reconstructed Rock Creek Station Cabin

When recounting the story of shooting at Rock Creek Station, Bill paints Dave McCanles as the bully leader of a gang of murdering desparadoes, horse-thieving cutthroats who terrorized settlers on the Nebraska-Kansas border.  Hickok states that he was a scout for the US cavalry bringing through soldiers from Camp Floyd when he rode up to the station on 12 July 1861.  He says he found the station superintendent's wife in hysterics, her husband shot dead.  Hickok was in the house when the Gang rode up dragging a minister to the station by the neck with a rope.

Dave McCanles c. 1859

Recognizing Hickok's horse, McCanles comes into the front door of the station cabin with a gun drawn.  Hickock shoots Dave McCanles through the heart, which only enrages the nine men with him.  As the men poured into the cabin, Hickok opens up with his pistol, killing four more men.  The fight becomes a desperate hand to hand struggle during which Hickok shoots one man, knocks another one out before he is shot with shotgun pellets and struck with a rifle butt.  In the confused fight he gains a knife and starts slashing at the rest of the men, eventually subduing them all before walking a way, falling into a faint.  He claims to be shot with 11 buck shot and cut in 13 places, all of the knife wounds being life-threatening.

It is a great story and really entertained Colonel George Ward Nichols, who wrote it up for Harper's Weekly in 1867.  Problem is, it is a story and a greatly inflated one at that.  When Hickok was put on trial for McCanles' murder, there was not a scratch on him.  Furthermore, the dead superintendent, felled by a shot in the head, was present at the trial as a co-defendant.  There were not 11 dead men at the station, rather there were only three; McCanles; his cousin and a hired-hand of McCanles'.  There is also no pay record that would substantiate Hickok's claim that he was serving as a scout for the cavalry.

Getting to Rock Creek - Wild Bill

James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok

Like many other colorful figures of the American West, James Butler Hickok was born in what seems to be a much tamer environment, Homer (now Troy Grove) Illinois on 27 May 1837.  Raised by devout Baptist parents, William and Polly (Butler) Hickok, young James yearned for fame and honed his shooting skills as soon as he could.  His parents became caught up in the abolitionist movement, and the family home reportedly served as a station on the "Underground Railroad".  Once his father died, James provided game for the family to eat, relying on those sharpshooting skills.

In June 1856, James headed out west for the newly opened Kansas Territory.  At this time, settlers were strongly polarized into pro-slavery (Missourians/Border Ruffians) and anti-slavery (Free State/Free Soil/Jayhawkers) factions.  James Butler Hickok joined with James Lane's Free State "army" and became Lane's personal bodyguard.  Hickok was also looking for land to farm and staked a 160 acre claim in modern-day Lenexa, Kansas.  He was elected a constable in Monticello Township, Johnson County, Kansas in 1858.

Setup of the inside of the cabin

It was during this time that James Hickok started using the aliases William Hickok and William Haycock.  He would also be nicknamed Shanghai Bill and Dutch Bill, although it is difficult to see the reasons.  Finding out that his claim had been preempted, Bill struck out to see more of the West.  He was employed first as a teamster for the freighting company of Jones and Cartwright from 1858 - April 1861.  He arrived at Rock Creek Station shortly after Horace Wellman took over as station superintendent for Russell, Majors and Waddell's Pony Express.  Exactly what Bill's role was at the station is unknown, since there is no evidence that he was actually an employee of Russell, Majors and Waddell.  It is possible that Wellman personally hired him as a stockhandler or even as an enforcer.

Getting to Rock Creek - Dave McCanles

Reconstruction of West Ranch building

Not nearly as much is known about the other man that figures in this fight, David Colbert McCanles.  We know he was born in Iredell County, North Carolina on 20 November 1828 and moved with his family to Watauga County, NC.  Records show that he served as deputy sheriff of Watauga County from 1852-1856 and sheriff from 1856-1859.  Descriptions picture him as a large, powerful man.  He married young, listed as a farmer in Watauga County in 1850 with wife Mary (18 years) and son William M. (Monroe), age 1.

