Email this lot to a friend

« Email Address (separate multiple emails with a comma)

hide

Lot 664

translate

email

save

Scalping or Skinning Knife from Billy Dixon, hero

Sign In to see what this sold for

Scalping or Skinning Knife - Provenance Billy Dixon and Mangan. A handmade skinning knife that belonged to Billy Dixon, with a letter of provenance from the previous owner stating he had obtained the knife from one of Dixon's cousins.
Provenance: Miki and James J. Mangan III of Fairfield, CT
Size: L. 6.75" x W. 1.5"
Blade: L. 2.75" x W. 1"
Weight: 1 pound
Condition: very good original condition, blade has dark patina and wear from years of use, scabbard is good condition with typical wear from use.

William "Billy" Dixon (September 25, 1850 – March 9, 1913) scouted the Texas Panhandle for the Army, hunted buffalo for the train companies, defended the Adobe Walls settlement against Indian attack with his legendary buffalo rifle, and was one of eight civilians in the history of the U.S. to receive the Medal of Honor.
Dixon led the founders of Adobe Walls to the Texas Plains, where he knew buffalo were in abundance. The group of 28 men and one woman occupied the outpost of five buildings 15 miles northeast of Stinnett.
The outpost was attacked on June 27, 1874 by a band of 700 to 1200 Indians, and that is when Dixon went into the history books for firing "The Shot of the Century which effectively ended the siege. Although, Billy Dixon states in his biography that it was a "scratch shot", he is still honored to this day with competitions in England and the US which attempt to match his skill.
The stand-off continued into a third day, when a group of Indians were noticed about a mile east of Adobe Walls. It is said that Dixon took aim with a quickly borrowed 50/90 Sharps (as, according to his biography, he only had a 45/90 and felt it could not reach) buffalo rifle and fired, knocking an Indian near Chief Quanah Parker off his horse almost a mile away on his third shot. The Indians then left the settlement alone. Commemorative "Billy Dixon" model reproduction Sharps rifles that supposedly recreate the specifications of Dixon's famous gun are still available today. Billy Dixon quit buffalo hunting and, the following August, became an army scout. In September 1874, just three months after Adobe Walls, an army dispatch detail consisting of Billy Dixon, another scout Amos Chapman, and four troopers from the 6th Cavalry Regiment (United States) were surrounded and besieged by a large combined band of Kiowas and Comanches, in the Battle of Buffalo Wallow. They holed up in a buffalo wallow located in Hemphill County and, with accurate rifle fire, held off the Indians for three days. An extremely cold rainstorm the last night discouraged the Indians, and they broke off the fight; every man in the detail was wounded and one trooper killed. For this action Billy Dixon, along with the other survivors of 'The Buffalo Wallow Fight', were awarded the Medal of Honor (for Gallantry in Battle). The medal is presently on display at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. A Texas Historical Marker documents the battle site.
In 1883, Dixon returned to civilian life and built a home near the Adobe Walls site. He was postmaster there for 20 years and also was the first sheriff of the newly formed Hutchinson County, Texas. He served as state land commissioner and a justice of the peace.

very good original condition, blade has dark patina and wear from years of use, scabbard is good condition with typical wear from use

Click on thumbnails to see larger images:

View LOUIS J. DIANNI, LLC AUCTIONS next auction.

Similar lots up for auction