Did James Butler Hickok, William F. Cody, and Jesse James really work for the Pony Express?
• Hickok did not ride, but he worked as a stock tender at the Rock Creek Station • Western lore claims that Cody, only 14, was hired as a rider and stock tender for the Pony Express, but this has never been verified conclusively. • Jesse James was never linked with the Pony Express. [8.3] Is Kid “Billy the Kid?” • Kid was not Billy the Kid. According to research when the show originally aired on ABC, Billy the Kid would have been about 2 years old at the time the show took place. [8.4] Did I see Wild Bill’s “dead man’s hand” in an episode? • In the episode “Ten Cent Hero” the boys are watching Sam play poker in the saloon. The camera shows that he is holding two aces and two eights and a jack. While there is some controversy over the 5th card, the Aces and Eights are the cards Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot and killed in 1876. It was thereafter known as the “Dead Man’s Hand.