Reconstructed toll bridge between West and East Ranches

David later took a mistress, Sarah Shull, abandoning his family by 1859 and heading west with Sarah.  Originally headed to the Colorado gold fields, he was dissuaded from traveling all of the way by returning and disappointed gold-seekers.  He bought the Rock Creek Station property from Newton and S.C. Glenn.  The property was crossed by the Oregon-California Trail and did a business in supplying emigrants and serving as a campground.  He soon built a toll bridge over the creek there, charging 10-50 cents per wagon to cross.  The original ranch was on the west side of the creek, but he was soon able to set up a ranch on the east side, as well.  Apparently having a change of heart about his family, he sent east for his wife and children, but Sarah remained as a "domestic".  What Mary thought of this arrangement I do not know, but it was likely not comfortable.

Census entry for McCanles family in Jones County, Nebraska Territory, 1860

Reconstructed bunkhouse of East Ranch

It is agreed that Dave McCanles was a man who liked to have his way, and he would push other people around to further his desires.  It is thought that the appearance of Hickok in the community upset the balance of power in the neighborhood,  Many historians suggest that Sarah Shull was taken with Hickock and welcomed his advances, inciting McCanles' jealousy, although Sarah later stated that this was not so.  Even if this is true, it was only a contributing factor to the fight.  The most immediate cause was McCanles' impatience with collecting a debt from Russell, Majors and Waddell, whose company was bankrupt following the loss of mail contracts.

Stable and corral

Russell, Majors and Waddell's Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company had leased the east ranch from McCanles in 1861, then arranged to buy it in April 1861 for 1/3 down, with the rest of the payment due in three monthly installments.  At that time the company was not making payroll on time and was behind on the payments.  Having been left holding the bag by a freight company one other time, McCanles was determined to either get his money or get his property back.  He just wasn't entirely sure whether the company was not going to pay up, or if Wellman had already received the money, but was keeping it for himself.

Rock Creek Station Accomodations - Sir Richard Burton

Sir Richard Burton c. 1875 painting by Frederic Leighton

Noted explorer Sir Richard Burton (not the actor, rather the translator of The Arabian Nights), stayed here on 08 August 1860 and wrote in his book City of the Saints, and Across the Rocky Mountains to California:

"A weary drive over a rough and dusty road, through chill night air and clouds of musquetoes, which we were warned would accompany us to the Pacific slope of the Rocky Mountains, placed us about 10 P.M. at Rock, also called Turkey Creek surely a misnomer ; no turkey ever haunted so villainous a spot! Several passengers began to suffer from fever and nausea ; in such travel the second night is usually the crisis, after which a man can endure for an indefinite time. The 'ranch' was a nice place for invalids, especially for those of the softer sex. Upon the bedded floor of the foul "doggery" lay, in a seemingly promiscuous heap, men, women, children, lambs, and puppies, all fast in the arms of Morpheus, and many under the influence of a much jollier god. The employes, when aroused pretty roughly, blinked their eyes in the atmosphere of smoke and musquetoes, and declared that it had been 'merry in hall' that night the effects of which merriment had not passed off. After half an hour's dispute about who should do the work, they produced cold scraps of mutton and a kind of bread which deserves a totally distinct generic name. The strongest stomachs of ,the party made tea, and found some milk which was not more than' one quarter flies. This succulent meal was followed by the usual douceur. On this road, however mean or wretched the fare, the station- keeper, who is established by the proprietor of the line, never derogates by lowering his price." Burton would declare Rock Creek Station "the ne plus ultra of Western discomfort".

The McCanles Murder According to Monroe McCanles (Abridged)

Front door of cabin, Oregon Trail coming from left

Monroe would say that Dave McCanles, James Woods, James Gordon and himself arrived unarmed at the East Ranch.  His father directed him to stay outside and entered the cabin.  A shot rang out and Dave stumbled out, collapsed and died trying to say something to his son, but was unable.  Woods and Gordon had been looking for McCanles stock and harness, but hearing the shot, ran up to the house.  Woods approached from the rear and Gordon approached from the front.  Both were apparently shot by Hickok.  Grabbing a hoe, Mrs. Wellman chased off Monroe, started yelling "Kill them all" and hacked Woods to death with the hoe.  Gordon made a break for the timber, but was followed by his dog, which gave his whereabouts away.  It was unclear who fired the shot that killed Gordon, and he was buried on the spot.  Monroe was able to follow a dry creek bed to safety, and alert his mother to what had happened.  The mother then sent for Dave McCanles' brother James, who alerted authorities in Beatrice, Nebraska.

Rock Creek property after the McCanles affair

What really happened?

