Customer Reviews

Life of Billy Dixon

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Few books capture the spirit of the American West so well. Billy Dixon participated in both the battle of Adobe Walls and the Buffalo Wallow fight. His accounts of these battles and experiences of life on the frontier have been plagiarized by screen writers for decades.

Mr. Dixon was a humble man with determination, ability, and grit the likes of which are seldom seen. This combination of humility and awesome ability make him a real-life hero and legend, deserving a place in the American consciousness on the level of Daniel Boone.

If you have read "On the Border With Crook", you will also love this book.

Having grown up on the remote ranch lands in the Texas Panhandle, just a stone's throw from the site of the Battle of Adobe Walls, I grew up hearing from the old timers who knew him, stories of the great plainsman, Billy Dixon. Since my early childhood, Dixon has been one of my heroes. In 1913, Dixon was approached by an Oklahoma newspaperman with an idea that he should write his autobiography. With the encouragement of his wife, Olive, Dixon decided some folks just might enjoy hearing his stories. Sadly, his passing precluded the finish of the book, necessitating the change from autobiography to biography, with the finishing touches by his wife, Olive. The book was originally published in 1914, only months after Billy's death. It was reprinted in 1927.

Those original copies are near impossible to find. I spent many years trying to locate a copy. Then in 1987, a limited edition leather-bound reprinting was done. I have number 34 of 50. I always thought it was such a shame that so many people would never have the opportunity to know of Dixon's story. So of course, I was thrilled to learn that in recent months, THE LIFE OF BILLY DIXON, by Olive K. Dixon, was once again reprinted, this time with enough copies of this wonderful book for everyone.

When we think of Plainsmen, buffalo hunters, Indian fighters and the like, many people come to mind such as Buffalo Bill Cody or Wild Bill Hickock but these folks have nothing over Billy Dixon. The only difference being, Dixon never sought fame. Had he succumbed to the dime novelists of the time, his name would be a household word today, for his adventures and accomplishments hold full measure to anyone of that era.

As this book was originally intended an autobiography, the story is told in the first person account, which makes the reader feel as though you are sitting at a campfire, listening to Dixon tell of his adventures and hardships. This book truly and avidly brings to life, a true life adventure story that anyone who appreciates that era or that lifestyle, will not want to miss.

Anyone who has ever earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, as Dixon did at the Buffalo Wallow fight, deserves to have their story told in vivid detail, but Dixon's life is presented here in such fascinating detail as is rarely achieved. Surely Miss Olive's, as she was affectionately known throughout the area, background as a school teacher contributed greatly to the telling of this story by adding literary prose equal to the most accomplished of writers.

If you appreciate true life adventures, the kind told without the need for embellishment for the sake of sensationalism, this is a must read. From the loss of his family very early in life, his early days as a young bullwhacker, the transition to a buffalo hunter, Indian scout, postmaster and rancher, it's all covered in explicit page turning detail. My only regret to this magnificent story is that it should have been another thousand pages. I absolutely hated seeing this book come to an end. This is a real life story that deserves to be heard and one that you will not soon forget.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

For the last year or so I've been reading books about the Buffalo Hunters on the Plains and had heard of this one several times. When I saw that Amazon finally had an affordable version I put in my order for a copy.
The book was dictated by Mr. Dixon to his wife in 1913, published afer his death in 1914 (he never got the chance to do much more than dictate notes)then revised in 1927 and reprinted in 1987 and 2005. It is written as if he wrote the book although his wife and her publisher actually did the work. I'm guessing that Mr. Dixon was not quite so literate as the writing gives you the impression (very little formal schooling) and some of the descriptive terms must've been inserted by the orginal publisher.
You get a biography of Mr. Dixon starting from about age 14 (some sketchy details before that) when he left his Uncle's home to head west to fight Indians and hunt the Buffalo in 1864. There's a lot of detail about his adventures and travels, first meetings with Indians, his first buffalo kill, the countryside and animal life. The detail on the buffalo hunting parts is actually pretty vague, all of the books by the old timers I've read are, but still very interesting. Mr. Dixon is famous for his shooting during a battle with Indians at the Adobe Walls trading post in 1874, including one lucky shot at about 7/8 of a mile- there are several detailed pages about that battle and the subsequent Buffalo Wallow fight, also in 1874. For the first Dixon was still a Buffalo Hunter, he'd quit the business to become an Indian scout at the time of the second battle. I found it interesting in that while I wouldn't term Mr. Dixon an "Indian Lover" he did have a lot of repsect for the variuos tribes.
The last couple of chapters kind of round up some interesting scraps from that point until the current (1913) day- they're rushed but still of interest for historical and hunting details.
I've also read "The Border and The Buffalo" by John R. Cook and "Buffalo Days": stories from J. Wright Mooar as told to James Winford Hunt, this book is the best of the three and well worth owning.

This book reminded me of the axiom of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography that a good life comes to a person who is thrifty, kind, honest and modest. This is the perfect description of Billy Dixon.
I will not give away any of the life of Mr. Dixon as it is a wonderful treasure to explore, but I will state you will regret like I did in his modesty at times does not allow him to explore in detail his life. "The Shot" at Adobe Walls is barely a mention, but he makes up for it in detailed memories of the battle which Hollywood and authors would never dream of. This is the key to the Life of Billy Dixon in that his attention is in the little things which he gives to history. Everyone knows of the herds of buffalo as far as they eye can see, but Mr. Dixon will tell you about the buffalo as only one man who knew them.
I will offer one warning though and that is do not read the forward by the historian as all he does is steal parts of the book in 20 pages of droaning on and it will be better for the reader to let Mr. Dixon introduce himself in this book and then read the forward last if you feel the need.
As a witness to Mr. Dixon, I read Buffalo Bill's autobiography and to show the difference in these 2 boys without detracting from Mr. Cody, when Bill Cody was a boy among the hard bitten men of the plains the worst would hit him. Billy Dixon though in the same period with the same men was befriended by them and they took him under their wing. That is the kind of good soul Billy Dixon was.
The adept reader will soon enough recognize how much of the book is Mr. Dixon's own words, the few times his wonderful wife explains things for him as he had passed on and the fortunate few times an editor weighs in with a few lines. Billy Dixon in his modesty is the most powerful force in the book and that is the way it should be.
In finishing the book, I could only think what an honor it must be for the living relatives of Mr. Dixon to know they are related to a man of such character. America has been blessed in having his story and having so many thousands of people who built our nation.
Bill Dixon was awarded the Medal of Honor and we are honored to have him. He was the kind of friend everyone hoped they would have as he always was a friend. He learned the lesson of life in having all his family to die when he was a child, so Billy Dixon was a friend forever when he was yours.
5 stars for Mr. Dixon.

A great look into a very interesting life. If you are interested in life in the west or in shooting western firearms or just long range shooting in general, this book is a must read. I highly recommend it.