J. W. Buel - Life and marvelous adventures of Wild Bill, the Scout

BEING A TRUE AND EXACT HISTORY OF ALL THE SANGUINARY COMBATS AND HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES OF THE MOST FAMOUS SCOUT
AND SPY AMERICA EVER PRODUCED. «Wild Bill, as a frontier character of the daring, cunning and honorable class, stands alone, without a prototype; his originality is as conspicuous as his remarkable escapades. He was desperate without being a desperado; a fighter without that disposition which invites danger or craves the excitement of an encounter. He killed many men, but in every instance it was either in self-defense or in the prosecution of a duty which he deemed justifiable. Wild Bill was a necessary character in the Far West during the period which marked his career. He was essentially a civilizer, in the sense of a vigilance posse. The law and order class found in him an effective agent for the correction of the lawless; it was fighting the desperate with one of their kind, and Bill had the cunning to remain on the side of society and to always flank his enemies.» — Summary by from the book