Hickok at about the time of the Rock Creek Station incident

Nobody can really know for sure, but by cutting the stories from the two camps down the middle, we can probably come pretty close.  This is likely a fight that is more about McCanles and Wellman than Hickok.  David McCanles had accused Jane Wellman's father of stealing, and had allegedly beaten the older man earlier.  Earlier in the month, McCanles had sent his son Monroe with Wellman to try to collect payment from the section head of the Central Overland Company in Brownville, Nebraska.  While they were away, McCanles tried to push Mrs. Wellman into turning over the ranch property to him.  She had no use for McCanles and let him have an earful.

David McCanles usually carried a shotgun on his saddle and two pistols on his person, which was not unusual in this place at that time.  It is reasonable to assume that he was armed on 12 July 1861.  He likely brought Monroe with him to convince the Wellmans that he did not expect violence.  Both versions of the story say that David approached the ranch house and asked to see Wellman.  He was probably not expecting to see Hickok in the house.  McCanles made it clear that he wanted to see Wellman and expected him to come out or be dragged out.  Seeing some movement in the back of the house (which would have been dark) he asked for a drink of water, which Hickok got him, before Hickok stepped back into the house.  A gunshot rang out, striking McCanles in the chest.  Who fired it is unknown, but it was likely a nervous Wellman.

Subpoena for Monroe McCanles

If Wellman fired the shot, Hickok may not have immediately known which man shot, but he was now committed to the fight. Seeing Woods and Gordon rushing to the house, and having to assume that they were armed, it is likely that Hickok shot both of them with his pistol. Jane Wellman wanted blood and called for all of them to be killed, taking a swipe at Monroe McCanles with the grubbing hoe, before turning it on the badly wounded Woods and hacking him to death. Monroe and Gordon both ran for cover, but Gordon's dog followed him into the brush, and the station hands followed the dog to Gordon. It is not clear who fired the final shotgun blast, although it may have been J.W. "Doc" Brink.

Criminal complaint against Dutch Bill,
Wellman and Brink

Monroe ran home to tell his mother what happened. The following day, James (LeRoy) McCanles swore out a criminal complaint of murder in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebraska against "Dutch Bill, Dock and Wellman (thier other names not known) committed the same". It has been alleged that McCanles made fun of Hickok by calling him "Duck Bill" because his upper lip protruded over his lower lip, but a misspelling in other court documents referring to "Duch Bill" probably gave rise to the notion. Another good story bites the dust.


When the arresting party arrived at Rock Creek Station on 15 July, the station men went along peacefully. The trial was speedy, occurring 15, 16 and 18 July 1861. Although Monroe was subpoenaed, the judge in the case refused to let him testify (perhaps because of his age) and had him removed from the courtroom during testimony. With only the stationmen's testimony to go by, and given the threats apparently issued by McCanles to Wellman, the judge ruled that the men had acted in self-defense.

Bunkhouse with stable and corral behind

Was this a proud moment in the Hickok legend? Certainly not, but as the legend grew in popularity, he was likely caught up in the story as much as he had been in the original events. Some McCanles relatives and allies would like you to believe that Hickok was a complete fraud, a coward and a murderer of a quiet family man. Some Hickok allies would like you to believe that he was a superhero who rid the neighborhood of a wicked bully. Hickok's reputation would not have risen to the level it did if he was without bravery or virtue, and there would be no sympathy for McCanles had he been completely evil. They were humans, and in this case caught up in events that took on a life of their own. Stories without heroes and villains are not comfortable, and this is a very uncomfortable story. You can find reason to sympathize with and also dislike each of the major characters in this story. Nope, not real satisfying, but interesting all the same.

The Dime Novel

Most of the dime novels were complete fabrications or there was nugget of truth in the premise of the story that was greatly exaggerated.  The problem with these stories when they make characters out of live people, is that you lose the boundaries of what is real and what is fantasy.  When you tell tall tales often enough, the story becomes the fact.  My favorite illustration of this process is from the miniseries Wild Times, starring Sam Elliot as Hugh Cardiff, a Buffalo Bill-like character.  The following is a scene in which three shootists including Cardiff are telling tall tales to a dime novel author:

[Hugh, Doc and Caleb are spinning yarns for Bob Halburton, a writer of western dime novels]

Hugh Cardiff: Bob, I recall the time that me and Caleb here was carryin' dispatches for an...

Doc Bogardus: That was, ah, Phil Sheridan, I recall.

Hugh Cardiff: Yeah, General Phil Sheridan. We was crossin' through some hostile Indian country and we got jumped by a band of forty Cheyenne.

Caleb Rice: And thirty Arapaho and two Ute.

Hugh Cardiff: And old Caleb here, he took care of thirteen of them Cheyenne with those two pistols you see hanging right there in that belt. And understand, Bob, he only fired twelve shots - now one of 'em went through two of those Indians and killed 'em both.

Caleb Rice: It had probably gone on and killed another one, except there weren't any more left. We had killed them all by that time.

It is easy enough for me to see Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok sitting around telling such stories to eastern greenhorns like George Nichols.

Last Laugh?

Rear Admirals Byron (left) and Bruce McCandless with USS McCandless

It is difficult to measure the value of one man in life against another.  Wild Bill Hickok served the US Army as a teamster, scout, and perhaps spy during the Civil War.  He was a lawman in Hays, Kansas and Abilene, Kansas and celebrity figure before he was killed in Deadwood, South Dakota by Jack McCall on 02 August 1876.  He died without children, so the Hickok contribution to American history stops there.  

Dave McCanles' son Julius, changed the name to McCandless, perhaps to escape notoriety, or just to match the actual spelling to the phonetic.  Julius' son Byron became a commodore in the US Navy (later updated to rear admiral), earning the Navy Cross as commander of the destroyer USS Caldwell during WWI.  During WWII, Byron was in charge of the San Diego Repair Base, earning the Legion of Merit for his performance and the ability of his command to return battle-damaged ships to service.  Commodore McCandless also designed the Flag of the President of the United States, as well as the Presidential Seal in 1945.  Byron's son Bruce McCandless attained the rank of rear admiral, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor for his performance on the cruiser USS San Francisco during the Battle of Savo Island (Guadalcanal) during WWII.  Bruce's son, Bruce II, became a naval aviator and an astronaut.  He served as CAPCOM during the Apollo 11 mission.  Bruce McCandless II flew on the Space Shuttle as a mission specialist twice, making the first untethered spacewalk in the history of human spaceflight.  The frigate USS McCandless (FF-1084) was named for Byron and Bruce McCandless.   Regardless of Dave McCanles' history, his family accounts for some of the most storied achievements of the 20th Century, and that legacy continues today.  Certainly any perceived debt owed society by David McCanles has been more than repaid by his offspring.

USS San Francisco Memorial at Land's End.  Note the battle damage on the salvaged section of the ship

Navy Cross Citation for Byron McCandless:

"For distinguished service in the line of his profession as commanding officer of the USS Caldwell, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity."

Medal of Honor Citation for Bruce McCandless:

Lt. Commander Bruce McCandless

"For conspicuous gallantry and exceptionally distinguished service above and beyond the call of duty as communication officer of the U.S.S. San Francisco in combat with enemy Japanese forces in the battle off Savo Island, 12–13 November 1942. In the midst of a violent night engagement, the fire of a determined and desperate enemy seriously wounded Lt. Comdr. McCandless and rendered him unconscious, killed or wounded the admiral in command, his staff, the captain of the ship, the navigator, and all other personnel on the navigating and signal bridges. Faced with the lack of superior command upon his recovery, and displaying superb initiative, he promptly assumed command of the ship and ordered her course and gunfire against an overwhelmingly powerful force. With his superiors in other vessels unaware of the loss of their admiral, and challenged by his great responsibility, Lt. Comdr. McCandless boldly continued to engage the enemy and to lead our column of following vessels to a great victory. Largely through his brilliant seamanship and great courage, the San Francisco was brought back to port, saved to fight again in the service of her country."

Bruce McCandless II during first untethered spacewalk

Getting There

From US-77, turn west onto NE-8. From NE-8, turn north onto 573rd Ave, then east onto 710th Rd, then follow the signs to Rock Creek Station State Historical Park. There is an entry fee ($5 daily entry or $25 yearly sticker for all Nebraska State Parks) for the park and admission to the museum on grounds.

Waypoint: Latitude: 40.113760 N; Longitude: 97.060900 W
Street Address: 57426 710th Road, Fairbury, NE 68352

Further Reading

Pro-McCanles Account

Pro-Hickok Account